Vanuatu

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.

Fiji opposes Israel-Gaza ceasefire ahead of Pacific Islands forum where climate change will be top priority.

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

The gallery houses artefacts of deep cultural significance to the diaspora in Australia, including a rare 1,000-year-old replica Rotuman headdress. 

Severe Tropical Cyclone Lola has become the earliest category 5 system on record for the Southern Hemisphere.

The cyclone not only formed outside of the normal cyclone season, it is now the earliest, strongest system ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere — by a long way. So what allowed it to become so strong so early on?

Severe Tropical Cyclone Lola with winds of up to 180 kilometres an hour is battering Vanuatu.

Seven months after being battered by twin cyclones, Vanuatu is bracing for another one as cyclone Lola bears down on the country's second-biggest city.

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

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.

Vanuatu has its third prime minister in a month, electing former leader Charlot Salwai to the top job after its parliament voted to boot out current leader Sato Kilman through a no-confidence motion.

The 24-year-old's distress beacon was activated about 5pm on Thursday after the boat was damaged. 

Several of Australia's Pacific neighbours have encouraged the country to adopt the Voice. So, how do they ensure Indigenous voices are heard?

When Tom Robinson starts rowing from Vanuatu on Friday, there are two things he will be looking forward to when he arrives back in Australia.

Vanuatu's national carrier has grounded its only international aircraft due to engineering issues, triggering cancellations and delays for up to 800 people. 

Don and Meg MacRaild discuss their outreach projects in Vanuatu, Meg's childhood growing up on the island of Tanna and some of the cultural differences between the Ni-Vanuatu people and Australians.  

From their adventures bush bashing with Vanuatu's poorest farmers, to dining with the highest echelons of government, Don and Meg MacRaild's connection to the Pacific nation dates back to 1945.

Over 200 climate scientists have taken out a full-page ad in the New York Times calling out Australia's "climate annihilation", while Fijian activists impacted by rising sea levels urge Canberra to do more. 

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.

Small island countries say they are sick of "empty promises" and want legally binding obligations clearly spelled out for major polluters at the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea.

The new prime minister of Vanuatu flags he wants to rewrite a security pact his predecessor signed with Australia, saying parliament is unlikely to ratify the agreement in its current form.

Vanuatu's prime minister has been ousted from the top job after a prolonged political crisis over his leadership, in part sparked by his decision to sign a security pact with Australia.

Like many others, seasonal worker Seru Obed came to Australia to earn money for his family in Vanuatu. But a chance meeting with three northern Tasmanian locals made his journey a lot more fruitful.

The country's parliament speaker has appealed a court decision that opposition parties have won a vote of no confidence in the leader.