PINA

A new coronavirus “variant of interest” named Mu – also known by its scientific name as B.1.621 – is being closely monitored by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the agency has said. In its weekly epidemiological update, published on Tuesday, WHO warned it was becoming increasingly prevalent in Colombia and Ecuador, and showed signs of possible resistance to vaccines. Mu was...

Were the 2014 and 2018 Fiji elections free and fair? This was one of the questions posed by prominent local lawyer and former Supervisor of Elections, Jon Apted said as he labelled Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum’s criticism of counsel who represented politician Niko Nawaikula – and the Supervisor of Elections and the Attorney-General – “baseless and unfair”. He said voters in Fiji,...

Climate change and increasingly extreme weather events, have caused a surge in natural disasters over the past 50 years disproportionately impacting poorer countries, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) said on Wednesday. According to the agencies' Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes, from 1970 to 2019, these...

The Pacific Islands Forum Chair and Fijian Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama Wednesday received a courtesy call from the new Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum PIF, Henry Puna. In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama acknowledged Secretary-General Puna for his exemplary leadership and assistance rendered by the Secretariat during the 51st Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting. Reflecting on the successful...

The leaders of Micronesia are holding their annual summit in Nauru, with the dominant subject to be trade and transportation. This comes amid plans by all five members, Nauru, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Palau and Kiribati to leave the Pacific Forum. This subject is on the agenda but the Nauru president, Lionel Aingimea urged frank and candid...

Fiji has recorded 290 new cases of COVID-19 and eight new deaths Wednesday, increasing the total number of cases in the island nation to 46,936 and 502 deaths since the outbreak in April. Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr James Fong said 128 cases are from the Western division, 137 cases are from the Central division in Vitilevu, Fiji's main island...

The Fijian Immigration department has announced the appointment of its new director, Amelia Kotobalavu Komaisavai with effect from 13 September 2021. Komaisavai’s appointment was confirmed after a series of selection processes under the Open Merit Recruitment and Selection (OMRS) guideline. Prior to this appointment as the new director, Komaisavai served as the Chief Policy and Research Officer at the Office of...

The Fijian Drua hope to be on the training track in early November, as the countdown begins to their debut season in the revamped Super Rugby Pacific competition. The first squad announcements are expected within a couple of weeks, along with the name of the coach who will lead the new franchise into battle next February. But with confirmation of the...

Oceania Rugby hopes to capitalise on the region’s success at the Tokyo Olympic Games as it promotes female participation at all levels of the game during ‘Women in Rugby… Respect’ month. Starting on Wednesday, Oceania Rugby will celebrate the achievements of Women in Rugby in the region through a series of themed events taking place throughout September. October will mark a...

The impact of COVID19 left many Pacific nations in a difficult position in the lead up to the Tokyo Olympic Games. The pandemic created a series of event cancellations that reduced both training and qualification opportunities, significantly hampering the ability of many teams to qualify or compete at their best. The Australia-Pacific Olympic and Paralympic Partnership...