Author: TMC Palau

A string of 340 coral and volcanic islands spread against the deep blue waters of the western Pacific, Palau is a picture-postcard of paradise. Fewer than 66,000 tourists visited the country in 2025, meaning this is the kind of place to live out Robinson Crusoe-style fantasies of being undisturbed on uninhabited tropical beaches. From unique marine life encounters to towering waterfalls and WWII ruins, plenty exists here to pique the interest of visitors and, outside of the handful of beach resorts that draw large numbers of Chinese visitors on national holidays, you’ll have much of the country all to yourself…

ACT Party candidate Henrietta Devoe is standing by her call to abolish the Ministry for Pacific Peoples (MPP), questioning whether it has delivered for Pasifika communities.Devoe made the comments during last week’s Pacific Media Network (PMN) debate, which brought together Pasifika representatives from across the political parties.Debate moderator PMN’s William Terite asked the candidates whether the MPP “should remain”.Devoe was the only candidate to say it should not, arguing the ministry had failed to deliver for Pacific people.”I’d just like to say I raised my kids in Ōtara, and honestly, what has it done for the people? Like, what has…

During his first stop in Palau, Rowell participated in the Pacific Islands Forum while holding a series of bilateral engagements. He met directly with Palau President Surangel Whipps, Jr. to discuss progress at Malakal Port and future partnership opportunities.   As part of the U.S. delegation, Rowell joined Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, Admiral Kevin Lunday, for engagements with key leaders representing Pacific nations including Japan, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and Tonga.  Rowell also engaged distinguished alumni of the State Department’s Young Pacific Leaders initiative from Palau,…

Summit of the FutureStatement delivered by President Surangel S. Whipps, Jr.September 23, 2024 – 10:45 amUNGA – New YorkExcellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Alii from Palau.Our tradition of bul, a sustainable resource management practice rooted in conservation and social order, has guided us toward sustainability for centuries, protecting our natural resources for future generations.As the least contributors to climate change, we face its harshest effects. Rising sea levels and extreme weather threaten our hospitals, schools, and food security, putting our children’s future at risk.Our tradition of stewardship through bul contrasts sharply with the global crisis we now confront, one we had…

Samoa’s Prime Minister La’aulialemalietoa (La’auli) Leuatea Schmidt paused talks on a refreshed treaty with New Zealand until after the New Zealand general election, despite Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s request to “proceed with it”.La’auli made the revelation at a cocktail function supporting the ‘visa on arrival’ campaign led by prominent Aotearoa community leader Anae Arthur Anae in Apia last week, according to a report by the Samoa Observer.According to the Samoa Observer, Anae was in Samoa seeking signatures for changes to New Zealand’s immigration arrangements for Samoans. He has become a leading campaigner for immigration reform for Pacific Islanders.”Regarding the Treaty…

Over the last decade, Chinese lending behaviour in the Pacific has shifted considerably. Increasingly, its financial assistance to the region is in the form of grants rather than the loans it had previously provided, with new lending now being concentrated in Melanesian countries. However, for countries such as Tonga, loans taken out in the late 2000s are now entering the steepest phase of their repayment cycle, putting fiscal pressure on recipient governments. While China has cancelled a significant amount of developing-country debt, this has almost entirely consisted of interest-free loans administered through the Ministry of Commerce and latterly the China…

After completing a three-year artistic residency at the Palau, the Trio Fortuny returns with one of the great landmarks of twentieth-century chamber music. Joel Bardolet, Pau Codina and Marc Heredia are joined for the occasion by clarinettist Cristina Mateo Sáez to perform Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, a work born in extraordinary circumstances: the composer wrote it while imprisoned in a German prisoner-of-war camp during the Second World War and premiered it there, with the instruments and musicians available to him. The concert brings together Messiaen and Arvo Pärt, two composers from different generations who share a profound…

The Kangaroos have scrapped out a 36-22 come-from-behind win over Fiji in a thrilling World Cup match in front of 41,108 fans in Brisbane on Sunday.Bati fans will rue one disallowed try for Fiji at a crucial moment in the second half but they will also be very proud of their side’s fight and pushing the star-studded Australians to the last moments of the game. Australia have now booked a semifinal spot from Pool A – with Fiji and NZ to fight for the second spot this Saturday.Read RNZ Pacific’s line blog to recap all the match’s action: Source link

All the action as Australia’s Kangaroos face the Fiji Bati at the Rugby League World Cup – kickoff 9.05pm Fiji time (10.05pm NZT). Source link

BarcelonaAn hour before the concert, the sky over Barcelona transformed from the pink of Romance (2024) to an iridescent Dopamine Chamber (2026). Fontaines D.C. arrived in the city ten days after the release of the album, which explores a more electronic sound, but maintains the themes of social justice. That same afternoon, an outbreak of disturbances in Barcelona had forced changes to the train and metro, and the band’s followers were forced to climb and descend the hills surrounding the Sant Jordi Club amidst running, dodging the dozens of fans who had been left without tickets and a handful of…