PINA

The Tongan prime minister's insistence on defending a government minister convicted of fraud will again be subjected to public scrutiny with sentencing in the case to be handed down this week. The minister for infrastructure and tourism 'Akosita Lavulavu was earlier this month convicted of three counts of fraud alongside her husband 'Etuate Lavulavu. The charges date back to 2016 when...

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga held separate phone talks Tuesday with the leaders of six Pacific island nations, calling for their cooperation in Japan's efforts to realise a free and open Indo-Pacific region, according to the Foreign Ministry. Suga offered the six nations -- Fiji, Kiribati, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu and Vanuatu -- Japan's continued support in tackling the...

Coca Cola Fiji Limited (CCEP Fiji) has moved to buy brewer Paradise Beverages Fiji outright. This follows CCEP Fiji’s acquisition of 57,323 (equivalent to 0.55%) ordinary shares in PBF from Platinum Insurance Limited’s (PIL). This acquisiton means CCEP Fiji now holds 90.14% of PBF’s shares. In a statement today it says it now can: “proceed with the compulsory acquisition of the remaining...

Some players will join the Flying Fijians camp just three days before the first test against the All Blacks next weekend. At the moment it’s unclear whether Frank Lomani, Teti Tela and Moses Sorovi will join the squad as they’re still stuck in Australia due to the latest COVID-19 situation in Queensland. Head Coach Vern Cotter says for those in New...

The Māori All Blacks are relishing what is set to be a strong turnout at Mount Smart Stadium for their second match against Manu Samoa, a week after both sides missed out on such a spectacle in Wellington. The two teams were forced to go about their business on a wet and windy night in the capital last Saturday without...

Mal Meninga will reach out to Jarome Luai and make his feelings known about why he should play for Australia – not Samoa – with the livewire five-eighth now “absolutely” on the Kangaroos’ radar. Meninga did not want to get dragged into a team selection story, especially with so much interest in whether Nathan Cleary had leapfrogged incumbent and future...

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga says his country will support Papua New Guinea’s electrification programme, provide construction equipment for road development, and help with its emergency K1 billion (US$284.6 million) support loan. He gave this assurance to Prime Minister James Marape during a Virtual Online Bilateral Summit between the two leaders Tuesday. “As part of our cooperation, we will move forward...

New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has urged Samoa to convene Parliament following a Supreme Court ruling early in the week that ordered the House to sit within seven days. Mahuta acknowledged the decision of the Court on Monday as well as the Appellate Court last Friday when she took to Twitter on Monday to make the appeal. She called...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) today launched its first guide to investing in digital health information systems for those working in the Pacific health sector. The Digital Health Implementation Guide for the Pacific sets out a clear pathway for countries seeking to implement and invest in digital health. The primary audiences for the user-friendly guide are Pacific health managers and...

By Kishti Sen & Tom Kenny The COVID-19 vaccine rollout in the Pacific islands has so far exceeded expectations in positive news for the region’s prospects of an economic recovery. In part, this is a result of assistance from the region’s development partners, in particular Australia and New Zealand. Fiji (the Pacific islands’ most populous country) aims to vaccinate 53...