PINA

- Burdened by increasing plastic waste, the world is working towards a legally binding treaty to address this global issue across five international meetings. Our international community is being tasked with developing an agreement ready for action by the end of next year through the International Negotiating Committee (INC). The first International Negotiating Committee was held in Uruguay in November 2022...

New Caledonia's largest pro-independence party has been told that France is panicking and afraid of losing New Caledonia. The head of the Caledonian Union Daniel Goa briefed the party in Koumac after a week of meetings of a cross-section of New Caledonian politicians with the French government in Paris earlier this month. Goa said Paris kept reneging on earlier undertakings by...

A new head of the European Union Delegation to the Pacific to be based in Fiji has been announced by Josep Borrell, the vice-president of the European Commission. Barbara Plinkert will replace Sujiro Seam, who has been appointed European Union ambassador to Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Plinkert was the head of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Southeast Asia...

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has dismissed Dr Temo Waqanivalu, a senior official accused of three separate instances of sexual misconduct over five years. “Dr Temo Waqanivalu has been dismissed from WHO following findings of sexual misconduct against him and corresponding disciplinary process,” the WHO told the Financial Times on Monday. The Waqanivalu case raised concerns about the adequacy of...

Her Royal Highness (HRH), Crown Princess Mary Elizabeth of Denmark arrived in Fiji Monday her first official visit. The Minister for Rural and Maritime Development, and Disaster Management Sakiasi Ditoka received the Crown Princess on her arrival at the Nadi International Airport and Nausori International Airport respectively. Crown Princess Mary is accompanied by Denmark's Minister for Development Cooperation and Global Climate...

A former Pacific Island president has backed a Torres-Strait Islander-led legal case to hold the Australian government accountable for climate crisis inaction. On Monday, Anote Tong, the former president of Kiribati, signed a statement of solidarity with Paul Kabai and Pabai Pabai, who have taken the government to court, demanding further emissions reductions in line with science. The two Torres Strait...

Australia’s defence force needs an urgent overhaul, with a shift towards long-range strike abilities and better bang for taxpayers’ bucks spent on military projects. A declassified review of the Australian Defence Force says the nation cannot rely on long warning times for a conflict given the ability for adversaries to strike rapidly from afar or through non-conventional means such as...

A Vanuatu government envoy was at a fishing summit in Ecuador this year when he claims to have had a surprising encounter: two men linked with an obscure Panamanian company who said they represented his country. Saade Makhlouf’s alleged discovery in February, on the sidelines of a gathering of an agency that oversees south Pacific fishing, spurred a surreal anti-corruption...

By John Braddock A group of former leaders of Pacific island nations has condemned the AUKUS security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States which, along with other US-led “architecture” including the Quad (Australia, India, Japan and US), has been formed to prepare for war against China Washington views China as the major obstacle to its global...

The Pacific Partnership to End Violence Against Women and Girls (Pacific Partnership) today welcomed over 100 delegates to share and learn on What Works to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls Where We Play, Pray, Learn and Engage Together in the Pacific. Co-hosted by the Pacific Community (SPC), UN Women Fiji Multi-Country Office (MCO), and the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF),...