Record women’s rugby attendance shattered as stars of sevens shine at Olympics

It was the women’s turn to shine on Sunday as the Olympics Games Paris 2024 women’s rugby sevens competition got off to a flying start at Stade de France, in front of a record crowd of 66,000 for a women’s rugby

Read More

Foreign Minister Wong announces new digital cable centre to limit China’s influence in Indo-Pacific

Australia is stepping up its attempts to limit China’s influence in the Pacific, with the establishment of a new “cable connectivity and resilience centre” designed to boost connectivity for Pacific nations. The

Read More

Pacific Women Leaders call for action to end ‘epidemic’ of gender-based violence

Gender-based violence (GBV) remains a pervasive and devastating crisis for women and girls in the region with Pacific women ministers urging governments and communities to urgently address the issue through prevention

Read More

Pacific Women Leaders want action on nuclear legacy and Gender disparities

Almost eight decades after the last nuclear bomb detonated in the Marshall Islands, there is a call from the Pacific region for a concerted effort to study its impacts on women and girls. The Pacific solidarity call for

Read More

Samoa Gun amnesty starts next month

The Samoa Police has announced a comprehensive gun amnesty set to begin on 01 August running through 30 September in an attempt to collect illegal firearms in circulation. This initiative, spearheaded by Samoa’s

Read More

UN Rights chief ‘horrified’ at deadly PNG violence

Recent attacks on three villages in East Sepik province, Papua New Guinea, resulted in at least 26 deaths – including 16 children – an event that has left UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk

Read More

UN shocked over Sepik atrocities

The United Nations Papua New Guinea office has strongly condemned the recent brutal rapes and killings of women and children in East Sepik’s Angoram. The UN, in a statement called on the local authorities to, without

Read More

French President Macron yet to sign off on Pacific leaders request to visit New Caledonia

The French Ambassador to the Pacific says President Emmanuel Macron is yet to sign a letter from the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) requesting authorisation for a high-level Pacific mission to New Caledonia. Véronique

Read More

Marshallese women call for nuclear justice

Women continue to fight for justice, 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused devastation on the people and environment of the Marshall Islands. And as Pacific women gathered on Majuro to

Read More

Vanuatu official calls for prioritising children’s welfare

Children must be at the centre of labour mobility policies. Arthur Faerua, Director General (DG) of Vanuatu’s Ministry of Justice and Community Services (MoJCS) stressed this when stakeholders from Fiji, Samoa,

Read More

Record crowd as rugby sevens gets Olympic Games Paris 2024 off to a flying start

Rugby sevens ignited the Olympic Games Paris 2024 with a spectacular first day of action in front of the largest single day crowd in rugby sevens history with 69,000 fans packed into Stade de France and millions more

Read More

Olympic Games Paris 2024: Defending champions Fiji lay down early marker

Reigning Olympic champions Fiji reminded everyone exactly why they have two golds to their name on the opening day of the men’s rugby sevens competition at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, beating Uruguay and USA to book

Read More

Rio Tinto class action over Bougainville mine damage set for October hearing

The first hearing date has been set in a class action against miner Rio Tinto for historical environmental and social damage caused by the Bougainville copper mine in Papua New Guinea that it operated in the 1970s and

Read More

Canoe sprint siblings proudly paddling for Samoa

Years of early morning training sessions on Auckland’s North Shore are about to pay off for canoe sprint brother and sister Tuva’a and Samalulu Clifton when they pull on the Samoan colours at the Paris Olympic

Read More

Solomon Islands grapples with gender-based violence and cybercrime

The Solomon Islands is facing a crisis of gender-based violence, ranking among the highest in the Pacific region for violence against women, Permanent Secretary for Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs, Cedrik

Read More

President Heine urges bold action on gender equality at Pacific Women’s Conference

Marshall Islands President D. Hilda Heine has called on Pacific leaders, urging them to adopt intentional, innovative, and bold approaches to tackle the complex challenges of gender inequality in the region. 

Read More

Fiji, PNG fail to secure UN human rights mission to Indonesia’s Papuan provinces

No progress has been made in sending a UN human rights mission to Indonesia’s Papuan provinces despite the appointment of Fiji and Papua New Guinea’s prime ministers to negotiate the visit.  Pacific Island leaders

Read More

Pacific Islands Forum Leaders endorse high-level mission to New Caledonia

Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders have endorsed a high-level mission to New Caledonia.  This is in response to the request from New Caledonia to support a long-lasting resolution to the ongoing political

Read More

Rugby Sevens set to kick-off Olympic Games Paris 2024 in style

Captains from the 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams gathered at the Olympic Village on Monday ahead of what promises to be the most hotly-contested and highly-anticipated rugby sevens event in history. Following rugby

Read More

Pacific Islands welcome development partnerships amid rising regional tensions

Cook Islands Prime Minister and Forum Chair Mark Brown has emphasised the importance of collaborative efforts with various development partners in supporting Pacific Island countries.  Speaking last week in Tokyo, PM

Read More

Pacific children left behind and vulnerable due to regional labour mobility schemes

Pacific Islands children are being left behind by their parents, who are taking up opportunities presented by regional labour mobility schemes, increasing concerns about child abuse.  This was a key issue brought up at

Read More

India to apply for licences to scout Pacific Ocean for critical minerals

India will apply for licences to explore for deep-sea minerals in the Pacific Ocean as it competes to secure supplies of minerals critical for energy transition technologies, a top government scientist said.  The

Read More

Cook Islands Health Ministry approves nearly 90 percent of tobacco vendor applications 

Cook Islands Te Marae Ora Ministry of Health has approved 37 out of the 43 applications received for selling tobacco in the Cook Islands.  The successful applicant can start selling tobacco from 01 August 2024, under

Read More

Samoa Police killed on duty

A police officer has been shot and killed in Samoa while attempting to carry out an arrest.  Detective Sergeant Peniamina Perite died at the scene in the village of Fasitoo-Uta on Monday.  Perite was in the middle

Read More