News Roundup

Pacific Islands News Roundup – November 28 – December 4, 2025 

Political Leadership and Regionalism, Peace and Security

  • Rabuka: “I have a duty to apologise” for actions in 1987 coup (Fiji Times)
  • Nauru’s OECD ‘graduation’ postponed to 2027 (RNZ)
  • Palau’s OECD Graduation Delayed as Review Postponed to 2027 (Island Times)
  • Four Papuan activists jailed on treason charges (RNZ)
  • PNG unveils new foreign policy (PACNEWS)
  • Nauru president floats returning NZYQ refugees to home countries, in interview Australia tried to suppress (Island Times/The Guardian)
  • Delegates from Guam, other territories form bipartisan caucus (Guam PDN)
  • Fijian academic questions if military apology ‘will help to stop coup culture’ (RNZ)
  • PNG Parliament endorses PNG – FSM treaty on Maritime Boundaries and cooperation (PACNEWS/PR)
  • Tonga’s parliament to elect new prime minister on 15 December (RNZ)
  • Fiji State land shortage sparks government action (FBC)
  • PNG urges New Zealand to boost Investment as Trade Gap remains Wide (PNG Today)

People-Centered Development

  • Artifacts from Spanish galleon that sunk in 1690 now at Guam Cultural Repository (Guam PDN)
  • NCOP member calls for 20% pension increase in Fiji, says seniors “can no longer cope” with rising costs (Fiji Times)
  • Over 5,400 women seek help for violence in one year: Vanuatu Women’s Centre (Vanuatu Daily Post)
  • Fiji urged to confront HIV stigma as cases rise across the Pacific (Fiji Times)
  • HIV cases double in Fiji, Australia pledges aid (FBC)
  • Fijian Para-Athletes Mere Roden and Selina Seau on redefining victory for women in sports (ABC)
  • Cook Islands research community on Indigenous leadership (Cook Islands News)
  • Wotje ‘Farm-to-Fork’ a hit (Marshall Islands Journal)
  • Survey Reveals Schools Open Fewer Days, High Dropout Rate Among Boys in Year 9 (Solomon Business Magazine)
  • Hawaiʻi Food Bank Director: Honolulu Must Enshrine The Right To Food (Civil Beat)
  • France commits €130k to support Pacific students (Islands Business)

Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment

  • Vanuatu Urges Major Emitters to Act as Climate Damages Exceed Half the Nation’s GDP (VBTC)
  • Civil Action filed over Chuuk Lagoon oil spill alleges decades of negligence, four deaths (Kaselehlie Press)
  • Fiji submits its strongest Climate commitment yet (Fiji One)
  • Loss & Damage fund opens for business: SI cautiously welcomes $250m pilot (Solomon Star)
  • Landslide in Afaahiti, Tahiti: four more victims found overnight (Tahiti News)
  • Three men fined in Tonga for poaching nearly 30,000 sea cucumbers (RNZ)
  • Palau Pacific Resort to Launch Luuk Nature Center, Showcasing Commitment to Environmental Stewardship (Island Times)
  • Fiji updates environment law to tackle pollution and illegal development (FBC)
  • 1,000 heat-tested corals planted in Ngaraard, Palau to support reef recovery (Island Times)
  • Beetles Attacked Wahiawā Botanical Garden Trees, Closing Trails (Civil Beat)

Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity

  • Marshall Islands introduces world’s first crypto-based universal income scheme (RNZ)
  • Pacific nations push for action on albacore and end to high seas fishing (PMN)
  • Aus, NZ give $170M boost to Pacific Trade (Island Sun)
  • Chain of solidarity for diesel shortage in Rarotonga (Tahiti News)
  • Analysis: How a World Bank funding condition in 1995 helped break Papua New Guinea’s roads system (RNZ)
  • Surfers will pay to ride Fiji’s world-class breaks after repeal of surf access law (RNZ)
  • Three Days, Eight States: Palau Celebrates Wave of New Roads, Schools and Facilities Built with Taiwan Support (Island Times)
  • Local businesses in Guam face costly ultimatum due to increased shipping costs (Guam PDN)
  • Samoa leads global cocoa project funded by PRC (Samoa Observer)
  • Fiji makes historic $160 million investment to empower MSMEs (FBC)
  • Vanuatu opens organic export corridor to Australia (Vanuatu Business Review)
  • Samoa faces double-edged labour mobility sword (Islands Business)

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.

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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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