PINA

The Pacific hearing of the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry has started, with survivors expected to discuss the impacts of the Dawn Raids. Tulou: Our Pacific Voices; Tatala e Pulonga is the first of its kind for New Zealand and will be held over two weeks at the Fale o Samoa in Māngere. The public hearing considers the impacts...

The Loughman-led coalition has welcomed the decision of the Vanuatu Appeal Court that was delivered Friday. In a press conference, Prime Minister Bob Loughman conveyed his acknowledgment to all church leaders, religious groupings and chiefs for their prayers and continuous moral support during this time when Vanuatu was experiencing a political saga. He thanked all citizens for adhering to his advice...

Fiji’s Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Mereseini Vuniwaqa has applied to be the new executive director of UN Women, the United Nations agency dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. Vuniwaqa is one of several candidates who have applied from the Asia-Pacific, to replace former South African vice president, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, who leaves after eight years...

The Fijian Government has announced a $200million(US$100 million) in unemployment income support to Fijians affected by COVID-19, both in the formal and informal sectors. Attorney-General and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum made the announcement while delivering the 2021-2022 National Budget in Parliament Friday. He announced that beginning from 01 August, 2021, every affected Fijian will be entitled to a monthly allowance...

Samoa's Court of Appeal, which sat on Friday with a view to determining a case that could finally settle a three-month long national political impasse, has been told that it has the constitutional power to force Parliament to convene. The question of whether the courts have the legal right to convene Parliament, or whether that power is exclusively vested in...

Fiji has recorded 1,043 new positive COVID-19 cases and 13 deaths Sunday. Ministry of Health and Medical Services permanent secretary Dr James Fong confirmed the new COVID deaths for the period of 14 -July to 17 July. Dr Fong said the first COVID-19 death was a 77-year-old woman from Toorak. “She presented to the CWM Hospital Emergency Department in severe respiratory distress....

Fiji dismissed calls for a hard lockdown Friday as Covid-19 cases reached record levels in the Pacific island nation, insisting a "no jab, no job" vaccination push would contain the virus. The troubled tropical paradise has been devastated by a runaway outbreak of the Delta variant which began in April, ending a year without local transmission and quashing hopes the...

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape is planning to visit Palau, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Republic of Marshall Islands(RMI), Kiribati and Nauru. A spokesperson from FSM President David Panuelo confirmed discussion amongst PM Marape and the Micronesian leaders regarding visits to the five nations. “I am not able to confirm or deny that the PM of PNG will be...

The Pacific archipelago of Wallis and Futuna has declared itself Covid-free, with no cases among the French remote island's 11,500 inhabitants since 01 April, authorities said. Many remote Pacific island nations have remained free of the virus after shutting the borders soon after the pandemic began but the risk of an outbreak remains high. The French overseas collectivity's administrator superior said...

Vanuatu's prime minister Bob Loughman and 18 other government MPs have lost an important appeal case moving them a step closer to possibly losing their parliamentary seats. In early June the speaker of parliament at that time, Gracia Shadrack, declared that 19 seats held by Loughman and other government MPs, were vacant, because the MPs had been absent from parliament...