In this bulletin:
1. PACIFIC — Forum SG Waqa urges Pacific climate champions to turn pre- COP momentum into COP31 outcomes
2. PACIFIC — COP30 President backs climate finance push and implementation drive ahead of COP31
3. PACIFIC — Bowen defends Australia’s climate role amid coal export concerns
4. PACIFIC — Pacific climate concerns must shape COP31 agenda: Bowen
5. TONGA — Tongan family members reclaim both parliamentary seats vacated after election fraud and bribery rulings
6. JAPAN — Government and communities unite to eradicate mongoose from Amami-Oshima
7. FIJI — Fiji calls for evidence in U.S allegations against Chinese businessman
8. COOKS — Cook Islands and New Zealand officials meet to chart the next steps in their partnership
9. FIJI — State seeks Fiji court approval to destroy 2.64 tonnes of cocaine
10. FIJI — Bail denied in Fiji High Court evidence tampering case
11. PACIFIC — Diplomacy begins with listening, says Sabrina Khan
12. PNG — Mysterious Papua New Guinea rock reveals unexpected cooling as it descended deeper underground
13. PACNEWS BIZ — Police say scam centre busted in PNG had moved from Cambodia
14. PACNEWS BIZ — 399 Fiji communities targeted for solar power
15. PACNEWS DIGEST — Protecting our Pacific families before crisis strikes
16. PACNEWS DIGEST — Pacific experience and expertise on Loss and Damage at WIM ExCom 25
PAC – CLIMATE CHAMPIONS: PACNEWS PACNEWS 3: Fri 09 Oct 2026
Forum SG Waqa urges Pacific climate champions to turn Pre-COP momentum into COP31 outcomes
By Pita Ligaiula
NADI, 09 OCTOBER 2026 (PACNEWS)— Pacific political climate champions must turn the region’s priorities into concrete outcomes at COP31, Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Baron Waqa says.
Speaking at the Political Climate Champions and Pacific COP31 Climate Envoys briefing on Friday, Waqa said the Pacific had an opportunity to strengthen its influence in global climate negotiations, with Australia serving as COP31 President of Negotiations and Pacific climate envoys supporting the process.
“The challenge before us is therefore one of translating those priorities into effective international advocacy, that drives real outcomes for our countries and our communities,” Waqa said.
He said the Pacific Pre-COP had allowed the international climate community to witness the region’s climate realities and better understand the leadership and solutions Pacific countries were bringing to the global agenda.
The four thematic priorities established under the Australia-Pacific COP31 Partnership had featured prominently throughout the Pre-COP programme, demonstrating the region’s ability to influence global climate discussions through collective action, he said.
Waqa urged political champions to carry that momentum into COP31 and ensure the region’s priorities were reflected in the negotiations.
“Your task now, as our Champions, is to carry that momentum forward to COP31,” he said.
He said Forum leaders had made clear the urgency of the climate crisis and the outcomes Pacific countries needed, adding that political champions must understand their roles, the status of negotiations and where their interventions could have the greatest impact.
Waqa encouraged participants to ask difficult questions about Pacific negotiating positions, why they mattered and where political pressure could help move stalled negotiations forward.
He said some champions could also be called on to take leadership roles within the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), helping advance key issues when negotiations reached an impasse.
Waqa said political champions carried more than responsibility for individual portfolios or thematic issues when entering COP negotiation rooms.
“You carry the collective voice and moral authority of the Blue Pacific,” he said.
He said the success of the champions and envoys should be measured by their ability to influence COP31 decisions in ways that advanced Pacific priorities.
“Ultimately, your success will be measured on a very clear objective: influencing COP outcomes that reflect and champion Pacific priorities,” Waqa said.
He assured political champions, Pacific COP31 climate envoys and Pacific small island developing states negotiators that the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat would work alongside the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and the wider Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific to support their efforts.
COP31 will be held in Türkiye in November 2026, with Australia leading the negotiations under the arrangements agreed with Türkiye as host…. PACNEWS
PAC – PREPCOP31: PACNEWS PACNEWS 3: Fri 09 Oct 2026
COP30 President backs climate finance push and implementation drive ahead of COP31
By Pita Ligaiula
NADI, 09 OCTOBER 2026 (PACNEWS)—COP30 President Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago says stronger cooperation between governments, finance ministers and development banks will be critical to turning global climate commitments into action ahead of COP31 in Türkiye.
Speaking at the close of the Pacific Pre-COP31 in Fiji, Corrêa do Lago said the climate process needed to move beyond agreements towards implementing national climate plans, accelerating proven solutions and improving the flow of finance to countries facing climate impacts.
He said the climate implementation accelerator, developed through coordination between Türkiye, Australia and Brazil, would focus on a limited number of solutions capable of delivering wider global benefits.
“The mandate is to accelerate climate implementation and to enhance international cooperation to support the NDCs, the NAPs, and obviously keeping 1.5 degrees within reach,” Corrêa do Lago said.
Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are countries’ emissions-reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement, while National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) set out approaches to addressing climate impacts.
Corrêa do Lago said the accelerator would help climate solutions overcome barriers that had slowed implementation.
“The idea of the accelerator is to help the climate solutions move faster because many here have pointed how difficult it is, so many obstacles,” he said.
The initiative would draw on more than 130 plans for accelerating solutions under the COP Action Agenda, selecting those with the greatest potential to trigger wider changes.
“We are going to concentrate on a small number of selected solutions that will have this effect of exponential and cascading global effects,” he said.
Corrêa do Lago stressed that participation in the accelerator would be voluntary and non-prescriptive, with its coordination arrangements and governance structures to be established before COP31 in Antalya.
He said the organisers were working with Türkiye and Australia to identify experts and establish a steering committee, with the involvement of finance ministers, multilateral development banks and climate funds.
