Administrator
EU funds projects to “put food on people’s plates”
The European Union (EU) and the South Pacific Community (SPC) have launched three separate projects for the Pacific region focussed on cutting dependence on imported fuel and improving access to clean water and
“You sir are muddying the process once again,” Nauru President tells USP’s Thompson
Nauru’s President says moves by University of the South Pacific’s Pro-Chancellor to schedule an Executive Council meeting today “seems very much like an attempt at undermining [the USP] Council or usurping the
Jobless numbers soar in Fiji
Unscripted and unplanned, Fijians have returned quietly to the land and the sea over the past months as the impacts of job losses brought about by the COVID19 pandemic began to bite. In the tourism belts of Nadi and
Fiji tourism prepares for a COVID-safe future
As Fiji’s largest foreign exchange earner pre-COVID-19, the tourism and hospitality sectors went into free fall when international borders closed due to the spread of the pandemic, and the nation entered into lock
How will Vanuatu ride out COVID and cyclones
There was no social distancing evident as tens of thousands of Vanuatu citizens marched through the capital to celebrate the nation’s 40th Independence Anniversary at the end of last month. Vanuatu is one of just
COVID-19 to bring ‘prosperity’ to Vanuatu
The Presbyterian Church Chairman of Vanuatu’s Christian Council, Pastor Alain Nafuki, has thanked COVID-19 for enabling the country to focus hard on identifying the best way towards prosperity for the country for the
PNG economy, health hit hard
The impact of COVID-19 is accentuating trends that had already developed over the last decade, says University of Papua New Guinea lecturer in economics, Maholopa Laveil. He lists amongst these trends: “falling
Strengths and stresses: economic responses to COVID
A prominent Australian economist says it is “scary” to see COVID-19 put at risk so many of the gains Pacific island countries have made over the last decade. Dr Jenny Gordon, the Chief Economist at the Australia
FEMM seeks money for COVID, money for climate
“For the Pacific, the impact of climate change will remain as the greatest threat to our Pacific people in the longer term. You can quarantine COVID-19, but climate change cannot be quarantined.” That’s Exsley
Community action on climate finance
Despite all the international pledges for climate adaptation, Pacific governments and civil society want more action on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As the host of the 2019 Forum leaders meeting in Tuvalu, then
COVID-19, the Pacific vuvale, and Pacer Plus
In a world devastated by COVID-19, enlightened leaders throughout the world have been thinking “out of adversity comes opportunity”, a wise saying attributed to Benjamin Franklin, among many others. Are
Fuelling faith and climate action during a double crisis
As a teenager, the atmosphere in our household every Sunday morning could either be described as a war zone, or a fiesta. It really depended on my mother’s mood, which was determined by whether we would be on time for
What is to become of USP?
The dust may have settled in some aspects of the saga at the University of the South Pacific (USP) campus. Vice Chancellor and President Pal Ahluwalia and Pro Chancellor Winston Thompson may have worked out a harmonious
A rebel and a traditionalist: Apisai Vuniyayawa Tora 1934-2020
Apisai Tora, a scion of the old guard of Fiji’s politicians, who dominated Fiji’s political stage for almost five decades, passed away on August 6. Variously described as a political maverick, a chameleon and a
Bula Force will not be forgotten
The ‘Bula Force’ has been awarded the Australian Chief of Defence Force Commendation Medal for their service during the catastrophic bushfires which ravaged Australia earlier this year. Australia’s High
Fiji inks first loan deal with China-led infrastructure bank
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) announced its very first loan approval for Fiji last week, making Fiji the first country in the Pacific region to access financing from the China-led multilateral