Healthy turnout expected for Pacific Mini Games
A total of 1034 athletes from 20 Pacific nations and territories are due to compete in the Pacific Mini Games in the Northern Marianas next month. The Pacific Mini Games were originally due to be held in May – June
French Polynesia hosts Blue Climate Summit this week
Global leaders including the Pacific Oceans Commissioner and Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna, and the Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown are in French Polynesia this week for the Blue Climate
Tonga may be forced to dissolve parliament
Tonga’s Deputy Prime Minister Poasi Tei has become the third cabinet minister in a space of a week to lose his Parliamentary seat following a Supreme Court ruling on Friday morning in Nuku’alofa. Poasi Tei
Mobile service providers in PNG sign agreements
Vodafone Papua New Guinea has signed agreements with Digicel PNG and Telikom to ensure interconnection with the two networks, National Information and Communications Technology (NICTA) chief executive officer Kila
Vanuatu Govt halts vaccine protest march
The Vanuatu Government has pulled the plug on a planned march yesterday in Port Vila to protest the rules around COVID-19 vaccines, specifically vaccination of children. The protestors, involving church and youth
Drua and Moana Pasifika play for Pacific pride
It’s finally going to happen! After 13 intense rounds of Super Rugby Pasifika competition, and playing against some of the world’s best teams – the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika will now face each other in what
PNG deputy PM dies in car accident
Papua New Guinea deputy Prime Minister and Member for Bulolo Open, Samuel Basil has passed away in a car accident at Wau-Bulolo Highway Wednesday night. “It is confirmed that Samuel Basil the Deputy Prime Minister,
Fiji Tourism Expo: ‘the eyes of the world are on this industry like never before’ says President
“Is it a wedding,” asked two curious guests as they watched several hundred people walk through the grounds of the Sheraton Resort to the beachfront last night. It was not nuptials, but the opening of the Fiji
China Foreign Minister likely to visit Solomons
Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi is likely to visit the Solomon Islands in coming weeks. A senior Solomon Islands government source told the ABC that preparations had begun for Wang to visit the
PIFS: Japan assures no discharge of treated wastewater if unsafe
Japan’s plans to discharge treated Fukushima nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean was the focus of discussions between Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General, Henry Puna and Japan’s Minister for
NASA finds Tonga volcano effects reached space
New scientific data from NASA has found that effects of the January 15 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano reached space. Analysing data from NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) mission and ESA’s
PNG Government approves new bank
The PNG Government has approved the Peoples Micro Bank Limited to be a full-fledged commercial bank, Papua New Guinea State Enterprises Minister William Duma says. “This means the bank and Kumul Consolidated Holdings
Cairns offer support for PNG NRL bid
Cairns Regional Council Mayor Bob Manning believes far north Queensland can greatly assist Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) bid to become the NRL’s 18th side. Mayor Bob Manning, who has touted the prospect of a joint
Bach satisfied with Brisbane 2032 Olympics progress
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach says the Brisbane 2032 Olympics and Paralympics will be an event for the whole Pacific region. Bach made the statement after attending an Australian Olympic
Porgera violence ongoing, 17 dead
Seventeen people have been killed, hundreds of families were made homeless, dozens of houses razed and Papua New Guinea government services ground to a halt in Enga Province’s Porgera district as warring clans took up
Tongan Legislative Assembly to unseat members
A meeting of the Tongan Legislative Assembly will be held on 16 May to unseat two Members of Parliament from their seats, after their elections were voided by the Supreme Court in Nuku’alofa. The date for
Japan reaffirms Pacific regional support
Japan, Fiji and Palau share the same concerns over a security pact China recently signed with the Solomon Islands, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Sunday as he wrapped up a trip to the two Pacific island
Pacific labour mobility growth: winners and losers
One of Scott Morrison’s biggest announcements from last August’s 51st Pacific Islands Forum was to double the number of Pacific workers in Australia by March 2022 to at least 25,000. The government has come close to
Opinion: The world doesn’t care about swings in marginal seats. Climate action must spearhead a new Australian foreign policy
Late last year, more than 100 former diplomats and officials called for a new Australian foreign policy — with climate action at the centre — to help cement Australia’s future in a world rapidly shifting
Tonga: the scientific response
When the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted on January 15 this year, there were no sirens to alert the people of Tonga to the impending tsunami. Tonga disaster reduction risk expert Ana I’K M ‘Ake
Amadea seizure shows Russian oligarchs you ‘cannot hide’ says U.S. authorities
The U.S. Justice Department says the seizure of the Russian luxury yacht, the Amadea in Fiji is a lesson to anyone trying to violate U.S. laws, and that they cannot hide “even in the remotest part of the world”. The
PNG aims NRL entry to celebrate national sport
The PNG Rugby Football League (PNGRFL) has announced its ambitions to join the NRL as the competition’s 18th team in the next broadcast cycle. The decision follows the NRL’s proposal for an 18-team competition
Opinion: Global racial justice needs to be at the heart of Australian aid
The Greens’ vision for aid and development sees Australia not just contribute its fair share of Official Development Assistance (ODA), but also reimagines foreign aid, not simply as charity but as an issue of global