5-way race for Forum leadership
Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Dame Meg Taylor has declined to comment on the negotiations over her successor as head of the regional organisation, saying only “I have a job to do and I’m going to do it
Pacific
COVID-19, geopolitics and the Pacific Way – Dame Meg Taylor on the path out of our current crisis
The Pacific today faces three crises: a health crisis, an economic crisis and the ongoing climate crisis, and Pacific Islands Forum Economic Ministers will discuss all three when they meet (virtually) next week. As the
ADB releases loans, grants for Pacific
The Asian Development Bank has announced a series of grants to Pacific nations. US$13.3million has been made available to 10 nations—Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau,
Maclellan wins Sean Dorney Pacific journalism grant
Islands Business correspondent Nic Maclellan has been awarded the Sean Dorney Grant for Pacific journalism for 2020. Established by the Walkley Foundation, the Sean Dorney Grant for Pacific Journalism aims to
The future of tourism
The end of breakfast buffets and garlanding on arrival. The rise of virtual travel experiences. The longing for solitude and simplicity. This is just a sample of the travel predictions being debated across the globe as
PICTA: Picture of indifference
PICTA stands for Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement. It is a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiated amongst the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) to free up trade amongst themselves, under the provisions of ‘GATT
COVID-19 affects the military
The Rim of the Pacific military exercise will proceed from August 17-31 as an at-sea only event in light of COVID-19 concerns. The Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet will host the biennial maritime exercise. The
Pacific and M?ori students get support from AUT for access to online learning
As the tertiary sector in New Zealand prepares to shift online in response to COVID-19 restrictions, digital equity among students has never been more critical – an issue that disproportionately impacts on Pacific and
Surviving the tsunami: COVID-19 and Pacific economies
Papua New Guinea’s Treasurer, Ian Ling-Stuckey says his country has not had “an economic crisis of such complexity or magnitude since World War 2.” Samoa’s finance minister Sili Epa Tuioti calls it a “social
After COVID- what next for Pacific heath systems?
The Pacific’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak is likely to lead to increased scrutiny of health budgets and investments in our region. However first there are the very pressing questions of how to scale up response
Israel wants Pacific’s backing at ‘biased’ UN rights council
Times of Israel/Pacnews: Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin has told Pacific Island leaders in Fiji that he hopes they will stand with Israel against what he claims is a strong anti-Israel bias on the United
Making every dollar of development aid worthwhile
By Sadhana Sen Is the Pacific an aid-dependent region making endless requests for development assistance but with little care for how effectively and successfully this aid is used? What should be done by Pacific
Pacific Trade Invest: 40 years in the Pacific
By Caleb Jarvis As a young boy growing up in Papua New Guinea (PNG), every Saturday Dad would drive up a windy road that overlooked 2-Mile settlement in Port Moresby, where people went about their daily lives. Looking
Vanuatu eyes growth of DOT VU
VANUATU’S telecom regulator has welcomed the recent move by the ICAAN (Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers) to reassign to it the country’s country-code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) name DOT VU (.vu).
Samoa Airways shelves maiden flight
THE worldwide grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 aircrafts has prompted the Government of Samoa to defer the commissioning of its new Boeing 737 MAX 9, which was to have taken place next month (April 2019). Recent
Scanning the story of a fish
Imagine typing a code from a can of tuna into your phone as you stand in a supermarket aisle to find out where the fish in the can was caught, and the name of the ship which landed it. This is the vision of