Category: Pacific News

RAROTONGA (COOK ISLANDS NEWS)—Cook Islanders are New Zealand citizens “not by privilege, but by right”, said Prime Minister Mark Brown in response to a recent poll conducted in New Zealand on citizenship rights. The nationwide poll, commissioned by the New Zealand Taxpayers Union, shows that most New Zealanders do not believe the Cook Islands should […]

SUVA (OCO)—Pacific nations must urgently strengthen maritime enforcement as criminal networks deliberately exploit geographic vulnerabilities, generating unprecedented trafficking drugs across the region. The Oceania Customs Organization (OCO) says detection rates remain critically low amongst its 24 member countries, with organized crime generating NZ$1.6billion (approximately US$0.96bn) annually in New Zealand alone, of which NZ$600million (approximately US$360m) […]

Essential strategies for pacific island countries to withstand and recover from economic shocks By Ibrahim Chowdhury, Anders Hjorth Agerskov, Ekaterine T. Vashakmadze, Christopher Wong SYDNEY/WASHINGTON, 24 JUNE 2025 (WORLD BANK) —In January 2022, the underwater volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai erupted, causing a tsunami that devastated infrastructure, and severely impacted livelihoods of approximately 80,000 Tongans, or […]

APIA, (SAMOA OBSERVER) —The President of the Journalist Association of Samoa (JAWS), Lagi Keresoma, also known as Taliilagi Keresoma, appeared in the District Court on Tuesday to answer to defamation charges. The veteran journalist was charged under Samoa’s criminal defamation law, and the charge stems from an article she published alleging that a former police […]

Activists protest military buildup in the CNMI SAIPAN (PACIFIC ISLAND TIMES) —Advocacy groups disrupted the Department of Defence’s public meeting on Wednesday, which tackled the proposed military training plans on Tinian, voicing strong opposition to further militarisation in the Marianas. Members of the Marianas for Palestine, Prutehi Guahan and Commonwealth670 barged into the public hearing […]

RAROTONGA (PMN)—Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown says New Zealand’s decision to pause development aid is patronising and will harm the country’s most vulnerable citizens. In a ministerial statement to Parliament Friday, Brown confirmed that Wellington has suspended support for key sectors like health, education, and infrastructure. It’s understood that $18.2 million(US$10.85 million) of development […]