Koror- Palau President Tommy Remengesau Jr. will meet Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen as well as senior Taiwan officials, in his first official visit since Tsai was elected. The state visit is seen as a reinforcement of the diplomatic ties between the two countries, amid an increased assertiveness from China over its influence in the Pacific. Remengesau will visit Taiwan from Nov. 10 to Nov. 14, Press Secretary Olkeriil Kazuo said in a statement to the local media. “It is Presi

Koror -- DHL Heir Larry Imeong Hillbroom is allowed to go off-island to seek drug rehabilitation after Palau Associate Justice Lourdes Materne in Tuesday's sentencing showed compassion and recognized that the he needs help to treat his addiction Judge Materne at the same time took cognizance of the fact that Hillbroom has the “resources” to get addiction treatment not available in the island-nation. According to Hillbroom’s lawyer, he is looking at the United States for reha

Auckland, N.Z.— The news about celebrities taking their own lives last month made me think about the issues of self-harm and self-destruction in our region. To this day, the content and the title itself of Father Francis X. Hezel’s article, “Micronesia’s Hanging Spree,” still gives me chills every time I muster the courage to re-read it. The brave, albeit not uncontroversial piece, shed a necessary light on suicide being an unprecedented issue in the mid-1970s, having reache

Koror—Palau While Guam, CNMI and the Republic of the Marshall Islands have embraced cryptocurrency, Palau is cautious about welcoming it with open arms and for good reason. What could be a promising technology has been tainted by a suspicious company which offers to combine online gambling and cryptocurrency, with the island nation as the launching pad for this purported industry. It also claims to have a plan to build a brick-and-mortar casino in Palau. Casino is illegal in

Palau seeks to get a share of the growing wedding market Koror — Tying the knot in paradise is a dream wedding for many couples — especially the Japanese — and with the rise in the popularity of destination weddings worldwide, Palau seeks to tap into this niche market. Efforts are being made to market the Pacific nation as a destination to exchange vows—a segment of the market that its neighboring islands, Guam and Saipan, specialize in. You can never go wrong with picturesq

Incumbent governor, Browny Salvador, has a huge lead in the 4th Ngarchelong State gubernatorial primary election that was held yesterday. The four-term governor topped the five-way race with 34% of the total vote cast. Salvador garnered 170 votes against the current second place and political newcomer Richard Ngiratrang with 141 or 28% of the total vote cast. Ms. Kyoko April is in third place getting 96 votes (19%) followed by Lorenzo Ngiramolau with 83 (16%), while Hayes Ngi

Palau’s two-pronged program promotes fitness while clearing invasive species Koror — On one Saturday in February, dozens of Ngardmau State’s residents participated in one of the country’s most innovative civic undertakings. With sharpened knives, machetes and chainsaws the men and women of Ngardmau came out to wage a campaign against the vine known as kebeas, which has overtaken and smothered a large swath of the state forest. On the side of the Compact Road that runs inside

Celebrates $123 million under signed U.S. Compact Review Agreement and promises close collaboration with Federal partners to finalize and deliver funding PALAU – U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular and International Affairs Doug Domenech concluded his first official visit to the Republic of Palau where he conferred with President Tommy Remengesau, Jr. on the Compact of Free Association relationship and met with other government and non-government officials.

Koror- Palau’s $31-million airport expansion project is facing closer scrutiny, with the Senate minority bloc raising more questions and asking the court to review pertinent documents that showed ostensible discrepancies. The public-private partnership project to renovate and expand the Palau International Airport was formally launched on Aug. 7, 2017, with the signing of an agreement between Palau’s Commerce Minister Charles I. Obichang and Takuaki Manganji, general manager

Tamuning- The Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus, a regional economic integration pact that opens free trade among Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Island nations, is raising skepticism among critics, who describe the treaty as a lopsided deal. The agreement, better known as PACER Plus, proposes tariff cuts among signatory nations and is rhetorically touted to help small Pacific Island nations through increased import-export trade and investments. But subs