PINA

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) first independent sampling and analysis of seawater near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) since discharges of ALPS treated water started on 24 August confirms that the tritium levels are below Japan’s operational limit. Agency staff present at the IAEA’s Office at the site sampled seawater from several locations within three kilometres from...

By ‘Ema Fe’ao, USP Journalism student Cyber Safety should be a priority for everyone in the Pacific, according to Fiji’s Minister for Women Children and Social Protection, Lynda Tabuya. This was highlighted at the symposium for Safe and Equal Online Spaces – Pacific Safety hosted in Suva this week. “Today we come together in response to a call for action, to better...

Pacific nations should stand together as one Big Blue Pacific Continent and increase their levels of cooperation and collaboration in the facilitation of investments in tuna fisheries sector and maximise value of the tuna resources. Acting Prime Minister John Rosso while addressing the 8th Pacific Tuna Forum last week in Port Moresby, said Pacific Islands countries have made huge contributions...

Findings of Fiji’s first ocean expedition in more than a century, which will inform the country of the health of its ocean amongst other things, will not be known for at least a year, Director of Fishieries, Neomai Turaganivalu-Ravitu said. In an interview with Pasifika Environews at the inaugural Pacific Islands Conference on Ocean Science and Management in Nadi, Turaganivalu-Ravitu...

Vanuatu and a coalition of nations including four international organisations presented their legal perspectives on state responsibility in addressing climate change during the International Tribunal for the Law of Sea (ITLOS) public hearings, which has commenced this week in Germany. The hearings are in response to the request of an Advisory Opinion (AO) submitted by the Commission of Small Island...

New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will attend the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, in Suva, Fiji alongside New Zealand’s regional counterparts. “Aotearoa New Zealand is deeply committed to working with our pacific whanau to strengthen our cooperation, and share ways to combat the challenges facing the Blue Pacific Continent,” Nanaia Mahuta said. “The Forum is the core platform...

Firearms that are being used in the upper Papua New Guinea Highlands especially in tribal clashes are brought in allegedly from Australia by illegal trading along the border of Indonesia and PNG. Over 200,000 firearms are unregistered in Australia, and some of these weapons are finding their way into tribal fights. And the route these firearms travel is from Indonesia into...

Fiji's Parliament has unanimously endorsed the ratification of the World Trade Organisation’s fisheries subsidies agreement – in a historical bi-partisan move rarely seen in the Pacific nation. The agreement will enter into force once two-thirds of the WTO's 164 members have ratified it. Fiji's former Trade Minister and Opposition MP, Faiyaz Koya told Parliament the ratification reflects commitment and leadership by...

Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers will meet in Fiji this week for their annual discussions on the key regional priorities for the Blue Pacific region. The Meeting on 15 September will be chaired by the host Chair of the upcoming Forum Leaders Meeting in the Cook Islands, Prime Minister Mark Brown. One of the key priorities for deliberation will be the...

Retired University of South Pacific (USP) lecturer, Dr Joeli Veitayaki says policies and international agreements must not remain meaningless on paper but must actively improve the lives of rural communities, who are frequently marginalised. In his presentation at the inaugural Pacific Conference on Ocean Science and Management in Nadi, Dr Veitayaki also stressed on the importance of traditional knowledge when...