PINA

Following orders from the new Government, New Zealand successfully blocked consensus on a measure to restrict bottom trawling in the South Pacific at an international forum that ended at the weekend. The annual meeting of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation wrapped up on Friday in Ecuador (Saturday NZT) with no agreement being reached on a proposal New Zealand...

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has welcomed the recent transition of a number of Government MPs to the Opposition. He described this movement as a positive step towards strengthening the parliamentary opposition and the nation’s democracy. Marape’s statement comes in the wake of eight Government MPs deciding to join the Opposition ranks amidst discussions of a possible motion of...

The Global Environment Facility’s 186 member governments on Monday allocated US$916 million for international action on biodiversity, climate change, nature renewal, and pollution control, and advanced five Integrated Programmes designed to tackle complex challenges in their entirety. The GEF Council, meeting in Washington, DC, approved funding for 45 projects and programmes, including four blended finance initiatives involving the private sector....

Just days after the appointment of Dr Siale ‘Akau’ola as Tonga’s new Minister of Health, the King has withdrawn his consent for two other Cabinet appointments. An undated memo from the Lord Privy Seal, Viliami Malolo, to Chief Secretary of the Cabinet Paula Ma’u seen by Kaniva News details the king’s refusal to accept the appointments. “His Majesty was pleased by...

King Charles has been diagnosed with cancer and is already receiving treatment that will prevent him from undertaking public duties for the immediate future, Buckingham Palace has announced. Although no further details about what type of cancer he has are being released at this stage, Buckingham Palace said it was not prostate cancer. It was discovered when the 75-year-old monarch...

A tropical depression (TD06F) has been upgraded to category 1 Tropical Cyclone Nat near the Cook Islands. In its latest special weather bulletin at 8.40am New Zealand time, Fiji's Meteorological Service said Tropical Cyclone Nat is moving east southeast at about 15 knots The weather office has issued a nautical gale warning in relation to the storm. An alert is in place...

Tonga becomes the 85th country to sign the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement to protect two-thirds of our ocean, or the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. The Ambassador and representative of Tonga to the United Nations,Va'inga Tone,...

Fourteen Pacific countries advocating for the priorities of their communities at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, are gathering in Auckland from 12-15 February 2024. They are returning to the drawing board following the third INC in Nairobi Kenya which concluded with an agreement on a...

Rugby Australia has confirmed the nominees for the major award winners ahead of Wednesday's RA Awards in Sydney. The awards celebrate the past 12 months of Rugby in Australia, returning to an awards night after previously being held online. Wallabies Angus Bell, Marika Koroibete, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Will Skelton and Rob Valetini are the nominees for the John Eales Medal. Bell is looking...

At the Teieniwa Talanoa Event on Pacific Unity Against Corruption in Suva today, Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna delivered a powerful message, stressing the importance of reflecting on key moments that have shaped the region. Puna's remarks highlighted the critical need for collective unity in the ongoing battle against corruption in the Pacific. “It's an important aspect of regionalism...