Corrêa do Lago also highlighted the role of finance ministers in implementing decisions reached at climate conferences.
He said finance ministers did not negotiate climate agreements but were essential to putting those decisions into practice through national budgets, financial institutions and investment.
“Ministers of finance, they are not negotiators, they do not negotiate climate, but they implement what we decide in our COPs,” he said.
He welcomed efforts to strengthen links between the climate process and multilateral development banks, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Corrêa do Lago said a document on implementing the Baku-to-Belém climate finance roadmap would examine potential sources of funding and the need to monitor climate finance more effectively.
The roadmap was among the initiatives advanced during COP30 in Belém, Brazil, to address the scale of investment required for climate action.
He also welcomed the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF), a Pacific-led financing mechanism intended to support climate and disaster resilience across the region.
“I would like also to congratulate on the Pacific Resilience Facility,” he said, describing it as an example of innovative climate finance,” he said.
The facility is designed to mobilise accessible and predictable funding for Pacific communities facing climate-related disasters and other impacts.
Corrêa do Lago said the Pacific Pre-COP had demonstrated the importance of regional cooperation and the contribution of Pacific countries to the global climate agenda.
He compared the cooperative spirit of the meeting with the mutirão approach associated with COP30 in Belém, referring to collective action towards a shared objective.
The COP30 president said the implementation accelerator, together with Türkiye’s proposed approach to bridging different parts of the climate process, could help deliver stronger results at COP31.
Australian Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen welcomed the cooperation between successive COP presidencies, saying closer coordination had helped strengthen the international climate process.
“When I first started coming to COPs, it’s fair to say presidencies were quite separate. But in recent years, presidencies have been working much more closely together,” Bowen said.
He thanked Corrêa do Lago for working with Türkiye, Australia and Azerbaijan to support a more coordinated approach ahead of COP31.
Bowen said the Pacific Pre-COP had concluded with work continuing towards the next round of climate negotiations in Türkiye.
The discussions in Fiji focused on keeping the 1.5°C temperature goal within reach, improving access to climate finance and elevating the ocean-climate connection, with Pacific countries seeking stronger implementation of global climate commitments….PACNEWS
PAC – PRE COP31/COAL: PACNEWS PACNEWS 3: Fri 09 Oct 2026
Bowen defends Australia’s climate role amid coal export concerns
By Pita Ligaiula
NADI, 09 OCTOBER 2026 (PACNEWS)— Australian Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen says Australia’s shift towards renewable energy is central to its efforts to work with Pacific countries on climate change, as questions grow over the country’s continued fossil fuel exports.
Bowen was asked whether he had discussed a recent Australian High Court ruling on a New South Wales coal mine expansion with Pacific Island ministers during the Pacific Pre-COP31 in Fiji.
The court ruled that an approval for an extended coal mine was invalid because the planning authority should have considered the climate impacts of coal burned after export.
Bowen said no Pacific minister had specifically raised the ruling with him, describing it as a decision concerning the interpretation of existing New South Wales planning law.
“Not specifically. But I’ve been talking to the Pacific climate ministers about lifting their agenda all week,” Bowen said.
He acknowledged that Pacific leaders had repeatedly called on Australia to stop exporting coal and gas, but shifted the focus to climate finance and Australia’s broader engagement with the region.
Bowen said only 0.2 percent of existing global climate finance went towards adaptation in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), including countries such as Tuvalu.
“Those countries like Tuvalu, which need it the most, struggled to get it – they get it the least, and that’s got to change,” he said.
He said improving access to climate finance was part of Australia’s responsibility to work with Pacific countries and strengthen its regional relationships.
Bowen higlighted closer engagement between Australia and Pacific governments, including new treaties and partnerships with Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Tuvalu and Nauru.
He attributed part of that change to Australia’s revised approach to climate policy and its efforts to support Pacific priorities internationally.
On fossil fuels, Bowen said the transition away from coal, oil and gas required countries to expand renewable energy capacity.
“The way to transition away from fossil fuels is to build more renewables.
“You can’t transition away from fossil fuels unless and until domestically you’re building new renewables,” he said.
Bowen said renewables now accounted for 50 percent of Australia’s electricity grid, compared with a target of two per cent when the current government first came to power, according to his account.
He said Australia was also working through international climate negotiations to influence emissions reductions beyond its own borders.
Bowen said Australia would continue working with Pacific countries and other governments ahead of COP31 in Türkiye to advance global climate action.
He also declined to predict whether China would support a proposed global agreement to increase electrification to 35 per cent by 2035.
Bowen said he had spoken with Chinese representatives during the Pre-COP and had also hosted China’s climate minister in Australia in recent weeks.
“I’m not going to pre-empt what’s going to happen at COP,” Bowen said.
He said Australia was also engaging with India, which he described as making progress in expanding electricity access and renewable energy.
Bowen said negotiations would continue in the lead-up to COP31, where Australia will serve as chair of negotiations alongside Türkiye’s COP31 presidency.
“That’s my job to as part of that COP process, to steer that negotiation, and we’ll continue to do that work in the lead up to the COP31 actual process,” he said…PACNEWS
PAC – PRE COP31: PACNEWS PACNEWS 3: Fri 09 Oct 2026
Pacific climate concerns must shape COP31 agenda: Bowen
By Pita Ligaiula
NADI, 09 OCTOBER 2026 (PACNEWS)— Australian Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen says Australia has used the Pacific Pre-COP31 to elevate the region’s climate priorities internationally, arguing that vulnerable island countries must have a stronger voice in global climate negotiations.
Bowen said the attendance of 53 ministers, prime ministers and presidents at the Fiji meeting, including a visit by senior officials to Tuvalu, had helped highlight the urgency of climate action and the need for faster access to climate finance.
