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

‘I saw the flash’: How US nuclear tests changed life on this Pacific idyll forever
McDiarmid and Haazen returned to Mejatto a year after the 1985 evacuation, and stayed for three months. When we land this time, there is a joyful reunion between the pair and several locals, including “aunties” now in their 40s and 50s who were...

I ditched UK for ‘Europe’s Maldives’ with fab beaches & £1 beer…childcare’s FREE & bills cost less than KFC Family Feast
IT’S known as the “Maldives of Europe” thanks to its stunning white sand beaches and crystal clear turquoise waters. Add to that an insanely cheap cost of living that's a jaw-dropping 61 per cent lower than the UK, and it was a no-brainer for...
French imperialism in New Caledonia and Pacific targets China
French president Emmanuel Macron chaired a Pacific-France summit on June 10, on the sidelines of the UN Oceans Conference held in Nice from June 9-13. Leaders from Papua New Guinea, Palau, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, the...

Pacific urged to ‘stand together as a region’ against ‘external forces’
WELLINGTON: New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters has urged Pacific nations to “stand together as a region” against “external forces” seeking to “coerce, cajole and constrain”. Peters is in France attending a range of meetings with world...

New book details family’s two-year sailing journey to the Caribbean islands
Keith Lacey Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Penticton Herald A Penticton mother has turned a life-changing experience into a new book, chronicling the two years she, her husband, and their three young children spent living aboard a 45-foot...

Pacific tourism booms in the first quarter. Is it a blip?
International travel has already exceeded global expectations this year and hopes are sky high heading into summer. As the northern hemisphere enters its summer vacation season, the southern and eastern parts of the globe are expecting a gold...

New SNIJ Climate Coalition Gives Voice to Underrepresented Island Territories
Members of the Island Innovation team at #GSIS2025 in Saint Kitts and Nevis, last month. Express your interest in the Global Sustainable Islands Summit 2026 in Gran Canaria next year. Last week, the Island Innovation team attended the UN Ocean...
This Bora Bora resort has overwater bungalows with plunge pools, hilltop spa and private island
Courtesy of Conrad Bora Bora Nui Aerial view of the Conrad Bora Bora Nui. Conrad Bora Bora Nui The resort is located on a secluded island in the Bora Bora lagoon, and its guests have exclusive access to a picture-perfect palm-fringed private...
Pacific nations urged to 'stand together as a region' against 'external forces'
Winston Peters, French President Emmanuel Macron and Vanuatu Climate Change Minister Ralph Regenvanu at the 6th Pacific-France Summit in Nice, France, June 2025. Photo: Jo Moir / RNZ Foreign Minister Winston Peters has urged Pacific nations to...

French parliament: Government should apologize for nuclear tests in Polynesia
France's parliament has called on the government to apologize for nuclear tests France conducted in the South Pacific for three decades and amend the compensation law for residents suffering health damage. France staged 193 nuclear tests over a...

Chile and Google to lay first submarine cable connecting Chile to Oceania
Chile has signed an agreement with Google to lay a submarine cable connecting Chile to Oceania. Dessarollo Pais, a state-owned infrastructure developer, and the Office of Posts and Telecommunications of French Polynesia will be responsible for...

Air Tahiti launches all-Business Class ATR for premium island hops
Air Tahiti has announced it will equip one of its newly ordered ATR 72-600 aircraft with the ATR HighLine All-Business Class cabin, launching a new VIP service connecting French Polynesia’s iconic destinations such as Bora Bora and Raiatea from...

Biker dad will retire and buy wife a hot tub after £3,900,000 Lottery win
Jon has played Lotto every day since it began (Picture: Tommy Reynolds) What’s the first thing you do after wining the lottery? Have 10 cups of tea, I guess. That was the answer of Jon Waring, 57, and his partner Lucy, 48, when they woke up to...

At UN Ocean Conference, Nations and Funders Seek to Create and Expand Large-Scale Marine Protected Areas
NICE, France—Resolute about their efforts to protect 30 percent of the Earth’s global ocean by 2030, world leaders agreed to sweeping but nonbinding commitments at last week’s United Nations Ocean Conference to designate vast stretches of their...

Seven things we learned at the UN Ocean Conference (and one we didn’t)
The French port of Nice was overrun last week with politicians and diplomats sweltering in suits, cooler representatives from NGOs and local communities, and a staggering number of police. More heads of state, governments and members of civil...

17 best Maldives resorts for an island getaway in 2025
With shimmering white sands, beautiful blue oceans, reefs and swaying palms, the Maldives is one of those dream destinations that truly lives up to expectations. The same goes for places to stay – there are Maldives resorts to suit just about...

Decoding PNG leader Marape’s talks with French President Macron
ANALYSIS: By Scott Waide, RNZ Pacific PNG correspondent The recent series of high-level agreements between Papua New Guinea and France marks a significant development in PNG’s geopolitical relationships, driven by what appears to be a convergence...
Decoding PNG leader Marape's discussions with President Macron
PNG Prime Minister James Marape, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron. Photo: Facebook / Department of Prime Minister & NEC Analysis - The recent series of high-level agreements between Papua New Guinea and France marks a significant...

What these Tahitian women want you to know about France's nuclear testing
Although France conducted nearly 200 nuclear tests in the South Pacific during the 20th century, few Tahitians have received compensation to this day. That's unlike the Marshall Islands, which has a treaty with the United States that allows...

United Nations Ocean Conference: Indigenous peoples and local communities dialogue in the framework of the Ocean Decade
During the United Nations Ocean Conference 2025, various traditional knowledge experts and representatives from Indigenous communities gathered for a workshop to shape key objectives for the second half of the United Nations Decade of Ocean...