PINA

Samoa caretaker Minister of Education Sports and Culture, Loau Keneti Sio, has agreed to resign from office as a result of a post election challenge filed against him. Loau's resignation has resulted in the petition being dropped but it has also triggered a sixth by-election and reduced the Human Rights Protection Party's (HRPP) numbers even lower. Loau's resignation will effectively reduce...

The first batch of Covid-19 vaccines for Tokelau will leave New Zealand on Monday, delivered by the naval ship HMNZS Wellington. The 76-member crew underwent weeks of rehearsals to ensure strict safety protocols were in place to protect the islands from Covid-19. The Pfizer vaccine doses will be enough to vaccinate Tokelau’s entire eligible population and can only be delivered by...

A group of Fijian-born soldiers who sued the government after being classified as illegal immigrants have been granted leave to remain in the UK, despite losing their legal battle against the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Home Office. Seven of the group, who claimed they were the victims of serious and systemic administrative mistakes because they were not properly...

A Supreme Court hearing in Samoa today will determine if the caretaker prime minister will face criminal contempt proceedings. Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi, as well as the attorney general, parliament's former speaker and its clerk are to appear for preventing parliament from convening on 24 May as the court ordered. A substantive Supreme Court hearing today will probe the roles played by...

The manner in which the Fijian Government has enforced directives on people to get vaccinated for COVID-19 is concerning. Fiji Law Society president William Wylie Clarke says there are better ways for Government to address the issue. He was responding to a directive from Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama that people could lose their jobs if they failed to vaccinate to get...

The Pacific Islands Forum on Saturday reminded Samoa’s caretaker Government of the Biketawa Declaration, which amongst other guiding principles promotes the peaceful transfer of power and the rule of law in Forum member states. Forum Secretary General Henry Puna, in a statement said Samoa has for a long time been a shining example of self-determination and democracy within our Forum...

Written by Sargam Goundar, Kim Andreas Kessler Fiji’s COVID-19 story started with the Fijian Government taking action in the form of travel restrictions to Fiji and mandatory border quarantine to keep the virus out. This was largely driven by an anticipation of Fiji’s lack of resilience due to communal living, high NCD (non-communicable disease) rates, a fragile health system,...

Task Force Oceania’s Pacific augmentation teams recently completed their first rotational tours providing continuous support to Pacific island countries in Oceania demonstrating U.S Army Pacific and U.S Indo Pacific Command’s commitment to our allies and partners in the region. And while the Department of Defence is committed to our allies and partners like the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic...

The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, has called on political leaders in Samoa to uphold the rule of law and adhere to the values and principles set out in the Commonwealth Charter. Speaking on the situation, the Secretary-General said: “The Commonwealth is a community that is underpinned by shared values and principles, including democracy, respect for the rule of law and the...

Fiji has reported 485 new cases of COVID-19 and three COVID-19 deaths Sunday. Ministry of Health permanent secretary Dr James Fong has reported that the first COVID-19 death is a 77-year-old woman from Colo-i-Suva who died at home. Dr Fong said the woman’s family reported that she had been feeling unwell for three days. He said the deceased was not vaccinated. Dr Fong...