Valls heads to New Caledonia in wake of collapse of independence deal

Political tensions in New Caledonia have flared, as its main pro-independence coalition FLNKS voted against a deal that would have given the French overseas territory some sovereign powers – but no independence referendum, a key demand for...

Paris scrambles to rescue New Caledonia deal after pro-independence rejection

PARIS – France’s Overseas Minister Manuel Valls is returning to New Caledonia on Tuesday in a bid to rescue a political agreement that would redefine the territory’s status with broad new powers, despite outright rejection by the main...

A political class gasping for breath

In June 2024, after European elections that were a clear rejection of his party Renaissance, French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the National Assembly in an act that only cemented his defeat. The centrist coalition Ensemble, in which...

Carnival Cruise Line joins the Lifou community in celebrating 30 years of cruise tourism

Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Splendor has joined the Lifou community for a special celebration marking 30 years of cruise ship visits to the New Caledonia island. A traditional ceremony welcomed Carnival Splendor’s Captain Mario Imbimbo, chief...

Scots brothers set new record rowing across the Pacific Ocean — with Hollywood star set to tell their story

THREE brothers set a new world record after rowing unsupported across the Pacific Ocean in just 139 days. Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan Maclean paddled more than 9,000 miles from Peru to Australia battling tropical storms, searing heat and massive waves...

French Embassy advisory on authentication of documents

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 19: The French Embassy in Kuwait announced that French consulates around the world will stop authenticating public documents issued by French authorities, such as civil status certificates, academic certificates, court rulings,...

France updates strategic documents, and its relationship with Australia

France’s latest strategic updates make one thing clear: Paris has turned a page on AUKUS and moved on. In July, it released new versions of its national security strategy (NSR) and Indo-Pacific Strategy, the latter published seven years after...

Oceania road champion handover will have to wait until 2026 with search for location and date coming up short

The chances to gather UCI points on the road and deliver a performance that can help with the task of catching the eye of a professional team are far from plentiful, even in a good year, in the Oceania region but the cycling federation has...

Why France must join: Turning the Quintet into a Sextet

Ben Bland’s recent article, “Why the United Kingdom and the Indo-Pacific Four should form a new Quintet”, makes an articulate case for deeper coordination among resource-constrained democracies. His argument – that the increasingly unilateral...

Wet September ahead for most of country, drier conditions expected in October

The bad weather has started this week as the South Island was predicted to have above normal rainfall all week. MetService has put orange heavy rain warnings in place for much of the South Island’s West Coast, while the North Island escapes most...

Football Australia and Oceania Football Confederation strengthen partnership to grow Pacific football

Football Australia and the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to accelerate the growth of football across the Pacific, reinforcing a long-standing partnership and creating new opportunities for...

Flying Eagles head for 12-day camping in Santiago

Nigeria’s U-20 boys’ team, the Flying Eagles, have departed for Chile to begin a 12-day final phase camping in the South American nation ahead of their participation in this year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup finals. The seven-time African champions will...

Fonterra retreats from consumer businesses in sale to Lactalis for $3.8 bln, possibly more

Fonterra has agreed the sale of its global Consumer and associated businesses to Lactalis for $3.845 billion, subject to certain customary financial adjustments and conditions including approval by farmer shareholders, separating the businesses...

'Clear actions' mark the end of the 54th Pacific Islands Forum

Pacific leaders from 18 member states got together for their official "family photo" at the 54th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders' Meeting in Honiara, Solomon Islands. 11 September 2025 Photo: Pacific Islands Forum The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF)...

Fonterra agrees to multi-billion dollar sale

Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd has announced it has agreed the sale of its global Consumer and associated businesses to Lactalis, subject to certain customary financial adjustments and conditions including approval by farmer shareholders,...

Pacific Islands News Roundup – August 15 – August 21, 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,...

Forum Leaders back Indonesia’s sovereignty, Push for 2026 West Papua visit

By Pita Ligaiula Pacific Islands Forum Leaders have reaffirmed their recognition of Indonesia’s sovereignty over West Papua while pushing for a long-delayed human rights mission to take place. In their communique, Leaders recalled Indonesia’s 2018...

Cook Islands advocates for ocean protection and climate action

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration (MFAI) secretary Tepaeru Herrmann has reminded Pacific leaders how Pacific regionalism has helped the Cook Islands for over 60 years. MFAI/ 25081913 Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration (MFAI)...

Porter, Siaguru keen

PNG Squash men’s team duo Joshua Porter and Feanor Siaguru have a pivotal role to play in the forthcoming Oceania Closed Championship set for Apia, Samoa later this month. For 20-year-old Porter, his journey in squash started in Cairns and he has...

Solar Eclipse 2025: Will the US witness September 21 partial eclipse? Here’s where it will be visible

The celestial countdown has begun. In just one week, on September 21, 2025, millions of skywatchers across the Southern Hemisphere will witness a partial solar eclipse, an astronomical event where the moon appears to take a dramatic “bite” out of...