PINA

Heads of government haven’t been invited to attend an important biodiversity summit in Canada, raising concerns nature is slipping down the global agenda amid fraught geopolitical relations. The biodiversity conference, or Cop15, is a moment for countries to agree on a global framework to halt the destruction of nature by the end of this decade. Negotiators meet in Montreal, Canada,...

Pacific delegates are counting down to the UNFCCC COP27 in the city of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, keen to negotiate positions on the different thematic areas, to give our Pacific communities the best chance for 1.5 to stay Alive outcome. Following the Pacific Small Island States (PSIDS) Preparatory Meeting in Apia on 26 – 29 September 2022, the negotiators from 14...

Authorities in Egypt must ensure civil society can safely and fully participate in the COP27 UN climate change conference taking place there next month, a group of UN independent human rights experts said on Friday, expressing alarm over restrictions ahead of the summit. This new wave of reprisals follows years of persistent crackdowns on civil society and human rights defenders,...

The UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution Friday aimed at assisting the Marshall Islands in its efforts to secure justice for people suffering from the impact of the United States' former nuclear testing programme in its territory. “We have suffered the cancer of the nuclear legacy for far too long and we need to find a way forward to...

Vanuatu’s electoral roll dates back to 1980. Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Edward Kaltamat, revealed this as he commented that it is remarkable when one compares the total population, which was released by the Vanuatu National Statistic Office (VNSO) last year. The total population recorded during the national census then was 309,000. The total registered voters now are 302, 307. Kaltamat said the...

Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown will this week welcome New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta on her first official visit to the Cook Islands this year. PM Brown said he was delighted to be able to welcome Minister Nanaia Mahuta to the Cook Islands, for in-person bilateral discussions, and the signing of the statement of partnership. “This is the first...

The president of Palau said last Thursday that his small Pacific island nation is committed to supporting Taiwan despite “mounting aggressions,” offering his strong backing at a time Beijing is ramping up pressure against Taipei in the region. The Pacific is the site of a diplomatic tug-of-war between Beijing and Washington, and in 2019 China snatched away two of Taiwan's...

The United States and Taiwan have launched a programme aimed at enhancing the economic prospects of women in four Pacific island nations -- Palau, Nauru, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands -- which have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the U.S Department of State announced on Friday. According to a statement, the State Department and Taiwan have teamed up with the Grameen...

By Jo Chandler In mid-May, a bulldozer began clearing a logging road into an area of largely untouched rainforest near the village of Suburam, on Papua New Guinea’s north coast, between the mountains of the Adelbert Range and the Bismarck Sea. Towering kwila trees were among those locals say were felled by loggers. This is a coveted, high-value species that...

Former Leeds Rhinos and Toronto Wolfpack coach Brian McDermott is set to guide Fiji in next weekend’s opening World Cup match against Australia after answering an SOS call to help the Bati. Recently appointed Wests Tigers assistant David Furner was Fiji’s coaching director during the mid-season Test against Papua New Guinea but was unable to travel to England and he...