Unless rescinded, Donald Trump’s executive order greenlighting deep-sea mining in direct violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea will almost certainly unleash a lawless gold rush among major powers. Beyond the clear environmental risks, the scope for armed conflict is obvious. The first flash point will be the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a six million km2 area in the Pacific with billions of tons of polymetallic nodules containing nickel, cobalt, and other valuable minerals at a depth of up to 4,000 meters. - Guy Standing
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Results for Opinion
Tuesday 28 October 2025
London, United Kingdom
Monday 13 October 2025
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Pesi Siale Fonua (78), well known Pacific Islands journalist, publisher of Matangi Tonga Online, and beloved husband, father and grandfather, who died on 12 October 2025, at Vaiola Hospital in Tonga. The funeral service will be held at the SDA Church Mangaia, Nuku'alofa 1:00pm Saturday 18 October 2025. The burial will take place at the cemetery "Mala'e ko Fala Oloveti 'o Nukuleva" at 3:00pm Saturday. A farewell viewing will be held on Friday afternoon.
Saturday 4 October 2025
Jerusalem
Nearly 42,000 people in the Gaza Strip have life-changing injuries caused by the ongoing conflict, according to the latest WHO estimates released this week. One in four of these injuries are in children. The report also highlights the prevalence of complex facial and eye injuries as a result of severe trauma.
Saturday 4 October 2025
Stockholm, Sweden
While the demand for what the United Nations does is as great as ever, its ability to deliver has obviously been diminished. There is no way for it to survive without scaling back its ambitions and abilities, and that, in turn, may require a move to a more hospitable country. By any measure, the UN’s situation is dire.
Monday 29 September 2025
Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Most people with hypertension feel fine, until they don’t. A stroke that robs someone of speech, a heart attack on the job, or kidney failure seemingly without warning. These are among the hidden dangers of hypertension, currently affecting more than one in four adults in the Western Pacific, a region of 38 countries and areas with over 2.2 billion people. On World Heart Day today, WHO is highlighting hypertension as the leading risk factor for premature death and a condition that can no longer be ignored. Often called a silent killer, hypertension is the most common, yet most preventable health threats worldwide.
Tuesday 23 September 2025
Berlin, Germany
A big test for the Paris agreement is taking place this week at the United Nations General Assembly, where all countries are to present their national climate plans, a process that ends in Belém, Brazil at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) later this year. Despite the depressing state of climate debates today, I am optimistic that the collective spirit built over the last decade is now quietly but deliberately working to consolidate and build upon the gains that have been made. The Paris agreement is one that all countries – whether fossil-fuel producers, island states, or the world’s wealthiest economies – negotiated and ratified in record time. It combines effective measurement and monitoring with flexibility for countries to determine and devise their own plans to confront climate change.
Wednesday 10 September 2025
New York, USA
Obesity surpassed underweight as the more prevalent form of malnutrition this year, affecting 1 in 10 – or 188 million – school-aged children and adolescents, and placing them at risk of life-threatening disease, UNICEF warned in a new report today. According to the findings, several Pacific Island countries have the highest prevalence of obesity globally, including 38 per cent of 5 to 19-year-olds in Niue, 37 per cent in Cook Islands, and 33 per cent in Nauru. These levels – which have all doubled since 2000 – are largely driven by a shift from traditional diets to cheap, energy-dense, imported foods.
Thursday 21 August 2025
Suva, Fiji
I write to raise my deep concern regarding the proposed bill by the Parliament, which seeks to incorporate Tongan customs into the Constitution of Tonga. Amending the Constitution to elevate custom into binding law raises troubling questions of gender equality, abuse of power, and fairness. For example, Tongan customs do not adequately recognize the role of women in positions of authority.... The Constitution of Tonga must remain a safeguard of equality and justice for all, not a tool to enshrine customs that may perpetuate inequality, abuse, or unfair treatment. - Keilani Peaua
Wednesday 13 August 2025
Sandy-Utah, USA
When King George Tupou V surrendered the Executive Power to the Prime Minister in 2010, many assumed he was stepping into a purely ceremonial role. He did not seek to erase the monarchy’s political relevance — he sought to rebalance power between the elected representatives and the King in a way that would safeguard Tonga’s sovereignty and values for generations. The present government’s decision honors that vision and strengthens our nation’s ability to stand firm in an ever-changing world. - Seni Penitani.
Thursday 31 July 2025
Zurich, Switzerland
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and OpenAI’s Sam Altman have been aggressively promoting the idea that everyone – children included – should form relationships with AI “friends” or “companions.” Meanwhile, multinational tech companies are pushing the concept of “AI agents” designed to assist us in our personal and professional lives, handle routine tasks, and guide decision-making. But the reality is that AI systems are not, and never will be, friends, companions, or agents. They are, and will always remain, machines. The most deceptive term of all is “artificial intelligence”. By Peter G. Kirchschläger
Thursday 3 July 2025
Seville, Spain
The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) is taking place at a time of escalating debt crises, rising poverty, declining food security, and proliferating climate-related damage. These crises are all exacerbated by deep reductions in official development assistance (ODA), and they all disproportionately affect women and girls, especially in developing countries. - By María Fernanda Espinosa and Anita Bhatia.
