PINA

All equipment needed for the release into the sea of treated radioactive wastewater from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant has been completed and will be ready for a safety inspection by Japanese regulators this week, the plant operator said Monday, as opposition to the plan continues in and outside Japan over safety concerns. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings said it...

Solomon Islands leader of the Independent Group, John Kuku has filed a legal suit challenging the legality of the extension of Parliament to 2024. Parliament September last year passed the extension of Parliament by amending the constitution. The constitutional amendment though met with opposition was passed in September that subsequently resulted in the deferral of the dissolution of parliament by seven...

This Wednesday, New Zealand marks 50 years since the Government sent a frigate to French Polynesia to protest testing of nuclear weapons at Mururoa Atoll. On 28 June, 1973, HMNZS Otago sailed from Auckland, carrying a crew of 242 and immigration minister Fraser Colman – the first commitment from prime minister Norman Kirk to stand against atmospheric nuclear testing in...

As the climate emergency threatens its existence, the tiny Pacific nation is not only trying to reclaim physical land but create a ‘twin’ to survive in future By Kalolaine Fainu in Funafuti When Lily Teafa was growing up in Tuvalu, her uncles would go fishing every day and come home with a big catch to share with the neighbours. Now,...

Small island countries press for guarantees as rising sea levels risk leaving their citizens stateless By Jonathan Watts Small island nations would rather fight than flee, but rising sea levels have prompted apocalyptic legal discussions about whether a state is still a state if its land disappears below the waves. The Pacific Islands Forum, which represents many of the most vulnerable...

Manu Samoa's head coach believes their first warm-up game for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, against Japan in July, will reveal where they are in their preparations. Seilala Mapusua told RNZ Pacific they are a very strong squad which includes one former Wallaby and four former All Blacks. They are players who are taking advantage of the change in eligibility laws...

Many rugby fans in Fiji have been asking why France based Johnny Dyer wasn’t included in the 45 member Fiji Water Flying Fijians squad two weeks ago and also the 39 named Tuesday When questioned by FBC Sports, Head Coach Simon Raiwalui said players were selected based on form. “No, no, he’s not injured we have selected the players that have...

New Caledonia have confirmed their place in the Quarter-Finals of OFC U-19 Women's Championship 2023 following victory over Tonga in their final Group A match in Lautoka. Defeat for Tonga means that their journey comes to an end, despite another spirited display and an excellent performance from goalkeeper Madison Tenifa. Just 6 minutes were on the clock when New Caledonia took...

Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), Henry Puna, received a warm welcome home on his first official visit to the Cook Islands since becoming the Secretary-General in 2021. Secretary-General Puna is undertaking regional high-level consultations that have seen him most recently in Samoa and Australia. The Cook Islands is host of the Fifty-Second Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting (PIFLM52)...

Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka will move a motion in Parliament on Friday regarding certain sections of the Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures) Act 2013. The motion seeks approval to get opinions from the Supreme Court on the interpretation of sections 27(6) and 20(2) of the Political Parties Act; and that copies of the opinion are tabled with...