The defence boon
AS China continues to show its intent to expand the Belt and Road Initiative, the United States and Australia have been forced to respond.
September
Fiji land an option
KIRIBATI became the world’s largest consumer of Vanuatu kava in 2024, importing a staggering 280 tonnes at a cost of around $FJD33.6
Movers and Shakers
MARK Brown will continue as Prime Minister of the Cook Islands following the 2026 general election. This after the Cook Islands Party,
Kava: Kiribati’s liquid gold
UNLIKE Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga, and several other Pacific societies, Kiribati has no ancient tradition of cultivating or drinking kava.
Building her place: Totori’s road through Solomon Islands construction
ACROSS the Pacific, women are entering industries long treated as men’s territory. In the Solomon Islands, civil engineer Rowena
Costs can kill
BUILDING in the Pacific can cost more than the materials listed on a supplier’s invoice. For island countries, construction projects
Exposed! Climate change forces code change
IN a dire assessment, one of the region’s top engineering firms is warning that Pacific infrastructure is being designed for
Briefs
American Samoa AMERICAN Samoa Governor Pulaali‘i Nikolao Pula has submitted formal comments to the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) regarding a proposed deep-sea mining lease, stating that commercial
Building a weather-ready Pacific
MOST people think of a weather forecast as a prediction that helps you decide whether to take an umbrella or raincoat to work, but it is
“No Voice, No Money”
PACIFIC farmers need to have a voice at the climate change discussion table, and one organisation is trying to make that
Pacific wants Pre-COP action, finance
HOSTING Pre-COP31 in Fiji could put Pacific climate priorities at the centre of global negotiations and push world leaders towards action, says Conservation International’s Mere Lakeba.
No lack of frameworks
WE have strategies, declarations, roadmaps, action plans, development plans and regional commitments. Many of them are thoughtful, ambitious, and grounded in true concern for the future of our region.
The whispers of the seas: A Naoero story of resilience
The WHISPER of the seas began as a low hum in Donald Apad’s childhood; a language of salt and spray taught to him by his grandfather.
When El Niño comes,nobody is outside the path
THERE is no safe side of the map this time. Unlike a tropical cyclone, which can leave one island battered and another untouched, a
Crowded room: The problem with Forum partners
AS regional leaders flew home from the 55th Pacific Islands Forum in Palau, their final communique highlighted a central theme of
The proof problem of Pacific climate
THERE is a weather station on Tofua, an active volcanic island in Tonga’s Ha’apai group, and getting there is a small expedition. You take a boat. Then you take another boat, and sometimes you wait days for the
Whispers
RAISED eyebrows after the opening ceremony of the Pacific Islands Forum in Palau, as the Chief Executive Officer of The Nature Conservancy gave a six-minute speech on the organisation’s work.
Time to rethink history
WHEN Ratu Seru Cakobau ceded Fiji to Queen Victoria in 1874, he did so for reasons which were practical but intensely
