Derrick Malama

1 week ago | hawaiipublicradio.org | Derrick Malama

This week, Taiwan is hosting the governor of Guam. The U.S. Pacific territory would almost certainly be a key player in any Chinese military moves against Taiwan. Lourdes Leon Guerrero is making her first trip to Taiwan since taking office in 2019. In that time, China has boosted its threat to invade Taiwan with new ships, missiles and warplanes. Guerrero arrived in the island democracy on Sunday and is scheduled to stay through Saturday.

2 weeks ago | hawaiipublicradio.org | Derrick Malama

The World Health Organization has declared a polio outbreak in Papua New Guinea and is calling for a vaccination campaign. An environmental sampling showed a reemergence of the highly infectious virus. The government's response includes at least two rounds of nationwide vaccination and expanding monitoring to detect any further cases. It has approved $3.2 million to roll out vaccines in the country, located north of Australia in the southwest Pacific Ocean.

3 weeks ago | hawaiipublicradio.org | Derrick Malama

A measles case was detected in Hawaiʻi last month — and it's not the only Pacific Island concerned about an outbreak. New Zealand is on alert after a measles case was identified in Auckland over the weekend. The country's public health agency issued the alert after a ferry worker was identified as infectious with measles while at work and in public.

1 month ago | hawaiipublicradio.org | Derrick Malama

A California woman has become the first person of Tokelauan ancestry to be drafted into the WNBA. Tokelau is a remote group of atolls in the South Pacific, halfway between Hawaiʻi and New Zealand. It has a population of about 1,500 people. Te-Hina Paopao has never been to Tokelau, but she has made history as the first person of Tokelauan ancestry to be drafted by an American pro basketball team. Paopao started her college basketball career at the University of Oregon in 2020.

1 month ago | hawaiipublicradio.org | Derrick Malama

The only movie theater in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has shown its last film. Regal Cinemas on Saipan has faded to black. Residents will no longer be able to watch films on the big screen at Hollywood Theaters, Regal's multi-screen cinema complex in the capital of the U.S. territory.