He said the visit gave major emitters and other countries an opportunity to hear directly from communities experiencing the impacts of climate change.
“We wanted to really make sure that the Pacific, who’s been trying to get issues like access to finance and the importance of oceans on the COP agenda for years, has a better chance.
“And I think that objective was met,” Bowen said.
Bowen said several leaders had described the visit to Tuvalu as informative, particularly in understanding why countries needed to do more and act faster.
He said Australia’s support for Pacific climate priorities was important both as a matter of responsibility and for its strategic interests in the region.
“The Pacific Islands’ number one, two and three issue, which is climate change, is also one that we are working with them to elevate on the world stage,” he said.
“That’s important for moral reasons from my point of view, but it’s also vital for Australia’s geopolitical best interests in the region.”
Bowen, who will serve as COP31 President of Negotiations alongside Türkiye’s COP31 presidency, said Australia was pushing for a global target to increase electrification to 35 per cent by 2035.
He said electrification was necessary alongside existing international commitments to triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030, agreed at COP28 in Dubai.
“We also need to electrify those things that can be electrified,” Bowen said.
He said Australia had been working with the Turkish Government, the International Energy Agency(IEA) and other partners to identify ways to shift energy use from fossil fuels to electricity.
“If we are to have any chance of holding the world to 1.5 degrees of warming, we need to get to that 35 per cent by 2035 level,” he said.
Bowen said Australia was engaging with countries including China, India, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on the electrification agenda.
He distinguished the voluntary pledge, which countries could sign, from the formal COP negotiations, where decisions must be reached by consensus among nearly 190 countries.
“The negotiations are done by consensus — we’ve got to get 190 countries to agree,” he said.
“Ultimately, that’s the challenge for the negotiations, and Australia is Chair of the negotiations.”
Bowen said advancing the electrification agenda would require Australia to work with Türkiye and Pacific countries in a complex geopolitical environment.
He said the partnership was an opportunity for Australia to use its influence as a middle power to help shape international climate action.
“That’s an important part of the agenda, it’s an important part of the COP, and it’s an important part of Australia stepping up as a middle power, working with Turkiye in a very contested geopolitical environment,” Bowen said.
He said Australia would continue working with its Pacific partners and Türkiye to push for stronger global climate commitments ahead of COP31……PACNEWS
TONGA – ELECTION/POLITICS: TALANOAOTONGA PACNEWS 3: Fri 09 Oct 2026
Tongan family members reclaim both parliamentary seats vacated after election fraud and bribery rulings
NUKU’ALOFA, 09 OCTOBER 2026 (TALANOA’TONGA)—Two new People’s Representatives have been elected to Tonga’s Legislative Assembly after by-elections in Tongatapu 2 and Ongo Niua 17 on Thursday.
Alvin Lafu Sika won Tongatapu 2 with 609 votes, while ‘Aminiasi Tonga Pau‘u Tangimana won Ongo Niua 17 with 435 votes.
Both are newcomers to Parliament and won seats previously held by close family members whose 2025 election victories were later voided by the courts.
The results were announced by Electoral Commissioner Sam Vao.
Sika, from Haveluloto, won a nine-candidate contest with 609 votes.
His closest challengers were Malakai Koloamatangi, with 262 votes, and Lei Paasi, with 248.
Sika is the brother of former Tongatapu 2 People’s Representative Semisi Sika, who also served as Minister for Tourism and Infrastructure.
The former MP’s election was subsequently voided following an election challenge, creating the vacancy filled by Thursday’s by-election.
‘Aminiasi Tonga Pau‘u Tangimana won the Ongo Niua 17 seat with 435 votes in a five-candidate contest.
Paea ‘i Vaha Filimoehala was second with 138 votes, followed by Sitiveni Selui with 144 votes, Sione Tuifio Hui with 50 and ‘Aisake Hoatatau Finau with 14.
The new representative is the son of former Ongo Niua 17 MP Lataifaingata‘a Tangimana, whose 2025 election was declared void following an election petition. Parliament said in April that the Supreme Court had declared the election void, with the matter then subject to an appeal.
The two seats therefore remain represented by members of the same families, but by newly elected MPs.
The immediate change is that Tongatapu 2 and Ongo Niua 17 will again have elected People’s Representatives in Parliament.
The new MPs will join the Legislative Assembly at a time when the House is dealing with the Government’s 2026/27 programme and budget.
Tongan Parliament passed the $949.4 million(US$395.57 million) 2026/27 Government Budget in June.
The by-elections also close a significant chapter arising from the 2025 general election, replacing two MPs whose seats became vacant following court proceedings…..PACNEWS
JAPAN – INVASIVE SPECIES: PACNEWS PACNEWS 3: Fri 09 Oct 2026
Government and communities unite to eradicate mongoose from Amami-Oshima
By PACNEWS Editor, Makereta Komai in Amami-Oshima, Japan
AMAMI-OSHIMA, 09 OCTOBER 2026(PACNEWS)— A 20-year partnership between the Japanese Government and local communities has successfully eradicated the Asian mongoose from Amami-Oshima Island, one of the four islands designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage site in southwestern Japan.
The eradication programme cost about JPY3.6 billion (about USD$24 million) and was officially declared successful in 2024, after 45 years since the first mongooses were released on the island.
About 30 mongooses were introduced to Amami-Oshima in 1979 to control venomous habu snakes and rats.
Instead, the mongoose became a major threat to the island’s native wildlife, including the endangered Amami black rabbit.
Ichihito Yamamoto, a ranger at the Amami Wildlife Centre, said the mongoose population grew rapidly and reached an estimated 10,000 by 2000.
“As the mongoose population increased, native species such as the Amami rabbit, Amami spiny rat and Amami Ishikawa frog began to decline,” he said.
The Japanese Government, through the Ministry of Environment, introduced the Invasive Alien Species Act in 2005, allowing a major eradication programme to begin.
