PINA

With a banner reading “Don’t mine the Moana”, and flying a Tino Rangatiratanga flag, a Māori activist from Northland joined two Greenpeace activists in the Eastern Pacific to confront the deep sea mining research vessel, James Cook off the coast of Costa Rica. While critical negotiations at the controversial International Seabed Authority (ISA) meeting in Jamaica are ongoing, the Greenpeace...

An investigation by conservationists has found evidence that deep-seabed mining of rare minerals could cause “extensive and irreversible” damage to the planet. The report, to be published on Monday by the international wildlife charity Fauna & Flora, adds to the growing controversy that surrounds proposals to sweep the ocean floor of rare minerals that include cobalt, manganese and nickel. Mining...

Op-ed by Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa Talofa Lava and warm Pacific greetings. I'm honoured to be given the opportunity to deliver this Pacific Lecture, as has been the tradition for the Lowy Institute to host world leaders in order to foster positive relations between Australia and our respective countries. I have been asked to provide through a Samoa-focused lens, Pacific perspectives...

China has assured Solomon Islands that all funded Games Infrastructure will be completed and ready in time for the Sol2023 Pacific Games this year. The Chinese Ambassador to Solomon Islands Li Ming, reassured Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare of this during a brief meeting last week in Honiara. “All the Games infrastructure facilities that China is financing will be completed...

Double Olympic Games gold medalist Jerry Tuwai has been named the 2022 Fiji Sports Awards Fiji Tattslotto Sportsman of the Year. This is the second time Tuwai has received this award for his accolades after being named the sportsman of the year in 2020. Tuwai has become Fiji’s most decorated 7s player after collecting the World Rugby 7’s Player of the...

Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says remittance inflows from our sports men and women contracted abroad is one of our highest foreign exchange earners, with remittances between $30m and $60m (US$15 - $30 million) annually. Rabuka said Fijians know what it would mean for a not just a family but a community or village when one of our own secures...

States must take drastic action and accelerate climate ambitions without delay, in line with recommendations by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a UN expert said Friday. “I urge the big emitters to make more ambitious commitments ahead of the Climate Ambition Summit in September 2023,” said Ian Fry, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of...

U.S President Joe Biden's administration is seeking more than US$7 billion over the next two decades for economic assistance to three Pacific island countries, a State Department official said on Thursday, funds seen as key to insulating the U.S allies from growing Chinese government influence. Washington said earlier this year it had reached consensus with the Marshall Islands, Palau and...

Humanity is facing a “difficult truth” the UN chief said just ahead of World Meteorological Day, marked on Thursday – the damage already being caused by climate change is “making our planet uninhabitable.” He laid down the challenge to governments worldwide, to make 2023 a year of “transformation, not tinkering” when it comes to seriously addressing climate change, with meaningful...

China’s Ambassador to the Solomon Islands Li Ming has insisted infrastructure projects for this year's Pacific Games in the capital Honiara will be completed in August. Approximately SBD$1.85 billion (£184 million/US$226 million/€207 million) in funding is being provided by China for the Games, including the construction of the main stadium. Li said that work by Jiangsu Provincial Construction (JPC) and the...