Morning Mail: Nauru asylum seekers ‘going hungry’, ATO hunt for old debts, UK synagogue attack

Morning everyone. It seems the vast cost of holding refugees and asylum seekers on Nauru – about $1.5m paid out per year to an American prisons operator for every detainee – is not enough to keep hunger at bay, with many telling us they can’t...

Asylum seekers on Nauru going hungry despite government spending $1.5m a year for each person

Refugees and asylum seekers held on Nauru claim they can’t afford to eat and are forced to skip meals. Their plight comes despite Australia spending $1.5m per person for a US prisons operator to house them, although the contract does not provide...

PNG approves contentious defence treaty with Australia: PM

Agence France-Presse . Sydney, Australia 02 October, 2025, 22:58 Papua New Guinea’s cabinet has approved a contentious mutual defence treaty with Australia, the Pacific country’s prime minister said Thursday, as Canberra seeks to deepen ties with...

Pacific islands bound by climate change, divided by deep-sea mining: Nauru swimming against the tide

Deep-sea mining equipment. Photo courtesy of Impossible Metals “The climate crisis is not up for debate,” Micronesian President Wesley Simina said. “The only question is whether we will act with the urgency it demands.” Pacific island leaders...

Papua New Guinea Approves Contentious Defence Treaty With Australia: PM

Papua New Guinea's cabinet has approved a contentious mutual defence treaty with Australia, the Pacific country's prime minister said Thursday, as Canberra seeks to deepen ties with the region and counter Beijing's rising influence. The deal will...

Australian government extends use of Nauru as a refugee prison

Without any prior public notification or scrutiny, the Australian Labor government has just extended a contract for the running of an asylum seeker prison on the tiny Pacific island of Nauru until at least 2027. Accommodation in the Nauru offshore...

Commonwealth takes Nauru bank service

THE University of the South Pacific (USP) is proud to announce that five of its academics have been recognised among the world’s Top 2% scientists by Stanford University for 2025. This prestigious ranking identifies researchers whose work is among...

Social media interaction leads to partnership between small Japanese town and Nauru

Sameru Ohata, the mayor of the Mie Prefecture town of Mihama, left, is seen after signing a promotional partnership agreement with the Republic of Nauru Tourism Bureau in this photo provided by Tourism Mihama. TSU -- Mihama, a small town in Mie...

Nauruans to head to the polls on 11 October

The new logo for the 2025 Nauru general election. It shows the frigate bird - Nauru's national national symbol - carrying its ballot paper ready for voting. Photo: Nauru Electoral Commission Nauruans will head to the polls on 11 October after the...

Morning Mail: Alarm at Nauru detention contract price rise; LIV golf course plan threatens Indigenous site; Albanese backs Starmer

Good morning. We lead today with revelations that a US private prisons operator will be paid $790m to hold just over 100 people on Nauru after the government expanded its contract in a decision called “absurd” by critics. In South Australia, a...

‘We had to be bold and innovative to save our economy’: Nauru president

YAREN (Nauru Government/Pacnews) — Nauru President David Adeang has revealed for the first time that when he was elected president three years ago, he received advice from the government’s finance department that the nation was in “serious...

Nauru Airlines back in Suva

WHEN pre-eminent leaders of Fiji and Nauru – the late Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara and Hammer de Roburt – shook hands some 50-plus years ago, ongoing flight connections between the two island nations were established, and continues unabated to this day....

Nauru ‘peddling dangerous fallacies’ at UNGA: Greenpeace

Greenpeace Australia Pacific FIJI/SYDNEY – Friday, 26 September 2025 — In response to Nauru’s statement on deep sea mining at the UN General Assembly, where it falsely claimed deep sea minerals were ‘essential’ for the green energy transition, the...

Nauru President defends seabed mining in UNGA speech

Nauru's President David Adeang has defended moves to open his country's waters to deep sea mining. He called on the International Seabed Authority to speed up its drafting of regulations for Nauru to adopt...so it could have global approval on...

Pacific Islands News Roundup – September 26 – October 2, 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,...

How China promotes a more just and equitable global governance system

For the first time in its 24 years of World Trade Organization (WTO) membership, China announced on Tuesday that it will no longer seek any new special and differential treatment in current and future negotiations, a decision hailed by the WTO as...

10 Least Known Countries: Nauru, Tuvalu, Comoros, and More

Most people can rattle off the names of big tourist hotspots. But ask them about the least known countries, and you’ll probably get a blank stare. (And rightfully so: That's a pretty weird question to ask.) These places exist well outside the...

Live: PM heads to London for AUKUS talks

26m agoThu 25 Sep 2025 at 10:38pm Liberal veteran chides Andrew Hastie for not being a team player By 7.30 political editor Jacob Greber Loading...A doyenne of the Liberal Party and veteran of leadership battles dating back to the 1980s...

‘We are Micronesia’ declared as Nauru prepares for inaugural Micronesia Festival

Miss Nauru - Charlei Deiye YAREN — Nauru is set to host a celebration of Micronesia through music and pageantry at the inaugural Micronesia Musical Festival and Miss Micronesia Pageant that will run from Oct. 6 to 9, 2025. The major cultural event...

NZYQ member could be sent to Nauru within weeks after fourth visa granted

A fourth member of the so-called NZYQ cohort is back in immigration detention after being issued a Nauruan visa, as the government steams ahead with its plan to deport hundreds of convicted criminals to the tiny island nation. They were taken into...