News Roundup

Pacific Islands News Roundup – November 1 – 6, 2025

Political Leadership and Regionalism, Peace and Security

  • French Polynesia’s Tapura party submits a resolution opposing the resumption of American nuclear tests (Tahiti News)
  • US military admits it fell short on awarding local contracts in Micronesia (RNZ)
  • Thirty Meter Telescope Planners Consider Other Sites On Mauna Kea, Hawaiʻi (Civil Beat)
  • Prime Minister Marape escapes no-confidence challenge under new constitutional rule (RNZ)
  • We’re not alone’: FSM community celebrates 39 years of independence (Guam PDN)
  • Palauan public meets US military over port expansion (Islands Business)
  • Fiji’s President meets Pope Leo XIV, invites him to visit the Pacific ‘at earliest opportunity’ (RNZ)
  • US govt shutdown sends shockwaves through the Pacific and opens door for change (PMN)
  • A country that said no: Palauans nix US proposal to send deportees to Palau (Pacific Island Times)
  • Palau president eyes US deportees as a solution to labor shortage (Pacific Island Times)
  • Expert says Fiji ‘in a state of flux’ after resignation of two deputy PMs (RNZ)
  • Governor ‘envious’ of FSM’s independence as Guam continues fight for self-determination (Guam PDN)
  • ‘Federated States of Micronesia’s first Ambassador to the European Union accredited (Kaselehlie Press)
  • ‘People are hungry’: US shutdown puts food assistance in CNMI, Guam at risk (RNZ)
  • U.S. Coast Guard arrives in Vanuatu for joint maritime patrols (Daily Post Digital)

People-Centered Development

  • ADB approves $USD30 million grant for Kiribati education (Islands Business)
  • Unexploded ordinance (UXO) explodes at Townground area in Solomon Islands (Solomon Star News)
  • Health minister urges public to stay alert as viral infection spreads (FBC News)
  • Guam AG’s new billboards show tools to ‘discipline’ kids, from ear pinching to using zori, broom, belt (Guam PDN)
  • Former Health Minister: Health disparities remain in Marshall Islands (Pacific Island Times/Op-ed)
  • Thousands of CHamoru artifacts found at Camp Blaz would take years to process (Guam PDN)
  • Ba Hospital in Fiji achieves global healthcare standard (FBC News)
  • NSO: PNG’s population now stands at 10 million (National PNG)
  • Voice for the disabled, Tuvalu’s Minister Tehulu (Islands Business)
  • PM: Culture and Christian values must guide approach to LGBTQIA+ issues (Solomon Star)
  • UOG Chemistry Major Awarded NIH Scholarship (Triton’s Call)

Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment

  • Treated but not safe: Experts warn Fukushima treated wastewater “poses grave risks to human rights” (Pasifika Environews)
  • More Pacific Island nations back Australia’s COP31 bid, push for “Pacific COP” (Pasifika Environews)
  • Carbon markets a new form of colonialism in the Pacific, warns Pacific advocate (Pasifika Environews)
  • Cook Islands secures $70m climate finance for cyclone resilience (PACNEWS/Cook Island News)
  • Pacific must turn global promises into local action: Forum SG Waqa (PACNEWS)
  • Pacific Youth Activists to demand end to fossil fuels and Climate reparations at COP30 (Pasifika Environews)
  • Fiji launches third national climate plan ahead of COP30 (FBC News)
  • Women lead Vanuatu’s food and climate resilience (Vanuatu Daily Post)
  • Pacific Islands first cryopreservation lab opens in Fiji to protect crops for the future (PMN)
  • USP researchers turn cassava into sustainable food packaging solution (Fiji Village)

Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity

  • Pacific Island countries turn to gold in search of economic sovereignty (PMN)
  • Pacific nations step up patrols to curb illegal fishing (Islands Business)
  • King launches major upgrade of Tonga’s key port (Talanoa O’ Tonga)
  • Student visas used as Australia pathway by Fijians amid skills drain (FBC News)
  • Foreign labour demand plunges in Fiji – RBF (Fiji Times)
  • Pacific Labour Mobility Leaders Converge in Honiara to Champion Fair Recruitment and Reintegration (In-Depth Solomons)
  • Marshall Islands in construction boom of several new projects (Marianas Business Journal)
  • Fiji grants market access for Solomon Islands kava (Fiji Times)
  • Palau sees 26% fewer visitors in September versus last month (Marianas Business Journal)
  • Solomon Islands strengthens geological ties with China (Solomon Star News)

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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