PINA

More than 160 seasonal workers from Vanuatu have landed in Darwin to bolster the Northern Territory's mango-picking workforce for this year's harvest. The workers arrived on a chartered flight from Port Vila on Tuesday and will spend the next 14 days at Howard Springs quarantine facility, before heading to work across Top End orchards. The group will join dozens of ni-Vanuatu...

Members of the Papua New Guinea Special Police Forensic Criminal Investigation Team (SPFCIT) on Monday arrested and charged former Acting Managing Director of PNG Power Limited, 48-year-old Australian woman Carolyn Blacklock in Port Moresby. The team established under office of Commissioner of Police have been conducting a combined forensic and criminal investigation into high level financial crimes. Blacklock is alleged to...

The Indian embassy in Papua New Guinea denies police claims that it helped unauthorised passengers, including four people who were infected with COVID-19, arrive in the Pacific nation’s capital, Port Moresby. The denial on Tuesday came after PNG Police Commissioner David Manning last week banned all flights from India, accusing the Indian government of “deliberately” participating in “deception” that compromised...

The French Polynesia government has been blasted and accused for not being proactive enough to avoid the horrors of the latest Covid-19 surge. At least another 38 people in French Polynesia have died of Covid-19 over the weekend as pleas continue for more health professionals to be sent from France. The official figure excludes patients who died after being cared for...

Fiji's Registrar of Political Parties has received one objection against an application by former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka for his proposed People’s Alliance party. Registrar and Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem said this is part of the process for registering any new party. Saneem expected to have the matter dealt with in the coming days. “We’re in the process of verifying the...

The Super Rugby format for 2022 has been confirmed with Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua making up an exciting 12-team line-up. The decision was made following a detailed financial, performance and commercial feasibility study in partnership with New Zealand Rugby and the respective unions of Samoa, Tonga and Fiji. Having two teams in Super Rugby will enhance the player development...

With 'Super Rugby Pacific' confirmed to kick off in February, the race is on for Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua to sign up their inaugural playing squads. The Drua also have to decide where they will be based next season, with Fiji's ongoing Covid-19 problems ruling out plans to play on home soil. Flying Fijians prop Haereiti Hetet said the...

The decision on the venue for the Fijian Drua’s home matches for the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific will be decided soon. The Drua will join the Australian and New Zealand Super Rugby sides in a new 12-team competition next year, but this will be dependent on when its unconditional license will be granted. Fiji Rugby Union chief executive John O’Connor says...

With one million species at risk of extinction, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday called for greater leadership and political will to end the biodiversity crisis. In remarks to a high-level virtual meeting to develop a new global framework to address biodiversity loss, he underlined the need for commitment, ambition and credibility. “The future of humanity depends on our collective efforts”,...

Tuna fishing in the region Tuna is extremely valuable to Pacific Island countries. In recent years, the annual catch of tuna in the western and central Pacific Ocean has been approximately 2.6 million metric tonnes per year, worth almost US$5 billion. This catch represents over 50 percent of all the tuna landings in the world. Surprisingly, the amount of...