Read the latest news from regional and global sources, presenting different voices and perspectives.
Pacific leaders call for peace amid Middle East tensions as Melanesia eyes regional solidarity
Pacific Media Network
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Pacific leaders have voiced their worries about the ongoing political unrest around the world, especially the conflicts involving Iran, Israel, and the United States. The concerns were shared during a meeting of the Melanesian Spearhead Group...
Students flock to 2025 Careers Expo to explore their futures
Cook Island News
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June 20, 2025
Ministry of Finance and Economic Management staff members with interested Tereora College students at the 2025 Careers Expo held at the National Auditorium yesterday. TEITIMOANA TAIRI/25061909 The 2025 Careers Expo welcomed many students from...
World Blood Donor Day strong community support
Cook Island News
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June 14, 2025
The Cook Islands Red Cross Society celebrated a successful World Blood Donor Day event in town this week, drawing strong support from donors and the local community. MELINA ETCHES/25061332 The Cook Islands Red Cross Society celebrated a successful...
Pacific news in brief for 26 June
RNZ
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June 25, 2025
Photo: ppart/123RF Tonga - budget Tonga's current 17 Peoples' Representatives in parliament will each have TOP $100,000 (approx. NZ$69,000) in constituency funds to spend ahead of the November general election. This was approved in parliament on...
As global tensions flare, Christopher Luxon meets President Xi Jinping in Beijing
The New Zealand Herald
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June 19, 2025
Luxon is in China on a three-day trade mission. He wrapped up the Shanghai leg of the mission on Thursday evening by proclaiming $871 million worth of deals were done while he was in the city. Geopolitics threatened to overshadow the trade-focused...
Letter: Superfund restrictions questioned
Cook Island News
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June 13, 2025
Dear Editor, I want to talk about the Cook Islands National Superannuation Fund. I am 63-year-old Cook Islands pensioner. I have contributed as a government worker and worker in the private sector to the Super Fund when it was introduced in 2000,...
Calls to ‘Give Hope’ on World Blood Donor Day
Cook Island News
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June 13, 2025
The Cook Islands Red Cross Society is calling on the public to join the global effort to “Give Hope” through blood donation. RED CROSS CIs/25061225 World Blood Donor Day 2025 will be celebrated today, and the Cook Islands Red Cross Society is...
Finland accuses senior crew of Russia-linked vessel in damage of undersea power cable in...
Journal News - Ohio
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The Eagle S is flagged in the Cook Islands, but has been described by Finnish customs officials and the European Union's executive commission as part of Russia's shadow fleet of fuel tankers. Those are aging vessels with obscure ownership,...
Luxon heads to Beijing as Cooks aid pause news breaks
1News
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Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has wrapped up his Shanghai visit, and said $871 million of commercial agreements were signed today between New Zealand businesses and their Chinese counterparts. He is now headed for Beijing, where he is set to...
BEN MORGAN: Iran. A win for the US?
The Daily Blog
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June 24, 2025
Holy shit look at what NZDF could have been like: Detail structure and equipment for a NZ Defence Force in 2030 if military spending had been constant at 5% GDP since 2015 ChatGPT said: If New Zealand had maintained military spending at 5% of GDP...
PAC recommends Infrastructure CI secure funding for waste management initiatives
Cook Island News
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June 11, 2025
Infrastructure Cook Islands (ICI) waste management team sorting recyclables. ICI/ 25061010 The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has recommended that Infrastructure Cook Islands (ICI) secure funding for waste management initiatives, in particular...
The Pacific Islands: America’s Power Vacuum and China’s Offensive
The Diplomat
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June 17, 2025
The United States has traditionally provided significant assistance to Pacific island countries. Many of these countries and regions still use the U.S. dollar as their currency and, absent their own armed forces, rely on the U.S. military for...
Deep Rising: Who Owns the Deep Seas?
Deeper Blue
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June 24, 2025
Have you ever wondered about who owns the deep seas? I never gave it much thought until I watched ‘Deep Rising’ at a UNOC3 side event. Narrated by Jason Momoa, the film explores the topic of undersea mining and the concept of a ‘common human...
The Pacific Islands: America’s Power Vacuum and China’s Offensive
The Diplomat
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June 17, 2025
The United States has traditionally provided significant assistance to Pacific island countries. Many of these countries and regions still use the U.S. dollar as their currency and, absent their own armed forces, rely on the U.S. military for...
Tobacco kills 1.3 million non-smokers yearly — WHO
Punch
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June 24, 2025
Around 1.3 million people die from second-hand smoke every year, according to a World Health Organisation report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2025. The report released at the World Conference on Tobacco Control in Dublin warned that action is...
Audrey Young: Rating David Seymour as Acting Prime Minister
Waikato Herald
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It was his 42nd birthday, and he earned a double celebration. With few exceptions, he was accomplished enough as acting leader of the coalition Government of three parties, as he was required to be, not the leader of Act. He digressed only once...
Who really owns what? Beneficial ownership reforms gain ground in the Pacific
The Pacific Island Times
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June 15, 2025
A single question posed at the start of a regional transparency webinar stopped many in their tracks: "Have you heard of beneficial ownership before?" It wasn’t just a conversation starter. It was a litmus test for how well Pacific island nations...
Tobacco Control Protecting 6.1bn People, Says WHO in New Report
Nigerian Current
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June 24, 2025
The World Health Organisation (WHO) today released its report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2025 at the World Conference on Tobacco Control in Dublin, warning that action is needed to maintain and accelerate progress in tobacco control as rising...
Tobacco control efforts protect 6.1 billion people
New Business Ethiopia
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June 24, 2025
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that action is needed to maintain and accelerate progress in tobacco control as rising industry interference challenges tobacco policies and control efforts. This is stated in WHO’s new report on the...
Deadly disease outbreak sees urgent travel warning issued in dream holiday hotspots
Daily Express
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June 10, 2025
There is an increasing risk of developing severe dengue in the Pacific after a number of nations reported outbreaks, a medical expert has warned. Idyllic holiday destinations including the Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga and Fiji have all been hit by...