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Incorporating new scientific data, experts issued statements urging action on the global goal to protect 30 percent of the ocean by 2030 at the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), from 21-26 October. This year's meeting marks the first time the 56 member countries--49 of which share a land border with water--will take place in a Pacific nation. King...

The Ocean Declaration that will be agreed upon at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) will be known as the Apia Ocean Declaration. In an exclusive interview with the Samoa Observer, Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said members were in a unique position to bring their voices together for the oceans, which have long been neglected. “The Apia Ocean Declaration aims...

Commonwealth leaders are being urged to work harder to get rid of the barriers and biases that continue to hold back women and girls in the 56 member countries. This urgent appeal comes from a report that represents the voices of more than 400 delegates, including prime ministers, ministers, women’s rights advocates and business leaders, who attended the Commonwealth Women’s...

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has officially confirmed Glasgow as the host city for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, the biggest sporting event to be held in the United Kingdom, which will take place from 23 July to 02 August 2026. 12 years on from the successful 2014 Commonwealth Games, Glasgow, Scotland, will again host a 10-sport programme concentrated in four...

World Rugby has announced the match schedule for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, setting the stage for six weekends of compelling competition in what promises to be the largest celebration of women’s rugby. A spectacular opening weekend will see hosts England face USA at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light on Friday, 22 August, 2025, while reigning champions New Zealand will begin...

Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has announced Speaker of Parliament and paramount chief of Cakaudrove confederacy Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu as his nominee for the next President of Fiji after the incumbent, Ratu Wiliame Katonivere, withdrew from the race for a second term. “On 17 October 2024, I wrote to the President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere seeking his approval and consent to...

The World Health Organisation (WHO) regional office for the Western Pacific Monday welcomed ministers, other senior health officials and key partners from across the Western Pacific to the seventy-fifth session of its Regional Committee. WHO’s governing body for the region convenes every year to formulate policies, adopt resolutions and make decisions to improve the health of more than 1.9 billion...

The UN biodiversity summit known as COP16 officially opened in Colombia on Monday, and hopes are high that negotiating countries can agree on a path forward to safeguarding the planet. Considered the world’s most important event to conserve biodiversity, the summit is taking place in Cali, the third largest city of the South American nation, and will host some 15,000...

Pacific Island nations hope the climate change case they’ve brought to the UN court will help overcome the shortcomings of international negotiations and spur greater action, Vanuatu’s attorney-general said in an interview as governments prepared for the public hearings. The case at the International Court of Justice, or ICJ, is not about assigning blame or instigating punitive measures, but aims...

By Tony Hiriasia Jnr Students at the regional university in Suva have been given a choice to join the staff union strike but the student body will not be involved. The University of the South Pacific Students Association (USPSA) released a statement, in response to the planned strike by the Fiji-based staff Union at the Laucala Bay campus in Suva today. The...