News Roundup

Pacific Islands News Roundup – November 7 – 13, 2025

Political Leadership and Regionalism, Peace and Security

  • Office of Hawaiian Affairs: Give Native Hawaiians A ‘Meaningful Voice’ In Military Land Negotiations (Civil Beat)
  • Nauruan president makes secretive trip to Australian parliament amid claims bikies won lucrative contract (ABC News)
  • Government extends ban on Cook Islands funding (RNZ)
  • Concerns raised over Cook Islands aid freeze, says Alfred Ngaro (PMN)
  • ‘The Kanaks’ struggle is about social justice’: New report says France ignores New Caledonia’s right to self-rule (Pacific Island Times)
  • Pacific CSOs condemn US plans to hold nuclear tests (Islands Business)
  • Taiwan accuses China of ‘coercion’ after Fiji envoy’s Taipei visit (RNZ)
  • Australia’s Pacific aid scrutinised as missing documents, corruption claims raise concerns (PMN)
  • Palau Election Commission Revises Koror Polling Venues After Public Outcry (Island Times Palau)
  • U.S. Navy Launches Pacific Partnership Mission in Vanuatu (VBTC)
  • Samoa Govt supports petition for visa on arrival in NZ (Talanei)
  • ‘Patriarchy is alive’: Fijian PM accused of favouring men in diplomatic appointments (RNZ)
  • Indonesia deepens Pacific ties through cultural synergy (Islands Business)
  • Israel thanks Fiji and PNG for opening Jerusalem embassies, UN support amid shifting global alliances (RNZ)

People-Centered Development

  • New treatment for diabetes introduced at Guam conference (Pacific Island Times)
  • Sāmoa strengthens border controls as measles cases rise in New Zealand (PMN)
  • How colourism and social media abuse have roiled Pacific beauty pageants (RNZ)
  • Fiji Health Ministry defends wastewater spill at main hospital (RNZ)
  • World Bank warns of slowing population growth in Fiji (Fiji Times)
  • Chamoru education stewards to share Guam’s voice at indigenous conference (KUAM News)
  • Chinese eye specialists in the country to restore sights to Fijian (FBC News)
  • Tourists over students, cruise impact student transport in Samoa (Samoa Observer)
  • Hawaiian waka comes to Waitangi, 40 years after sparking revival of Māori ocean voyaging (RNZ)
  • Pacific Farmers head to COP30 in Brazil to discuss direct access to climate finance (Islands Business)

Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment

  • Pacific Elders Voice urge real action at COP30 (PACNEWS)
  • Pacific countries set to receive major climate grant through Pacific Resilience Facility (FBC News)
  • Another Destructive Beetle Is Spreading, Killing Hawaiʻi’s Trees (Civil Beat)
  • Invasive Tongan fruit fly sparks emergency in Fiji (FBC News)
  • Papua New Guinea and Brazil Forge Strategic Climate Partnership at COP30 (PNG Business News)
  • PNG pushes for fair and honest carbon trading to help forest communities (NBC PNG)
  • Palauan Scientists join Okeanos Expedition to Map Marine Life using eDNA Technology (Island Times)
  • Vanuatu Launches First Gender Study on Green Energy Transition (VBTC)
  • Pacific Islands demand survival measures at COP30 as climate threats intensify (Pasifika Environews)
  • ‘The best coral I’ve ever dived on in my life’: Vanuatu’s waters among the healthiest in the Pacific, scientists say (Pacific Island Times)

Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity

  • Plans for US deep sea mining include the waters of the Northern Mariana Islands; Request for Information and Interest issued (MBJ Guam)
  • Controversial Geothermal Firm Wants Office of Hawaiian Affairs To Invest $5 Million In A New Plant (Civil Beat)
  • A Chinese vessel is in the Cook Islands to study the mineral-rich seabed (Tahiti News)
  • Vanuatu faces labeling, packaging and shipment challenges in Chinese market (Vanuatu Business Review)
  • Cook Islands tourism industry concerned by NZ funding pause and lack of govt clarity (PMN)
  • Fuel stock for flights, electricity and local supplier comes under pressure in Cook Is (PMN)
  • Solomon Islands makes historic kava export to Fiji as region watches illicit trade in Australia (PMN)
  • Over $11M in federal grants awarded to Guam for key improvements (KUAM News)
  • American Samoa faces triple threat to its fishing-based economy (Samoa News)
  • PNG Drowning in Debt: O’Neill Slams Marape for Selling the Country’s Future (PNG Facts)
  • ASTRO America breaks ground on Guam’s first commercial 3D printing facility (MBJ Guam)
  • PALM Scheme Secure, Australia Clarifies Amidst Concerns (Mai TV)

Disclaimer:

The PIR seeks to include news coverage from news outlets across the Pacific, representing a diversity of coverage in the region. Please note that the inclusion of article links does not represent PIR or PIDP endorsement of the information presented in the articles.

Latest Content from the Pacific Islands Report

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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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