GIFF JOHNSON The day after last week Tuesday’s fire consumed Nitijela, parliament staff were already setting up the ICC conference hall as a temporary Nitijela meeting space. Monday this week, the Appropriations Committee, with Chairman Jack Ading at the helm, completed the final series of FY2026 budget hearings from the ICC meeting location. Nitijela staff […]
GIFF JOHNSON Tuesday morning, while the fire still burned at Nitijela, the RMI Cabinet held an emergency meeting at the MIMRA headquarters conference room to discuss its response. By mid-afternoon, President Hilda Heine had issued a short statement posted to the President’s Office Facebook page describing the situation and the government’s next steps. President Heine […]
Republic of China (Taiwan) Chargé d’Affaires Hank Liu presented a check for $7,240,455 to Foreign Minister Kalani Kaneko on August 22. The funding is Budgetary Support to the RMI government for 2025 under the annual financial assistance from the government Taiwan to the Marshall Islands. At the presentation, Chargé Liu reiterated Taiwan’s longtime commitment to […]
Six Marshallese pallbearers carried the casket of Iroojlaplap Christopher Jorebon Loeak into historic Central Union Church in Honolulu, where a memorial service was held last Saturday for the former President. Hundreds of Marshallese packed the church for the service, including current President Hilda Heine and First Gentleman Tommy Kijiner, Jr. The remains of the late President […]
The Marshall Islands Compact Trust Fund had over $1.3 billion in it as of last week. The trust fund is divided into three separate accounts, according to Finance Minister David Paul, who provided the update on the fund amount. He said Account 1, which is the originally capitalized account under the second Compact funding agreement, […]
A team from the Ernst & Young audit company hit town last week to run a one-day accountability workshop with Marshall Islands government finance-related staff from multiple ministries and agencies. The program, held at the Marshall Islands Resort’s Melele Room, was packed with participants who heard from top EY audit executives with updates on government […]
KAREN EARNSHAW Marshallese tuned in and turned up to watch the first ever international soccer event hosted by the Marshall Islands Soccer Federation last week in Arkansas with social media lighting up on the topic. Springdale’s Albious Latior wrote: “The Marshall Islands made history last night as they played their FIRST EVER international football match! […]
GIFF JOHNSON The well-known local group AIM Band organized a music camp for a month starting in July. The camp was for children generally in the elementary and middle school age group, with most of the kids in the 8-12 age range. The band members led the music camp three days each week much to […]
Representatives from the Ministry of Finance’s Division of Customs, Treasury, Revenue and Taxation, along with officials from the Registrar of Corporations for non-resident domestic entities, traveled to Paris in early July to defend the RMI’s interim report on the implementation of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Common Reporting Standard. The Common Reporting Standard […]
The Ocean Exploration Trust (OET)’s exploration vessel Nautilus started its exploration of deep-sea habitats throughout the Marshall Islands in collaboration with the Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority and other partners earlier this month. Funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute, this expedition will map and explore poorly known deep-sea habitats to […]
