News Roundup

Pacific Islands News Roundup – August 8 – August 14, 2025 

Editor’s Note: We are undergoing a web host migration process and may need to make necessary modifications to our format and frequency over the next several weeks. Thank you in advance for your understanding. 

Political Leadership and Regionalism, Peace and Security

  • Solomon Islands PM calls for pause on Forum dialogue partner meeting (RNZ)
  • Fijian PM Rabuka’s ‘ocean of peace’ proposal set for approval at Pacific leaders’ summit (RNZ)
  • U.S. Congressional Delegation visits Papua New Guinea to strengthen bilateral ties (Post Courier)
  • Army to conduct Patriot missile test in Palau starting this week (Pacific Island Times)
  • Fake e-visa site a ‘serious threat’, warns Fiji Immigration (Talanoa ‘O Tonga)
  • UN urges Australia to halt deportation of man to Nauru while complaint investigated (ABC News)
  • A city on pause: Guam’s capital awaits a plan, a budget and political will (Pacific Island Times)
  • International Maritime Organization opens regional office in Fiji to boost Pacific maritime cooperation (Pacific Island Times)
  • Samoa Law Society Calls for Electoral Rights to be Upheld (Talamua) 
  • Why is the King of Tonga taking control of foreign affairs and defence? (Talanoa ‘O Tonga)

People-Centered Development

  • NMI, Guam welcome first phase of Hornbostel Collection’s homecoming (Marianas Variety)
  • Urban Lifestyles Blamed for Rising Health Problems in Port Vila (VBTC)
  • Vanuatu Youth Celebrate International Youth Day Focusing on Localizing SDGs (VBTC)
  • Meet the Fiji female engineers making their marks in the Marshall Islands (RNZ)
  • The lost story of Solomon Islands soldiers in Australia’s North (Solomon Star News)
  • Over 31 instances of polio in Papua New Guinea – WHO (RNZ)
  • ‘The Crisis Isn’t Over’: Maui Kids’ Mental Health Needs Are Mounting (Civil Beat)
  • Cook Islands paddlers aim to make waves at IVF World Championships (Cook Islands News)
  • Samoa, NZ off to under-17 FIFA World Cup (RNZ)
  • Public Health, Moylan, Guahan Doula Project to offer free services (Mariana Business Journal)

Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment

  • Loss and Damage poised for top-level spotlight at Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting (SPREP)
  • Locally extinct giant clams reintroduced to Chuuk Lagoon (Pacific Island Times)
  • Maui County Reaches Grim Milestone In Fire Victim Identification (Civil Beat)
  • Pacific urged to define loss and damage in its own terms (Pasifika Environews)
  • Green travel trend: Northern Marianas eyes ‘regenerative tourism’ brand (Pacific Island Times)
  • Marshall Islands calls for transformational adaptation in response to climate crisis (SPREP)
  • Solomon Islands to host 9th Pacific Water and Wastewater Conference (Pacific Community)
  • Vanuatu leads Pacific push for 100 percent renewable energy transition (Post-Courier)
  • CUC management reports financial audit results, operational improvements, and renewable energy progress (Marianas Variety)
  • ICJ climate opinion shows the power of youth and global south solidarity (Institute for Security Studies)

Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity

  • Rosie Events Inducted into the Fiji Excellence in Tourism Awards Hall of Fame (Pacific Tourism Organization)
  • Jet fuel shortage in Rarotonga causes flight cancellations (Cook Islands News)
  • Tora champions indigenous knowledge (Island Business)
  • The Marianas focuses on ‘regenerative tourism’ (Marianas Variety)
  • Sea level rise becomes threatening for coastal areas: Rapa Nui Moai statues (KHON2)
  • Vanuatu to Renegotiate Airspace Agreement with Fiji (VBTC)
  • E Kainga Toku Committee meets to begin work on housing grant scheme (Cook Islands News)
  • What projects should receive funds from the new ‘Green Fee’? This group wants your input (HPR)
  • Pacific Ministers reaffirm commitment to zone of peace and shared prosperity (Fiji Village)
  • US awards $60M aid to Pacific islands fishing agency to back tuna treaty (Pacific Island Times)

Latest Content from the Pacific Islands Report

  • Pacific Islands Security In the Era of US-China Competition (Visions & Voices)
  • Tackling Systemic Inequities in The Solomon Islands Healthcare System: The Race-Health-Governance Nexus (Visions & Voices)
  • The Watchdogs of the Blue Pacific: Media Accountability in Regional Security (Visions & Voices)

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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