Climate financing should be readily available to tap for urgent responses to weather events affecting vulnerable islands, according to Pacific island delegates to the 30th UN Climate Change Conference.

By Ron Rocky Coloma The case that stayed with Dr. Erin Murphy involved a sea turtle with eight plastic bags in its stomach. Another autopsy uncovered a plastic water bottle inside an albatross. A sperm whale died with a stomach packed with dozens of bags, rope and fishing nets. Each death became a data point in a global analysis of how plastic ingestion kills marine wildlife, but for Murphy, they were also reminders of how close the problem sits to coastal communities, includ

The Pacific Freedom Forum issued the following statement in response to Samoan Prime Minister La'aulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao  Schmidt's ban on the Samoa Observer.   The decision by Samoa's Prime Minister La'aulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao  Schmidt to ban  Samoa’s only daily newspaper from all government and ministerial press conferences undermines constitutional rights on media freedom and people’s right to seek and share information, says regional Article 19 watchd

This constitutional arrangement helps explain why the Cook Islands and Niue behave like sovereign states internationally, yet lack the constitutional architecture typically associated with full independence. Both enjoy an international legal personality.

Christopher Landau, the U.S. deputy secretary of state, appealed to the people of Palau to accept Washington’s proposal to resettle U.S. deportees in the Pacific island nation, reassuring them that those bound for transfer have no criminal record other than immigration breach.

Juan Ponce Enrile/Photo courtesy of ABS-CBN By Diana G. Mendoza Manila — The death of Juan Ponce Enrile, dubbed by Filipino journalists and historians as the Philippines' "most enduring politician," set free a huge amount of scathing statements and scornful messages as his family announced his demise on Nov. 13. “Finally: Enrile dies after a century of corruption and opportunism,” the social media site Superficial Gazette said in the title to its statement, ending it with, “

The 2025 PIF host, the Solomon Islands, made a last-minute decision to exclude all dialogue and development partners until the Forum completed its regional architecture review.

Among the highlights were dives at the Kuwai Crater and Tongoa Wall, where coral scientist Dr. Eric Brown described the reefs as “the best coral I’ve ever dived on in my life.”

This week's gathering of world leaders in Belém, Brazil, is "a very crucial climate conference," according to Vishal Prasad, the director of Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change.

By Jayvee Vallejera   Manila -- Supertyphoon Fung-wong (locally known as Uwan) killed 18 people and hurt 28 others in the Philippines when it tore into the country last Sunday, but it has now weakened into a severe tropical storm as it heads for Taiwan. The Philippines’ Office of Civil Defense reported that Typhoon Fung-wong, which was packing winds of 115 miles per hour when it made landfall on Luzon island, killed 18 people in all, 15  of them in Cordillera and Central Luz

By James C. Pearce   In 2024, the Pacific topped the world’s list of obese nations. Nine of the 10 fattest nations on earth were in the Pacific, with American Samoa at the top. A year later, the problem has only gotten worse, affecting one of our most vulnerable groups: children. A Sept. 10 report by UNICEF found that there are more obese school-aged children than severely undernourished. It is the first time in human history that a feat has ever been recorded. One-fifth of c

Industrialized nations can’t buy their way out of their commitments to significantly cut their greenhouse gas emissions, the Pacific Elders’ Voice said, arguing that the foreign aid will never be commensurate with the impact of climate change on small island nations.