Solomon Islands’ Small Jam: Waiting to rock dancefloors
A couple of months ago we profiled Papua New Guinea’s Justin Wellington, one half of the team behind global TikTok and iTunes reggae hit “Iko Iko”. This month it’s the turn of the second half of that
View from the West: The COVID 360 shuffle
By Dennis Rounds Kava sessions in Western Fiji can be quite “intellectual” with discussions around the tanoa ranging from fishermen’s tales to “bush lawyer” arguments about politics, democracy and the economy.
Wish you were here: Tourism inches closer to relaunch
Just a few months ago, whether travellers to the Pacific would need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 was still a matter of debate. But that discussion has moved as quickly as the Delta variant, and it now seems fait
Tourists trickle into Micronesia
By Bernadette Carreon Palau’s cautious return to tourism this year is being closely watched by its neighbours as it has had to respond to fluctuating case numbers in its tourism source markets. Palau slowly reopened
He was lost in the system: Now he wants to change it
By Jason Jett Fiji Airways Flight 360 from Singapore arrived at Nadi International Airport before I did the morning of 18 July 2018. I lost that race by minutes, and found myself in a pre-pandemic, bustling hub where
“We stand by what we said”
Micronesian leaders discuss transport, COVID and the Forum split By Nic Maclellan Leaders of five Micronesian countries have moved to strengthen their sub-regional co-ordination at the 20th Micronesian Presidents’
More than skin deep: The Pacific’s beauty sector
Coconut oil is a staple in most Pacific households. It perfumes the air at many traditional events. We massage our babies with it, use it to treat hands roughened by sea, salt and soil (and a bowl too many of kava),
From seaweed to spa
Nama Fiji is a business built on a Fijian delicacy more often associated with lunch than lotions, and the determination and energy of Debra Sadranu. Sadranu came to Fiji in the mid-1990s. A trained beauty therapist, she
Loloma Fiji: A labour of love
The makers of the Loloma skin care range liken the experience of unboxing its product to opening a husk to find a coconut inside, with its distinctive golden ball packaging resembling its key ingredient, coconut oil. It
Paddling Reverend creates global ripples
By Anendra Singh Mother Earth speaks volumes when it comes to defining life, but the Reverend James Shri Bhagwan believes a more universal dialect does that better.In trying to put global existence on its axis from a
Boosting networks against transnational crime
By Nic Maclellan Last month Tongan police confirmed that more than 14 kilograms of cocaine had washed up on beaches in Vava’u. Police say the drugs have an estimated sale value of over $5 million pa’anga and more
PNG edges closer to sovereign wealth fund
By Kevin McQuillan The PNG Parliament approved establishing a Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) more than a decade ago but it’s only this month that Prime Minister Marape indicated moves towards its establishment. In
How effective is climate finance in the Pacific?
“Climate finance cannot be about loans, we cannot give our children the burden of servicing our debts.” That was the message Oxfam in the Pacific’s Regional Director, Raijeli Nicole delivered at a recent online
Changing prescription for regional leadership
By Ambassador Kaliopate Tavola The former Secretary General (SG) of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), Dame Meg Taylor, discussed her prescription for Forum leadership when she participated at the Blue
A trip to Tanna
By Len Garae The thousands of people who converged on Laminu Stadium on Tanna Island for the recent National Week of Agriculture were living proof that Vanuatu is ready to produce, value-add and market its agricultural
A culture of giving
By Alfred Tora An aspect of the Pacific culture that I love is how communal-centric it is! The concept of sharing and giving is imprinted onto us like the dark black and brown inks that dance across our tapa, nga’atu
Small Jam: Waiting to rock Pacific dancefloors
By Rowena Singh A couple of months ago we profiled Papua New Guinea’s Justin Wellington, one half of the team behind global TikTok and iTunes reggae hit “Iko Iko”. This month it’s the turn of the Solomon Islands
Opinion: Does disallowing diversity data create an equitable Fiji?
The release of Fiji poverty data desegregated by ethnicity and religion by the Fiji Bureau of Statistics in its 2019-20 Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES), resulted in the firing of its CEO last week.
Pacific island leaders at the UN General Assembly call for solidarity on COVID-19 and climate change
Pacific Island leaders at the UN General Assembly on Saturday underlined the need for global solidarity, commitment and action to tackle COVID-19 and climate change, two crises which threaten sustainable development.
COVID behind Fiji economy’s ‘severe recession’, but ratings agency predicts economy to start recovering next year
COVID-related restrictions and a relatively large fiscal deficit has prompted S&P Global to lower its rating of the Fiji economy from BB-minus to B+, although it expects the Fiji economy to recover next year.
Former Fiji Stats Chief clarifies controversial Household Income and Expenditure Survey
I note that there has been much debate since the release of the 2019-2020 Household Income and Expenditure Survey on the Fiji Bureau of Statistics Website www.statsfiji.gov.fj. The Minister of Economy, Aiyaz Sayed
Fiji Kava recovering
ASX-listed Fiji Kava recorded a net loss after tax of A$3.39 million (US$2.4 million) the company’s FJ21 Annual Report reveals. It’s an improvement on Fiji Kava’s FY20 result and follows growth in revenue of 52%.
Guam-born astronaut joins SpaceX’s Inspiration4
Space has always been part of Dr Sian Proctor’s life since birth. Her father, the late Edward Langley Proctor Jr, was a contractor for NASA’s remote ground terminal in Guam, where she was born during the Apollo