Author: TMC Palau

Leaders from the world’s top economies should stand on a Pacific atoll to see the reality of record sea level rise, a top UN official said in Palau on Monday.Noting last week’s deadly floods in Nepal, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said rising seas in the Pacific were the “other side of that story”.”We do already know that a warming climate is changing the world’s ice at extraordinary speeds, not only threatening the communities below glaciers but adding more water to our oceans,” she told reporters.Mohammed was speaking in Palau, where Pacific leaders have gathered for an annual summit…

A humble picnic cooler is helping scientists in Palau address one of the biggest threats facing the ocean.By turning a cheap consumer cooler into a portable incubator, researchers can transport heat-tolerant coral and buffer it from stressful conditions without relying entirely on expensive lab-style equipment. That kind of practical workaround could make reef restoration more feasible in the places that need it most, according to Vox.Here’s what to knowNear Palau, the western Pacific island nation featured by Vox, scientists have been planting coral in offshore “gardens” to help restore damaged reefs. One tool in that effort is surprisingly familiar: a portable cooler…

A seven-member commission set up to conduct a review of Fiji’s 2013 Constitution will deliver its much-anticipated final report to the country’s president on Monday.The Fiji government’s Constitutional Review Commission formally began its work in mid-March and was given a 31 August deadline.The Commission was tasked with conducting nationwide public consultations, receiving and analysing submissions on the constitution, and reporting recommendations to the president, Cabinet and eventually parliament.Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka told parliament in late April that the Constitution Review Commission was “a chance for ordinary Fijians, from every community and all walks of life, to have a say…

Several leaders are calling for change at the regional Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), dissatisfied at the lack of action over the years, as at least five Pacific leaders have pulled out of the annual meeting in Palau this week.Kiribati, Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa and Solomon Islands won’t have top level representation at the 55th Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ meeting, which formally opens tonight.The absence of five leaders out of the 18 PIF members – and uncertainty over whether a sixth leader, Nauru [Naoero] President David Adeang, will attend – is not ideal.Adeang’s delegation boarded the NZ Defence Force flight to Palau…

At least five leaders are skipping this year’s Pacific Islands Forum summit in Palau as the annual gathering opens amid tensions over China and Taiwan and concerns over climate change, drug crime, and regional security.The 18-member forum is being hosted by Palau, one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, adding to tensions with Beijing.China has protested Taiwan’s inclusion among aid partners invited to attend alongside China, Singapore, Japan, Britain and the U.S. Beijing, which claims self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory, has also declared Palau an “unsafe” destination for tourists.The summit is also expected to address China’s July test-firing of a…

At least five heads of government were absent from talks at the annual Pacific Island Forum that began on Monday, as China-Taiwan tensions weighed heavily over the meeting that was intended to demonstrate regional unity. The prime ministers of Fiji, ‌Vanuatu, Samoa and the Solomon Islands and the president of Kiribati will not attend the summit in Palau, an archipelago of over 500 islands that has maintained diplomatic ties with Taiwan.The absent leaders are expected to be represented by ministers or senior officials. China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has gradually whittled away the number of…

A 50-year-old Tongan national has been charged by police in Australia’s Northern Territory after allegedly being found in possession of 125 kilograms of kava, and more than NZ$118,000 is cash.In a statement on Friday, Northern Territory Police said the man was located at an outstation approximately 13 kilometres from Ramingining after receiving anonymous information.Police said the man, “who is allegedly unlawfully remaining in Australia”, was arrested and charged with possessing and supplying a commercial quantity of kava, dealing in proceeds of crime exceeding AU$100,000 and entering Aboriginal land without a permit.Remote Sergeant Noel Santiago said the seizure was an outstanding…

RNZ’s Teuila Fuatai in Koror, PalauWith the final list of leaders attending the 55th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting in Palau still unconfirmed, the regional body’s policy hub is moving to emphasise the robustness of potential decisions and outcomes from the week.The annual summit is supposed to bring together leaders from the Forum’s 18 member states to discuss and progress major regional issues. However, as of Monday morning, five members were going to be in Koror without representation at the top level.Palau ready to host 55th PIF leaders summitKiribati President Taneti Maamau and Solomon Islands prime minister Matthew Wale…

New Zealand is stepping up its push for a US$500 million (NZ$845.06 million) Pacific resilience fund with Foreign Minister Vaovasamanaia Winston Peters urging international partners to help close the funding gap.Speaking at an Oceans Partnership Forum roundtable in Palau on Monday, Peters said New Zealand was “vigorously knocking on doors” in Europe, the Middle East and North America for more contributions to the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF).Aotearoa has pledged $20 million to the fund but Peters acknowledged it remains well short of its US$500m goal.“If you don’t ask, you’ll never know,” he said.Fiji’s Minister for Justice and Political Affairs, Siromi…

KOROR, Palau (AP) — Far from New York or Davos, leaders of some of the world’s least populous states are meeting in a placid tropical archipelago with no traffic lights. The population of the summit host, Palau, was due to swell from 18,000 people to 20,000 as delegates from dozens of countries arrived at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting.Ahead of the summit officially opening Monday, the country’s president and other senior officials walked the main road around the island picking up trash. Barbers and tattoo artists prepared to become drivers for delegates and student volunteers to usher dignitaries.But beneath…