Deep-sea mining pushback: Palau President Surangel S. Whipps Jr. renewed calls for a moratorium and precautionary pause at the International Seabed Authority, arguing the deep ocean is a shared heritage and invoking Palau’s traditional bul to protect resources for recovery. Health & community ties: Palau appointed Taiwanese scholar Chen Kai-siang as a special adviser to the health minister, aiming to coordinate Taiwan medical support, training, and public health policy. Local food & wellbeing: The Palau Conservation Society’s “Grow Local for a Healthy Palau” workshop series kept momentum with a July 30 session on compost, soil, and portion-size nutrition to help households eat better and grow more. School meals upgrade: Taiwan Technical Mission, Palau Community Action Agency, and JICA launched Palau’s first School Chef Cooking Competition, training school chefs to use locally grown produce in healthier, child-friendly meals. Aquaculture milestone: PCC-CRE hatchery reported rabbitfish brood-stock spawned naturally for the first time, boosting local breeding capacity with ongoing Taiwan Technical Mission support. Sports: Team Palau opened strong at the 2026 Oceania Volleyball Championships in Guam, with both men and women picking up early wins ahead of matches vs host Guam. Culture & travel links: A Singapore report on Chen Zhi’s global scam syndicate notes Palau appears in flight manifests tied to the group, while a separate regional arts-and-tourism update highlights how cultural funding and administration can shape tourism promotion.