The delayed disbursement of grants under the Compacts of Free Association has stalled the implementation of U.S.-funded projects in Palau, the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia, according to the Government Accountability Office.

By Pacific Island Times News Staff Rising fuel and shipping costs, supply chain disruption and renewed global volatility put fresh pressure on Pacific economies, which are facing slow growth at 2.8 percent this year, according to the World Bank Group. The World Bank’s new Pacific Economic Update finds that repeated external shocks are becoming the region’s “new normal,” while reliable water systems are increasingly critical to jobs, business growth and long-term resilience. P

The Nature Conservancy has launched a three-year initiative to strengthen the resilience of Yap's coral reefs amid growing pressures on the region’s marine ecosystems.

The current forecast has TS winds departing Yap and Ngulu on Saturday afternoon as Hagupit moves farther to the west-northwest, with moderate to fresh south to southeast winds with occasionally near gale-force gusts in its wake.

More than a year since Chuuk held a gubernatorial election, the Micronesian state is still embroiled in an unresolved dispute over who won in the March 2025 race.

The link between fuel prices and child wellbeing is easy to trace. When fuel prices rise, bus and boat operators raise fares, cut routes or stop running. Children miss school when transport becomes unaffordable, as the Pacific has seen in past price shocks. Families delay preventive health visits.

More than three weeks after Super Typhoon Sinlaku’s assault that killed seven people, injured five and displaced thousands of residents in Chuuk, communities across the Micronesian state continue to face the severe aftermath of the Category 5 storm.

Microwaves By Jack Niedenthal Majuro—I remember my first Christmas on Namu Atoll as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1981. On the outer islands, preparation begins long before the holiday season arrives. By the end of October, the island is already alive with song, dance and anticipation. Communities divide into friendly rivals, each composing original music and dances, rehearsing tirelessly, refining harmonies that enchantingly drift across the night. They begin simply, with the s

Amid Trump’s tariffs, regime change attempts in Venezuela, the uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing war in Ukraine, a strong and united Anglosphere looks like a beacon of stability for the Indo-Pacific. No longer a populist pipe dream, CANZUK has become a serious long-term trade and defense strategy for the region.

I-Kiribati community gathering in Nerriga, NWS. Photo by Rimon Rimon By Akka Rimon Kiribati's inclusion in the second round of Australia's Pacific Engagement Visa , marking its first year participating in the scheme, has generated a mix of excitement, anticipation and uncertainty among prospective migrants and their families. Early implementation outcomes indicate substantial progress: at least 65 percent of selected primary applicants have already secured formal job offers a

By Ron Rocky Coloma Drones and artificial intelligence could give Pacific conservation teams a faster way to monitor seabirds and other wildlife across some of the world’s most remote islands, where travel is expensive, staffing is limited and field conditions can change quickly. The approach is being tested at Kuaihelani, or Midway Atoll, within Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, a vast protected area that spans hundreds of thousands of square miles of ocean and rem

A new wave of Parkinson’s disease research in the Pacific is pointing to both a clearer genetic signal and persistent gaps in access to care, particularly in Samoa, where specialists are scarce and diagnoses often come late.