PINA

By Jeremy Gwao,Josh Nicholas and Kate Lyons If Solomon Islands continues logging at its current rate, natural forests in the country will be exhausted in 15 years. The South Pacific nation, and its neighbour Papua New Guinea, are striking examples of the enormous cost of the logging industry on small island nations. In the last few decades, foreign-owned companies have...

The outgoing Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Dame Meg Taylor says the Australian government's stance on climate change and its support for fossil fuels is affecting the country's standing in the region. “I think people who are very concerned about the climate issues and what's happening in terms of the impact, yes, people are concerned about the government...

-UN health agency chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged all countries on Monday to support a pandemic preparedness treaty, warning that it would be a “monumental error” to think the danger of COVID-19 has passed. In closing comments to the WHO’s annual week-long high-level assembly, Tedros said that a potential international treaty will be discussed in a special session of WHO...

By Mike Puiai There is perhaps nowhere in the Pacific where the costs of extractive industries are as heartbreakingly clear as Rennell Island. The island, a tiny dot in the vast South Pacific that lies at the southern tip of Solomon Islands, is home to a few thousand people. And it’s starkly divided. On one side is pristine East Rennell, a...

By Josh Nicholas One country dominates the Pacific’s resources extraction. Guardian analysis of trade data has revealed that China received more than half the total tonnes of seafood, wood and minerals exported from the region in 2019, a haul worth $3.3bn(US$2.54 billion) that has been described by experts as “staggering in magnitude”. The country’s mass extraction of resources comes as China...

Fiji businesses cannot go back to operating in the usual manner and they will now have to abide by the minimum COVID safe measures. Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Commerce and Trade, Shaheen Ali, said that for the Lami, Suva, Nausori containment zone, only essential and approved businesses are allowed to operate. Ali said certain businesses and industries that can...

Australia’s Prime Minister has hinted at expanding the trans-Tasman travel bubble to include other Pacific Islands after touching down in New Zealand for talks with his Kiwi counterpart Jacinda Ardern. Prime Minister Scott Morrison touched down in famed ski town Queenstown on Sunday afternoon to hold talks with Ardern for the Australia-New Zealand Leaders Forum. The visit comes after the opening...

Fiji Airways received its third 737 MAX aircraft from Boeing last Thursday night. Flight FJ2201 took off from Seattle on Tuesday and made a stop-over in Honolulu for a day, before heading for Fiji. “Fiji Airways confirms receiving delivery of its third Boeing 737 MAX aircraft on Thursday evening (27 May), following the acceptance of return-to-service requirements as announced by the...

The outgoing head of the Pacific Islands Forum has decried how the region is increasingly defined by the interests of external powers. She has also warned of the dangers of the pre-eminent Pacific Islands organisation splitting up into sub-regional groupings at a time when geopolitical interests are converging. Dame Meg Taylor, who has signed off after six years as the Forum's...

Palau has recorded its first case of COVID-19, but public health officials say it is “historical” with low risk of transmission. Local media reports the Palau government held a press conference this morning revealing it is not currently an active case. Health officials said the person contracted COVID-19 in January, before being vaccinated in the succeeding months. They arrived in Palau from...