Democracy. Abort. Repeat
“Democracy Reimagined.” On paper, an ambitious title that captures the next step in the journey of a nation that’s fresh out of the shadow of a 16-year, one and then two-man rule, led on this new path by the very
September
New Caledonia’s nickel sector faces energy crunch
French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent visit to New Caledonia highlighted the strategic importance of the vast reserves of nickel in the French Pacific dependency. Speaking in Noumea, President Macron said:
Macron’s magical mystery tour of Melanesia
The whirlwind tour of Melanesia by French President Emmanuel Macron received widespread media acclaim in July, as he visited the French Pacific dependency of New Caledonia and made unprecedented stopovers in Vanuatu and
Pacific economies: driven to the brink of change
FANALEI. A 2-kilometre-wide island in the Solomon Islands. Once home to 500 people. Now, almost empty. The reason a young student and her peers are taking on the world. Just over 2000 kilometers away, a man in his
Embattled Pacific Island States build heft for climate push
Legal and scientific experts, government officials and representatives from civil society organisations from across the Pacific came together in Fiji recently to begin the momentous task of mounting a first-of-its-kind
Pacific judiciaries ill-equipped against technology, says Judge
Rapid global advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other technologies have left judiciaries in the Pacific outdated and ill-equipped to tackle emerging challenges, “particularly when it comes to dealing
Movers and Shakers
Dr Filimon Manoni has assumed his new role as the Pacific Ocean Commissioner after serving the Pacific region as Deputy Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum since May 2020. Vanuatu’s Minister of
Kiribati’s fuel crisis
Part of a financial crisis? Residents of Kiribati’s most populous island, South Tarawa, were welcomed to August by a fuel crisis that persisted for six days, disrupting the capital’s ‘business-as-usual’ mode and
Opinion: Seabed mining rules lapse is window for Pacific regulations
In late July, after weeks of fierce debate at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) meeting in Jamaica, deep-sea mining proponents failed to get an agreement for the immediate licensing of deep sea mining operations.
Power in the Pacific
United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator, Samantha Power’s final engagement for her August Pacific visit saw her don shorts and trainers to join some of Fiji’s most promising women
Port investments and container safety
A regional wrap In Papua New Guinea, Steamships recently acquired Motukea North, a significant milestone in its plans to develop a 38-hectare site to the north-west of Motukea Wharf into Portside Business Park. “We
Where do I go to tell my story?
“There’s a nation of men who were abused as little boys, who are walking around and are hurting,” says Letitia Shelton. Shelton is the author of Disruptive Voices of Pacific Men, an idea birthed during
Whispers
WHO will be next regional health leader? Why is the Pacific Islands region fielding two candidates for the position of World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for the Western Pacific? Tonga has
Briefs
American SamoaGovernor Lemanu P. S. Mauga said, “the livelihoods of over 2000 workers at the canneries are at stake” over a proposed Pacific Remote Islands National Marine Sanctuary. National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Fowler: more than a star Matilda
Matilda’s forward Mary Fowler says she's a better player for her first Women's World Cup experience. "I have definitely improved. I've been fortunate to play so many minutes at this tournament," Fowler told