Wednesday 25 June 2025
New Haven, USA
The outbreak of a new war in the Middle East, together with a destructive tariff war, makes for a lethal combination in a sluggish world economy. Notwithstanding the possibility of a tentative ceasefire, the odds of imminent global recession have increased sharply. It is far too early to foretell how US entry into Israel’s war against Iran will affect global energy prices. ...But in one sense, the situation is reminiscent of Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in August 1990, which led to a doubling of oil prices within three months. By Stephen S. Roach.
Tuesday 17 June 2025
Melbourne, Australia
The “AUKUS” partnership, the 2021 deal whereby the United States and the United Kingdom agreed to provide Australia with at least eight nuclear-propelled submarines over the next three decades, has come under review by the US Defense Department. The prospect of its collapse has generated predictable handwringing among those who welcomed the deepening alliance, and especially among those interested in seeing Australia inject billions of dollars into underfunded, underperforming American and British naval shipyards. But in Australia, an AUKUS breakdown should be a cause for celebration. - Gareth Evans.
Sunday 1 June 2025
London, United Kingdom
In the months and years ahead, investors, business leaders, and policymakers will need to keep a close eye on capital flows, demographic shifts, and ideological realignments, all of which are ushering in a more fragmented and siloed world. While there is no way to eliminate extreme uncertainty, it can at least be managed. ...Amid so much volatility, decision-makers will have to focus on adaptability. - Dambisa Moyo
Sunday 1 June 2025
Geneva, Switzerland
Adoptions of the first global agreement to make the world safer from future pandemics and increased financial support to the World Health Organization, were the highlights of the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly, which ran from 19–27 May. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised the commitment shown by the Organization’s Member States which, during nearly two weeks of meetings, adopted historic measures to make the world safer and healthier.
Saturday 24 May 2025
Cambridge-MA, USA
Power is the ability to get others to do what you want. That can be accomplished by coercion (“sticks”), payment (“carrots”), and attraction (“honey”). The first two methods are forms of hard power, whereas attraction is soft power. Soft power grows out of a country’s culture, its political values, and its foreign policies. In the short term, hard power usually trumps soft power. But over the long term, soft power often prevails. ...When you are attractive, you can economize on carrots and sticks. If allies see you as benign and trustworthy, they are more likely to be open to persuasion and follow your lead. ...But once trust is lost, it is not easily restored. By Joseph S. Nye, Jr.
Tuesday 20 May 2025
Sydney, Australia
Fakatapu ki he Tu’i ‘o e ‘Otu Tonga moe Fale ‘o Ha’a-Moheofo, Hou’eiki Nōpele, Fale Alea mo e Pule’anga ka e ‘um’aa ‘a e kakai ‘o e fonuā. Kae ‘ataa mu’a ke fai ha tānaki ki he fakatalanoa kuo feia meihe pāengani. Kuo mahino ko e sino pule ‘o e Pule’anga Fakavahe ‘oku taki ‘e he Pule-Fakavahe, memipa ‘a e kau ‘Ofisakolo, Fakafofonga Fale Alea, Pule ‘o e Va’a Pulengāue (Pa’anga, Tauhitohi, Ngāue Faka-Kalake moe Pule ‘o e Va’a Ngāue (Ako, Ngoue, Mo’ui, Langa, Kelekele, Sipoti). - ‘Inoke Hu'akau.
Sunday 18 May 2025
Sydney, Australia
Fakatapu kihe Hau ‘o e ‘Otu-Tonga mo e Fale ‘o Ha’amoheofo, Sea moe Fale Alea ‘o Tonga, Hou’eiki Nopele mo e Tauhi Fonua, Palēmia mo e Pule’anga pea ki he Tonga kotoa. Fakamolemole kae toe ‘oatu mu’a ha faka-talanoa ko e kapikapi pē kihe fakakaukau na’e ‘oatu kimu’aa, ‘o e fakalelei kuopau ke fakakakato ki he Fa’ungapule hotau Fonua kae toki sia’a ha’atau ungangāue. - ‘Inoke Fotu Huakau
Friday 16 May 2025
Cambridge-MA, USA
When you look at a building, you can see its walls, windows, and decorative flourishes but not the hidden structure that holds everything together. Yet during an earthquake, or after years of strain, that unseen framework can suddenly collapse. The same is true of the fragile political structures that support much of the developing world. By Ricardo Hausmann
Monday 12 May 2025
Canberra, Australia
On 24 April 2025, the Trump administration issued Executive Order 14285 mandating federal agencies to expedite permits for seabed mining under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act of 1980. Trump wants to establish the United States as a global leader in seabed exploitation and loosen China’s grip on the critical minerals market. This helps explain why The Metals Company (TMC) recently announced plans to apply for seabed exploration and commercial recovery permits under this relatively old act. These developments could undermine international law, commitments to peaceful use of the Area Beyond National Jurisdiction and environmental protections. It could also sideline TMC’s Pacific partners. Nauru and Tonga are currently sponsoring TMC’s activities in the Area, but it’s not clear what it’s in it for them if TMC secures a permit for seabed mining under US law. By Nicholas Bainton and Philippa Louey
