Pacific Islands News Roundup – Sep. 6 – 12, 2024

Political Leadership, Regionalism, Peace and Security

• US House passes bill to seal Washington's diplomatic ties with Pacific Islands states (Pacific Island Times )?
• Papua New Guinea PM survives vote of no confidence, highlights nation-building agenda (PNG Facts )?
• Bougainville to ‘raise the flag’ in international push of independence plans (Benar News )?
• Regional law enforcement initiative launched amid rising maritime crimes in Pacific (Pacific Island Times )?
• UK’s King Charles III confirms Samoa arrival date; areas closed off for CHOGM (Samoa Observer )?
• Fiji’s foreign policy white paper gets green light from Cabinet (Fiji Live )?
• US Indo-Pacific Command hosts Papua New Guinea for bilateral defense dialogue (PNG Haus Bung )??
• Solomon Islands names first high commissioner to India (Sunday Isles )?
• Whipps and Remengesau face off in Palau’s 2024 presidential debate (Island Times )?
• Tough new rules for prospective members of parliament in Nauru (RNZ )?
• New member of parliament welcomes Chinese presence in Kiribati (PMN )?
• Another church burns in New Caledonia, spate of attacks continues (RNZ )?
• Niue PM ‘humbled’ by the results of the public referendum (TV Niue )?

People-Centered Development

• End the violence, distribute natural resources wealth fairly, Pope tells PNG (Benar News )?
• The silent killer: Fentanyl deaths raise alarm on Guam (Pacific Island Times )?
• Hawai?i voters asked to ensure protection of same-sex marriage (Honolulu Civil Beat )?
• Shortage of beds, nurses - Fiji’s only mental health facility struggling to cope (RNZ )?
• Inmates at Tonga's Hu?atolitoli prison reveal extent of drug crisis (ABC Australia )?
• Labor mobility scheme leaves children facing emotional and social challenges (Tavuli News )?
• Solomon Islands Ministry of Health and Medical Services tackles medical shortages (Solomon Star )?
• Ministers of health of Solomon Islands, Vanuatu sign health workers South South Cooperation MOU (SIBC )?
• Palau president proposes to allocate $20 million US grant to pension plan (Island Times )?
• SPC launches new Pacific-specific literacy interventions tools (Islands Business/SPC )?
• Stringent media guidelines for CHOGM coverage disappoint local journalists (Talamua )?
• Tongan lawyers calling for removal of gay chief justice say 'his lifestyle conflicts with the law' (RNZ )?
• Two women law enforcement officers charged with drug trafficking in Palau (Island Times )?
• American Samoa Community College receives $400,000 US NSF grant (Samoa News )?

Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment

• Climate change is drastically changing life for Indigenous peoples in the Pacific (Grist )?
• Climate change leaves future of Pacific Islands tourism ‘highly uncertain’ (Kaniva Tonga )?
• French Polynesia's president clearly against deep sea mining (RNZ )?
• Transformational changes needed for Pacific resilience: Cook Islands PM (PACNEWS )?
• Vanuatu, Fiji, and Samoa say 'ecocide' should be an international crime (RNZ )?
• Fiji deputy prime minister to lead Fiji's delegation to COP29 (Fiji One News )?
• New weather radar to 'save people's lives' in Tonga (RNZ )?
• Two Samoa’s conclude 3rd Disaster Resilience Summit (Talamua )?
• Enabling Niue to access climate finance (PACNEWS/SPREP )?
• Majuro landfill gets new home in Marshall Islands (Marshall Islands Journal )?
• New drug laws vital to Fiji’s security, says assistant home affairs minister (FBC News )?

Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity

• Pacific Islands seek to attract China's tourists with promise of 'purity' as travel resumes (ABC Australia )?
• Australia sends expert teams to Fiji as Chinese state-backed hackers attack PIF (ABC Australia )?
• World Bank president calls for bold reforms to tackle global challenges (PACNEWS )?
• Pacific Island leaders call for bold action to replenish World Bank’s IDA (PACNEWS/WorldBank/PIFS )?
• Guam governor signs $1.3B budget for fiscal 2025 but vetoes parts of it (Guam Pacific Daily News )?
• Fiji Airways invests $160 m into aviation academy with new A350, ATR-72 flight simulators (Fiji Village )?
• Record-breaking ninth cruise ship of the year sails into Guam (Marianas Variety )?
• Solomon Islands and Indonesia forge new pathways for development cooperation (Sunday Isles )?
• Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea PM hold bilateral talks on trade and infrastructure (Post-Courier )?
• Pacific nations unite to combat cyber threats at regional meeting (Cook Islands News )?
• Marshall Islands initiates move to establish first monetary authority (Marshall Islands Journal )?
• Citizenship by investment bill: Solomon Islands PM (SIBC )??
• Kava strategy aims to protect Pacific kava (Matangi Tonga )

Call for Submissions: Visions & Voices Quarterly Publication

The Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP) invites students, scholars, researchers, and professionals to submit work to Visions & Voices , a quarterly publication dedicated to the Pacific Islands region.

Submissions of essays, articles, commentaries, and concise pieces that pertain to the Pacific Islands are welcomed. Next deadline: September 30.

For detailed submission guidelines, please visit the Pacific Islands Report website .

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 Hawai?i at Mānoa.

This non-exhaustive news roundup is organized with the thematic areas of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and its implementation plan.

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