Read the latest news from regional and global sources, presenting different voices and perspectives.

Tjibaou on New Caledonia talks in Paris: “We want to resolve this now”
Koror, Palau-It’s been two weeks since the curtains fell on the third UN Ocean Conference. At this largest ever ocean summit, the Pacific voice echoed as a collective, calling for more global ocean accountability, and offering transformational...

Climate change made May’s Arctic heatwave 3C hotter, scientists say
“People often think of countries like India, Italy and the US when we talk about climate change and heatwaves,” says Dr Sarah Kew, researcher at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute. But, as a new study from the World Weather Attribution...

Israel and Ukraine Used Smuggled Drones To Wreak Havoc on Their Enemies. Could China Do the Same?
A covert Israeli drone base secretly installed in the heart of Iran. More than 100 Ukrainian remote-controlled military aircraft smuggled deep into Russia, concealed under wooden sheds. Israel and Ukraine have activated these assets to devastating...

PACIFIC JOURNOS MEET CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY OFFICIAL, PRAISE CHINA
Beijing, China – SIX Pacific Islands journalists met with the Director of the Pacific Island Division, Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs of the Chinese Ministry on Foreign Affairs, Gu Xinqiang in Beijing and exchanged views within...

Global Climate Risk Index Ranks 188 Countries by Vulnerability and Access to Finance
The Climate Finance Vulnerability Index ranks 188 countries according to both their vulnerability to hazards and their financial resilience. Researchers at the Columbia Climate School, with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, have unveiled a...

Our voyage to Statehood, 60 years on: understanding the nature and practice of free-association as we reflect on our development journey
Prime Minister Mark Brown. SUPPLIED. This year, the Cook Islands marks 60 years of self-governance, an historic milestone in our voyage to statehood, by Mark Brown, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands. In 1965, our people chose to shape our own...

New Index Ranks Vulnerabilities of 188 Nations to Climate Shocks
Columbia Climate School identifies 65 ‘Red Zone’ nations across four separate climate scenarios. 43 nations in Sub-Saharan Africa, eight in Latin America and the Caribbean, six in Asia-Pacific, six in the Middle East, and two in Europe are most...

Time for Australia to sign non-nuclear treaty
Australia has long been at the forefront of global efforts towards the containment of nuclear threats. Now, in the wake of the American military strikes on Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency says the global nonproliferation system is on...

Pacific Islands News Roundup – June 20 – June 26, 2025
Editor’s Note: We are undergoing a web host migration process and may need to make necessary modifications to our format and frequency over the next several weeks. Thank you in advance for your understanding. Political Leadership and Regionalism,...

World Bank: Conflict, instability driving extreme poverty in Nigeria and 38 other economies
The World Bank has raised alarm over the growing impact of conflict and instability on 39 developing economies, including Nigeria, warning that these states are being left behind on key development indicators, with extreme poverty, hunger, and...

Nearly a third of Tuvaluans have applied for climate migration visa
Tuvalu is extremely vulnerable to sea level rise Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images How does it feel to lose your home to climate change? The roughly 10,000 residents of Tuvalu will be among the first in the world to have to confront this question....

China in the Pacific – Joint statement of the Third China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
FROM May 28 to 29, 2025, the People’s Republic of China and Pacific Island Countries having diplomatic relations with China (hereinafter referred to as “All parties”) held the third China-Pacific Island Countries Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. The...

Truth about UK nuclear veterans 'covered up', says Andy Burnham
Carys Nally and Samuel KerrBBC Newsnight ShareSave The truth about tens of thousands British veterans who tested nuclear bombs has been "covered up for decades", the mayor of Greater Manchester has alleged. Andy Burnham told BBC Newsnight the...

ADB’s Director General for Pacific in Honiara
Director General (DG) of the Pacific Department within the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) is on a five-day visit to the Solomons. Emma Veve who was appointed to the position in late February 2025 arrived in Honiara on Monday and has been visiting...

Korea’s Nuclear Landscape: Past and Present
The Korean Peninsula is no stranger to nuclear weapons. The quest to build a Korean bomb goes back to Kim Il Sung’s efforts in the 1950s. Beginning in 1958, the United States deployed multiple nuclear weapons systems in the South, reaching a peak...

EXPERT REACTION: Dengue in the Pacific region
What is the immediate threat posed by dengue in the Pacific region, and how is this changing? "1. Increasing morbidity due to escalating dengue outbreaks reported across the Pacific region with circulation of multiple serotypes. "Dengue is...

Fiji and Japan sign agreement on project for improving cyber security capability in the Pacific
Fiji and Japan sign agreement on project for improving cyber security capability in the Pacific Permanent Secretary of Policing Berenado Daveta and JICA Fiji Office Resident Representative Satoshi Wakasugi signed an agreement on the record of...
Reinforcing the links between the law and Pacific fisheries' sectors
The Judicial Symposium 2025 opened on Wednesday in Honiara, bringing together Regional Chief Justices of Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. Photo: Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency Justice experts and fisheries...

What Happens When a Country Sinks?
[By Sheridan Ward] What happens when a country ceases to exist? Where do its people go, who no longer have a citizenship to protect them? Statelessness usually follows conflict, or the dissolution or unification of a country, such as occurred with...

Barbican shares its Artistic Vision for 2025-2030, brought to life in its autumn 2025 season
Today, the Barbican enters a new era as it shares its Artistic Vision for 2025-2030, brought to life in its Autumn 2025 Season. Reimagining the Barbican’s programming model with ideas-led seasons that find synergies across its many artforms –...