Yamamoto said removing the mongooses from the island’s mountainous and difficult-to-reach areas was a major challenge.
This led to the formation of the Amami Mongoose Busters in 2005, bringing together local people with professional trapping skills.
The group used traps and specially trained detection dogs to track mongooses and locate their hiding places.
By 2018, more than 32,000 mongooses had been captured.
The Japanese Ministry of Environment also introduced a bounty system, initially paying JPY2,200 (USD$31).
Yamamoto said the eradication programme was successful because of the strong partnership between government and local communities.
“I am 99.9 percent sure that all the mongooses have been removed from the island,” he said.
However, traps are still being kept in some areas in case any mongooses remain.
“This is an example of what can be done when the government and citizens work together to protect the environment from invasive species,” Yamamoto said.
He said wild goats are now emerging as another concern for the island’s biodiversity.
Amami-Oshima was among three other islands as a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site in 2021 because of its rich biodiversity.
The island is home to Japan’s largest subtropical evergreen forest and thousands of species of plants, insects, birds, amphibians and mammals.
But invasive species and road kills remain a challenge.
Yamamoto said about 160 endangered Amami black rabbits are killed on the island’s roads every year.
Fighting invasive species together
The experience of Amami-Oshima offers an important lesson for Pacific Island countries that continue to fight invasive species.
In Fiji, the Asian mongoose remains a major threat to the critically endangered Fiji crested iguana on Yadua Taba, a small island off the northwest coast of Vanua Levu.
Yadua Taba is managed as a protected sanctuary by the National Trust of Fiji, with strict measures to keep invasive predators such as mongooses, feral cats and rats off the island.
The island is home to about 12,000 of the estimated 13,000 Fiji crested iguanas left in the world. A single mongoose reaching the island could have a serious impact on the population.
Like Amami-Oshima, mongooses were introduced to control rats. They were brought to Fiji in 1883 during the colonial period to protect sugar cane fields.
Fiji is now implementing a Species Action Plan for its iguanas, focusing on habitat protection and restoration, invasive predator control, better forestry and farming practices, and working with local communities.
The success of Yadua Taba in protecting the Fiji crested iguana has also made the species a symbol of the island nation’s biodiversity conservation efforts.
The experience of Amami-Oshima shows that removing invasive species can take decades, significant investment and strong commitment.
But it also shows that when governments and communities work together, there is a greater chance of protecting native species and the environment for future generations…. PACNEWS
FIJI – DIPLOMACY: PACNEWS PACNEWS 3: Fri 09 Oct 2026
Fiji calls for evidence in U.S allegations against Chinese businessman
SUVA, 09 OCTOBER 2026 (PACNEWS)—Fiji says allegations of unlawful activities committed within the country must be investigated through its legal and law enforcement processes, following a United States decision targeting a Chinese businessman resident in Fiji.
The Fijian Government has called on U.S authorities to provide credible evidence of alleged offences committed in Fiji so they can be assessed and investigated by the relevant local authorities.
In a statement, the Government acknowledged the U.S decision but stressed that allegations must be supported by evidence and handled in accordance with the law.
“Allegations do not constitute proof of wrongdoing,” the Government said, reaffirming its commitment to due process and the presumption of innocence.
The statement also recognised the United States’ sovereign right to make decisions under its own laws and policies.
Fiji said it remained committed to working with the United States and other international partners to combat transnational crime and other unlawful activities, provided cooperation was pursued through appropriate legal processes and in accordance with the rule of law.
Fiji-based businessman Zhao Fugang, director of the Overseas Chinese Service Centre in Fiji, has categorically denied the U.S allegations, describing them as unsubstantiated.
The United States alleges Zhao paid bribes to Fijian citizens to advance Chinese government, business and criminal interests.
The designation makes Zhao and his immediate family generally ineligible to enter the United States.
“I categorically deny the allegations. They are unsubstantiated,” Zhao said in a statement….PACNEWS
COOKS – DIPLOMACY: COOK ISLANDS GOVT PACNEWS 3: Fri 09 Oct 2026
Cook Islands and New Zealand officials meet to chart the next steps in their partnership
RAROTONGA, 09 OCTOBER 2026 (COOK ISLANDS GOVT)—-The Cook Islands and New Zealand have agreed to work together on renewing the Waka Hourua/Vaka Purua Statement of Partnership, which will continue to guide the partnership between the two countries.
The agreement came during the Joint Ministerial Forum Work Group (JMFWG), hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration in Rarotonga on 5 October 2026.
Discussions between senior officials were framed around the shared pillars of Well-being, Prosperity and Security.
“Our relationship with New Zealand is grounded in close constitutional, cultural and family ties,” said Secretary Wright-Koteka, who led the Cook Islands delegation.
“This meeting was an opportunity not just to take stock, but to agree on how we carry the partnership forward together, as Realm partners and as members of the Pacific family.”
Officials recognised education as an important priority for the Cook Islands, including tertiary and vocational training pathways for Cook Islands students and support for schools in the Pa Enua.
Looking ahead to the next phase of development cooperation from mid-2027, both sides agreed on the importance of the Infrastructure Trust Fund in supporting the Cook Islands’ infrastructure needs. Officials also discussed economic resilience, including fuel security and climate finance.
Both sides welcomed the close working relationship on defence and security and agreed to further progress practical consultation arrangements under the 2026 Declaration on Defence and Security.
They also agreed on the importance of maintaining open and frank conversations where their foreign policy interests intersect.
Regional cooperation was also discussed ahead of New Zealand chairing the Pacific Islands Forum in 2027, along with preparations for the next Joint Ministerial Forum, which the Cook Islands has proposed hosting in early 2027.
