Offshore detention costs surge: Australia’s federal budget shows offshore detention spending jumping to an estimated $971.6m in 2025/26, up from $580.7m the year before, with $14.35b spent since 2012—while advocates also point to extra funding for faster skills assessments, but note asylum support in Australia still sits at about $44 a day. Arts & politics at Venice: A Georgian artist, Tedo Rekhviashvili, has brought the Abkhazia conflict to the Venice Biennale through the Nauru pavilion, using a sound-and-installation work called “A Sea That Remembers” that moves from coastal calm to gunfire and screams. Local political heat: In Samoa, Prime Minister Tuilaepa is pushing for an independent Commission of Inquiry over allegations of breaches of parliamentary rules and “treasonous” media statements. Fashion nostalgia, Nauru-style: A summer 2026 trend roundup spotlights a comeback wave—from grungier boho to early-2000s denim silhouettes—though this week’s coverage is light on Nauru-specific culture beyond the Biennale.