Guterres Issues Another ‘Global SOS’ over Fast-Rising Pacific Ocean
While no one is panicking (yet), UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a new global climate “SOS” at the Pacific Islands Summit on Tuesday, warning for the second time in less than a week that rising sea levels will deal a deadly blow to humanity in the region. “I am in Tonga to issue a global […]
‘Even in the teeth of a gale, she has time for a hula’: the sailor breaking barriers on the Pacific ocean | Pacific islands
IAbout 100 miles from Tonga, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the winds began to pick up when sailing captain Ivanancy Vunikura was helping command the Uto Ni Yalo, a ship that had set sail from Fiji a few days earlier. “The weather changed completely, the waves were up to four metres and the […]
UN chief to push for more climate change action at Pacific leaders’ summit | Pacific Islands Forum
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is attending a Pacific summit in Tonga this week, where he is due to focus on climate change in the region, one of the areas most vulnerable to rising sea levels and changing temperatures. The summit is the highest political decision-making body in the region. The week-long summit culminates in a […]
Vanuatu presidential palace funded by China stirs debt fears | Pacific islands
PAt the top of Vanuatu’s seaside capital, Port Vila, stands a gleaming red-and-white building gifted by China to the Pacific nation last month. The new presidential palace sits atop one of the town’s most popular hills and overlooks the prime minister’s residence, which was also renovated with a huge Chinese donation nearly a decade ago. […]
Reflections on Asian and Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Month
Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes How the pendulum of race has swung from one extreme to another. The month of May was “Asian and Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Month.” Although that jumble of words was repeated for thirty-one days, l still don’t know what the words mean. I could ask an in-law who was born […]
US acknowledges harm to tribes from Pacific Northwest dams
The U.S. government acknowledges that hydroelectric dams in the Pacific Northwest have harmed tribes. new Report from the Ministry of the Interior It turns out that dams built along the Columbia River in the early 1900s have blocked fish migration and submerged thousands of acres of land, including sacred sites and burial grounds. As a […]
Southwest Airlines flight plummeted To 400 feet above Pacific Ocean
Weather conditions forced the pilots of the Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane to suddenly change course, bringing it close to crashing into the Pacific Ocean off the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Get the memo to Southwest Airlines pilots Bloomberg NewsDetails of Southwest Airlines Flight 2786, which departed from Honolulu International Airport to Lihue […]
Air Vanuatu grounding prompts fears Pacific country’s tourism will take big hit | Vanuatu
“pictureEveryone is complaining, but it’s not good. Do not book on Air Vanuatu. ” These were the words of a taxi driver who left Vanuatu’s Bauerfield International Airport in March and headed to the center of Port Vila, the Pacific island nation’s coastal capital. Two months on and the frequent cancellations and delays that have […]
How the humble coconut is starting to fuel parts of Papua New Guinea | Pacific islands
Hundreds of coconut trees tower into the distance on Papua New Guinea’s Karkar Island. Decades ago, this fruit was a lucrative export, but over the years it has become less prized on international markets. Now, a small island off the country’s north coast is repurposing coconuts. Oil from copra (the white flesh of coconuts) is […]
Judge rules feds improperly implemented Pacific sardine restoration plan
A federal agency’s plan to rebuild sardine populations in the Pacific Ocean was not properly implemented and failed to prevent overfishing, a California judge ruled this week. Monday’s ruling by U.S. Magistrate Judge Virginia DeMarchi was a victory for environmentalists who said authorities have not ensured that sardine stocks will recover within the legally required […]