The Cook Islands delegation included the Chief of Staff from the Office of the Prime Minister, the Financial Secretary from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management, and the Secretary of the Ministry of Education.
The New Zealand delegation was led by Bernadette Cavanagh, Deputy Secretary, Pacific and Development Group at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and included Catherine Graham, New Zealand High Commissioner to the Cook Islands.
The meeting provided an opportunity to progress practical priorities across the relationship and prepare for the next Joint Ministerial Forum in 2027….PACNEWS
FIJI – DRUGS FIGHT: FIJI SUN PACNEWS 3: Fri 09 Oct 2026
State seeks Fiji court approval to destroy 2.64 tonnes of cocaine
SUVA, 09 0CTOBER 2026 (FIJI SUN)—The State is moving to destroy 2.64 tonnes of cocaine seized at the Vatia Wharf in Fiji’s Western division drug bust before the case goes to trial in February next year.
Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions John Rabuku said the State would file an application today seeking the court’s approval to dispose of the drugs, which have an estimated street value of around $3 billion(US$1.5 billion) .
The cocaine is currently being guarded by the Police Mobile Force (PMF) under 24-hour surveillance in Nasinu.
Rabuku said the State wanted the destruction completed before the trial so the case could proceed without the drugs remaining in storage.
“We are filing our application today to destroy the drugs, and then the defence are served, the court will fix it for a hearing date for arguments, and then we’re going forward with it,” he said.
He said the cocaine would be retested and reweighed before any destruction, as is normally ordered by the court in large drug cases.
This would allow the court to confirm that the quantity of drugs remained intact and give the defence an opportunity to have the exhibits retested.
Rabuku said the court could also order a portion of the drugs to be retained for training purposes, including for canine units and police officers.
“Because we’re dealing with large amounts, the court wants to see that those amounts are still maintained.”
The Vatia drugs are also held under the direct supervision of the Director of the Criminal Investigations Department.
Rabuku said early disposal was important given the security risks involved in storing large quantities of illicit drugs.
He said the State had previously secured the destruction of 4.5 tonnes of Legalega drugs well before trial in another case.
“My applications always come early. 4.5 tonnes was destroyed way before the trial date,” he said.
The Vatia case is scheduled for trial in February next year. Before then, the court will determine the application after the defence has been served and given an opportunity to make its arguments….PACNEWS
FIJI – COURTS: FBC NEWS PACNEWS 3: Fri 09 Oct 2026
Bail denied in Fiji High Court evidence tampering case
SUVA, 09 OCTOBER 2026 (FBC NEWS) —The Suva Magistrates Court has refused bail for 51-year-old Jiuta Naivalurua Raibevu, who is allegedly linked to the tampering of exhibits at the Suva High Court.
Raibevu is charged with one count of interfering with evidence and one count of unlawful possession of illicit drugs.
Appearing in court this morning, he was remanded in custody after the prosecution informed the court that full disclosures will be made next week.
The case has been adjourned to 23 October for mention.
Raibevu is the first person to be charged and produced in court in relation to the matter.
Police have confirmed that investigations into the alleged involvement of others are ongoing….PACNEWS
PAC – PREPCOP31/DIPLOMACY: FIJI SUN PACNEWS 3: Fri 09 Oct 2026
Diplomacy begins with listening, says Sabrina Khan
SUVA, 09 OCTOBER 2026 (FIJI SUN)—Before nations negotiate, people must first talk.
That principle was on display at the Pacific Voices & Leadership exhibition during Fiji’s pre-COP31 meetings in Nadi this week, where community groups, students, humanitarian workers and delegates met face to face.
Among those taking part was international human rights lawyer Sabrina Khan, founder of the Fiji Rural Women’s Empowerment Network and recipient of the New South Wales Human Rights Medal and the Fiji Medal of honour.
Khan’s work in Fiji has long focused on community dialogue, mediation and women’s empowerment. At the exhibition, she came to listen to communities whose experiences help shape the Pacific’s voice on the international stage.
She wore a black dress of her own design, featuring tapa-inspired patterns on the sleeves and neckline — a tribute to a traditional craft rooted in women working together.
“I had meaningful dialogue with the Fiji Red Cross Society, Return & Earn Fiji, a Pacific women’s rights group and the Fiji National University team,” she said.
“Diplomacy does not begin in negotiating rooms. It begins with listening to communities.”
Her discussion with the Fiji Red Cross Society focused on disaster preparedness, including pre-positioned containers of emergency supplies and early warning systems.
Khan said such preparedness depended not only on infrastructure but also on trust built through sustained dialogue between communities, governments and humanitarian partners.
At the Return & Earn Fiji stand, the conversation shifted to waste infrastructure and regional cooperation, including partnerships that enable recyclable materials to be processed in Australia.
For Khan, it was diplomacy in practical form, with neighbouring countries working together across borders while strengthening local capacity.
At the Fiji National University stand, the conversation came full circle.
Khan reunited with a woman she had previously supported through one of her community initiatives aimed at empowering women. Seeing her now thriving offered a personal reminder of what sustained community engagement can achieve.
“Dialogue builds the trust diplomacy depends on,” Ms Khan said. “When we listen at the grassroots, Pacific voices carry further.”….PACNEWS
PNG – ROCKS: PHYS.ORG PACNEWS 3: Fri 09 Oct 2026
Mysterious Papua New Guinea rock reveals unexpected cooling as it descended deeper underground
PORT MORESBY, 09 OCTOBER 2026 (PHYS.ORG) —The discovery of an unexpectedly hot rock beneath Earth’s surface is challenging scientists’ understanding of how heat is distributed deep inside the planet, with potential implications for how they understand earthquakes, volcanic activity and the movement of carbon through Earth.
An international research team focused on a rock from northern Papua New Guinea, where the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates move toward each other, causing rocks to be carried deep underground through a process known as subduction.
