PINA

Plastic pollution could be slashed by 80 percent by 2040 if countries and companies use existing technologies to make significant policy shifts and market adjustments, according to a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report released on Tuesday. “The way we produce, use, and dispose of plastics is polluting ecosystems, creating risks for human health and destabilising the climate,” said UNEP...

Vanuatu Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau has expressed his confidence in defeating the motion of no confidence against him, scheduled for Friday, 19 May 2023. In an interview with the Vanuatu Daily Post Tuesday, PM Kalsakau criticised the Opposition for initiating the motion, considering it premature and irresponsible given that he has only been in power for six months. “I would have...

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown addressed global and regional leaders on Monday during the high-level opening of the 79th session of the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), held from 15 - 19 May at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand. Guided by the theme “Accelerating climate action in Asia...

Medical call to Japan to abandon the planned release of over 1.3 million tons of radioactively contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster into the Pacific Ocean As physicians with professional responsibility to promote and protect long-term human and planetary health, we urge the Government of Japan to stop the planned release of large amounts of radioactively...

Papua New Guinea must improve the resilience of climate change issues that might affect the region into the future when meeting with world leaders next week during the Forum for India Pacific Islands Co-operation in Port Moresby. PNG’s Climate Change activist and programmes manager for Pikinini Pilai, Vinsealhar Nen said we must exercise our nature-based solutions, derived from our traditional...

The South Korean government will express its commitment to cooperate with Pacific Island nations affected by climate change during the upcoming Korea-Pacific Islands summit later this month. A foreign ministry official said Seoul's Indo-Pacific strategy unveiled last year includes stronger cooperation with Pacific Island countries in the areas of climate change, public health, fisheries and renewable energy, and the inaugural...

There is no support from the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) for New Caledonia's pro-independence FLNKS movement seeking to annul the outcome of the 2021 referendum on independence from France. More than 96 percent voted against full sovereignty, but the FLNKS refuses to recognise the result because of a boycott by the Kanak population amid disagreements over the impact of the...

RNZ Pacific can reveal Immigration New Zealand (INZ) was conducting out of hours compliance visits to private residents otherwise known as 'dawn raids' while the government was preparing for the historic Dawn Raids apology. “It's disgusting, I'm appalled to hear that they were dawn raiding just prior to making an apology for Dawn Raids. To me that smacks of insincerity...

Fiji's Acting Director of Public Prosecutions, David Toganivalu has refuted allegations suggesting the acceleration of investigations against former government officials, asserting that he deals with cases based on their merit alone. Dismissing claims of political interference, Toganivalu defended his office’s involvement in the cases against former Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and former Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. Toganivalu emphasised that the Office...

The 2019 passage of state-owned enterprise (SOE) legislation in Fiji has improved the country's SOE governance and commercial framework but room exists for further improvement in reporting and transparency, a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report has found. Finding Balance 2023: Benchmarking Performance and Building Climate Resilience in Pacific State-Owned Enterprises compares the performance of SOEs in nine Pacific island...