Author: TMC Palau
The Aquaculture Opportunity With wild fisheries stretched to the limit, expanding terrestrial agriculture may appear to be an obvious alternative to meet food needs—but Palau lacks any substantial amount of land appropriate for cultivation. Instead, Palau has come to rely on imported food. Though wild-caught fish and crops like taro are still central to the local cuisine, more and more, Palau’s citizens are filling their plates with canned meat and other highly processed foods. The shift away from traditional diets has contributed to public health concerns, including high rates of obesity and diabetes. It has also undermined the country’s food…
[Photo: FILE] Swire Shipping Fijian Drua hooker Kavaia Tagivetaua is urging fans in Suva to turn out in numbers for next weekend’s crucial clash against the Waratahs, as the side continues its push for a top-six finish in the Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific season. Although the match is still a week away, the Drua are already looking to build momentum off the field, with fan support expected to play a major role in what shapes as another must-win encounter. Tagivetaua says the energy from supporters continues to inspire the players during home matches. “It’s always inspiring for fans…
France’s ambassador in Port Vila Jean-Baptiste Jeangène Vilmer and Vanuatu’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Marc Ati. 6 May 2026 Photo: Facebook / Jean-Baptiste Jeangène Vilmer The French ambassador in Vanuatu has met with the local government to clear up misunderstandings about a diplomatic spat. The New Caledonian government this week suspended all trade cooperation with Vanuatu, after Port Vila hosted the leader of New Caledonia’s pro-independence FLNKS group. The move was seen as a lack of respect by the government in Nouméa. According to New Caledonia’s organic law, the president is the only qualified authority to represent the territory in…
The importance of media freedom is recognised each year globally on 3 May. This year the Pacific Island country of Tonga commemorated Press Freedom Day just a week after one of the most frightening threats to that freedom which took place at a major media outlet. A hooded man brandishing a pistol threatened a female journalist at the newsroom of Kele’a Voice, an FM radio station in Nuku’alofa. The radio station had broadcast a news story about a Tongan deportee serving a life sentence in Tonga for the importation of two kilograms of methamphetamine. The convicted man was a member…
ROMAN TMETCHUL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Palau — From Oct. 10-11, 2024, the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Division conducted an airfield seizure exercise as part of the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center 25-01. The operation involved six C-17 Globemaster IIIs from the 15th Wing, 62nd Airlift Wing and the 3rd Wing, which airlifted U.S. Army Rangers and supportive units to the island of Palau.The exercise unfolded in three phases. Phase I began with the U.S. Army’s 75th Rangers Regiment securing the airfield.Once the airfield was secured, soldiers from the 17th Field Artillery Brigade unloaded at Roman Tmetuchl International Airport. They…
Health Minister Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu. [Photo: FILE] The escalating global fuel crisis is expected to place increasing pressure on Fiji’s health system, with warnings that it may struggle to operate at full capacity if sustained fuel price rises and fuel-related disruptions continue or worsen amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Speaking to FBC News, Health Minister Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu said rising fuel costs, driven by international instability, could impact the health sector’s ability to fully maintain services, particularly in areas that rely heavily on transport and logistics across Fiji’s dispersed islands. The Ministry says it is currently…
Some key events in Palau’s history:c. 2500BC – Palau’s first inhabitants – thought to have come from present-day eastern Indonesia – settle in the islands. The early Palauans develop complex social systems, practice fishing and farming.1783 – English captain Henry Wilson is shipwrecked on a reef and becomes the first Westerner to visit.1885 – Spain asserts its claim to the islands, which it administers as part of the Philippines.1899 – Spain sells Palau to Germany as part of German New Guinea in the German-Spanish Treaty. Germany begins to exploit the islands’ resources using native labour. Phosphate is mined and coconut…
Bula FC went down 1-0 to South Island United at Go Media Stadium on Wednesday. 6 May 2026 Photo: OFC Media via Phototek Auckland FC and Bula FC will be fighting to keep their OFC Pro League semifinal hopes alive when they meet in game two of the Leaders’ group in Auckland on Saturday. Both sides lost their opening matches on Wednesday; Bula FC going down 1-0 to South Island United and Auckland FC pipped 2-1 by South Melbourne FC. A win for either side will see them in the top three, but a loss could jeopardise their hopes of…
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).Sinking into the warm, aquamarine water, I feel the tug of the current immediately. Activating my leg muscles to kick against it, I scope out a suitable spot to hook into the reef without damaging it and give my buoyancy control device (BCD) a few pumps of air to lift me (and most importantly, my fins) above the coral. Here I hover, attached to the hook by a coil lanyard, and enjoy the show.Act one begins with a shiver of reef sharks parading along the edge of the reef just metres from…
DVIDS Hub works best with JavaScript enabled Issued by: on KOROR, Palau (Sept. 29, 2025) President of the Republic of Palau Surangel Whipps, Jr. (right) speaks with U.S. military and Palau state leaders during the biannual, bilateral U.S.-Palau Joint Committee Meeting at the One Stop Shop Government Building in Koror, Sept. 29. JCMs are aligned with the Compact of Free Association Title III: Security and Defense Relations, enabling ongoing dialogue between nations to enhance security and defense in the region. This meeting underscores the mutual commitment to national security, international partnership,…