Oceania Marshall Islands The Marshallese Christmas is celebrated with Jepta, or 'group', dancing and signing competitions, Wojke - a handmade container filled with small gifts and Biit Dancing - an energetic, modern church dancing, often loud and with amplified music
Oceania Vanuatu Over 1.000 members of the Vanuatu Teachers Union, who have been on strike for the past 18 months, will return to the classroom following the signing of a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the government
Oceania Papua New Guinea A fire destroyed a commercial building housing a number of businesses in Mendi, southern highlands; started at the generator house after a power failure, it was fought by local boys with buckets, lacking fire brigade service and water tankers
Oceania Tuvalu The first climate migrants to leave Tuvalu have touched down in Australia, ready to begin a new life as part of the landmark treaty, an unprecedented climate visa scheme signed two years ago and implemented along 2025
Oceania Solomon Islands Essential school furniture for newly built classrooms and dormitories has been delivered to 14 schools across the country; the initiative aims to build safe, comfortable and practical learning spaces supported by Australia and New Zealand with MEHRD
Oceania New Zealand A judge voided a South Auckland election result over voter fraud claims and the private company running the polls has admitted to a separate privacy breach; the Electoral Services MD released to councillor election results with confidential information
Oceania Palau For over three months, families and small businesses across Palau have been unable to ship packages through the mail, sidelined by a U.S. executive order that ended duty-free treatment for low-value imports
Oceania Tonga Laulea Beach in Fatumu, known for its strong currents, has been strictly closed to the public until after the New Year's holiday; Police Deputy Commissioner, said the measure aims to prevent drownings, following the death of a 40-year-old male last month
Oceania Nauru 80 Nauruan students in Fiji participated in the 38th quarterly meeting of the Intergenerational Trust Fund held in Suva, Fiji; the NTF was established in 2015 to contribute to the long-term budgetary self-reliance of the Republic of Nauru until 2035
Oceania Fiji Skilled health workers from Fiji and other Pacific Island countries are now included in Pacific Australia Labor Mobility scheme: drawn to Australia to fill shortages in care sector for a much higher salary, they create a critical need of labor back home
Oceania Samoa Aviation safety in Samoa and across the Pacific has improved with a new Automated Weather Observing Station AWOS at Fagali’i Airport; supported by continuous StarLink connectivity, it will provide real-time aviation weather information across the country
Oceania Australia At least 15 people have been killed and 27 are in hospitals after a shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, the country’s worst in 30 years; attackers targeting Jewish Australians were “driven” by extreme ideology, but “weren’t part of a wider cell”
Oceania Palau First-of-its-kind Transition Facility has been opened at Belau National Hospital for discharged patients who can’t yet return home; it aims to ease hospital overcrowding while providing dignified, short-term recovering care in a home-like setting