Tonga

In Tonga the royal family is almost universally revered, yet this week's drama has left many Tongans questioning their king's logic — and left many questions unanswered.

The remains of two Tongan males stored in the Australian Museum's collection in Sydney have been repatriated to their present-day descendants and laid to rest in a royal funeral service attended by hundreds.

Lisala Folau, known as Tonga's "Aquaman", survived 27 hours in open ocean after being swept from his island home. Two years on from that day, his island is abandoned.   

After COP28's central document was approved, Samoa's lead delegate delivered a critical assessment of the Dubai climate summit agreement's flaws — and pointed out the Pacific Islands delegates were not even in the room when the deal was done.

Three Pacific ministers attend a high-level meeting on police cooperation between China and Pacific Island nations as Beijing continues its push to cement deeper security ties with the region.

Prime ministers Anthony Albanese and James Marape meet in Canberra to deepen security ties with a pact that has a status like a treaty, while Beijing continues its push to expand policing ties with Pacific Island countries and regional defence chiefs discuss a joint military response group.

Inspired by fellow Indigenous artist The Kid LAROI, Fiula Havili records his music from his bedroom. He says he's inspired by everything around him, from the land to his experience as a teenager in the outback.

Australian officials are increasingly worried about the Pacific's vulnerability to cyber attacks, with the government spending $26 million to set up "rapid assistance" teams made up of experts from the private sector and specialists from intelligence agencies like the Australian Signals Directorate.

Pacific leaders including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will descend on the beautiful island of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands this week for the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting. And the two "big Cs" will be on the agenda.

Six Pacific Island countries have voted with Israel to oppose the UN resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza. For many nations in the region, the connection to Israel runs deep.   

A leading think tank is warning the Australian government to be careful not to overload Pacific countries with debt in China's absence. 

Australia will meet New Zealand for Pacific Nations rugby league championship honours after the Kiwis crush Samoa to book their place in the final.

Tonga's illegal gun trade is fuelling criminal behaviour. Fijian Prime Minister calls for peace in the Pacific as he visits Canberra and the Pacific games kick off in Solomon Islands.

The Pacific Engagement Visa will give to opportunity to 3,000 people from the region each year to permanently settle in Australia. 

Guns are not a common sight in Tonga — but that is changing. An increase in crime and drug use in the small island nation is causing many to arm themselves, both legally and illegally.

A critic says the commercialisation of the drug is potentially dangerous and culturally insensitive, but others say the "great alternative to alcohol" has never been hard to source in the west.

The Kingdom of Tonga looks like paradise, but its lush coconut palms nurse a hidden problem. Now, the country is preparing to deal with this car-sized problem, before it's too late.

A near-record number of Pacific Islanders are in Australia working on farms and abattoirs. The workforce has kept Australia's agricultural economy afloat and transformed the lives of thousands — but it comes at a cost.

Debris was pushed at a speed of 122 kilometres an hour, re-shaping the seafloor and damaging Tonga's telecommunication cables. Emily Lane from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research explains the explosive blast.

In January 2022, a mega explosion from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano generated a coast-battering tsunami and vivid sunsets. Now we know the extent of the eruption's devastation below the waves.

Europe and parts of north and south America are in the middle of a vicious heatwave, and the world recorded its hottest July on record — but in the Pacific, puffer jackets are becoming the norm as Tonga shivered through its second-coldest temperature on record.

Despite a nervous start, the Diamonds brought Tala's 21-game winning streak to an end in the first meeting between the sides at the World Cup, writes Brittany Carter.

The United States is continuing to ramp up its campaign for influence in the Pacific to match China's intensifying efforts but with ever more outside players clamouring for a spot in the region, the margin for error grows narrower, writes Stephen Dziedzic.

Richard Marles says the government is "very keen" to help Solomon Islands establish a defence force, with experts saying Canberra wants to stop any military cooperation between Beijing and Honiara.