Chinese grifters tie up UN, Marshalls in scam

The stakes could scarcely have been higher for Hilda Heine, the former president of the Marshall Islands. For years, her remote archipelago nation of just 40,000 people was best known to the world — if known at all

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Opinion: High seas treaty too late to stop seabed mining

When the International Seabed Authority begins accepting applications for deep-sea mining operations in the coming weeks, there will remain a lingering question. How much control will authorities have over operations to

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Temperatures off the charts, but more records imminent: WMO

Global sea surface temperatures reached a record high in May, June, and July – and the warming El Niño weather pattern is only just getting started – experts at the UN World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said

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Israel frees Fijian UN peacekeepers cleared of drug smuggling suspicion

Israel has released three Fijian UN peacekeepers arrested for drug smuggling, after it emerged the suspicious substance they were carrying across the border was not liquid cocaine, police said Sunday. The three

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Pacific calls for immediate ratification of Highseas Treaty

As the global community embrace the adoption of the new Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) treaty, the Pacific are calling on the international community to seize this milestone momentum and rally

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First steps agreed on plastics treaty after breakthrough at Paris talks

Nation-state representatives have taken the first concrete step toward a legally binding treaty to regulate plastic, described as the most important green deal since the 2015 international climate agreement. The banging

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New Caledonia’s FLNKS wants ICJ advice on contested vote

A New Caledonian pro-independence leader says the advice of the International Court of Justice is being sought over the contested 2021 referendum on independence from France. Roch Wamytan, who is the president of New

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Samoa sends first team of UN Peacekeepers since COVID lockdown

A 10 member team of Samoan police officers leaves today for training in Jakarta, Indonesia before deployment under the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission. It is the first team sent for peace keeping duties since the

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Tongan Foreign Minister ‘Utoikamanu accepts Chair of the ESCAP 79th Session

Tongan Foreign Minister Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu is the new chair of the ESCAP 79th Session underway in Bangkok, Thailand this week. In her acceptance speech, ‘Utoikamanu said the deliberations of the

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UN resolution a victory for Pacific youth

The United Nations’ adoption of a resolution calling for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the obligations of States on climate change, is a victory for the Pacific, and for a group

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WHO dismisses Fijian senior official after sexual misconduct accusations

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has dismissed Dr Temo Waqanivalu, a senior official accused of three separate instances of sexual misconduct over five years. “Dr Temo Waqanivalu has been dismissed from WHO

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Current climate policies ‘a death sentence’ for the world: UN Chief

If governments continue with the same environmental policies currently in place, the world will become 2.8°C hotter by the end of the century, which would be “a death sentence”, warned the UN chief on Thursday.

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