PINA

A member of the International Atomic Energy Agency team visiting Fukushima for its first marine sampling since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant started releasing treated radioactive wastewater into the sea said Thursday, he does not expect any rise in radiation levels in the fish caught in the regional seas. The IAEA team watched flounder and other popular kinds of...

Pacific civil society, representing the voices and concerns of communities deeply impacted by the climate crisis is disappointed with the recent remarks made by Fiji's Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka while on a State visit in Australia. His comments, suggesting that the Pacific take a 'realistic' approach towards Australian coal mining and gas production, demonstrate a concerning lack of urgency...

Cook Islands is stepping up its seabed minerals bid as it will host international agencies at the annual Underwater Minerals Conference (UMC) on Rarotonga next year. Prime Minister Mark Brown made the announcement at a face-to-face debriefing last week following his attendance at the 2023 UMC conference in Rotterdam, Netherlands earlier this month. The Underwater Minerals Conference (UMC) is an annual...

Plastic pollution has infiltrated every corner of the earth, from the depths of our oceans to the most sacred of spaces, a mother's womb. As the world grapples with the plastic crisis, international efforts are underway towards a legally binding treaty to address this global issue across five International Negotiating Committee (INC) meetings. The first two INCs were held in Uruguay...

The relations between China and Fiji are “solid and inclusive,” and the two countries are “relating to each other as families,” Fiji's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Viliame Gavoka told the Global Times on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF). When asked about whether geopolitical factors...

China has offered to assist Papua New Guinea in its modernisation, urbanisation, and industrialisation efforts. China’s President Xi Jinping during a meeting with Prime Minister James Marape at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing told Marape of the assistance. China will provide Chinese state enterprises to develop downstream processing facilities for fisheries, forestry and coffee. It will also be providing...

Fiji’s Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, has signalled a more “realistic” tone from the Pacific over Australian coal mining and gas production, saying fossil fuel industries and exports cannot be shut down immediately despite the impact on climate change. Following talks with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra on Wednesday, Rabuka recognised the importance of fossil fuel income, taxes and royalties...

UN Secretary General António GuterresGuterres has urged leaders “to ensure that projects deliver the green, sustainable infrastructure countries need to support people and ecosystems alike, while breaking free of failed development models that keep us hooked on fossil fuels.” Again, he saw two key areas where investments can help boost efforts towards sustainability and climate action. First, he underscored the need...

Fiji could delay opening its embassy in Israel, the Pacific Island nation's deputy prime minister said on Wednesday, amid fears the war between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas could destabilise the region. The conflict, which erupted on 07 October after Hamas fighters stormed into Israel, has inflamed tensions across the Middle East. Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned on 17 October of...

About 200 Australians and their family members are back in the country after leaving Israel and arriving on a government-assisted flight. A Qantas flight landed in Sydney on Wednesday evening with 126 Australian passport holders and their immediate family - another 43 passengers - completing onward travel for those who departed from Tel Aviv in recent days. The plane also carried...