Pacific Islands News Roundup – January 22 – 29, 2026 

Political Leadership and Regionalism, Peace and Security

• Palau Senate votes to block US deportees, go to referendum (RNZ)
  
• CNMI leaders push back against US senators’ calls to end visa waivers (RNZ) 
  
• New Zealand and Palau eye the next two Pacific Forums (Island Times)
  
• Solomon Islands’ national leaders speak out on unrest at Gold Ridge mine (Island Sun)
  
• High-level US-RMI talks (Marshall Islands Journal)
  
• New Caledonia: Constitutional reform to be examined in the Senate on February 24 (Tahiti Infos)
  
• US visa crackdown leaves Pacific families in limbo, experts warn (Island Times)
  
• Tongans frustrated with Trump’s ‘collective punishment’ of foreign nationals (RNZ)
  
• PNG affirms strong bilateral ties following U.S visa policy update (NBC PNG)
  
• Israel aims to open embassy in Fiji (FBC)
  
• Military set to launch drone tests over Guam next week (Pacific Island Times)
  
• Guam leaders link federal overreach, status uncertainty as island weighs its future (Guam Daily Post)
  
• President Whipps Attends Pacific Islands Forum Troika Meeting in Brisbane Ahead of PIF 2026 (Island Times)
  
• Severe weather delays 2026 Tokelau general election (RNZ)

People-Centered Development

• Documents reveal NZ quietly axed Pacific migrant worker programme in favour of high-cost seasonal visas (RNZ)
  
• ‘Stop the shaming’: Guam peace rally calls for end to racial discrimination (Guam PDN)
  
• Solomon Islands Exam Results Show Improved Access to Secondary Education, Persistent Learning Gaps (In-Depth Solomons)
  
• Majority in Samoa fail national exams, Samoa PM says bring overseas teachers (Talanoa O’ Tonga/Samoa Observer)
  
• UN review urges FSM to strengthen education alongside wider human rights reforms (Kaselehlie Press)
  
• Tonga Government unveils first 100-Day action plan to improve public services (Talanoa O’ Tonga)
  
• Pacific LBQ Activists Hold Feminist Strategy Meeting in Fiji (Islands Business)
  
• Search Resumes for Missing Passenger After Deadly Angaur Boat Capsizing (Island Times)
  
• On Molokaʻi, revived Makahiki games and ceremonies are thriving (HPR)
  
• UNICEF launches a solar training program at SINU to equip rural youth with green skills in solar installation and maintenance (Tavuli News)
  
• Poor diet quality driving Fiji’s growing childhood obesity epidemic (FBC)

Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment

• Pacific delegates warn against US fast-tracking seabed mining (RNZ)
  
• NOAA launches deep-sea mapping project off American Samoa (Samoa News)
  
• Palau Takes Helm of Micronesia’s Climate and Biodiversity Push at Guam Workshop (Island Times)
  
• Tonga seas hit by strong marine heatwave as ocean and air temperatures soar (Talanoa O’ Tonga)
  
• La Niña underway as Fiji faces warmer seas and coral bleaching risk (Fiji Times)
  
• Marine biologists hope ‘Limu Ark’ will protect Hawaiʻi’s seaweed biodiversity (HPR)
  
• PNG Authorities Probe Suspected Swine Fever After Wild Boar Deaths in East Sepik (Papua New Guinea Today)
  
• Oʻahu’s Sugar Canals Decay As State Acquisition Lags (Civil Beat)
  
• Te Ipukarea Society: Cook Islands youth strengthen Pacific ties through Hawaiʻi cultural and conservation exchange (Cook Islands News)
  
• Kahu ʻĀina projects bridge culture, conservation throughout Hawaiian Islands (Maui Now)

Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity

• Economic impact of Manus detention centre laid bare in new report (ABC/Audio Report)
  
• Documents reveal NZ quietly axed Pacific migrant worker programme in favour of high-cost seasonal visas (RNZ)
  
• Fiji leads the regional hotel market (Islands Business)
  
• Tokelau airport project scrapped despite multi-million dollar design (RNZ)
  
• Vanuatu citizenship sales strong despite currency hassles and integrity issues (RNZ)
  
• China gifts ‘a beautiful limousine’ to Fiji’s president (RNZ)
  
• FSM aims for a self-reliant future with growing Compact Trust Fund (Island Times)
  
• Tonga PM flags under-performance in revenue collection, pledges digital overhaul to bring in millions (Talanoa O’ Tonga)
  
• Guam economy enters transitional phase amid tourism rebound, defense spending (Marianas Business Journal)
  
• PNG’s Borrowing Era to End After 2027, Says Marape at World Economic Forum (Papua New Guinea Today)
  
• Farm to Plate: Australian and Ni-Vanuatu Duo Grow Vanuatu’s Cropping Industry (Vanuatu Daily Post)
  
• East Micronesia Cable nears service, expanding Internet access to Kosrae (Kaselehlie Press)
  
• Tinian’s stablecoin bet: Revenue projections top $200M as legal questions stall rollout (Pacific Island Times)

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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