PINA

France has declared a health emergency in New Caledonia after Covid-19 was detected in the community. The state of emergency was decreed by the French prime minister Jean Castex, effective immediately. The decree, which is valid for a month, allows the authorities to impose restrictions, such as curfews or a lockdown, which the New Caledonian authorities had already imposed on Tuesday. Today,...

The small Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu, has been experiencing low rainfall conditions, with mounting concerns of extreme water shortages for people across the tropical islands. Tuvalu has been facing drought conditions for the past three months and rainfall levels have been some of the lowest ever recorded. There are fears communities may face water shortages in the coming months if...

Fiji has recorded 240 new cases of COVID-19 and three new deaths Wednesday, increasing the total number of cases in the island nation to 48,323 and 526 deaths since the outbreak in April. Permanent secretary for Health, Dr James Fong said 49 cases are from the Western division, 32 cases are from the Central division in Vitilevu, Fiji's main island...

The Solomon Islands and Vanuatu have upped the pressure on Australia, urging it to follow through on its promise to allow commercial kava imports. That issue, along with how Australia could better support the Pacific's agriculture industries more broadly, and also labour Mobility - were the top issues discussed by some of the region's leading diplomats. High Commissioners from Samoa, Solomon...

It was a rare moment given the upheaval and controversy the Pacific Islands Forum has faced in the last year or so. Palau President Surangel Whipps Jnr and his fellow MPS leader, President David Kabua of the Marshall Islands, were on the same page this week with Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna. Despite some earlier apparent hiccups with connecting,...

The world must take urgent action on climate change at upcoming UN talks in Glasgow or low-lying Pacific nations will face a “dire” future, Samoa's new leader has told AFP in an interview. Fiame Naomi Mata'afa, who took office as Samoa's first female prime minister in late July, gave a stark assessment of the Pacific's prospects if efforts to tackle...

Sitiveni Rabuka’s People’s Alliance has been registered as Fiji’s latest political party. Registrar of Political Parties, Mohammed Saneem said today that the one objection received has been dealt with and "the applicant has successfully furnished all the particulars required under the law and hence the party has been duly registered.” The total number of registered parties in Fiji currently stands at...

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape says the 2022 general election will cost Papua New Guineans about K500 million(US$142 million) with a huge portion going to the common roll update, pre-election planning and security operations. “This is why we have asked for the police and the Electoral Commission to submit a budget within the limit of the estimates,” he...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Vanuatu today signed a US$5 million grant to help fund the preparation of ADB-supported land, maritime, and aviation projects in Vanuatu. Vanuatu’s Minister of Finance and Economic Management Johnny Koanapo and ADB Pacific Department Director General Leah Gutierrez signed the agreement, which will fund assessments, planning, and capacity building for implementing...

Emerging opportunities and challenges in accessing climate finance to build resilience to climate change in the Pacific were identified during the second day of the 30th SPREP Meeting of Officials. According to a report released in 2017, titled ‘Climate Finance in the Pacific: An overview of flows to the region’s Small Island Developing States, a total of US$748 million in...