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2nd April
UN votes to ask world court to rule on national climate obligations
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United Nations General Assembly voted on Wednesday to pass a resolution asking the world’s top court to define the obligations of states to combat climate change, a legal opinion that could drive...
1st April
Australia concerned by delays in trial of journalist detained in China
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia said it has “deep concerns” about delays in the case of Australian journalist Cheng Lei who faced a closed door trial in Beijing on national security charges a year ago. Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement on Friday that Cheng was still waiting to learn the outcome of...
Australian man charged over girl taken from outback camp
SYDNEY, 2021 (Reuters) – (This Nov. 4, 2021 story has been updated to comply with an Australian court order to the media.) Australian police charged a 36-year-old man on Thursday with abducting a four-year-old girl from an outback campsite 18 days before she was found safe in a locked house. The man was twice taken...
31st March
Elderly Swiss women bring European court’s first climate case
STRASBOURG (Reuters) -Thousands of elderly Swiss women have joined forces in a groundbreaking case heard on Wednesday at the European Court of Human Rights, arguing that their government’s “woefully inadequate” efforts to fight global warming violate their human rights. The first climate change case at the Strasbourg court has been brought by a group of...
30th March
Australia govt introduces Indigenous referendum bill in parliament
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The Australian government on Thursday took the first formal step towards holding a referendum to recognise Indigenous people in the constitution and set up an Indigenous “Voice to Parliament” to advise lawmakers on matters that impact their lives. Introducing the bill in parliament, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the referendum, to be held...
UN votes to ask world court to rule on national climate obligations
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United Nations General Assembly voted on Wednesday to pass a resolution asking the world’s top court to define the obligations of states to combat climate change, a legal opinion that could drive countries to take stronger measures and clarify international law. The historic resolution seeking an advisory opinion from the International Court...
USP holds first graduation ceremony for 2023
The University of the South Pacific’s (USP) Laucala Campus held its first graduation ceremony for this year at the Vodafone Arena in Suva today with 61 per cent of those graduating being women. USP Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Pal Ahluwalia noted this while delivering his address at the ceremony. Prof Ahluwalia said the graduation ceremony...
29th March
Trade facilitation top on Fiji’s development agenda
Trade facilitation is a top priority in Fiji’s development agenda, says Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica. While opening the Supporting Trade Facilitation, Digitalization and Digital Transformation in the Blue Pacific workshop in Nadi yesterday, he said Government wanted to ensure Fiji remained an attractive place for investment and business. “We recognise that, by streamlining our...
300-plus RNZAF officers conduct disaster response exercise in Fiji
Officers of the Royal New Zealand Air Force conducted an exercise between Nadi and the HMNZS Canterbury situated off Lomolomo Beach in Lautoka. The exercise tested the New Zealand Air Force and Naval Force’s capabilities to respond to natural disasters. Rotor Wing Task Unit Flying Operations Flight Commander Flight Lieutenant Nicole Brooke said they ran...
28th March
Sigatoka-based company records $795k profit
Sigatoka-based Pacific Green has reported a profit of $795,691 for the 2022 financial year compared with a profit of $381,766 from the same period last year. The company recorded total revenue of $4.8 million in 2022. “These strong results were due to reduced operating costs through more efficient production processes and better inventory management, timely...
NZ Defence Force conducts humanitarian aid relief response exercise in Fiji
Members of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) conducted a humanitarian aid and disaster relief response exercise at Lomolomo Beach in Lautoka this morning. The live exercise displayed the New Zealand military’s disaster response capabilities with state of the art machinery carried onboard the Royal New Zealand Navy ship HMNZS Canterbury. More than 300 NZDF...
NZ Foreign Minister says encouraged China to support Pacific regional institutions
WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand’s foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta said on Tuesday she had encouraged China to support and strengthen Pacific regional institutions and uphold a 22-year old agreement that sees Pacific countries look after their own security needs. After returning from Beijing, Mahuta told reporters she had encouraged China to support regional Pacific architecture...
New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) conducts disaster relief response exercise
Members of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) conducted a humanitarian aid and disaster relief response exercise at Lomolomo Beach in Lautoka this morning. The live exercise displayed the New Zealand military’s disaster response capabilities with state-of-the-art machinery carried onboard the Royal New Zealand Navy ship HMNZS Canterbury. More than 300 NZDF travelled to Fiji...
Brown poses difficult but real climate-related questions; solutions required
Pacific islanders’ stewardship, vision, development aspirations and climate change-related sea level rise threatens the future of people and the statehood of many Pacific nations. Pacific Islands Forum chairperson and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown made these comments in his opening address at the regional conference on Preserving Statehood and Protecting Persons: Legal Options and...
Australia’s Latitude says 7.9 million driver licence numbers stolen in data theft
(Reuters) -Digital payments and lending firm Latitude Holdings said on Monday it has determined that 7.9 million Australian and New Zealand driver licence numbers were stolen in a large-scale information theft on March 16. Apart from the 7.9 million driver licence numbers stolen, the Australian fintech firm also identified about 53,000 passport numbers were stolen...
Influenza B/Victoria strain in predominant circulation in Fiji – Health Ministry
The Fiji Centre of Disease Control (CDC) has confirmed that the influenza-like illness in predominant circulation in the country is that of the Influenza B/Victoria strain. The Ministry of Health and Medical Services say this may be the likely cause of the second surge of influenza-like illnesses being reported and observed locally. According to the...
27th March
Anger over close of Noumea beaches due to deadly shark attacks
Beachgoers in New Caledonia have protested against the closure of Noumea’s swimming beaches until the end of the year. The mayor took the decision ten days ago because of a spate of shark attacks, including the fatal mauling of a swimmer. About 100 people formed a chain along a beach, denouncing the ban as discriminatory. They...
French High Commission validates lists contesting French Polynesia elections
The French High Commission has validated the seven lists contesting next month’s territorial elections in French Polynesia. It has approved their emblems and published the candidates’ names in the Official Journal. In a late change, the pro-independence Tavini Huiraatira dropped veteran politician Eliane Tevahitua when it submitted its list. On April 16 and 30, voters...
Guilty verdicts for two men who conspired to kill ex-Samoa PM
Two men who conspired to murder former Samoa prime minister Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi have been found guilty of the charges laid against them. Samoa’s Supreme Court delivered the decision on Friday, in the trial of Malele Paulo and Lema’i Faioso Sione. The Samoa Observer reports the defendants Paulo also known as King Faipopo, and Sione had maintained...
