PINA

The prospect of expanding a marine sanctuary has alarmed CNMI Governor Arnold I. Palacios, Guam Governor Lourdes Leon Guerrero and American Samoa Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga. In their joint letter to President Joseph Biden, the three governors requested a meeting "at your earliest convenience.” “We are alarmed and concerned over the prospect of expanding potential fishery closures through designating a marine...

The president of the Cop28 climate talks has blamed rich nations’ “dismal” failure to provide US$100 billion a year in climate finance to developing countries for “holding up” progress in negotiations. The UAE’s climate envoy Sultan Al Jaber has requested donor countries to provide a definitive assessment on the overdue delivery of the commitment before the climate summit in Dubai...

The Chinese government does not attach any political strings to its cooperation with Fiji. In response to question by FBC News, a Chinese Embassy spokesperson in Fiji, said that China has always upheld sincerity and good faith in its friendly relations with Fiji. The embassy cited the provision of tangible benefits, including roads, bridges, jetties, solar power systems, and advanced technology,...

World Press Freedom Day has been marked by journalists around the world including the Pacific. Launched by the United Nations in 1998, it's a day of solidarity among the world's media, in particular with journalists who are being persecuted in autocratic nations and war zones. Its serves as a day of celebrating the development and improvement of media landscapes. Media freedom returns...

New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has stayed out of the ugly foreign policy questions hanging over the Indo-Pacific in her first significant foreign policy speech of the year. The big immediate question hanging over New Zealand foreign policy, whether New Zealand will sign up to pillar two of Aukus, didn’t get a mention, but Mahuta addressed head-on other concerns...

More voters in the Solomon Islands would choose a republic in a referendum tomorrow than would stay with the Crown, according to new research from Lord Ashcroft Polls – while most in Papua New Guinea and Tuvalu say they would vote for their countries to remain constitutional monarchies. People in the Solomon Islands said they would vote to become a...

Government is enjoying a “honeymoon” period with the media, says Dialogue Fiji executive director Nilesh Lal. As one of the panelists during an event marking World Press Freedom Day at University of the South Pacific (USP) Wednesday, Lal said the repeal of the Media Industry Development Act (MIDA) 2010 had led to the media industry being free from the restrictive...

The development of an El Niño climate pattern in the Pacific Ocean this year is more and more likely, with dangerously high temperatures and extreme weather events expected, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said on Wednesday. El Niño and La Niña are natural phenomena which WMO describes as “major drivers of the Earth’s climate system”. After a three-year La Niña...

By Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti The move by some countries across the region to introduce laws and policies to limit media freedom is a direct breach of their legal obligations under the UN human rights treaties to protect and promote freedom of expression. That was the message from the regional representative of the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Heike...

The Fijian Media Association (FMA) is calling on journalists to fearlessly pursue the truth and demand transparency from those in positions of authority. Emphasising the theme of this year’s World Press Freedom Day, which focuses on the critical role of free expression in promoting democracy and informing the public, the association stresses the vital importance of objective and accurate reporting...