Category: Pacific Islands

Key developments: The United States has formally urged the dismantling of the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation, labeling its Pacific visits a waste of resources, a move that underscores growing geopolitical tension over the region’s self‑determination issues. At the…

Continue reading Pacific Momentum Builds as U.S. Targets UN Decolonisation Body and Leaders Push for Unpaid Climate Billions Ahead of COP31

Key developments: The IMF has cut its 2026 growth outlook for Pacific Island economies to 2.6% (2027: 2.5%) amid soaring food and fuel prices, limited fiscal space and heightened climate risk. At the same time, the Pacific Islands…

Continue reading Pacific Islands Grapple with Food, Fuel and Climate Shocks as IMF Lowers Growth Forecast

Key developments: The International Monetary Fund has flagged Pacific island economies as the hardest hit by soaring food and fuel prices, cutting its 2026 growth forecast and warning of further downgrades due to climate risks, heavy import dependence…

Continue reading Pacific Islands Face Growing Economic Strain as IMF Warns of Food, Fuel and Climate Shocks

The International Monetary Fund has warned that Pacific Island economies are suffering the brunt of a global food and fuel price surge, cutting its growth outlook to just 2.6 % for 2026 and 2.5 % for 2027. The IMF says…

Continue reading Pacific Islands Face Dual Crises of Food‑Fuel Shock and Storm Threats

Key developments: The International Monetary Fund has warned that Pacific Island economies are being hit hardest by soaring food and fuel prices, cutting its 2026 growth outlook to just 2.6 % and 2.5 % for 2027. The fund cites climate…

Continue reading Pacific Islands Face Dual Crisis of Food‑Fuel Shock and New Tropical Storm Champi

Key developments: Bougainville, the island chain aspiring to separate from Papua New Guinea, is reviving the long‑shut Panguna copper‑gold mine to finance its bid for nationhood. The project, now led by Indian firm Lloyds Metals, has already brought…

Continue reading Bougainville Pushes Independence as Panguna Mine Reactivation Sparks Hope and Concern

A recent article highlighted in *Science* reports that researchers have uncovered a recurring settlement pattern throughout the Pacific Islands. By analyzing the DNA of Polynesian populations, scientists found that island colonisation occurred in a series of nested waves,…

Continue reading New Genetic Study Reveals Repeated ‘Matryoshka‑Doll’ Settlement Pattern Across Pacific Islands