Regional

5th July

Tens of thousands of Sydney residents told to evacuate as rains flood suburbs

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Fresh evacuation orders were issued for tens of thousands of Sydney residents on Monday after relentless rains triggered floods for the third time this year in some low-lying suburbs. An intense low-pressure system...

2nd July

Regional leaders to meet

Pacific leaders will gather this month in Suva for the 51st Pacific Islands Forum meeting to discuss several sensitive geopolitical and regional issues. The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama, will provide an opportunity to strengthen relationships and priorities for regionalism and collective action within the forum. “The 51st Pacific Islands Forum is an...

1st July

EU extends roaming regulations for telecom providers until 2032

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union has extended ‘Roam-like-at-home’ regulations for telecom providers until 2032, the European Commission announced on Thursday. The scheme allows travellers in the EU and the EEA to call, text and surf abroad without extra charges. “With our roaming regulation we have all benefitted from Roam-like-at-home,” EU’s top official Margrethe Vestager...

Albanese and Ardern set to visit Fiji

Newly-elected Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern will attend the 51st Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting in Suva between July 11-14. Mr Albanese told reporters in Madrid, Spain, where he’s currently attending the NATO summit that he had a telephone conversation with the Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare,...

30th June

At Australia mine, Glencore balances reforestation drive, coal profit

HUNTER VALLEY, Australia (Reuters) – At Glencore’s aging Mt Owen open-cut coal mines north of Sydney, a team of scientists and engineers is restoring woodlands to mined-out fields, aiming to burnish the company’s environmental credentials with climate activists and shareholders who want it to back away from coal. But just hundreds of metres away, active...

29th June

Australia commits to Pacific islands defence training as China plans rival meet

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia will set up a defence school to train Pacific island militaries, Canberra’s new Pacific minister said, amid mounting competition for security ties in the region and as China lays plans for a rival meeting to next month’s Pacific Islands Forum. Australia will double its funding for aerial surveillance of the Pacific...

‘Not worth the risk’: Palau, Fiji call for deep-sea mining moratorium

LISBON (Reuters) – Concerned about the potential impacts of deep-sea mining on ocean biodiversity, the Pacific islands of Palau and Fiji on Monday launched an “alliance” to call for a moratorium of the nascent industry. The backing of a moratorium comes amid a wave of global interest in deep-sea mining but also growing pressure from...