Kiribati ‘a one-party state’: Former Opposition Leader Lambourne
Kiribati is becoming a one-party state while the delivery of basic services is near collapse, according to a former opposition
RNZ Pacific/Pacnews
Palau’s ancient builders
A project to understand and map Palau’s ‘green pyramids’, is bringing attention to a largely unknown period of early
PNG districts fail to submit financial acquittals
Community advocacy group ACT NOW reveals just 24 out of 96 Districts have lodged their financial acquittals for 2022 or
Fiji to join high ambition coalition on ending plastic pollution
The Fiji Cabinet has decided the nation will join a ‘High Ambition Coalition’, a group of nations working together to end plastic
Pacific artists collective focuses on cultural recovery
Rako Pasefika, a collective of Pacific Island artists from the island of Rotuma, is emerging as a powerful force of cultural
Briefs
American Samoa American Samoa's Senate has passed a bill that will increase fees paid to jurors for the first time in 44 years. The bill acknowledges the “important role in the criminal legal system” jurors play and
Movers and Shakers
Pacific government, business and community appointments and in memorium from Islands Business' September 2024
Indonesia, New Zealand deny paying Papuan rebels to free pilot
Jakarta and Wellington on Monday denied claims by a Papuan rebel spokesman that Indonesian authorities had paid a guerrilla commander to free a New Zealand pilot from 19 months of captivity. Egianus Kogoya, who
Tonga Supreme Court overturns Reserve Bank order to remove Development Bank’s CEO
The Tonga Supreme Court has ordered that the CEO and executive of the Tongan Development Bank are to remain in place. The court has ordered that the Development Bank not engage in any economic development activities
Deaths at Saint Louis overshadow anniversary of French colonisation
Tuesday 24 September marks the 171st anniversary of the French annexation of New Caledonia. By order of Napoleon III, Rear-Admiral Février-Despointes officially took possession of the main island Grande Terre in 1853,
New Zealand pilot freed after 19 months in Papua rebel captivity
A New Zealand pilot held hostage for 19 months by separatist rebels in Indonesia’s Papua region was freed on Saturday, Indonesian authorities said, bringing an end to a standoff that had drawn international
National emergency declared Porgera-Paiela, Kompiam-Ambum and Wapenamanda in Enga
The Papua New Guinea Governor-General Sir Bob Dadae, acting on the advice of the National Executive Council, has declared a National Emergency in the electorates of Porgera-Paiela, Kompiam-Ambum and Wapenamanda in Enga
Opinion: It’s not just police who police
Captured on camera chatting with American diplomat Kurt Campbell in Tonga last month, Anthony Albanese described Pacific leaders’ support for a new Australian-led policing initiative as a big win. “We had a
Air New Zealand announces a significant increase in their flight capacity to the Pacific Islands
Air New Zealand has announced a significant increase in their flight capacity to the Pacific Islands. From November 2024 to March 2025, adding tens of thousands of seats to the Pacific destinations, marking a 9
Moeloto Tuilaepa Tiatia wins for Samoa and the Pacific
Moeloto Tuilaepa Tiatia of Samoa has been elected to the Commonwealth Youth Council executive board ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Samoa. She emerged as Pacific representative after a keenly
NRL fans blast Anthony Albanese after AU$600 million PNG plan gets the green light: ‘Waste of tax payer dollars’
Australian footy fans fear Anthony Albanese is making a ‘horrible decision’ amid reports the Australian Prime Minister has given the greenlight to AUD$600million (K1.6billion) in funding to launch a new NRL team in
Samoa weightlifters make history
Samoa’s weightlifting team won eight gold medals, one silver and one bronze and broke four Commonwealth and four Oceania records as they created history at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship in Suva,
Brilliant Fiji claim sixth title
Fiji put in a dominant second-half performance to silence the Hanazono Rugby Stadium crowd and claim a record-stretching sixth Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup title. Home hopes were raised when Japan centre Dylan
Pacific nations gear up for a fight over shipping emissions at critical UN meeting
Pacific nations are preparing for a pivotal week of negotiations in London on how to cut planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions in the global shipping industry. Countries will gather later this month to lay out
Poll: Cook Islanders oppose deep sea mining
A recent online opinion poll conducted in the Cook Islands revealed that 66 per cent of residents oppose deep sea mining, while 49 percent disapprove of exploration. The government regulator overseeing seabed minerals
New Zealand’s army chief: Pacific nations need tailored military training
As the U.S, China and other powers vie for strategic influence in Pacific Island militaries, the army chief of New Zealand told The Associated Press that not all of the larger nations bidding to offer support are
Opinion: World’s biggest deforestation project gets underway in Papua for sugarcane
Excavators have begun clearing land in the Indonesian region of Papua in what’s been described as the largest deforestation undertaking in the world. A total of 2 million hectares (5 million acres) of forests,
Solomon Airlines celebrates first commercial flights from Honiara to Santo and Auckland to Santo via Port Vila
Solomon Airlines has successfully launched its first commercial flight from Honiara to Santo in Vanuatu on Monday 16 September 2024, marking a significant milestone in expanding its regional connectivity. The airline