News Roundup

Pacific Islands News Roundup – August 22 – August 28, 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 and China Deliver Twin Security and Logistics Boosts for Solomon Islands Ahead of PIF Leaders Summit (In-depth Solomons)
  • U.S. Senators visit Palau to discuss Security, Military presence (Island Times)
  • NMI lieutenant governor indicted for alleged misconduct in public office (Marianas Business Journal)
  • PIFS STATEMENT: Secretary General Waqa, on the Marshall Islands’ Nitijela (parliament) Fire and Passing of Former President Christopher Loeak  (Pacific Island Forum)
  • Pacific Islands Forum to observe Samoa’s national elections (Talanoa O’Tonga)
  • China to unveil new ‘Guam Killer’ missile (The Guam Times Daily Post)
  • Manuel Valls quitte une Nouvelle-Calédonie à l’avenir toujours incertain (Tahiti Infos)
  • More than 1300 officials and 500 police to ensure smooth Samoa election (RNZ)

People-Centered Development

  • High schoolers explore STEM through cultural lens (Marianas Variety)
  • Make sure you deliver – message from Niue women and youth (TV Niue)
  •  3 Micronesian students awarded prestigious scholarship (Hawaii Public Radio)
  • RELEASE: Pacific Islands Forum to Observe Samoa’s national elections (Pacific Islands Forum)
  • Full representation is granted to island territories in American Bar Association (The Guam Daily Post)
  • Over 100 Merelava Baskets Showcased at Torba Mini Vanuatu Made Tradeshow (VBTC)
  • Joint exhibition brings local color to the Guam Museum (The Guam Daily Post)
  • Global youth programme offers up to $100,000 in seed funding (Cook Islands News)
  • Papua Buka Selected For Academy Awards (PNG Haus Bung)

Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment

  • Fifteen new local projects launched under the Kiwa Initiative to strengthen Pacific resilience through Nature-based Solutions (IUCN)
  • The roots of statehood: Why coastal ecosystems matter for sovereignty (The Interpreter)
  • Relocating communities: Tonga and the Solomon Islands call for more action now (TV Niue)
  • ‘All destroyed’: Fire engulfs Marshall Islands parliament complex (Marianas Variety)
  • Weaving resilience: Tuvalu women preserve culture as pandanus faces climate threat (The New Atoll)
  • 30 Young Voices to Contribute to the National Adaptation Plan. (VBTC)
  • Researchers: Lahaina Burn Zone May Not Be As Safe As People Think (Civil Beat)
  • Pacific leaders convene for 6th Asia Pacific Environment Forum (The Fiji Times)

Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity

  • Kosrae-Nauru-Kiribati subsea cable set to start operating by November (Island Times)
  • Guam’s average price of sold single-family house hits $507K, future of housing affordability uncertain (Pacific Daily News)
  • Pacific Infrastructure Conference 2025 brings together regional leaders (Island Business) 
  • Docomo Pacific: ‘CNMI deserves competition not a monopoly’ (Pacific Island Times)
  • Australia commits three new undersea cables to boost PNG connectivity (NBC)
  • Water and sanitation central to SI development plans: PM (The Island Sun)
  • Hawaiian Council program seeks to lower energy costs for DHHL households (HPR)
  • Global Gateway: European Commissioner Síkela will visit three Pacific countries to strengthen EU-Pacific partnership (European Union)

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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