Results for Pacific Islands

A Motion for a Vote of No Confidence against the Prime Minister, Hon. Siaosi Sovaleni (Hon. Hu'akavameiliku) and the Prime Minister’s response, will be tabled in the Legislative Assembly of Tonga next week on Tuesday, 3 December, 2024, the Office of the Legislative Assembly confirmed in a statement last night.

With COP29’s conclusion, the stage shifts to the Hague, where Vanuatu’s landmark International Court of Justice climate change case, will start on 2 December - with 110 UN member states and intergovernmental organisations testifying. Vanuatu's Special Envoy for Climate Change and Environment, stated yesterday that: “The commitments made in Baku — the dollar amounts pledged and the emissions reductions promised — are not enough. They were never going to be enough. And even then, based on our experience with such pledges in the past, we know they will not be fulfilled.”

An ANU Masters graduate in Public Administration, Vika ‘Unga, completed a leadership program in Ngunnawal, Australia, this week. The Tongan participant was among 19 participants who are learning how leadership can make a positive difference in their communities.

Extraordinarily heavy rainfall in southern Tonga during October smashed a national record, and in ‘Eua the flash flooding coincided with extreme high tides.

A new health report sheds light on the unique developmental challenges faced by Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs). But despite obstacles, it says nations like Tonga, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Vanuatu are making strides toward universal health coverage (UHC) by focusing on primary healthcare and public health initiatives.

“Investing in climate-resilient health facilities is not a luxury. It is a lifeline,” Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala warned. “We urgently need accessible and equitable climate-health financing for the Pacific. Current funding is simply insufficient to meet the unique needs of these Small Island Developing States. I am here at COP29 to help change that,” he said in the keynote speech in a side event at COP29’s Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion on Friday.

A medical team from China will be delivering free medical services at the Ngū Hospital in Vava’u, starting this week on 20 November, after working for four months on Tongatapu.

Tonga Under-15 Junior men and women's basketball teams made their debut at the 2024 FIBA U15 Oceania Cup, with both teams entering the semi-finals in a winning streak this week. The matches are scheduled for this afternoon, Friday: U15 Junior women semi-finals: Australia v Tonga - 2:00 PM (GMT +11) and U15 Junior men semi-finals: New Zealand v Tonga - 4:30 PM (GMT +11).

A group of scientists working aboard a research vessel in the southwest Pacific Ocean has discovered the world’s largest coral. Measuring 34 meters wide, 32 meters long and 5.5 meters high, with a circumference of 183 meters, the gigantic organism is a complex network of coral polyps — tiny individual creatures — that have grown over a span of three centuries. In contrast to a reef — which is a network of many coral colonies — this structure is a standalone coral that has grown uninterrupted for hundreds of years.