Next year’s “Talanoa Dialogue” – to be convened by Fiji, which last week became the first island state to chair UN climate talks – will help countries identify exactly how they can achieve the goals set in the Paris agreement. That dialogue, which countries should approach in good faith, must be a springboard for further action. By Hilda Heine and Kevin Rudd
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Results for Pacific Islands
Thursday 9 November 2017
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Over the last few weeks there has been ample amounts of negative media attention given to Mate Ma'a Tonga fans. I in no way support fans fighting or being aggressive and it is worrying. However, what I am most concerned about is the amount of negative articles that have been circulated by some media outlets. The constant reporting of a few incidents where a minority group of fans were fighting has dominated the media and has painted all Mate Ma'a Tonga fans as being out of control. - Jean Allen
Wednesday 25 October 2017
Manila, Philippines
Urging countries to conserve and protect Blue Sharks, delegates from Samoa and Sri Lanka are defending the future of the migratory species at a conference on conserving wild animals held in Manila, Philippines from October 23-28.
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Thursday 31 August 2017
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
While Tonga argues over its protocol for signing the PACER Plus Trade Agreement, the other signatories and donor partners Australia and New Zealand say it is a matter for the Kingdom to sort out.
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Tuesday 6 June 2017
5 comments
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Important questions over massive environmental damage caused by site works for the Va'epopua 18-holes golf course and its associated commercial developments remain unanswered, in spite of fears that the project is killing the reef and endangering the health and fishing livelihoods of its coastal communities.
Tuesday 25 April 2017
1 comment
Portland, Maine, USA
A new study has found that 96 percent of women of childbearing age living in four Pacific Island countries who were sampled have elevated levels of mercury in their bodies.
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Monday 17 April 2017
Bangkok, Thailand
In 2015, an estimated 85,000 women died of complications related to pregnancy and childbirth across the Asia-Pacific region – 28% of the global total. Up to 90% of those deaths, which were concentrated in just 12 countries, could have been prevented. Papua New Guinea has
Wednesday 12 April 2017
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga faces a growing need to restrain public wage growth to decrease the share of wages in current spending, advises the Asian Development Bank’s Asian Development Outlook 2017.
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Saturday 8 April 2017
Melbourne, Australia
With the exception of launching a nuclear war, it is hard to think of anything a US president could do that is liable to harm more people than last month’s order canceling rules issued under former President Barack Obama to freeze the construction of new coal-fired power plants and shut down many old ones. President Donald Trump’s order followed his pledge to rescind stricter fuel-efficiency standards for cars and trucks, and his announcement that he wants to slash spending on climate science. By Peter Singer.
Friday 7 April 2017
Auckland, New Zealand
Nine Pacific Islander students in New Zealand were among 13 recipients of the Woolf Fisher First-in-Family AUT Scholarship to study at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT). All of the recipients are the first in their immediate families to attend university and this year five are Tongans.
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Thursday 23 March 2017
Suva, Fiji
The depletion of water sources in places around the world by 2040, will affect up to 600 million children worldwide, warns a UNICEF report released on March 22 to mark World Water Day. The report focuses on how the wellbeing of children is threatened by lack of access to safe water and how a changing climate will worsen the situation in the future. Pacific Island countries face particular challenges.
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Sunday 19 February 2017
1 comment
Tanna, Vanuatu
A film from Vanuatu called "Tanna" has been nominated for Best Foreign Language Film in the upcoming Academy Awards next Sunday, February 26.
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Friday 20 January 2017
Auckland, New Zealand
Tongans who want immigration advice to work, study or live in New Zealand are being encouraged to use a licensed or exempt immigration adviser by the New Zealand authorities. Ms Catherine Albiston, Registrar of the New Zealand Immigration Advisers Authority will visit Tonga, Fiji and Samoa next week as part of a campaign to help communities understand the risks associated with using unlicensed immigration advisers.
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Tuesday 20 December 2016
Rakiraki, Fiji
Heavy flooding in Fiji has prompted over 1,400 residents to move to local Evacuation Centres. The flooding comes after a week of constant rain which has caused landslides and shut down roads.
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Friday 9 December 2016
Cancun, Mexico
Biodiversity conservation in Tonga and Fiji is vital for the development of its tourism sectors and must be managed properly to sustain the natural habitat, while providing a livelihood to communities. The importance of preserving biodiversity was made clear at this month’s High Level Roundtable discussions of the Thirteenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP13) in Cancun, Mexico.
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Monday 5 December 2016
Wellington, New Zealand
New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key surprised his country today by announcing his resignation after eight years as PM. He said he would back his deputy Bill English as the new leader of the National Party which is to meet on December 12 to decide on a new party leader and prime minister.
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Sunday 4 December 2016
Apia, Samoa
Miss Fiji, Anne Christine Dunn, was crowned Miss Pacific Islands at the 2016 pageant on Friday night in Apia, Samoa. Miss American Samoa, Antonina Lilomaiava, was the 1st runner up to the crown. Miss Tonga, Laura Lauti, won the prize for Miss Photogenic.
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Thursday 1 December 2016
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tongan Olympian Pita Taufatofua - as an occasional ukulele player - appears on the cover of the new issue of the "Discover Tonga - Tongatapu & Nuku'alofa Maps" published in Nuku'alofa today.
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Wednesday 30 November 2016
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
An 18 month long project to support the development of the vanilla industry in Vava'u this year has also helped Tonga's MAFF and Australian development partners to better understand the challenges and opportunities faced by vanilla growers and the vanilla industry. Over 100 vanilla growers were directly assisted and 328 plantations monitored under the project, which has identified a need for new plantings, particularly on small family plantations.
Wednesday 23 November 2016
Suva, Fiji
A tourism destination brand ‘South Pacific Islands’ was launched in Asia’s largest professional travel show, the China International Travel Mart (CITM) in Shanghai, China this month by the South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) aimed at attracting Asian tourists to the region.
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