Digitising heritage: Tuvalu preserves history online as rising seas threaten existence
Tuvalu is among nations digitising heritage in the face of climate impacts, but there are concerns around cost, access and control. RINA CHANDRAN and MD TAHMID ZAMI, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports…
Taiwan ally Tuvalu names Feleti Teo as new prime minister
Sydney, Australia Reuters Tuvalu on Monday announced former Attorney General and fisheries official Feleti Teo as its new prime minister, after he was elected unopposed by lawmakers in the Pacific Islands nation, officials said. Former Prime Minister Kausea Natano lost his seat in a general election on 26th January closely watched by Taiwan, China, the […]
Tuvalu politician who stood in rising sea wants changes to Australia migration treaty
Sydney, AustraliaReuters The Tuvalu politician who stood knee-deep in water to focus the world’s attention on the threat of rising seas to his Pacific atoll nation says a climate migration treaty with Australia should be revised after next month’s national election. Then-Foreign Minister Simon Kofe said “we are sinking” in a 2021 video speech to […]
Australia signs climate, migration and security pact with Pacific’s Tuvalu
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday signed a bilateral agreement with Tuvalu, aimed at countering China’s influence in the Pacific and protecting the tiny island nation from climate change. The agreement, which Albanese said made Australia Tuvalu’s “partner of choice”, covers climate change, security and human mobility. “The Australia-Tuvalu Falepili union will […]
Exodus of healthcare workers from poor countries worsening, WHO says
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters Poorer countries are increasingly losing healthcare workers to wealthier ones as the latter seek to shore up their own staff losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, sometimes through active recruitment, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday. The trend for nurses and other staff to leave parts of Africa or South-East Asia for […]
Tuvalu turns to the metaverse as rising seas threaten existence
Reuters Tuvalu said on Tuesday it plans to build a digital version of itself, replicating islands and landmarks and preserving its history and culture as rising sea levels threaten to submerge the tiny Pacific island nation. Tuvalu’s Foreign Minister Simon Kofe told the COP27 climate summit it was time to look at alternative solutions for […]
Kiribati’s shock withdrawal overshadows Pacific leaders meeting
Suva, FijiReuters The withdrawal of the remote Pacific island nation of Kiribati from the region’s key diplomatic group has overshadowed the Pacific Islands Forum as leaders arrive in Fiji for the first in-person meeting in two years. Pacific island leaders will discuss how to gather more international support and funding to fight the impact of […]
Tuvalu, sinking in the Pacific, fears becoming a superpower “pawn”
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Tuvalu fears that climate change, an existential threat to the Pacific nation, is being forgotten and it worries that fellow island nations could become “pawns” in a global competition between China and the United States, its foreign minister said. Simon Kofe told Reuters the superpower competition was a concern, distracting attention from climate […]
Tuvalu minister stands in sea to film COP26 speech to show climate change
Canberra, AustraliaReuters Tuvalu’s foreign minister has given a speech to the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow standing knee-deep in seawater to show how his low-lying Pacific island nation is on the front line of climate change. Images of Simon Kofe standing in a suit and tie at a lectern set up in the sea, […]
Pacific Islands leaders agree on climate plan – with loopholes
Funafuti, TuvaluReuters Pacific Islands leaders failed to agree on tough new climate change commitments at an annual summit on Thursday, agreeing instead to endorse a plan that allows them to opt out of specific measures they opposed. Some leaders at the Pacific Islands Forum had hoped all 18 members would commit to policies that limit […]