Read the latest news from regional and global sources, presenting different voices and perspectives.

Red flags at 8 Saipan sites
THE Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality analyzes water samples collected from Saipan’s west coast recreational beaches and storm drainages every week. Samples collected from the following locations contained excessive concentrations of...

What Mountains Provide and Why They Need Protection
Quick Key Facts What Are Mountains and Why Should We Protect Them? From the Alps and the Andes to Julie Andrews twirling in an alpine meadow in the opening scene of The Sound of Music, mountains have been a powerful force in human history and...

Exclusive: Inside Motorola Solutions’ vision for the future of retail
Organisations in the retail sector are getting used to shifting from one challenge after another. Amidst the panic of the global pandemic, Australians ran toilet paper supplies dry in supermarkets. Violence in retail environments remains at...

Pacific Islands News Roundup – July 4 – July 10, 2025
Editor’s Note: We are undergoing a web host migration process and may need to make necessary modifications to our format and frequency over the next several weeks. Thank you in advance for your understanding. Political Leadership and Regionalism,...

Pacific islands push back against growing climate threats
The Cook Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia are separated by around 6,000 kilometres of Pacific Ocean. Despite the vast stretch of water between them, the two small island nations share a common challenge: how to protect their people...

Pacific Islands focus: deep sea mining, reproductive injustice and a new breast screen campaign
Introduction by Croakey: World leaders are calling for a moratorium on deep sea mining to prevent devastating and irreversible environmental harm. This week, governments are meeting in Jamaica at the 30th Session of the International Seabed...

PM Launches Theme and Logo for 54th Pacific Islands Forum
Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele this week launched the official theme and logo for the 54th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting (PIFLM) during a special ceremony at the Trade Fair Grounds, SINU Village. Scheduled for 8 to 12 September 2025, the...

Prime Minister launches theme and logo for 54th Pacific Islands forum leaders meeting
BY CHRIS ALEX Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele, officially launched the theme and logo for the upcoming 54th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting on Wednesday, July 9, 2025 setting the stage for one of the region’s most significant diplomatic...

Every 1°C of global warming linked to higher rates of intimate partner violence
Intimate partner violence is predicted to increase by 4.7 per cent for every 1°C rise in global temperature, a recent study from the UN has found. According to the latest UN Spotlight Initiative, a high-impact program to end violence against women...

Pacific Islands Forum head: Island region 'must remain a beacon of hope and unity'
The Pacific Islands Forum's secretary general has reaffirmed the region’s commitment to a united, resilient and inclusive Blue Pacific Continent. “In a world increasingly marked by turbulence, the Pacific must remain a beacon of hope and unity,"...

Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands in 'very dire' condition: officials
The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Gov. Arnold Palacios reportedly said in February he was optimistic about federal aid. The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is in "very dire" fiscal condition, its government told the...
Pacific Islands Forum head: Island region ‘must remain a beacon of…
The Pacific Islands Forum’s secretary general has reaffirmed the region’s commitment to a united, resilient and inclusive Blue Pacific Continent. “In a world increasingly marked by turbulence, the Pacific must remain a beacon of hope and unity,”...

USAID Cuts Could Transform U.S. Ties to Pacific Islands
In February, the ambassadors to the United States of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau met with U.S. officials to raise concerns about the rush of executive actions since U.S. President Donald Trump took office...
Guam and CNMI among Pacific islands eyeing blue carbon solutions to…
Facing long-term climate threats like rising seas and coastal erosion, communities in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are looking to their coastlines for solutions. Not with concrete walls, but with mangrove roots and seagrass beds. A recent...

From Hong Kong to the world: Luen Thai's 60-year legacy of overseas Chinese patriotism and business wisdom
Dr. Tan Siu Lin, founder and chairman of Luen Thai Group Photo: Courtesy of Luen Thai GroupAs the bells of Hong Kong's return to the motherland rang alongside Luen Thai's cargo ships, a 60-year journey unfolded - rooted in Hong Kong, connecting...

How climate change is creating refugees across the world
As the global attention remains focussed on the ‘human tragedies’ unfolding in Ukraine and Gaza, another crisis brews quietly on the margins – climate-induced displacement. The number of people displaced not by war or conflict, but by a planet in...

Decolonization, citizenship, and identity: An overview of the relationship between the United States and its territories
The relationship between the United States and its territories is a complex one. The United States has a total of five permanently inhabited territories. These territories are American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and...

OPINION | Rebranding paradise: Saipan deserves a stronger identity
Steve Jang SAIPAN is beautiful — no doubt about it. But in today’s cutthroat tourism market, beauty isn’t enough. Visitors from Japan, Korea, China, Guam, Singapore, Thailand, and Taiwan aren’t just chasing beach photos — they want something real....

Remote cave in Guam reveals ancient voyagers carried rice to Pacific islands 3,500 years ago, study finds
In a new study published today in Science Advances, my colleagues and I have uncovered the earliest evidence of rice in the Pacific Islands — at an ancient cave site on Guam in the Mariana Islands of western Micronesia. The domesticated rice was...

Guam and CNMI among Pacific islands eyeing blue carbon solutions to tackle climate crisis
Facing long-term climate threats like rising seas and coastal erosion, communities in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are looking to their coastlines for solutions. Not with concrete walls, but with mangrove roots and seagrass beds. A recent...