News Roundup

Pacific Islands News Roundup – October 17 – 23, 2025

Political Leadership and Regionalism, Peace and Security

  • Outspoken Former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani Passes Away (In-depth Solomons)
  • New Caledonia: FLNKS concerned about the postponement of provincial elections, “satisfied” with the green light for its president’s return (Tahiti Infos)
  • Geopolitical instability sparks surge in Nauru citizenship by investment programmes (Island Times)
  • US votes against Guam resolution at UN, commission director seeks unified action (Guam Daily Post)
  • ‘Not an attempt to militarise our nation’: Solomon Islands looks into establishing its own military (RNZ)
  • PNG plans to have 10,000 soldiers (Post-Courier)
  • Pacific Community’s first Tongan Director-General, Dr Paula Vivili (Maitangi Tonga) 
  • Whipps Says ‘Misinformation’ Fueling Debate Over U.S. Offer for Palau to Host 75 Deportees (Island Times)
  • Fijian Deputy PM Manoa Kamikamica resigns amid corruption charges (RNZ)
  • Peleliu’s Camp Beck Sold to Palau Government for U.S. Military Use (Island Times)
  • Samoan PM Laauli hold talks with NZ Foreign Minister Peters (RNZ)
  • Fijian Election Office proposes 30% gender quota for political party candidates (The Fiji Times)
  • Solomon Islands and Australia Celebrate Strengthened Security Partnership (In-Depth Solomons)
  • EU, PNG strengthen bilateral ties (PNG Bulletin)

People-Centered Development

  • Pacific health leaders call for stronger alcohol and tobacco policies (RNZ)
  • Papua New Guinea’s Peter ToRot officially canonized as Saint in Rome (NBC PNG News)
  • Protect Pacific people, don’t let down your guard, says WHO rep (Islands Business)
  • Fiji eliminates trachoma as a public health problem — WHO lauds landmark milestone (Fiji Times)
  • 5th Pacific Human Rights Film Festival raises awareness of human rights (Pacific Community)
  • Kamehameha Schools faces lawsuit challenging ‘race-based’ admissions (HNN)
  • Returned latte stones go on display (Guam Daily Post)
  • New grants help women start small businesses in Fiji (FBC)
  • High demand for farm labour in Australia opens doors for Solomon Islanders (The Island Sun)
  • PNG Prime Minister concerned over drug wastage and poor health supply management (NBC PNG News)
  • Chinese Ambassador Liu Weimin Presents Mala‘ekula Royal Tomb Project as Gift to Tonga (Tonga Independent News)
  • Neechuumeres Chuukese Women Network marks milestone year (The Husk)

Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment

  • Pacific officials criticise New Zealand’s weaker methane targets (RNZ)
  • “For the Pacific, By the Pacific”: Forum SG unveil landmark Pacific Resilience Facility at IMF (Pasifika Environews)
  • Vanuatu Ratifies Five Global Maritime Conventions, Boosting Ocean Safety and Sustainability (VBTC)
  • Audit Warns Solomon Islands Must Act Now to Strengthen Climate Adaptation And Protect Vulnerable Communities (In-Depth Solomons)
  • Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia joins global “Lungs of the Earth” campaign ahead of COP30 (Islands Business)
  • Guam Org. gives food aid to Chuuk after oil spill from WWII-era vessel, tainting freshwater supply (Guam PDN)
  • Cook Islands urges equity as IMO delays net-zero shipping framework (PACNEWS)
  • Tuvalu Minister delivers strong message on relocation: ‘We will not leave Our Island’ (Pasifika Environews/SPREP)
  • Fiji to receive $61M from Climate Investment Plan (The Fiji Times)
  • Climate change threatens farmland in Fiji (FBC)
  • Pacific protesters against deep sea mining challenge US exploration ship (Asia Pacific Report/Greenpeace/PR)

Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity

  • Tonga cabinet approves new trade-services pact with China (Talanoa ‘O Tonga)
  • Data Dive: Farmworkers Earn Well Over Minimum Wage But Not Enough For Hawai‘i (Civil Beat)
  • ‘We’re eating tinned fish’: Samoa villagers plead for Manawanui wreckage compensation (RNZ)
  • Pohnpei Governor Stevenson A. Joseph highlights economic and maritime benefits at Dekehtik Port Expansion groundbreaking (The Kaselehlie Press)
  • Palau Senate Passes Nation’s First Comprehensive Cybersecurity Bill (Island Times)
  • Guam Governor signs controversial bill to turn GICC golf course into solar farm (KUAM)
  • Vanuatu Government Moves to Restore Confidence in Citizenship Program (VBTC)
  • Fiji PM Sitiveni Rabuka says New Zealand has ‘lion’s share’ of trade, talks PACER Plus (PACNEWS/NZ Herald)
  • Fewer Guam tourist arrivals this year than last year; 55% drop from pre-COVID levels (Guam PDN)
  • Spanish airline boosts Air NZ’s Pacific service (Islands Business)

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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