PINA

West Papua’s independence movement again failed to obtain MSG membership, highlighting members’ competing strategic interests. By Grant Wyeth Last week the 22nd Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Leaders’ Summit was held in Port Vila, Vanuatu. The MSG is a regional body that includes Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea as well as the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front...

Fiji say their attention will not deviate from their World Cup opener against Wales despite making history against England at Twickenham. Fiji celebrated a first win against England in front of Wales head coach Warren Gatland, with the two sides facing off in Bordeaux on 10 September. “We have been preparing for 10 September, that has been our goal since the...

Fiji’s 30-22 win over England, their first in eight attempts in test rugby, boosted their rating by 1.58 points with their beaten opponents losing as many in exchange. Fiji are now the higher ranked of the two teams in seventh, their best-ever position, with England a third of a point behind in eighth. The only time England have been as low...

Papua New Guinea is set to open its embassy in Jerusalem next week during a visit to Israel by Prime Minister James Marape, according to an Israeli official. The inauguration of the embassy will take place on 05 September, according to Channel 14, which first reported on the development, without citing sources. The Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the report,...

As Japan allows nuclear-contaminated water to be dumped into the Pacific Ocean, Pacific islands and South Asian regions must unite in vigilance, advocating transparent information-sharing, rigorous monitoring and coordinated action, experts say. “The international community, in solidarity, must hold nations accountable for responsible environmental stewardship,” said Anjal Prakash, clinical associate professor in research at the Bharti Institute of Public Policy,...

Scientists studying tortoise and turtle shells near the Marshall Islands have found they contain nuclear contamination. An article in the journal PNAS Nexus considered 'Anthropogenic uranium signatures in turtles, tortoises, and sea turtles from nuclear sites'. The scientists studied a sea turtle collected at Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands in 1978. “In May 1977, one year prior to the collection...

People in Vanuatu believe politicians need to look beyond their own four walls and work to improve the livelihoods of ordinary citizens. And many who talked to RNZ Pacific said they believe the opposition is partly at fault by constantly blocking the government to carry out its mandate. On Friday, the Vanuatu Supreme Court ruled in favour of the opposition, who...

Palau and Papua New Guinea governments signed a bilateral Air Service Agreement on Wednesday, 23 August, 2023. PNG Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation Walter Schnaubelt, and Charles Obichang, Minister of Public Infrastructure and Industry of Palau, signed on behalf of their respective countries. The bilateral air agreement negotiations between the two nations began in 2018 and progressed in 2019 and...

On 22 August 2023, the Japanese government decided to discharge treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean, and the discharge began on 24 August. WWF-Japan cannot support this decision because serious concerns remain regarding this ocean discharge. First, there is insufficient consideration of alternatives. The Citizens Commission on Nuclear Energy (CCNE) had proposed mortar solidification, which...

A one-year moratorium has been placed on Indonesia’s application to join the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG). Prime Minister James Marape said this was so that Pacific Island Forum could address the West Papua issue and specifically human rights allegations in the province. Marape also said that the MSG received interest from Australia, France and Indonesia to join the group. He explained that...