PINA

Athletics leaders from Oceania have expressed fears for the future of their islands here, and warned "we are actually talking two different languages" in search of continual improvement in competition while combating climate change. Athletics Cook Islands President Simone Fe'ao was part of the panel discussion with officials from Kiribati, Samoa, Tuvalu and Vanuatu entitled "Sport on the Climate Change...

The Government of Japan has requested the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) begin preparations for the release of treated water from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean, with the first treated water set to be discharged on or after 24 August 2023. Japan has reassured the region that the water has been treated through the Advanced...

The head of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community(SPC) says the region should develop scientific capability “that is owned and trusted” to monitor and advise on radioactive isotopes. Speaking on the eve of the likely first release of treated water stored at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan, Dr Stuart Minchin says it’s not a panic situation, as...

A Japanese government spokesperson says it is “not wilfully trying to divide the Pacific" over the Fukushima waste release. Japan is set to start discharging more than one million tonnes of treated nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday local time. This comes 12 years after a tsunami slammed the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant resulting in what has been...

Greenpeace has criticised the Japanese government’s announcement of the start date for radioactive water discharges from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear station into the Pacific Ocean. The decision disregards scientific evidence, violates the human rights of communities in Japan and the Pacific region, and is non-compliant with international maritime law. More importantly it ignores its people’s concerns, including fishermen. The Japanese...

The Cook Islands Government has acquired a fleet of 25 Hyundai Ionic electric vehicles, valued at $1.7 million (US$1 million) landed cost which will be used to transport the Leaders during the five days of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders (PIFLM52) to be held in November. Two processes, overseen by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management (MFEM)were carried...

Given our Blue Pacific region's ongoing nuclear testing legacy, and our collective commitment to the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone (SPNFZ) – also known as the Treaty of Rarotonga – the Forum will always exercise the highest levels of caution on all nuclear related issues. As related to the complex case of the Japan Fukushima nuclear wastewater issue, PIF Leaders...

By Makereta Komai, PACNEWS Editor in Nadi The government of Cook Islands undertook five years of exhaustive consultation throughout the islands before it set up its marine park, the Moana Marae in 2017. In the five years – from 2011-2016, it conducted 34 public meetings, sent out 212 questionnaire surveys, convened five stakeholder workshops and set up 32 committees and taskforce...

Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has defended the Japanese Government’s decision to discharge nuclear waste material into the Pacific Ocean. In a statement, Rabuka said there are constant references to the plans for the wastewater to be dumped in the Pacific. “That creates the wrong impression. It is to be discharged - into Japan’s own backyard, 7306 kms from Fiji,” said...

COP28 Director-General and Special Representative Majid Al Suwaidi visited Fiji to meet with Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and distinguished leaders of Pacific Island nations. In his remarks at the Pacific SIDS High-Level Dialogue on Climate Change in Fiji, Al Suwaidi underscored the COP28 Presidency’s commitment to delivering for vulnerable countries at the upcoming climate summit. Al Suwaidi also recognised that...