PORT MORESBY, 16 FEBRUARY 2026 (UNDP)—The first parametric insurance payments in Papua New Guinean history have been delivered following an earthquake that impacted Eastern Highlands. Madang and Morobe Provinces in December 2025, with 3,200 beneficiaries receiving financial support through the Women’s Micro-Bank Limited (Mama Bank). The earthquake, which occurred in December and reached 6.6 magnitude, […]
Author Archives: Island Times
Posted inWorld News
Trump administration urges nations to call for the withdrawal of a UN climate proposal
NEW YORK/MUNICH, 26 FEBRUARY 2026 (AP) — The Trump administration is urging other nations to press the Pacific island country of Vanuatu to withdraw a United Nations draft resolution supporting strong action to prevent climate change, including reparations for damage caused by any nation that fails to take action. In guidance issued last week to […]
Posted inIn Focus
‘The girl from Tahiti’: Pacific Islands in the Jeffrey Epstein files
Analysis by Johnny Blades, Senior Journalist, RNZ Pacific WELLINGTON, 16 FEBRUARY 2026 (RNZ PACIFIC) — A preliminary check of the latest Jeffrey Epstein files released by the U.S Department of Justice identifies several notable appearances of Pacific Island countries. Where Pacific Islands people or places are mentioned in the deceased convicted paedophile’s emails, they often […]
Posted inPacific News
Population decline in FSM and RMI
By Stephen Howes MAJURO/PONPHEI. 13 FEBRUARY 2026 (DEVPOLICY.ORG)—The urge to survive is a powerful one, for both an individual and a country. Nauru, whose population was decimated by infectious disease as a result of colonialism, still celebrates Angam Day on 26 October every year. This was the day in 1932 when the birth of a […]
Posted inOpinion
Public service media help anchor reliable information
By Prashanth Pillay, Jo Elsom SYDNEY, 16 FEBRUARY 2026 (DEVPOLICY.ORG) —Across the Indo-Pacific, people are spending more time online but finding it harder to know what to trust. The 2025 Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2025 shows nearly six in ten respondents struggle to distinguish between real and false information. A UK government study in […]
Posted inOpinion
A Quick reminder that… Food as Medicine
Dear Editor, Food is more than fuel. In Palau, food is memory, identity, and medicine. When we choose taro, breadfruit, coconut, fresh fish, and island fruits, we are not only nourishing our bodies, we are feeding our culture, our elders, and our future. Reclaiming food as medicine means restoring the connection between what grows here […]