Regional

6th July

EU’s green gas and nuclear investment rules head for final vote

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The EU’s plan to label investments in gas and nuclear power plants as climate-friendly faces a final vote on Wednesday when European lawmakers decide whether to accept or reject proposals that have...

5th July

Fijian communities receive compost to boost organic agriculture

In a bid to boost organic farming in the country, the Ministry of Agriculture supplied 100tonnes of compost to 33 communities in the Central and Western divisions. FIji’s Minister for Agriculture Mahendra Reddy said the ministry also launched its first organic compost site in Nabukadra in Ra earlier this year. “In 2020, an Organic taskforce...

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 off Australia’s east coast is forecast to bring heavy rain through Monday across New South Wales after several places in...

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...