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

Japan's Sakai Liberal High School to perform on Friday at Micronesia Mall
Students from Sakai Liberal High School in Osaka, Japan will return to the Micronesia Mall Center Court for a special Friendship Recital from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Friday, June 20. This highly anticipated performance kicks off the weekend...

Calls to close gender gap in Pacific Island employment
Less than half of working age women are employed across the Pacific Islands due to outdated laws and other barriers, the World Bank said in a new report on Tuesday, and said closing the gender gap could boost economic growth. The World Bank...

Local activists mirror US anti-Trump rallies
In what they claimed was a call to action by community members, local activist group Prutehi Guåhan echoed communities across the nation in the so-called No Kings movement - reportedly a direct response against the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary...

Eased NZ travel rules welcomed
Samoans are excited and optimistic about New Zealand’s new immigration changes, which allow Pacific Island citizens to be issued a two-year multiple-entry visa. The changes, which came into effect on 6 July 2025, have sparked positive responses...

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...
In our 50s, we moved to a remote Pacific island. We know we'll need better healthcare someday, but for now, it's paradise.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Buz Moffett, 63, who moved from Hawaii to Pohnpei, an island in the Pacific Ocean that's part of the Federated States of Micronesia, with his wife in 2018. It has been edited for length and...

Micronesian Islander Community breaks grounds on new affordable apartment building
Dozens of people gathered Monday at the future site of a new apartment complex which will include a colorful community center for Salem’s vibrant and growing Micronesian Islander community. Voyagers Village, the new four-story 45,000 square-foot...

ICE is now hunting for clergy members willing to work in Guantánamo Bay
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our...

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,...

Why Jonny Fairplay Should Have Been Cast In Survivor 50: In The Hands Of The Fans
Even though Survivor attracts new fans every year who have to figure out which seasons to watch first, Jeff Probst's beloved reality show has loads of dedicated viewers. Survivor's most passionate fans know a lot about the show's medical...

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...

Trump Admin Detains Foreigners From 26 Countries at Guantanamo
The Trump administration is holding dozens of foreigners from 26 different countries at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, as President Donald Trump presses ahead with dispatching the notorious military prison in his immigration crackdown. Seventy-two...
This Pacific Ocean country is one of Earth’s most biodiverse places
Thursday 10 July 2025 8:41 am Share Facebook Share on Facebook X Share on Twitter LinkedIn Share on LinkedIn WhatsApp Share on WhatsApp Email Share on Email A trip to remote Palau on the Four Seasons Explorer This Pacific Ocean hideaway offers...
Communes, divorce and being a 'good villain': How 'Survivor' star Parvati Shallow stopped being in 'survival mode'
“I love a good villain,” Parvati Shallow tells me from her couch as we’re connected on Zoom. “Everyone has the capacity to lie. Everyone has the capacity to be mean or bad or cutthroat.” Despite the bright smile and warm personality that I see...

Minamborae Michael Karapen also known as Michael Mexico, the beacon and founding father of weightlifting in PNG
By PISAI GUMAR It was a very historic day in the life of a young, stocky, and energetic Wabag man at Guam Naval Base, a US Territory, on 16th Sept 1975. A native Melanesian weightlifter, exhibiting bulging biceps among other Polynesian and...

LETTER: CHamoru-only, CHamoru first. Period.
The question of who should decide Guam's political future is not just a legal or political issue. It is a matter of justice, dignity and historical truth. CHamorus were the original inhabitants of this island—its first stewards, its first people....

Australia's climate visa: A model for sinking islands?
In the tiny South Pacific nation of just over 10,000 people, one in three citizens has already entered the ballot for a world-first climate visa which would allow them to permanently migrate to Australia. Tuvalu is classified as being extremely...

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,"...

Who should have the authority to hire and fire Oʻahu's police chief?
Should the Honolulu Police Commission have the authority to hire and fire the chief of the Honolulu Police Department? That question has become increasingly important over the last few weeks as Chief Joe Logan’s tenure with HPD comes to an end....

Breast Cancer In Hawaiʻi: Some Women Are Diagnosed Too Late
Micronesians are less likely to get mammograms than women overall in Hawaiʻi. Community advocates say public health officials need to break down barriers to early screening. Ermina George was lying on her stomach one evening last spring when she...