PINA

Taiwan's government expressed its gratitude to Fiji on Tuesday for reinstating the old name of its representative office there, which includes the “Republic of China (ROC)” -- Taiwan's official name. Wallace Chow, head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MOFA) Department of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, said MOFA had been officially notified by Fiji of its change in position...

Communication Minister Timothy Masiu has hit back at reports termed as inaccurate over the control of media in Papua New Guinea from his ministerial statement in Parliament. Masiu said it was not true that the government is trying to control the media by setting up a Media Council. He refuted the report saying that the government would not control the media. In...

Tributes are flowing in for Tonga's former Prime Minister Tu'i'onetoa who passed away last Sunday, aged 71, in the United States. He will be laid to rest in Tonga next month on a date yet to be confirmed. Tonga's Prime Minister Hu'akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni told RNZ Pacific that Tu'i'onetoa would be missed. “He was a civil servant for a very a long...

The French overseas territory of New Caledonia and the Pacific island nation of Fiji have initiated a jurisdictional approach initiative for their longline tuna fishery. Arlington, Virginia, USA-based non-governmental organisation Conservation International led the effort to form the initiative, signing a memorandum of understanding with the Fiji Fishing Industry Association (FFIA) on 21 November, 2022, and New Caledonia’s Fédération des...

This week at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica, negotiations to agree a ‘mining code’ get into their third week at the Authority’s 28th Council meeting. If adopted, the mining code would give destructive deep-sea mining the go ahead, opening our ocean to the largest mining operation humanity has ever seen. The negotiations have faced increased scrutiny in...

All Blacks wing Sevu Reece won’t play again this year due to a serious knee injury. Reece, who sustained the injury while being awkwardly cleaned out at a ruck by Blues centre Rieko Ioane a fortnight ago, will have surgery to repair his busted anterior cruciate ligament in the coming weeks. Not only does it wipe Reece out for the rest...

Fijian Drua hooker Mesulame Dolokoto is pleading with fans to not only come out and support them but be there for the Rooster Chicken Fijiana Drua too on Saturday. Dolokoto says hopefully Suva will be a sellout just like Lautoka a few weeks ago against the Crusaders in the Super Rugby Pacific. He said the aim is always when they play...

The next phase in the evolution of Moana Pasifika rugby takes place next month when the team will play in Samoa for the first time when they take on Queensland Reds at Apia Stadium. The Auckland-based Super Rugby Pacific team is the realisation of a long-held dream of supporters of Pacific Island rugby, including All Blacks legends Savae Sir Michael...

Last month, twin cyclones tore through Port Vila, the capital of the Pacific nation of Vanuatu. The category-four storms left corrugated iron roofs crumpled like leftover wrapping paper, flooded the streets with waste-ridden mud, cut residents off from water and electricity for several days, and sent many fleeing to hastily established evacuation centres. Devastation of this sort is becoming more common...

While stressing that the so-called treated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant still contains radionuclides that are not able to be removed, a renowned Japanese environment economist said that we must persistently demand that the Japanese government and the Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) stop dumping the nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the Pacific Ocean. Kenichi Oshima, professor at Ryukoku University,...