PINA

By Joshua Macdonald BANABA, 10 JUNE 2021 (THE GUARDIAN) --- The last decent rain on Banaba was more than a year ago. Without rain, people on the isolated central Pacific island, which is part of the country of Kiribati, have been forced to rely on a desalination plant for all their water for drinking, bathing and growing crops. But in late November...

The authorities’ actions are reinforcing the already widespread atmosphere of self-censorship, preventing participation in governance and public affairs, and extinguishing an important safeguard for government accountability. We, the undersigned international human rights organisations, call on the Cambodian government to immediately stop its assault on freedom of expression in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent months, the government has...

Ending the “war on nature” must be part of global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday in his message for World Oceans Day. The annual commemoration on 08 June is a reminder of the major role oceans have in everyday life as “the lungs of our Planet” and as a source of food and...

The United Nations Security Council has formally selected the current Secretary-General António Guterres as its nominee to serve a second five-year term in the UN’s top job. The recommendation, made in a resolution adopted by acclamation in a private meeting, now goes to the 193-member General Assembly for formal approval. In a statement, Guterres said it was “a great honour” to...

The man who returned a positive test for Covid-19 last week in Cook Islands will appear in court this Thursday. The man, who is a Cook Islander and works overseas, has been charged with making a false declaration on a travel document. Police arrested the man on Saturday after the matter was referred to them by Te Marae Ora health ministry....

The U.S. policy chief for the Indo-Pacific said on Tuesday the United States aims to work with Japan, New Zealand, Australia and others to assist island nations in the Pacific, a region of increasing strategic competition with China. Five Pacific island nations announced in February they would start withdrawing from the Pacific Island Forum, the region's main political grouping after...

The President of Nauru and Chancellor of the regional university, Lionel Aingimea says the Council acted within the guidelines of the University of the South Pacific Charter and Statutes in re-appointing the vice chancellor and relocating his place of work. A sub-committee chaired by President Aingimea presented six recommendations to the USP Council which convened a special meeting on 25...

Vanuatu Supreme Court judge, Justice Oliver Saksak, has granted a stay on the vacation of 19 seats in the country's parliament. On Tuesday the Speaker of Parliament, Gracia Shadrack, declared the seats of the Prime Minister Bob Loughman and 18 of his MPs vacant because they had been absent from parliament on three consecutive occasions. The MPs were absent on the...

The Fijian Government’s vision to supply 100 per cent of energy in Fiji from renewable sources by 2036 is coming to fruition. This follows Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama signing an agreement on the sale of 44 per cent shares of Energy Fiji Ltd (EFL) to Sevens Pacific Pte Limited Wednesday. Sevens is a joint venture company established in Singapore comprising of...

by Grant Walton Over the past decade, around the world, the number of anti-corruption agencies (ACAs) – organisations specifically tasked with fighting corruption – has increased significantly. In turn, researchers and policymakers have sought to understand how ACAs are established and why they often fail to live up to expectations. The international literature points to three institutions that determine how ACAs...