SAVING THE REEFS

Divers clutch wooden spears as they plunge beneath the waves, hunting hordes of hungry starfish destroying the coral reefs around the Cook Islands. These makeshift tools are their best weapons in the war against crown-of-thorns starfish, a...

Pasifika Sipoti in brief for 10 September

The board announcement was made in Port Moresby on Tuesday by the ARLC chairman Peter V'landys AM and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo, alongside PNG Prime Minister James Marape and Australian Minister for Pacific Island Affairs Pat Conroy. Photo: Office of...

Pacific Islands race to contain 'largest dengue fever outbreak in a decade', as disease kills 18 people

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Dengue fever has struck countries across the Pacific, where health authorities have recorded 23,500 suspected cases and 16,000 laboratory confirmed cases this year. The mosquito-borne illness has killed 18 people,...

More children worldwide are obese than underweight, says UNICEF

More school-aged children and adolescents are obese than underweight across the globe, according to a new UNICEF report. The only exceptions are sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The report blamed unhealthy food environments for this shift. It...

Pacific pushes to lock in maritime boundaries, secure 100 percent ocean…

By Pita Ligaiula in Honiara, Solomon Islands The Pacific is closing in on finalising its maritime boundaries and securing permanent ocean entitlements, with regional leaders warned that delays carry real risks for sovereignty, fisheries, and food...

A sales-pitch pivot brings deep-sea mining closer to reality

Early on, Canada-based The Metals Company cast the rocks it seeks to mine from the deep seafloor as a crucial resource for electric vehicle batteries and other green technologies, positioning them as a solution to the accelerating climate crisis....

More children are obese than underweight, says Unicef

For the first time, there are more children in the world who are obese than underweight, according to a major study by children's charity Unicef. Around one in 10 of those aged between five and 19 years old - around 188 million children and young...

Junk food leads to more children being obese than underweight for first time

More children around the world are obese than underweight for the first time, according to a UN report that warns ultra-processed junk food is overwhelming childhood diets. There are 188 million teenagers and school-age children with obesity – one...

The burden of chairing the Pacific Islands Forum

Sione Tekiteki As the Pacific Islands Forum happens this week in Solomon Islands, the spotlight will fall on the leaders gathering under one roof. All Forum meetings are memorable (or sometimes infamous) for different reasons, but for those at the...

45 years of ‘quiet service’

Cook Islands’ chief statistician and chief electoral officer Taggy Tangimetua was honoured with a Certificate of Recognition for her 45 years of service. MFEM/ 25070334 Honoured for 45 years of service, Taggy Tangimetua has been instrumental in...

Hawaii’s Case aims to further strengthen US-Pacific Islands partnerships

Ed Case WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Ed Case of Hawaii announced that the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bipartisan foreign policy measure that included a provision of his Pacific Partnership Act to strengthen ties between the United...

U.S. House passes Hawaii reps PARTNER Act

(Washington, DC) — U.S. Representative Ed Case (Hawai‘i – First) announced that the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bipartisan foreign policy measure that included a provision of his Pacific Partnership Act to strengthen ties between...

Gordon Campbell On The Decline Of Winston Peters, And The Attacks On Helen Clark

As usual, last weekend’s New Zealand First conference in Palmerston North was very much about the Dear Leader. Alas, and like many other gentlemen of advancing years, Winston Peters has turned into one of the people that his younger self used to...

On The Decline Of Winston Peters, And The Attacks On Helen Clark

Article – Gordon Campbell As usual, last weekends New Zealand First conference in Palmerston North was very much about the Dear Leader. Alas, and like many other gentlemen of advancing years, Winston Peters has turned into one of the people that...

Pacific Islands Forum:

Leaders from 18 Pacific countries will gather in the Solomon Islands next month for the annual Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting (PIFLM). But why is such engagement important? According to Sione Tekiteki, a former PIF adviser and senior...

American Samoa says no to deep-sea mining. The Trump administration might do it anyway.

In early August, in the village of Utulei on the eastern shore of Tatuila, the largest of seven islands that make up American Samoa, more than two dozen local residents gathered in an auditorium. They were there to learn about a proposal to allow...

Case proposal advances to further strengthen US-Pacific Islands partnerships

File PC: (June 12, 2024) Office of Congressman Ed Case via YouTube US Rep. Ed Case announced that the US House of Representatives has passed a bipartisan foreign policy measure that included a provision of his Pacific Partnership Act to strengthen...

Trump a boon for deep-sea mining: industry boss

A leading deep-sea mining company in the paradisal Cook Islands is aiming to start commercial production by 2030, spurred on by Donald Trump's recent backing for the much-maligned industry. Moana Minerals wants to mine a swathe of deep ocean in...

FEATURE | What will this take? Securing and sustaining our Blue Pacific

First of all, I pay my deepest respects to traditional owners of lands on which we are meeting. I acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander elders, chiefs – past, present and emerging. Thank you. I am deeply honoured to be invited to...

Pacific Islands Forum: Expert on why region’s ‘Mini-UN’ matters

Leaders from 18 Pacific countries will gather in the Solomon Islands next month for the annual Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting (PIFLM). But why is such engagement important? According to Sione Tekiteki, a former PIF adviser and senior...