PINA

Australia has welcomed the final report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Japan’s proposed release of treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The IAEA has found release of the treated water would be consistent with internationally accepted safety standards which ensure the protection of people and the environment. “The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency...

Solomon Islands leader of Opposition Matthew Wale has slammed the recent trip by the Prime Minister and his delegation to China describing it as a waste of taxpayer’s money. The makeup of the 30-member delegation included the Prime Minister, Madam Sogavare, nine ministers, five government backbenchers, eight officials, four permanent secretaries and two close protection police officers. Documents at hand suggest,...

Kapeliele Molitoni Lanumata has won the Tongatapu 10 parliamentary by-election for the late Tonga Prime Minister Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa’s former seat. He won with 870 votes, a margin of 249 votes over Matani Nifofā who had 621 votes, the first runner up. The second runner up was Fotu Kuo Hiko Valeli Fisi’iahi with 507 votes while Daniel Kimball Fale had 139 votes....

Former Fiji's Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho’s trial began in court in Suva this morning. Bainimarama is charged with one count of attempt to pervert the course of justice whileQiliho is charged with one count of abuse of office. It is alleged that in July 2020, Bainimarama in his capacity as the then PM directed the...

Australia has been told to be bolder about calling out corruption and malign foreign interference in the Pacific to counter China's increasing influence. The expanding security relationship between Beijing and the Solomon Islands has raised concerns in Canberra, which wants the issue to be primarily dealt with by Pacific nations. The co-lead of the U.S-based Hoover Institution's China Global Sharp Power...

Solomon Islands has said that its policing pact with China poses no “threat” to the Pacific, rebuking western powers that raised fears the deal could inflame regional tensions. Prime minister Manasseh Sogavare inked a raft of deals during a trip to China this week, including an agreement allowing Beijing to extend its police presence in the developing Pacific nation until...

A comprehensive report released ahead of the Thirty-sixth meeting of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board last week, sheds new light on challenges faced by Pacific Island Countries (PICs) accessing global climate finance funds. Pacific nations have long been vocal on the challenges of accessing support from the global funding entity. The report titled, titled “What GCF do we want...

The danger of indiscriminately releasing nuclear fission products into the ocean is that the products can find their way into the food chain, a New Zealand scientist said on the impending discharge of radioactive-contaminated cooling water from Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean. “Once in the food chain, the longlived nuclear fission heavy nuclei like cesium-137,...

A group of lawmakers in the Congressional Pacific Islands Caucus led by U.S representative Ed Case reintroduced legislation last Wednesday calling for a significant increase in American engagement with Pacific island countries as China and the United States compete for influence in the region. “The peoples of these islands have developed their own proud cultures and identity over millennia, and...

Preparations are underway for the 6th Meeting of the Pacific Meteorological Council (PMC-6) and associated meetings to be hosted by the Government of Fiji in August, the first face-to-face meeting of the PMC after two years of COVID-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions. PMC-6, the Third Pacific Ministerial Meeting on Meteorology (PMMM-3) and the First Development Partners and Donors Engagement Meeting...