The researchers found that the rock experienced temperatures of about 800°C (1,472°F) at a depth of 45 kilometers (28 miles) below the surface and became about 100°C colder after reaching depths of more than 90 kilometers (56 miles).
Study co-author Dr Axel Schmitt of Curtin University said the finding was unexpected because temperatures would normally be expected to gradually increase with depth.
The research is published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
“What makes this rock so interesting is that it records two very different thermal conditions at different stages of its time deep inside Earth,” Schmitt said.
“At about 45 kilometers (28 miles) deep, the rock was surprisingly hot, but as it traveled deeper, it entered an environment that was cooler than we would normally expect at that depth.”
The researchers were able to reconstruct the rock’s history by analysing tiny inclusions of the minerals coesite and zircon trapped inside the mineral garnet. Coesite forms under extremely high pressures, providing evidence that the rock reached depths of at least 90 kilometers (56 miles) beneath Earth’s surface, whereas zircon provides age information on when this happened.
Schmitt said the findings challenged current models of the thermal conditions within subduction zones.
“Finding this change from relatively hot conditions at shallower depths to colder conditions deeper down was unexpected
“One possibility is that intense shearing where the tectonic plates meet generates additional heat at relatively shallow depths. Another is that the subduction zone had not yet cooled to the lower temperatures expected,” Schmitt said.
Schmitt said subduction zones are sites of earthquakes and volcanic activity and play an important role in Earth’s long-term carbon cycle, carrying rocks and elements deep into the planet.
“The findings suggest the thermal structure of these zones may be more complex than previously thought, helping scientists better understand how subduction operates over millions to billions of years,” Schmitt said.
“Understanding these temperature changes helps us build a clearer picture of the extreme conditions deep inside Earth, where tectonic plates collide and drive processes that shape the planet’s surface,” he said……PACNEWS
PACNEWS BIZ
PNG – SCAMS: OCCRP PACNEWS BIZ: Fri 09 Oct 2026
Police say scam centre busted in PNG had moved from Cambodia
PORT MORESBY, 09 OCTOBER 2026 (OCCRP)—A suspected online scam operation that was raided by police in Papua New Guinea last month is believed to have relocated to the Pacific island country in response to a crackdown on online fraud in Cambodia, local police have told OCCRP.
So far four Chinese citizens have been charged with human trafficking offences over the alleged scam centre, which operated out of a luxury residential complex in PNG’s capital, Port Moresby. Police rescued 39 Indonesian workers in the raid who are suspected of being held against their will.
The suspected Port Moresby scam operation is the first of its kind in Papua New Guinea, a resource-rich but underdeveloped country of 11 million people. Experts have warned that small and poor states across the globe are at risk of turning into new bases for Asian syndicates that profit from the world’s US$1 trillion a year online scam industry.
Cambodia has for years served as a centre for massive scam compounds, many of which rely on trafficked workers, but international pressure since late last year has led the country’s authoritarian government to turn against the illicit industry. Thousands of scam operators have since left the country.
The recently raided scam operation “came into Papua New Guinea in June of this year basically escaping out from Cambodia,” Donald Yamasombi, the chief of special operations for the PNG police, told OCCRP.
He added that those working in the raided villa appeared to be targeting Indonesian victims online.
In addition to the four already arrested, Yamasombi said police were still looking for a fifth Chinese national who is believed to have played a leading role in the operation and who is likely still in hiding in Port Moresby.
“Yes, so he’s the main kingpin, if you would like to call him that,” Yamasombi said, adding that local police were working with counterparts from Australia to crack electronic devices seized in the raid.
He said the raid highlighted the vulnerability of “relaxed” Pacific island states to the transnational criminal networks behind online scams.
“Given our type of living where we don’t worry too much about what other people do… is I think a vulnerability that [people] with criminal minds can easily capitalise on,” he said….PACNEWS
FIJI – PRECOP/SOLAR POWER: FIJI SUN PACNEWS BIZ: Fri 09 Oct 2026
399 Fiji communities targeted for solar power
NADI, 09 OCTOBER 2026 (FIJI SUN) — Solar power is being rolled out to rural and maritime communities in Fiji, with 399 targeted under the Fiji Rural Electrification Fund, while about 1.5 million people across the Pacific still have no grid access.
This was highlighted by UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) Deputy Resident Representative Abduvakkos Abdurahmanov in Nadi this week.
Abdurahmanov said the old way of moving “from one village to another, one project, one donor” was too slow and costly.
Villages are now being grouped into clusters. Early studies are done in 75 communities, and 22 priority sites prepared.
The first three sites will support more than 1000 people with about 250 households.
They will cut about 2900 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Government earlier named Yacata, Yadrana and Kioa as Phase One sites.
“Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Korea provided about US$9.3 million in initial financing,” Abdurahmanov said.
Minister for Public Works Transport and Meteorological Services Ro Filipe Tuisawau said “…. a project serving 60 to 80 households on a remote island may be socially essential, economically transformative”.
Rural electrification, he said, “… is investment in rural development”.
Abdurahmanov said power should let farmers and fishers refrigerate, dry and store produce, and keep health centres and digital classrooms running.
“It’s not about the number of solar panels installed… it’s about what comes after,” he said.
He warned that upkeep was the real test.
“The harder question is not only how to install the energy system, but also the maintenance,” he said.
“UNDP hopes to set up similar arrangements in Tuvalu and Vanuatu, but every context still has its nuances,” he said……PACNEWS
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The views expressed in PACNEWS are those of agencies contributing articles and do not necessarily those of PINA and/or PACNEWS
Protecting our Pacific families before crisis strikes
By Akosita Talei
SIGATOKA, 09 OCTOBER 2026 (SPC)—What happens when government agencies, veterinarians, health experts, biosecurity officers, defence forces and regional partners come together to prepare for a disease outbreak before it becomes a regional crisis?
