Read the latest news from regional and global sources, presenting different voices and perspectives.
‘Catastrophic failures’: Defence budget squeeze hits navy maintenance
The Strategist
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July 9, 2025
The Defence budget squeeze has starved the Royal Australian Navy of sustainment funding. We see this in the scandalous state of two of the Royal Australian Navy’s most significant ships, revealed in an Australian National Audit Office (ANAO)...
Tonga and PIF set regional agenda ahead of Solomon Islands Summit
Talanoa 'O Tonga
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January 24, 2025
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Chair and Prime Minister, Hon. Dr. ‘Aisake Valu Eke, met with PIF Secretary General Baron Waqa here in Nuku’alofa yesterday to discuss key priorities ahead of the 54th PIF Leaders Meeting in September in Solomon...
Climate change and China will define US relations with Pacific Islands under Donald Trump, security experts say
Island Times
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January 24, 2025
By Doug Dingwall (ABC-Australia) Soon after Donald Trump’s election victory in November, a leader from one of the world’s smallest nations voiced a hope to take him snorkelling. Palau’s president Surangel Whipps Jr, leading a Pacific Island nation...
Scientists Dropped A Cow Carcass 1,629 Meters Into The South China Sea – And 8 Unexpected Visitors Turned Up
IFL Science
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July 8, 2025
Getting accurate information on animal species can be quite a challenge, especially when they live deep within the sea. One of those animals is the Pacific sleeper shark (Somniosus pacificus), which, despite its widespread distribution, remains...
Airborne Campaign Analyzing Climate Change in the Arctic
Newswise
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March 16, 2025
The Arctic is one of the regions most strongly affected by climate change. In recent decades, the temperature there has risen four times as fast as the global average. The ASCCI measurement campaign coordinated by the Karlsruhe Institute of...
“Fossil fuel behemoth:” The climate cost of Australia’s bipartisan addiction to coal and gas
Renew Economy
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March 13, 2025
Political bipartisanship across successive Australian governments has overseen a massive expansion of oil, gas and coal production despite promises to act on climate change over the last three decades, a new report suggests. The report, Exporting...
Global leaders pledge bolder cooperation and solidarity to accelerate a just and equitable energy transition and climate resilience
The AI Journal
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March 18, 2025
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, March 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Ministers from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Pacific have recommitted to exploring collaborative opportunities to accelerate a just and equitable energy transition. At...
Palau President Invites Trump To Go Snorkelling To Understand Climate Change Impact
News18
·
March 12, 2025
Last Updated:March 12, 2025, 16:26 IST Trump has called climate change a scam, pulled US out of the key Paris Agreement for a second time, and ended US participation in leading climate initiatives and research Palau's President Surangel Whipps Jr....
Snorkel With Me To Understand Climate Change, Palau President Tells Trump
International Business Times
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March 12, 2025
The leader of climate-vulnerable Palau wants US President Donald Trump to come snorkelling with him to understand the "slow death" caused by climate change, he told AFP in an interview on Wednesday. "I think it's good if we go snorkelling and look...
Empowering climate change leaders in agricultural sector
Talanoa 'O Tonga
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March 11, 2025
The Tonga Meteorological Service (TMS) has concluded a seven-day training program to improve climate data services, focusing on the agriculture sector. The training, part of the Climate Data for the Environment Services Client (CliDEsc)...
Kiwi Aid Agencies Urge Government To Increase Climate Finance & Foreign Aid Spending – Council for International Development
The Daily Blog
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March 17, 2025
In the lead-up to the 2025 budget, an open letter from New Zealand’s international development NGOs has asked the government to increase aid spending in the Pacific region, at a time of significant cutbacks by other bilateral donors. Aotearoa’s...
NZ-Tongan artist spotlights Pacific immigration challenges with humour
Talanoa 'O Tonga
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March 13, 2025
Christchurch-based Tongan artist John Vea’s new exhibition, “Ini Mini Mani Mou,” humorously highlights the bureaucratic hurdles Pacific migrants face in New Zealand. Opened on March 8 at the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, the...
Trend Micro bolsters pacific commitment as regional cyber landscape shifts
iTWire
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July 9, 2025
Trend Micro Incorporated, a global cybersecurity leader, is cementing its commitment to the Pacific Islands, building on strong public sector partnerships and rising demand for cyber resilience. The announcement follows the company’s inaugural...
Kiwi Aid Agencies Urge Government To Increase Climate Finance & Foreign Aid Spending
Business Scoop
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Press Release – Council for International Development The letter, from the Council for International Development (CID), the peak body for New Zealand NGOs and charities in the international development and humanitarian space is addressed to...
Tonga’s new Prime Minister, Dr ‘Aisake Valu Eke
Islands Business
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January 16, 2025
The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development is being held at one of the most difficult moments in recent history. At no time in post-Second World War history has the international environment been as challenging as it is...
Tonga’s PM says investigation underway into Covid-19 outbreak
Pacific News Service
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Investigations are being conducted into the source of a Covid-19 outbreak in Tonga, according to the prime minister Hu’akavameiliku Siaosi Sovaleni. The virus is suspected to have been transmitted from one of a number of merchant ships that had...
Pacific Island Countries See Australia as Preferred Partner Over China: Research
The Epoch Times
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July 6, 2025
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attends the leader’s retreat during the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Vava’u, Tonga, on Aug. 29, 2024. AAP Image/Lukas Coch Pacific Island countries (PIC) welcome Beijing’s contribution to...
Massive underwater eruption layered coral reefs with ash and suffocated marine life
Earth.com
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In 2022, the underwater Hunga volcano exploded, blasting ash 37 miles into the sky – the largest volcanic plume ever captured by satellites. What followed offered researchers a rare chance to see how the ocean floor responds to sudden, massive...
I condemn Francis Kapwepwe (Why Me) for his unacceptable attack against Tonga people- Miles Sampa
Zambian Observer
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March 11, 2025
*About attacks on the Tonga good people of the Southern Province and the Bemba good people of Northern Province* Today, I want to take a moment to address the kind of politics that I and my supporters stand against. We believe in respectful...
Parliament national debate targets seabed mining
Talanoa 'O Tonga
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July 5, 2025
The first Speaker’s Debate of 2025 launches 10 July, tackling the controversial issue of deep-sea mining. The public forum, beginning at 6:00 p.m. in Nukuʻalofa, will explore the economic benefits and environmental concerns of seabed mining—a...