Political Leadership, Regionalism, Peace and Security
- US expands defense ties with Fiji amid rising tensions in the Pacific (PACNEWS/ABC Australia)
- Uncertainty over whether Tonga’s PM can survive vote of no confidence (PACNEWS/ABC Australia)
- Thousands of Samoans to regain New Zealand citizenship rescinded in 1982 (Pacific Island Times)
- Fiji’s immigration minister steps down temporarily over ‘unauthorized’ passports issued to doomsday cult members (RNZ)
- Sir Jerry given six months to resolve outstanding matters on Bougainville’s political future (The National)
- American Samoa governor-elect asks for everyone’s support (Talanei)
- Emmanuel Tjibaou elected as Union Calédonienne president (Islands Business)
- Taiwan’s president to strengthen ties with Pacific allies during upcoming visit (RNZ)
- Guam-based law firm helps Palau youth file human rights complaint against US military (Guam PDN)
- “We have deep historical roots,” Xi tells Samoa PM (Samoa Observer)
- Samoa PM signs two agreements in China (Samoa Observer)
- Urgent constitutional application filed to challenge Vanuatu Parliament dissolution (Vanuatu Daily Post)
- ‘Maker of democracy’: New Caledonia’s Congress chief outlines vision for troubled French territory (PMN)
- EU Parliament votes to permanently end Vanuatu’s Schengen Visa waiver (PACNEWS/IMI)
- US deputy secretary of state hopes Trump works with Pacific allies (PACNEWS/Reuters)
People-Centered Development
- Preventing violence against women/girls is a national priority, says Fiji PM (Fiji Village)
- People unite in fight against drugs: Stakeholders and communities called to action (Fiji Village)
- Cook Islands and New Zealand health discuss dialysis unit (RNZ/Cook Islands News)
- Solomon Islands assures Beijing +30 conference of its commitment to addressing gender-based violence (SIBC)
- Violence against women statistics paint grim picture in the Pacific (RNZ)
- Pacific health systems face urgent challenges – new report (RNZ)
- Pacific leaders meet in Rarotonga to discuss higher education (Cook Islands News)
- Solomon Islands loses women productivity worth $15.1 million due to violence, study shows (SIBC)
- Marshall Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu marching to universal health care (Pacific Island Times)
- Inauguration ceremony held for 35th Guam Youth Congress (KUAM News)
Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment
- COP29 outcome: Pacific countries demand more finance and ambition to fight climate change (SPREP)
- “We will not accept a treaty that does not recognize the special circumstances of SIDS”- Samoa as AOSIS chair (Pasifika /SPREP)
- Australia-Pacific bid to host COP31 in limbo (PMN)
- Pacific climate advocates decry COP29 outcome ‘a failure on every front’ (RNZ)
- COP29: Carbon credit trading scheme criticized as ‘get out of jail free card’ (RNZ)
- COP29 UN climate conference agrees to triple finance to developing countries (PACNEWS/UNFCCC)
- COP29: ‘We’re made to come here and almost beg to survive’ (PMN)
- Pacific Islands push for emissions and releases to be in new plastics treaty (Pasifika Environews/SPREP)
- Panguna mine landowners ink land access agreement with Bougainville Copper Ltd. (The National)
- Environment group labels Cook Islands govt-led seabed mining consultation ‘misleading’ (RNZ/Cook Islands News)
- American Samoa’s deep-sea mining advocate obtains observer status in International Seabed Authority (Pacific Island Times)
- NZDF prepares to remove pollutants from sunken Manawanui off Samoa (RNZ)
- ICJ seeks climate expertise: Top IPCC scientists brief judges in The Hague (PACNEWS/IPCC)
- UN special rapporteur on climate change to visit Vanuatu (PACNEWS)
Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity
- China returns to Pacific with aid and influence push, report shows (Islands Business/Reuters)
- New subsea routes to secure internet for Australia, Pacific (PACNEWS/AAP)
- Grave concerns for Pacific Australia Labor Mobility scheme (RNZ)
- Vanuatu launches action plan to address worker shortage, social problems caused by labor mobility schemes (ABC Australia)
- Int’l Monetary Fund praises Tonga’s economic recovery but warns of long-term challenges (Talanoa ʻo Tonga)
- Air Tahiti Nui to discontinue its Seattle-Paris route in January 2025 (TNTV)
- Cook Islands trade policy framework revised after nearly a decade (Cook Islands News)
- World Bank $60 million for Marshalls Energy Company (Marshall Islands Journal)
- Billions in US Dept of Defense and federal investments for the Northern Mariana Islands (MBJ)
- Call to modernize the Papua New Guinea Employment Act (Inside PNG)
Latest Content from the Pacific Islands Report
- New Climate Resilience Tool for the Pacific Islands (Visions & Voices)
Call for Submissions: Visions & Voices Quarterly Publication
The Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP) invites students, scholars, researchers, and professionals to submit work to Visions & Voices, a quarterly publication dedicated to the Pacific Islands region.
Submissions of essays, articles, commentaries, and concise pieces that pertain to the Pacific Islands are welcomed. Next deadline: December 31.
For detailed submission guidelines, please visit: www.pireport.org/submissions
The Pacific Islands Report (PIR) is a project of the Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP) at the East-West Center and the Center for Pacific Islands Studies (CPIS) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
This non-exhaustive news roundup, featuring open-access information, is organized with the thematic areas of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and its implementation plan.
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