Author: TMC Palau
Overview: Koror lawmakers have approved a revised lease reform bill aimed at helping residents access home financing while maintaining tighter controls over state residential leases. The new law focuses on allowing leaseholders to use leases as loan collateral without opening the door to unrestricted lease sales and transfers. Scaled-back bill expands financing access for residents while limiting transfers of state residential leases By: L.N. Reklai KOROR, Palau (May 11, 2026) Koror lawmakers have approved a scaled‑back lease reform bill that preserves new financing options for residents while tightening controls on who can hold state residential leases and how those leases…
[Photo: FILE] The World Bank Group’s latest Pacific Economic Update projects regional growth to slow to 2.8 percent in 2026 as rising fuel and shipping costs, supply chain disruptions, and renewed global uncertainty continue to impact Pacific economies. The report warns that repeated external shocks are becoming the region’s “new normal,” increasing pressure on governments, businesses, and households across the Pacific. Pacific nations remain highly exposed to fuel price shocks, with oil imports accounting for around 15 to 25 percent of merchandise imports in many countries. The World Bank says ongoing disruptions in fuel and shipping markets could slow economic…
U.S. Ambassador to Palau Joe Ehrendrereich and Palau Foreign Minister Gustav Aitaro hold a copy of the memorandum of understanding on the transfer of U.S. deportees to the Pacific island nation. Photo courtesy of the Office of the President of Palau via Pacific Island TimesBy Mar-Vic CaguranganFor Variety(Pacific Island Times) — Despite opposition from congressional leaders and the Council of Chiefs, Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. has agreed to accept Washington’s proposal to relocate unwanted aliens to the Pacific island nation in exchange for supplemental aid and a new hospital.Under the newly signed memorandum of understanding, Palau will receive $7.5…
Team Fiji swimmer Maki’uti Seruvatu is making the most of his opportunity at the Oceania Swimming Championships in Suva after earning a late call-up to the national side. The Nasigatoka, Rewa lad says he did not initially expect to compete at the championship, but made sure he was ready when the opportunity came. Seruvatu revealed he spent close to a year preparing for the competition and pushed himself through intense training sessions leading into the event. “It’s a good competition, gives us a good push to see where we’re at.”Article continues after advertisement The Team Fiji rep said racing against…
Palau’s Special Envoy of the President, Steven Victor, told the Melanesia Ocean Summit that Pacific nations must harness ocean resources to drive prosperity, stressing that conservation must go hand‑in‑hand with economic growth. “It is about financing our transition to a sustainable blue economy and ensuring that the wealth of our resources stays within our islands,” he said. Source link
Pacific media in action. Photo: RNZ / Johnny Blades Previously it was reporting on governments or politics that brought trouble for Tonga’s journalists – now it’s reporting on drugs or gangs. Tongan journalists are coming to terms with new pressures on media freedom over reporting on the country’s drug crisis, and the role of gangs in it. This comes after a journalist at Kele’a Publications was threatened at gunpoint in Nuku’alofa, following reporting on drugs issues two weeks ago – the same week as World Press Freedom Day. While Tonga police are still searching for the suspect who threatened a…
[Source: Reuters] Jarbas Meneghini has made more than 3,000 plaster replicas of the soccer World Cup trophy from his workshop in Rio de Janeiro, to help fans root for Brazil to bring home the golden original from North America in July. The 58-year-old craftsman had the idea for his business after he saw then-Brazil captain Dunga lift the trophy at the World Cup final in 1994. “I saw Dunga holding the trophy and said I would buy one, but you can’t find it anywhere,” Meneghini said. “So I decided to make it myself using the technical skills I learned doing…
Issued by: on Quad partners from the U.S. Coast Guard, Japan Coast Guard, Australian Border Force and Indian Coast Guard meet in the wardroom aboard the Legend-class U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton (WMSL 752), following a press event in honor of the first Quad at-sea mission after Stratton arrived in Apra Harbor, Guam, July 2, 2025. Stratton is deployed and assigned to Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, the Navy’s largest DESRON and the U.S. 7th Fleet’s principal surface force. Stratton is deployed to the Indo-Pacific to advance relationships with ally and partner…
[Photo: FILE] Fiji Airways Men’s National 7s flyer, Vuiviwa Naduvalo, is set to light up the 2026 Rugby Premier League after being named among a star-studded lineup featuring some of the world’s best HSBC SVNS Series players. The competition will run from June 16th to 28th in Hyderabad, India. Naduvalo heads into the tournament after finishing as joint top try-scorer during the regular SVNS season alongside South Africa speedster Shilton van Wyk, with Fiji and the Blitzboks dominating much of the international sevens circuit this year. Naduvalo will suit up for the Kolkata Banga Tigers alongside New Zealand star Brady…
Felix Kim The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) is playing a pivotal role in promoting maritime stability across the Indo-Pacific. Launched in 2017, the agency’s Mobile Cooperation Team (MCT) program formalized a long-standing maritime capacity-building effort. Experts are dispatched to train partners in maritime law enforcement, including boarding operations, search and rescue, and international maritime law. “The durable, only way to counter gray-zone activities and violations of international laws, rules and norms is to be able to identify illicit activities and respond in ways that are compliant with international standards,” Mike Bosack, founder of the Parley Policy Initiative and a special…