In Sigatoka, Fiji, more than 70 participants put preparedness to the test, strengthening the collaboration and coordination needed to protect Pacific livelihoods and food security.
Every day, Pacific families face challenges that test their resilience. From rising living costs to natural disasters, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and climate change, communities across the region continue to adapt, prepare and look out for each other.
However, resilience is not built by responding to one challenge at a time. It’s built by preparing for the full range of threats that could potentially affect our families, communities, and countries, including those we hope never reach our shores.
This was the focus of Fiji’s High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu, Simulation Exercise led by the Biosecurity Authority of Fiji (BAF) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Waterways, in collaboration with the Pacific Community (SPC). Held in Sigatoka, the exercise included participation from Tonga, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and Kiribati. Supported by the United States Government and New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries (NZ MPI), the exercise tested how sectors across Fiji would work together in the event of a serious animal disease outbreak.
At its heart was a simple but important question: If a serious animal disease reached Fiji or one of its Pacific neighbours, would we be ready to respond?
From plans to practice
Preparedness begins long before an emergency occurs. Prior to the simulation exercise, participants first engaged in a tabletop activity, working through scenario-based exercises to test how agencies would communicate and coordinate a response.
The simulation exercise was the next step. This time, participants moved from theoretical discussions into action, testing Fiji’s draft Animal Biosecurity Emergency Response Plan under realistic conditions. Participants worked through evolving scenarios, coordinated across multiple agencies and observed how different organisations would respond in the event of an outbreak.
The goal was not to prove that every system was perfect but to identify weaknesses, strengthen collaboration and improve multisectoral coordination before a real emergency ever put those systems to the test. Participants discovered that preparedness isn’t only about having plans in place. It’s about building relationships and understanding the different roles agencies play to be able to work together.
One of the biggest takeaways from the exercise was understanding that disease threats do not always arrive in obvious ways.
A presentation by Birdlife International showed how migratory birds travel thousands of kilometres across oceans and continents, creating natural pathways through which diseases can move between regions and countries. Birds don’t recognise borders, and neither do diseases.
What begins in wild bird populations can eventually affect poultry production, livelihoods, food supplies, businesses, household incomes and local economies. The impacts are often felt beyond where a disease first appears. Not because the threat is here today, but because preparing now is always better than reacting too late.
Learning to speak the same language
One of the strongest lessons from the exercise was that no single agency can manage an outbreak alone. Veterinarians, doctors, biosecurity officers, disaster specialists, environmental experts, defence personnel and the private sector all have important roles to play.
The Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) Director of Forces Development and Strategic Commitment, Colonel Aseri Rokoura, said the exercise provided a new perspective on biosecurity and the way it intersects with national preparedness.
Participants also identified practical challenges that only became visible when agencies and organisations worked together. Different agencies often use different procedures, terminology and operational boundaries.
Colonel Rokoura added that while these differences may seem minor during normal operations, they can become significant during an emergency response.
Kiribati’s Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agricultural Development Senior Agriculture Officer Tekemau Taremon said one of the biggest lessons was the importance of coordination and ensuring communities receive accurate and timely information.
A stronger Pacific
The lessons from the simulation exercise extend far beyond Fiji. Participants returned home with stronger networks and practical ideas to strengthen preparedness in their own countries.
Dr Michael Baer, Vanuatu’s Principal Veterinary Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry and Biosecurity said one of the most valuable takeaways was the importance of testing plans before they’re needed.
Dr Baer also highlighted the importance of bringing together the people who may form future Incident Management teams so there’s a better understanding of roles and responsibilities when in the event an outbreak takes place.
This is a lesson that resonates across the Pacific because although our islands are separated by vast oceans, many of the threats we continue to face daily are shared.
Dr Junel Castillo of Goodman Fielder International in Fiji says the exercise was another important step in strengthening regional readiness.
Dr Castillo highlighted this while welcoming the growing involvement of both public and private sector partners. His reflection captured one of the exercise’s greatest strengths in bridging together sectors that would ultimately have to work together during a real emergency. It also showed regional cooperation is not simply a collaboration model but a necessity and one that is very important.
A disease outbreak in one country can quickly become a regional concern, so preparedness in one country strengthens preparedness across the region.
The measure of success
Many families in the Pacific will never know what happened during the simulation exercise, nor should they need to, but if preparedness works, then there will be no headlines, no panic and no communities caught off guard because life will simply go on with markets remaining open, businesses continuing normal operations, and families remaining protected. That’s exactly what participants worked towards. The true value of preparedness is found in the threats that are contained, livelihoods protected and the confidence that comes from knowing the Pacific was ready before it was ever tested.
The simulation exercise was led by the Biosecurity Authority of Fiji (BAF), Ministry of Agriculture and Waterways in collaboration with the Pacific-Community-SPC and supported by the United States Government and New Zealand’s Ministry of Primary Industries (NZMPI). The three-day exercise strengthened detection, coordination and response capacity, using real-life scenarios simulating how an outbreak might occur in Fiji or any other country in the region…..PACNEWS
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The views expressed in PACNEWS are those of agencies contributing articles and do not necessarily those of PINA and/or PACNEWS
Pacific experience and expertise on Loss and Damage at WIM ExCom 25
Written by, Mathilde Kraft, SPC PhD Affiliated Researcher.
MAJURO, 09 OCTOBER 2026 (SPC)—From 14 to 18 September, the Marshall Islands hosted the 25th convening of the Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts (WIM ExCom 25) in Majuro.
It was only the second time the Committee had met outside Bonn and the first time in the Pacific, made possible through the COP31 Australia Pacific Partnership. For SPC, the meeting offered a valuable opportunity to engage with the WIM ExCom and its expert groups, while also highlighting the realities facing Pacific Islands and low-lying atoll nations such as the Marshall Islands, and the practical, community-led approaches they are developing to respond to loss and damage.
