Author: TMC Palau

Tonga-born All Black prop Saula Ma’u made his debut in the black jersey in South Africa on Wednesday morning (NZT) and says he is eager for more top international matches.Ma’u was called up as an injury replacement last week, and took the field with 20 minutes to go at Ellis Park and helped the All Blacks come from 35-17 down to winning the match 41-35.Emotional and fighting back tears post-match, Ma’u told reporters he was over the moon and would savour the “unreal” moment for life.”I was talking to this guy before, like a couple weeks ago, I was back…

Mark Brown’s governing Cook Islands Party (CIP) is set to return to power for a historic fifth consecutive term after securing an absolute majority of 13 of the 24 parliamentary seats following final count of the 2026 general election.The Democratic Party, the country’s main opposition in the previous parliament, has been wiped out after losing all its seats, with its outspoken leader Tina Pupuke-Browne and deputy leader Vaitoti Tupa both defeated.The Cook Islands United Party secured four seats, one more than in 2022, while independents won seven seats, including three from Mangaia, two from Atiu and one each from Mauke…

Pacific people have long known how to look after their own. Across the region, extended families, churches and communities have sustained systems of mutual care and support for centuries. In 1985, Tongan theologian Sione ‘Amanaki Havea argued that Pacific people deserved a Christianity grown in local soil, one where the coconut, not imported bread and wine, was the symbol of life. His coconut theology sparked a wider movement of Pacific thinkers, theologians, scholars and community leaders asserting their right to interpret the world through their own frameworks. That same spirit is working to develop the government-led social protection systems taking…

Analysis – We could be about to find out whether a part of the Pacific Islands will become the world’s newest nation.After a seven-year wait, Papua New Guinea’s parliament is today (Thursday, 27 August) expected to finally table the question of whether to approve of independence for the country’s autonomous region of Bougainville.In a 2019 referendum, an overwhelming 97.7 percent of Bougainvilleans voted for independence – but the referendum was non-binding and PNG’s national parliament has the final say in whether to ratify this result.They are to debate the matter from today, before later putting it to a vote, with…

Papua New Guinea’s prime minister has urged the nation to appreciate the gravity of the decision on Bougainville that parliament is to debate this week.The PNG parliament resumed on Tuesday and from Thursday MPs will debate whether to ratify the 97.7 percent vote by Bougainvilleans for independence in their 2019 non-binding referendum.PNG’s national MPs have the final say, in adherence with the 2001 Bougainville Peace Agreement (BPA), which was signed following Bougainville’s civil war and related crisis of the 1990s, and ultimately provided for the referendum.”The Referendum was legitimate, peaceful and overwhelming in its result, and we respect the voice…

TAIPEI, Aug 26 (Reuters) – Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung will attend events related to a major summit of leaders from Pacific islands nations in ​Palau starting next week, his office said ‌on Wednesday.China’s test-firing in July of a missile into the Pacific alarmed regional powers but failed to spur a unified response from Pacific Island governments, underscoring divisions over how to confront ‌growing ​strategic competition in the region.China, ⁠which views democratically governed ⁠Taiwan as its own territory, has gradually whittled away the number of Pacific island countries with formal ties to Taipei, with only three remaining – Palau, ​Tuvalu…

The Pacific Games Council (PGC) says it will seek legal advice on the next steps after a court ruling that the Solomon Islands National Hosting Authority (NHA) had breached public finance rules while hosting the 2023 Pacific Games in Honiara.PGC chief executive Andrew Minogue confirmed on Monday that the council had received notification of the High Court ruling after the Solomon Islands’ Auditor-General’s Office filed a case seeking clarification.The ruling follows a dispute between the PGC and the NHA last year over which laws applied to the expenditure of public funds from the Sports Solomons Fund.”To date, the Pacific Games…

An immigration detainee being held at the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Department of Corrections died early Sunday, authorities say.Corrections Commissioner Anthony Torres identified the detainee as Lian Yong Wei and said staff found him during routine checks at the prison on Saipan.Staff immediately initiated an emergency medical response, and Wei was transported to the Commonwealth Health Center, where he was pronounced dead.The department said it would not release protected health information, including information about Lian’s medical condition.The Department of Public Safety and other appropriate investigative authorities have been notified, along with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).The…

Taipei, Aug. 26 (CNA) Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) will attend a major annual political gathering of Pacific nations in Palau this year, after Taiwan and other non-members of the bloc were barred from participating in last year’s event.During his Aug. 27-Sept. 3 visit to Palau, Lin will attend events coinciding with the 55th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) annual summit, being held in Koror from August 30 to September 4, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in a statement Wednesday.Among them will be the Taiwan/Republic of China-Forum Countries Dialogue and the Pacific Prosperity Exhibit, according to MOFA.The exhibit will…

Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is to attend a major annual political gathering of Pacific nations in Palau this year, after Taiwan and other non-members of the bloc were barred from participating in last year’s event.During his visit to Palau from tomorrow to Thursday next week, Lin is to attend events coinciding with the 55th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) annual summit, being held in Koror from Sunday to Friday next week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement today. Photo: AFP Among them would be the Taiwan/Republic of China-Forum Countries Dialogue and the Pacific Prosperity Exhibit,…