U.S. aims for ‘top line’ deal on aid to three Pacific nations

The United States hopes to reach agreement on “top line” numbers for assistance to three Pacific Island countries by the year end, a State Department official told Reuters on Thursday, part of negotiations

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Marstella Jack is PIANGO’s New Board Chair

The Pacific Islands Association of Non-Governmental Organisation (PIANGO) convened its Council after it was delayed from 2019 due to COVID-19 threats. Twenty of the 24-member country representatives of PIANGO network

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Pacific Media Institute to host communications and democracy summit in Majuro

The Marshall Islands’ capital, Majuro, will host a first-of-its-kind Pacific summit on communications and democracy next February. Conference organiser, the Pacific Media Institute (PMI), states the summit will

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COP27: Tuvalu leads call to phase out fossil fuels

Tuvalu has become the first country to use United Nations climate talks to demand an international fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty, which would phase out the use of coal, oil, and gas. The small Pacific island

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Marshall Islands confirms membership in the Pacific Islands Forum

The Marshall Islands ended two years of being at the centre of controversy over the possible break up of the Pacific’s premier regional organisation when its parliament adopted resolutions reaffirming its membership

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Saved from the Unknown

One in four women with cervical cancer live in what the World Health Organisation (WHO) defines as the ‘Western Pacific Region’, a collection of Asia and Pacific Island states and territories. An estimated 145,700

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Pacific nuclear legacy overshadows U.S. talks in Marshall Islands

Marshall Islands officials say they are ready to resume talks with the United States this week on renewing a long-standing economic and security deal, provided Washington addresses grievances stemming from the testing

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Pacific nations double down on their green demands

As is customary in the run up to any gathering of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), predicable fault lines are emerging.  Oil producing nations tend to

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Australia, NZ ministers visiting Pacific neighbours this week

It has been another big week for high level visits from Australia and New Zealand into the region, with PNG, Nauru, Marshall Islands and Cook Islands all receiving ministerial-level visits. Australia’s deputy Prime

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PNG to share vessel tracking data in new partnership

In a new partnership with Global Fishing Watch, Papua New Guinea has committed to sharing vessel tracking data from its Fishing Industry Association on the organisation’s public map. Through this agreement, PNG is

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Opinion: High-stakes drama in Marshall Islands or just another day at the office?

A word of free advice: if you’re going to try to bribe legislators to create a special zone to attract at best suspicious investment, don’t do it as an officer of a non-governmental organisation you formed in the

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Marshall Islands to receive UN support over nuclear legacy

The UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution Friday aimed at assisting the Marshall Islands in its efforts to secure justice for people suffering from the impact of the United States’ former nuclear testing

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Biden Administration vows to renew Compacts with Palau, FSM and RMI

The Biden administration has committed to renewing the Compacts of Free Association, with Palau, Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands.   The promise of renewal of the partnership agreements from the United

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Major powers question Marshall Islands nuclear legacy bid

Nuclear powers have criticised an effort led by the Marshall Islands at the United Nations to seek help on dealing with the consequences of nuclear testing, sources following the talks involving countries including the

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Marshall Islands takes U.S nuclear legacy to Human Rights Council

Health and environmental problems linger on decades after the United States detonated 67 nuclear bombs in the Marshall Islands. It will be the second environment-related initiative that the small island country

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Nauru Airlines to resume north Pacific service

Nauru Airlines is expected this month to resume air service linking Brisbane with islands in the central and north Pacific halted two-and-a-half-years ago due to COVID border closures. Nauru Airlines was the successful

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Marshall Islands halt talks with U.S. over nuclear testing legacy

The Marshall Islands halted key negotiations with the U.S. on Friday over ongoing grievances relating to nuclear testing dating back 70 years on the atolls. Discussions planned for this weekend to renew the terms of the

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‘Black eye’ for Marshall Islands: Hilda on alleged bribery scandal

The arrest and extradition to the United States last week of two naturalised Marshallese citizens indicted by the Justice Department for allegedly bribing multiple elected leaders is “a big black eye for the

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U.S. extradites naturalised Marshallese citizens in alleged bribery scheme

The United States Justice Department unsealed an indictment Saturday against two naturalised Marshall Islands citizens accused of bribing numerous high-level elected and other officials in the Marshall Islands to gain

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Marshall Islands praised for ‘unprecedented’ COVID response

United States-based medical doctors praised the Marshall Islands for an “unprecedented” response to its first COVID outbreak, as the positive case numbers declined dramatically this week after a record-setting first

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RMI face public health emergency: WHO

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the COVID outbreak in the Marshall Islands a Public Health Emergency. A total of 1,391 new cases of the virus were recorded in the latest 24-hour reporting period. Six

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Crypto ‘an unstable financial asset’ says UNCTAD

Cryptocurrency is an “unstable financial asset that can bring social risks and costs”, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) warned in three policy briefs on Wednesday. UNCTAD said their benefits to

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Marshall Islands sees first COVID-19 spread

The Marshall Islands lost its COVID-free status Monday when tests confirmed six positive cases in the capital, the first known community transmission since the pandemic started in early 2020. It was not immediately

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Marshall Islands celebrates new Iroojlaplap

Thousands of Marshall Islanders gathered on Ebeye Island last week for the first coronation ceremony of a paramount chief in half a century. The gala coronation for Iroojlaplap or paramount chief Michael Kabua featured

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