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
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 oppo
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
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 b
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
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
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 throug
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 m
