Christina Persico

1 week ago | rnz.co.nz | Christina Persico |Caleb Fotheringham |Don Wiseman

New Zealand has paused $18.2 million in development assistance funding to the Cook Islands after its government signed partnership agreements with China earlier this year. This move is causing consternation in the realm country, with one local political leader calling it "a significant escalation" between Avarua and Wellington. A spokesperson for Peters said the Cook Islands did not consult with Aotearoa over the China deals and failed to ensure shared interests were not put at risk.

1 week ago | rnz.co.nz | Susana Suisuiki |Christina Persico

A University of Auckland biologist working on less invasive tests for womb cancer (or endometrial cancer) says studies suggest that one of its causes is higher weight or metabolic diseases, such as diabetes. The number of diagnoses of the disease in New Zealand has risen from 600 a decade ago to around 750 a year. Māori and Pasifika women have some of the highest rates of womb cancer in the world.

1 week ago | rnz.co.nz | Susana Suisuiki |Christina Persico

A Samoan fashion stylist says Arthur Folasa Ah Loo was not only the best Samoan fashion designer she had come across but also "very authentic" on a personal level. Tributes continue to pour in for fashion designer Arthur Folasa Ah Loo - known as Afa Ah Loo - who was shot at the 'No Kings' protest in Salt Lake City on Saturday. Investigations are continuing. Nora Swann worked with Ah Loo for the Pacific Fusion Fashion Show in 2017 and 2019.

1 week ago | rnz.co.nz | Susana Suisuiki |Christina Persico

A new campaign called 'Vaine Toa' is aiming to boost breast screening numbers among Pasifika women. Breastscreen Aotearoa's Lisa Te Paiho said there are a number of barriers that prevent Pasifika women from getting their screening done, including transport and finance-related. "With Breastscreen Aotearoa we're aiming to screen...70 percent of all eligible women," she said. "It's actually pretty good coverage for Pacific women at the moment, across all of Aotearoa, it is 68 percent.

2 weeks ago | rnz.co.nz | Christina Persico

Palau's president says the country is sometimes classified as a high-income nation based on its gross domestic product (GDP) - something he called a "pressing injustice". Surangel Whipps Jr delivered an address at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva, Switzerland, last week. Whipps said this classification ignored a "deeper truth". "Many of our people live in income poverty," he said. And climate disasters pushed them deeper into that, Whipps said.