About the WIM ExCom
The WIM ExCom is a global climate body established at UNFCCC COP19 to guide the implementation of the WIM. It comprises 20 members from Parties to the Convention, including 10 members from Annex I Parties and 10 members from non-Annex I Parties, representing different geographies and groupings (e.g., LDCs, SIDS). The work of the WIM ExCom is technical in nature and Members are usually selected for their knowledge and expertise on loss and damage. The WIM ExCom is part of the support architecture on loss and damage under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, which also includes a mechanism on technical assistance, the Santiago Network, and a funding mechanism, the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (FLRD).
The ExCom implements the activities of its five-year rolling workplan through five strategic workstreams, with corresponding thematic expert groups: (a) slow onset events (SOEs), by the Expert Group on SOE; (b) non-economic losses (NELs), by the NELs Expert Group, (c) comprehensive risk management (CRM), by the Technical Expert Group on CRM (TEG-CRM); (d) human mobility, by the Task Force on Displacement (TFD); and (e) on action and support, by the Action and Support Expert Group (ASEG).
The ExCom meetings organise the technical work, guidelines and recommendations produced by Members, the expert groups and various stakeholders on loss and damage, including comprehensive knowledge products on Loss and Damage, which can be accessed here: WIM Executive Committee | UNFCCC . These knowledge products can directly inform efforts by governments and actors, as well as the technical assistance provided through the Santiago Network.
Sharing the lived experience of Loss and Damage in Pacific Islands
International in scope, the hosting by the Marshall Islands was an opportunity to showcase the experiences and approaches developed nationally and in the Pacific, as well as to share the lived reality of low-lying atoll nations facing sea level rise. Hon. Minister Jess Gasper, Minister-in-Assistance to the President and Environment of the Marshall Islands, who is also the Bikini/Kili/Ejit (KBE) Senator, further recalled the historical context of losing homes and land through nuclear testing: loss and damage are, in his words, “not abstract words to us – we understand displacement, we understand irremediable loss, the consequences of actions far beyond our control”. This lived experience resonated strongly: for many overseas committee members, it was their first time on an atoll, and they repeatedly referred back to the context of atoll vulnerability throughout the meeting’s discussions to stress the importance of progressing climate action and the work of the WIM.
During the opening ceremony chaired by RMI Climate Envoy Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner, Ms Jerolynn Myazoe, Programme Manager for Loss and Damage shared the Climate Change Directorate of the Marshall Islands’ approach, challenges and lessons learned in developing its national response to Loss and Damage, with support from New Zealand MFAT funding. The programme covers data collection, policy and capacity development, non-economic loss and damage through youth projects and LiDAR assessments. She spoke about the need to start with defining loss and damage in Marshallese terms, to strengthen community understanding and to build a baseline that reflects the diversity of contexts and community voices and experiences, all while acknowledging high levels of consultation fatigue.
Loss and damage work is approached intergenerationally, supporting youth to address L&D issues in their own ways. Youth leaders, including Danity Laukon, from the local NGO Jo-Jikum shared their experience addressing cultural loss and damage by working with communities in outer islands to document local heritage stories, chants, arts, song tradition and stories associated with certain sites and places. This cultural heritage is then shared in booklets that are integrated into Marshallese curriculum and become tools to pass down culture, strengthening manit (Marshallese culture) to address the loss of sacred cultural grounds, traditional knowledge, fishing methods and use of traditional medicinal plants, community identity, forced migration, social ties, loss of wellbeing, psychological stress, and the compromised sense of everyday dignity.
The ExCom also heard from Leba Gaunavinaka, Fiji NDC Adaptation Advisor, on Fiji’s journey developing and implementing its Planned Relocation Guidelines. In Fiji, climate change is the dominant driver of displacement warranting a response; communities are presented with options ranging from in place adaptation measures to relocation as a last resort. The guidelines cover various considerations such as community participation, culture and gender, financing cultural and risk assessments.
4th annual meeting of all expert groups
The 4th annual meeting of all expert groups took place in parallel to the ExCom negotiations. The thematic sessions included a focus on the methodologies and assessments for technical assistance, funding requests and national response plans, presented by expert group members from the region. These included values-based and story-line methods to assess no-economic loss and damage and examples of efforts to develop national responses. The session on compounding risks and cascading impacts presented the pathways and interconnections that link climate impacts, for instance on fisheries or sea level rise, to losses of income, food security, health and culture. A demonstration of the interactive 3D model of the Laura island in Majuro and LiDAR model projections of areas at risk of inundation and salinisation of the water lens particularly impressed the international experts and spurred a lively discussion on communities’ response to the projections. As Bertine Lakjohn, National Adaptation Plan (NAP) Coordinator at CCD, explained, the model serves as an entry point for CCD’s awareness programme around the NAP.
WIM ExCom 25 outcomes and the road to COP31
The meeting adopted a set of recommendations for inclusion in its 2026 annual report, to be submitted to the UNFCCC COP and Paris Agreement CMA later this year. Key outcomes included the adoption of voluntary guidelines for enhancing collection and management of data and information to inform the preparation of biennial transparency reports (BTRs), and a recommendation on information collection in preparation for the second global stocktake. ….PACNEWS
The list of recommendations are accessible, here: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Recommendations_18092026_as_adopted.pdf
For more information: Pasha Carruthers, Climate Change Loss and Damage Advisor, Climate Change and Sustainabily Division, Pacific Community (SPC) pashac@spc.int
Michelle DeFreese, Loss and Damage Funding Coordinator (Danish Funds), Climate Change and Sustainability Division, Pacific Community (SPC) michelled@spc.int
