PINA

The COVID pandemic has taken four million lives, devastated the global economy, pushed a further 124 million people into extreme poverty and continues to inflict profound suffering – dramatically impacting progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the UN chief said on Tuesday at a key international forum. “Nearly one person in three around the world could not access adequate food...

One hundred and fifty seasonal workers have landed from Vanuatu, but New Zealand’s horticultural employers would happily take six times as many. The latest group of workers is in managed isolation in Hamilton, and new groups will arrive each fortnight. Auckland used to host the recognised seasonal employer (RSE) workers for isolation but, from now on, they will isolate in Ibis...

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration rolled out changes to its immigration policies on Monday and backdated them to 01 July, in a bid to ease labour skills shortages in the Cook Islands. Easing health checks for workers wanting to come in from Australia or New Zealand is among changes made to the country’s immigration policies. Kairangi Samuela, the principal...

The Bank South Pacific Financial Group Ltd (BSP) has always complied with its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) obligations in Papua New Guinea, says chairman Sir Kostas Constantinou. He mentioned this in a market release Wednesday in response to a letter BSP received from the Bank of PNG’s Financial Analysis and Supervision Unit (FASU) concerning anti-money laundering (AML) allegations...

Papua New Guinea Opposition leader Belden Namah says the Bougainville referendum vote for independence must be ratified by Parliament. “The vote was taken under the watch of this Parliament (so) this Parliament is duty bound to deal with it,” he said. He said it should not be deferred to the next Parliament. “I have been wanting to speak on this matter in...

The head of the UN Children’s Fund, Henrietta Fore, announced her resignation on Tuesday, in order to devote herself fulltime to caring for her husband, who is suffering from what she described as a serious health issue. Fore said it had been “a difficult decision”, and in a message to staff, described holding the office of Executive Director as “a...

“The physicality’s a non-negotiable of test rugby, and All Blacks rugby.” And with that, Scott Barrett would have had forwards coach John Plumtree at least buoyed that the message is getting through. Now, it’s just about seeing it on game-day. Two words by now must be imprinted in the minds of the All Blacks from last weekend’s first-test win over Fiji in...

Samoa are under no illusion that their place in the 2023 Rugby World Cup is already secure. The Manu beat Tonga 42-13 in the first of two qualifying matches, with the overall aggregate winner to seal their spot in France in two years time. Vaovasamanaia Seilala Mapusua's side have a 29 point buffer heading into Saturday's second test against the 'Ikale...

The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme has been successfully reaccredited to the Green Climate Fund as a Regional Implementing Entity. Pacific island Members can apply for GCF funding for climate change adaptation and mitigation projects through SPREP. To renew accreditation, SPREP had to meet strict and extensive fiduciary, governance, project management and other organisational performance standards. “We’re very pleased to...

Vanuatu Court of Appeal will rule on the appeal of the 19 Members of Parliament (MPs) against Judge Oliver Saksak ‘s judgment on Friday this week. Judge Saksak had dismissed their Constitutional application on their claim that the Speaker of Parliament had no power to declare the seat of a member of parliament vacant, only the Supreme Court on the...