News Roundup

Pacific Islands News Roundup – August 15 – August 21, 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

  • Australia stays committed to co-hosting COP31 with Pacific Nations (Island Times)
  • Palau president calls exclusion of PIF partners a ‘missed opportunity’ (Asia Pacific Report)
  • French Overseas Minister in New Caledonia to save Bougival deal (RNZ)
  • Mysterious Chinese billion-dollar proposed deal in Nauru sparks concern in Canberra (ABC News)
  • West Papuan journalists call for Pacific solidarity (Island Business)
  • SI pushes regional approach on key issues at FFMM (Solomon Star)
  • Australia and Vanuatu seal ‘initial’ deal on Mt Yasur, final signing ahead (Daily Post)
  • PM calls for deeper Fiji-India cooperation (FBC News)
  • Tuvalu considers pulling out of Pacific leaders’ summit amid China-linked power struggle (Island Times)
  • Governor nominates Kimo Rosario to NMHC board (Marianas Variety)
  • Samoa’s youth face the ballot with uncertainty (Talamua)

People-Centered Development

  • How Pacific Islander women fought for acting roles depicting their culture (HPR)
  • Power fluctuations at Guam Memorial Hospital sparks electrical fire, visitations suspended (Kuam News)
  • Palau records drop in Flu cases but sees Dengue return after a Decade (Island Times)
  • Local Workers Celebrate Naha Health Centre Milestone (Sunday Isles)
  • Reigning Miss Pacific Islands Arrives for PNG’s 50th Anniversary (Inside PNG)
  • The Midwife Who Delivered a Future VCH Doctor (VBTC)
  • Get connected: USP Cook Islands course welcomes global learners (Cook Islands News)
  • Hastings Salanoa – First Samoan to wear Yellow Jersey (Talamua)
  • Close to 8,000 clinically diagnosed dengue cases, 6 deaths in Samoa (Talanei)
  • Health Ministry declares end of Dengue Fever outbreak (Matangi Tonga)

Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment

  • Pacific Resilience Facility set for leaders signing in Honiara (Pasifika Environews)
  • UN plastic pollution treaty talks in disarray after countries reject draft text (Island Times)
  • Nearly 1 In 5 Warning Sirens On Oʻahu Were Broken During Tsunami Scare (Civil Beat)
  • Kīlauea Earns Its Reputation As One Of The World’s Most Active Volcanoes (Civil Beat)
  • The Pacific Maritime Decarbonisation Program (The Fiji Times)
  • Sea level rise becomes threatening for coastal areas: Rapa Nui Moai statues (KHON2)
  • Micronesia’s new initiative empowers local teams to restore reefs with heat-tolerant corals (Island Times)
  • Cook Islands confronts critical questions on identity as debate on deep sea mining grows (RNZ)
  • “Mariåna Sky” tells the story from the eyes of the locally extinct Totot (Kuam News)
  • Planting hope: Vanuatu youth restore water and land after climate disasters (Pasifika Environews)

Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity

  • 31st Annual Made in Hawai‘i Festival donates $30,000 to charity partners (Maui Now)
  • Community input sought as NMI pushes ahead with high-speed internet access plan (Marianas Business Journal)
  • Cook Islands and Fiji reaffirm development agreement (Cook Islands News)
  • Palau President acknowledges failures in Shipping Registry, pledges reform (Island Times)
  • Solomon Islands ready to welcome Pacific Leaders for PIF: Beck (The Island Sun)
  • Limited Human Resources & Budget Top Concerns on VCH Panel Discussion (VBTC)
  • Immigrant Sent Cash To Family In Mexico; ICE Used That To Nab Him On Oʻahu (Civil Beat)
  • Grant will go towards new ferry for Manu’a (Talanei)

Latest Content from the Pacific Islands Report

  • Pacific Islands Security In the Era of US-China Competition (Visions & Voices)
  • Abandonment of Soft Power, Neglect of Climate Change, and the Shifting Geopolitical Landscape of the Pacific (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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