PINA

Fiji has reaffirmed its commitment towards the advancement of the United Nation’s mandate on the creation of societies based on fairness, equality, respect and solidarity. This was highlighted at the United Nations today on the occasion of the commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA), which is a comprehensive and visionary document that...

A new World Bank report on the challenges facing the Pacific region’s outer island communities identifies investment in people and livelihoods as a key for inclusive economic growth. Archipelagic Economies: Spatial Economic Development in the Pacific looks at the challenges Pacific governments must address to provide services and infrastructure to populations spread across hundreds of islands spanning the vast Pacific...

Gaining access to leadership positions can be challenging for women, but there are increasing opportunities for women to lead in business in the Pacific, according to a new report from the Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative(PSDI), a technical assistance programme undertaken in partnership with the Asian Development Bank and the governments of Australia and New Zealand. Leadership Matters: Benchmarking Women...

Pacific civil society warns that prospective deep sea miner, The Metals Company (TMC) may well go down the same path as the failed Nautilus Minerals. Formed by the merger of DeepGreen Metals and Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corp (SOAC), the company looks set for a bumpy ride. Over 90 percent of SOAC investors have already redeemed their shares rather than invest...

By Cliff White The state of labour conditions in the Fijian longliner fleet has come under closer scrutiny following the issuance of a withhold-release order by U.S Customs and Border Protection in August. The Hangton No. 112, owned and operated by Suva, Fiji-based Hangton Pacific Co., was hit with the order on 04 August, with the CBP citing the presence...

Building a strong Pacific islands negotiations block at the world's largest climate change conference is gaining momentum less than two months away from the Twenty-Sixth Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26). Working with Pacific Island Parties, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in partnership with the IMPACT Project (Climate Analytics)...

Opinion editorial by ANZ Fiji Head of Retail, Renuka Kumar Over the past five months, many Fijians have been working from home to protect themselves during the COVID-19 outbreak, and to help stop the spread of the virus. During this time, it has been both a privilege and a challenge for ANZ’s branch staff who have been face-to-face with our...

Nature’s role in growing Fiji’s socio-economic development cannot go unnoticed as efforts are made to mitigate against the impact of climate change and warm ocean levels. This message was highlighted today by Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama in a virtual message to the global community at the ‘Transformative Action for Nature and People High-level’, an event held along the margins of...

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is altering the process for negotiations to curb fisheries subsidies in a manner that will make it harder for developing countries, including Pacific member states to engage in the talks. PACNEWS has confirmed that Chair of the WTO fisheries subsidies negotiations, Santiago Wills, has communicated to Member States’ Heads of Delegation on a specific and...

Beginning more than a millennium ago, intrepid seafarers traversed vast Pacific Ocean expanses in double-hulled sailing canoes to reach the far-flung islands of Polynesia, the planet's last habitable region to be settled by people. A genetic study published on Wednesday has deciphered the timing and sequence of this settlement of an area spanning about a third of Earth's surface, with...