News Roundup

Pacific Islands News Roundup – September 5 – 11, 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

  • Smaller Island States Leaders Set Priorities Ahead of Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting (Island Times Palau)
  • Papua New Guinea’s 50th anniversary of independence — how a nation of 800 languages was united (ABC Australia)
  • Pacific leaders signs Ocean of Peace treaty, launch Pacific resiliency facility (Pacific Island Times)
  • Pacific Tourism Organisation Reaffirms Independence Amid Regional Reform (Fiji One News)
  • Corruption Threatens Pacific Peace, Security, Climate – Regional Leaders Warn (In-depth Solomons)
  • More uncertainty for New Caledonia as French government falls (RNZ)
  • Vanuatu PM Holds Off on Signing “Nakamal Agreement” With Australia (VBTC)
  • Fiji, Marshall Islands strengthen bilateral ties (Islands Business)
  • Solomon Islands welcomes Pacific Leaders in Colorful Ceremony; Palau Prepares to Host in 2026 (Island Times Palau)
  • Fiame concedes, welcomes FAST leader to serve Samoa (Samoa Observer)
  • Tonga sets general election date for 20 November (RNZ)

People-Centered Development

  • Palauan Youth to join Global Leadership Voyage in 2026 (Island Times)
  • Thousands take to the streets against methamphetamines in French Polynesia (RNZ)
  • Fiji Rugby chairman wants to ‘re-engineer’ Fijian Drua agreements (RNZ)
  • “Not Slavery”: Labour Minister Defends Seasonal Work Scheme Following UN Expert’s Concern (VBTC)
  • Anti-affirmative action group targets Kamehameha Schools’ admission policy (HPR)
  • Trois Tahitiens aux Mondiaux de surf (Tahiti Infos)
  • New Caledonia confirmed as host of the 2028 Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture (RNZ)
  • Les Marquises aussi mobilisées contre l’ice (Tahiti Infos)
  • Construction delays in Nauru push Micronesian Games to January 2028 (RNZ)
  • Honolulu Immigrant Tracked Via Money Transfers Sentenced, Turned Over To ICE (Civil Beat)
  • Hawaiʻi Colleges Face Loss Of Federal Grants For Minority Students (Civil Beat)

Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment

  • Pacific voyagers deliver strong Ocean and Climate call in Honiara (Pacific News Service)
  • PNG to push climate and fisheries at PIF (NBC PNG)
  • Scientists hope planting Palau’s ‘super corals’ will save reefs from climate change (ABC Australia)
  • Fiji offers land to climate refugees (FBC News)
  • Grassroots role key in Fiji’s biodiversity goals (FBC News)
  • Honiara at helm: Pacific unity in climate of uncertainty (The National)
  • Hawaiʻi Loves ‘Genki Balls’ To Clean Water. New Studies Say They Don’t Work (Civil Beat)
  • Pacific leaders urged to be vocal in their support for COP 31 (ABC Australia)
  • PM Manele calls for decisive action on maritime boundaries and ocean management (Island Sun)
  • Can This Tree Still Save Us? In Some Places It’s Barely Hanging On (Civil Beat)
  • Pacific declares itself an ‘Ocean of Peace’ in historic regional pact (Islands Business)

Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity

  • This is what residents think the new ‘Green Fee’ should be spent on (HPR)
  • Direct Tokyo-Palau Flights Spark Optimism among Local Tourism Businesses (Island Times)
  • Leon Guerrero vetoes GovGuam 2026 budget bill, warning an underfunded GMH (Marianas Business Journal)
  • 7 Guam businesses visit Japan as part of GEDA’s trade mission (Pacific Daily News)
  • First Airbus A220 Handed Over to Air Niugini as PNG Prepares for Golden Jubilee (Papua New Guinea Today)
  • Biofuel Innovation Launched at Pacific Adventist University (Papua New Guinea Today)
  • Vanuatu Trade Commissioner honoured in historic visit to Mafi-Adidome, launches AI Africa Project (GBC Ghana Online)
  • Le Tapura en tête des versements publics (Tahiti Infos)
  • Tinian’s digital transformation (Pacific Island Times)
  • Pacific leaders to endorse non-binding regional labour mobility principles at Honiara summit (RNZ)

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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