Australia is making a strong push to host the COP31 climate summit in 2025. The country's Energy Minister, Chris Bowen, is heading to Brazil for the COP30 summit to advocate for Australia's bid. This comes as Australia and Turkey are locked in a competition to host the event. The COP, or Conference of the Parties, is a major annual gathering focused on climate actio...
In a surprising move, a high-ranking Fijian diplomat paid a visit to Taiwan this week. Filipo Tarakinikini, Fiji's permanent representative to the United Nations, met with Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim. This visit is quite unusual because Fiji officially recognizes China, which strongly opposes any diplomatic interactions with Taiwan. The meeting took place ...
The Pacific Islands Forum recently made headlines for a bold move. They decided to keep 21 donor countries, including big names like the United States and China, out of their top political meeting. This decision wasn't made lightly. It came after a long talk among foreign ministers in Fiji. Why did they do it? It all started with the Solomon Islands, who are hosting...
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has made a big decision. Countries can now take each other to court over climate change. This includes historic emissions of gases that warm the planet. The judge in the Hague, Netherlands, said it's tricky to figure out who caused what. But the ruling is a big deal. It's not legally binding, but experts think it could have bi...
The Pacific Islands are home to many U. S. Veterans, and sadly, these regions see high suicide rates. A recent study looked into the prevalence of suicidal ideation and non-fatal self-directed violence among Veterans living in Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. The study also looked at the feasibility of conducting such surveys in these areas. ...
From 2010 to 2021, a bunch of Pacific Island countries saw changes in their taxes. We looked at how less trade rules affected tax money from trade. As these islands got more open to trade, they collected less money from trade taxes and direct income taxes. Interestingly, they started collecting more from domestic indirect taxes. Why? Well, open trade might bring more...
Eight years ago, a 16-year-old Auliʻi Cravalho stepped into the role of Moana, Disney's Polynesian princess. Now 24, she's back for "Moana 2, " a sequel that builds on Moana's self-discovery. Cravalho relates to Moana's journey, having looked up to another Disney hero, Mulan, who inspired her through her mix of Asian and Pacific Islander heritage. Just like Mulan, Mo...
South Korea and the U. S. are joining forces to keep the Indo-Pacific region safe and stable. They've created a new partnership called the Regional Cooperation Framework. This is like their way of showing they're serious about maintaining peace and security in the region. The U. S. and South Korea met at the Pentagon to discuss this new plan. They didn't directly men...