ABG backing mine talk

THE Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) has reinforced its commitment to support negotiations regarding the reopening of the Panguna mine. ABG President Chief Dr John Momis (pictured) said this during the Panguna landowners meeting with the ABG and stakeholders in Buka town last Thursday. The reinforcement stems from the K5 million per year allocation for 2014…

Too many fishing boats in Fiji

There are simply too many ships fishing within Fiji waters for too little tuna stocks. This was the message Radhika Kumar, a representative of the Fiji Tuna Boat Owners Association who was a panelist at last week’s public lecture on Fiji’s tuna industry.   Kumar, who is also the general manager of Solander Pacific Limited,…

PINA board re- elected

Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) president Moses Stevens from Vanuatu, is in for his third term as the PINA president. During its Annual General Meeting at Koniambo, in New Caledonia’s northern Province, acting PINA secretariat manager Makereta Komai said from the advice of their lawyers,  Stevens and his deputy Michael Jackson, from Niue, had to…

Nautilus ends deal with PNG govt

Nautilus Minerals Limited which is currently operating the world’s first Sea Bed Mining in Papua New Guinea has announced, it is terminating its agreement with the State of PNG. The government is understood to be aware and the Mining Minister Byron Chan could not be reached for comment.   A statement released by the company…

ANZ Asian Business Centre launched in Fiji

ANZ has announced the launch of the ANZ Asian Business Centre in Fiji, marking a first for Fiji and the Pacific. The Centre will provide personalised service and attention to the business needs of ANZ’s Asian business customers.   “Customers will receive the dedicated support of our highly experienced Asian Banking Relationship Managers,” said ANZ…

Fulton College opens new campus

A new era began for Fulton College last Wednesday as approximately 600 people gathered to celebrate the opening of the Sabeto campus by General Conference president Dr Ted Wilson and Fiji Education minister Filipe Bole. The $FJD20 million construction is almost complete, with classes scheduled to start March 10. The buildings, including staff and student…

Cook Islands, Kiribati, Samoa to receive funding boost for Renewable Energy activities

An additional one million dollars has been allocated for renewable energy activities in the Cook Islands, Kiribati and Samoa under PIGGAREP+, a Pacific regional project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through renewable energy activities.  The formal agreement for this was signed at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in Samoa last week.…

Meeting for heritage site managers

NATIONAL heritage site managers from around the Pacific region will be converging in Suva for a regional training course on world heritage sites management in the Pacific starting from February 17 to 21. This course funded by the Government of Australia through the UNESCO/Australian Funds-in-Trust will be the first of its kind for the region.…