Oceania

Eight Tuvalu caregivers employed on four-year contracts at an aged care facility in Pottsville, Australia, were informed their job was cut with immediate effect, forced to leave in 48 hours; Townsville took the fleeing group in and integrated their visas

Samoan-Australian tennis star Destanee Aiava has called out “disgusting” and “disrespectful” online abuse after being targeted by trolls following a heartbreaking loss in Australian Open qualifying

Jailed former MP for the Epi Constituency and Speaker of Parliament has formally sought reconciliation at the National Nakamal, apologising to the President of the Malvatumauri Council of Chiefs and the people of Vanuatu for his past actions

Addressing road safety, traffic authorities are enforcing long-standing road transport laws largely unimplemented for years, ordering drivers to comply and remove illegal under-glow and non-standard LED lights from motor vehicles and trailers

40 luxury Maserati cars, controversially brought to PNG for the APEC Leaders' Summit in 2018, are lying in a shed, uninsured, losing value and exposing the State to risk of loss for fire or theft; a new physical assessment of their condition is due soon

Off Shark Beach, a shark attacked a boy of about 13 who was swimming in Sydney Harbour, leaving him in critical condition with serious leg injuries

Tonga counted 5 confirmed cases of people living with HIV and 700 reported cases of sexually transmitted infections in 2025; information about HIV infections is difficult to access and a HIV epidemic in neighboring Fiji prompted authorities to investigate

Helicopters airlifted 40 people to safety overnight, as slips and flooding cut off trapped motorists at Waioeka Gorge; after heavy rain hammered the area between Matawai and Ōpōtiki and as conditions rapidly deteriorated State Highway 2 remains closed

The first Executive Meeting of 2026 with Cabinet members and key staff set a coordinated agenda for governance and development; focus is on legislative readiness, infrastructure, budget, postal services to the outer islands, international partnerships

Fiji is facing one of the fastest growing HIV epidemics in the world, with 1.226 cases in the first half of 2025; A new WHO study shows one of the cause is the rising reuse of needles and syringes for drug injection, mostly linked to methamphetamine use

Government expresses deep concern over the recent escalation of tensions in the Asia-Pacific region; an official post on Facebook reminded that Tuvalu strongly opposes any unilateral or coercive actions that threaten regional security, stability and peace

While up to a dozen major bushfire ravaged towns, leaving one dead, 300 structures destroyed and 350.000 hectares burned in Victoria, Pro-Palestine protesters have defied police calls to cancel their Melbourne rally