Author: TMC Palau

The family of a Cook Islands fisherman found alive by the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) after a week lost at sea say they are overwhelmed with relief and gratitude.Pone Apiuta, 42, from the remote Pukapuka Island, disappeared after going fishing on 11 June alongside several other local fishermen.The crew of an RNZAF P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol plane found Apiuta on Thursday morning.He was then rescued by a Taiwanese fishing vessel, which is currently in the Samoa region.His uncle Kirianu Nio said Apiuta was able to speak to his partner and teenage son by phone from the Taiwanese boat…

The battle for a place in the 2026 BiC Fiji FACT semi-finals intensifies today as teams return to Subrail Park for a crucial round of pool matches. After an entertaining opening day, attention now shifts to a series of high-stakes encounters that could significantly shape the standings heading into the final pool matches. The action gets underway at midday when Nasinu and Nadroga look to revive their campaigns and keep their qualification hopes alive. At 2pm, Rewa and Suva lock horns in what promises to be a fiercely contested affair. Rewa will be aiming to build momentum, while Suva searches…

[Photo: FILE] Director of Research at Koronivia, Shalendra Prasad IS calling for increased investment, saying more funding is needed to expand research and improve production across the country. Prasad says while government support has been positive, greater investment is required to strengthen technologies, increase productivity and support farmers. The Director of Research says continued progress will depend on stronger financial support. “There has been good support from the past government and also good support from the current government, but definitely we need more. The heavy investment in agriculture research will mean that the production will increase and the base of…

[Photo: File] Fiji’s water infrastructure challenges cannot be solved within a single government term and will require long-term, sustained investment, says Minister for Public Works, Meteorological Services and Transport Ro Filipe Tuisawau. The Minister was responding to comments made by prominent lawyer and Fiscal Review Committee Chair Richard Naidu at the State of the Fijian Economy Dialogue last week. Naidu claimed that government’s failure to take decisive action has led to Fiji’s ongoing water and sewage issues, with the Water Authority of Fiji remaining underfunded and underdeveloped to cater for growing demand. Tuisawau pointed to the Water Strategy 2050 as…

A Hawke’s Bay horticultural labour contractor, who was the first person to be convicted of both human trafficking and slavery in New Zealand, has been granted parole and will be released next month.Seventy-one-year-old Joseph Matamata, who also goes by Viliamu Samu, was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment for using 13 people as slaves and 10 charges of human trafficking.Two of the trafficking convictions were nullified by the Court of Appeal, because of a procedural error in the Solicitor-General’s office.Between 1994 and 2019, Matamata brought people from Samoa on three-month holiday visas to work on orchards in Hawke’s Bay. He’d also…

[Photo: File] A proposal to create a dedicated tribunal for police employment grievances has emerged as a key issue before the Standing Committee on Justice Law and Human Rights during scrutiny of the Fiji Police Bill (Bill No. 12 of 2026). Assistant Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Sakiusa Tubuna told the committee that Clause 131 of the Bill allows non-disciplinary employment grievances involving police staff to be handled under the Employment Relations Act 2007. He raised concern with that approach and suggested it may not be the most suitable mechanism. “We need to follow another best practice…

The Fiji Water Flying Fijians and the SportsWorld Fijian Under-20 paid a courtesy visit to the State House yesterday to present their traditional farewell to the President of Fiji, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu. The Flying Fijians are scheduled to depart for Wales next week to compete in the Nations Championship, while the Under-20 side will travel to Georgia for the World Rugby U20 Championship. During the farewell ceremony, President Ratu Naiqama reminded the players that they would be representing Fiji on the international stage and encouraged them to give their all for the nation. He urged both teams to play with…

U.S Capitol Building [Photo: Reuters] U.S. President Donald Trump’s interim deal to end the Iran war met scorching public criticism from some of his fellow Republicans as copies of the signed agreement circulated on Capitol Hill on Thursday. One Republican senator called the framework pact announced this week the “worst foreign policy blunder in decades,” another said some reported provisions seemed “ill-advised,” and some pro-Republican commentators also broke with Trump over the agreement. The criticism was a rare rebuke from members of the Republican Party who have mostly offered full loyalty to the president, but are increasingly restive as the…

Overview: United Airlines is expanding travel options between the United States and the Pacific with new nonstop flights to Japan, creating easier one-stop connections to Guam, Saipan and Palau. The new services to Tokyo-Narita and Sapporo are expected to enhance tourism, business travel and regional connectivity across the Asia-Pacific. LOS ANGELES/HAGATNA, 17 JUNE 2026 (PACIFIC ISLAND TIMES) — United Airlines will launch new nonstop service from the U.S mainland to Japan, with flights to Sapporo and Tokyo-Narita.  Taking off on 24 October, the new daily service, operating Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners between Chicago and Tokyo-Narita, will unlock easy, one-stop connections for…

This year, a group of Pacific young people published a guide to talking about pleasure. They called it Pleasurenesia — a play on the colonial labels Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia, terms outsiders coined to organise a region that had never asked to be organised. By folding “pleasure” into that geography, Youth OCEANS, the regional youth-led network of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, made a pointed claim: conversations about pleasure, sexuality and wellbeing in the Pacific should be shaped by Pacific people, for Pacific people. Pleasurenesia is a facilitation resource that deserves attention from development practitioners, donors and policymakers working on…