Results for Pacific Islands

A new academic programme that will teach Pacific Islands students about climate change adaptation and sustainable energy, is being developed by 15 countries in the region, including Tonga, who are meeting in Nadi this week, with assistance from the European Union.

Tonga and other small states that are the most vulnerable, socially and economically in the world will be the focus at The Commonwealth’s Fourth Global Biennial Conference held in the Seychelles this week. Tonga’s Executive Director of the Civil Society Forum of Tonga (CSFT), Emeline Siale Ilolahia, will make a presentation at the event.

Countries across the Pacific have now begun to receive a wide range of new television programmes from New Zealand, showcasing its culture.

The University of the South Pacific (USP) plans to roll out five-year employment contracts instead of three years, USP Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Rajesh Chandler told staff at their first staff forum for the year on 25 April, 2016. The change is one of many the university plans to implement.

Six Pacific Islands of the 15 overall countries submitted their ratification of the Paris Agreement during a special signing ceremony on 22 April in New York. Fiji, Nauru, Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa and Tuvalu submitted their ratifications.

The Pacific Games Council is eager to see a Master Plan for the 2019 Pacific Games in Tonga turn into reality, and to make this happen the Tongan Government should swiftly secure contracts for the design and the construction of sporting facilities and venues required, the President of the Pacific Games Council, Vidhya Lakhan said at a Press Conference in Nuku'alofa on Friday, 22 April.

In January this year, there were 2,381 Tongan overstayers living in New Zealand according to recently published estimates from the New Zealand Government’s Immigration Department.

A young woman in Samoa who claims to have experienced stigmata (wounds suffered by Jesus during the crucifixion) has gathered widespread support, according to media reports. The events have captured the attention of the world’s press, including the BBC.

A new cyclone is threatening children and families in Fiji, UNICEF warned this afternoon. Only weeks after Category 5 Cyclone Winston ripped through the Fiji Islands, affecting 40% of the population, Fiji is once again facing extreme weather conditions due to the presence of three tropical disturbances, one of which has formed into rapidly-intensifying Cyclone Zena.