Pacific Islands News Roundup: Aug. 9-15, 2024

Political Leadership, Regionalism, Peace and Security

• Pacific Islands Forum chair calls for stronger Pacific solidarity amid rising challenges (PACNEWS )

• Pacific Islands Forum troika set for high-stakes New Caledonia mission (PACNEWS )

• Revamped AUKUS document reveals how US and UK can walk away from nuclear submarine deal (ABC Australia )

• Vanuatu motion of no confidence threat neutralized, ministerial cabinet reshuffled (Vanuatu Daily Post )

• Fiji’s PM ‘will apologize’ to Melanesian leaders as he awaits Indonesia’s agreement to visit West Papua (RNZ )

• Guam, American Samoa likely to get the Pacific Islands Forum’s nod on associate membership bids (Pacific Island Times )

• Fiji PM hopes for more bilateral cooperation in rural development between Fiji and China (Fiji Village )

• Kiribati election sees residents head to the polls for first round of voting (ABC Australia )

• Samoan govt urges citizens to surrender guns ahead of CHOGM (RNZ )

• Ann Marie Yastishock first US ambassador to visit PNG’s Enga Province (PNG Haus Bung )

• CNMI governor defends pivot away from Chinese investments (Marianas Variety )

• New Zealand foreign minister says ‘we need to keep engaged’ with Micronesia (RNZ )

• Former and current presidents of Palau officially file at Palau Election Commission (Island Times )

• US Peace Corps director to visit Tonga for strategic meetings, volunteer oath ceremony (Talanoa ?o Tonga )

• Papua New Guinea massacre main suspect surrenders to police (The National )

People-Centered Development

• ‘Safe houses for women’ – RMI president pushes for gender equality progress in the Pacific (Te Ao Māori News )

• Pacific youth leaders converge in Fiji; human rights, peace, and illicit drugs among key topics (Mai TV Fiji )

• Women election candidates seek ‘power to change’ Kiribati male-dominated politics (Benar News )

• USAID launches $26m PEACE Project to prevent and mitigate conflict and promote gender equality in PNG (PNG Post-Courier )

• University of the South Pacific VCP focused on students amid union vote in favor of strike action and VCP removal (Fiji Times )

• Racing against time, Guam public schools still not ready to open (Pacific Island Times )

• Classes cancelled as Vanuatu teachers resume nationwide strike (Vanuatu Daily Post )

• Pacific sends largest paralympic team ever to Paris 2024 (Talanoa ?o Tonga )

• ‘We’re losing our culture, our values’ – Secretary of the FSM Dept. of Education (PMN )

• Life expectancy in American Samoa drops (Talanei )

• FSM establishes taskforce to develop first national migration policy (Kaselehlie Press )

• Great Council of Chiefs support review of Fiji’s 2013 Constitution (Fiji Times )

• Solomon Islands Ministry of Rural Development kicks off induction training for constituency officers (SIBC )

• Cook Islands incumbents face challengers in Pa Enua election (Cook Islands News )

• Hawai?i saw the worst voter turnout of any primary election since statehood (Civil Beat )

Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment

• More Pacific voices needed in climate literature – researcher (RNZ )

• Some Islanders don’t want to leave homelands despite climate closing in – research (RNZ )

• Severe drought impacted these remote Micronesian islands. Now they’re drought-proofing (RNZ )

• Forum Fisheries Agency celebrates 45 years of regional cooperation (In-depth Solomons )

• Kiribati begins preparations for yet another La Ni?a in the Pacific (SPREP )

• Fiji’s Kalokolevu Village unites in mangrove restoration to combat climate change (Pasifika Environews )

• New Zealand and Australia partner to support Pacific Humanitarian Warehouse Program (TP+ NZ )

• Solomon Islands govt to implement sea cucumber fishery management policy (Island Sun )

• Cook Islands leads charge in war against invasive species (Cook Islands News )

• Japanese environment minister commends Vanuatu’s bilateral environmental efforts (Vanuatu Daily Post )

• Cold nights across Tonga to continue, says weather office (Talanoa ?o Tonga )

Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity

• Starlink license in Papua New Guinea under court review (NBC PNG )

• PNG Immigration launches new sponsor portal for streamlined work permit and visa applications (PNG Facts )

• China using economic coercion to influence Palau’s relationship with Taiwan – Palau president (RNZ )

• Papua New Guinea jolts donors over power grid roll-out as China sale dismissed (Benar News/PACNEWS )

• 100 million ounces of gold to be mined, says Papua New Guinea PM (The National )

• New Zealand govt gives $6.2m to support ‘resilient and prosperous Marshall Islands’ (Te Ao Māori News )

• Int’l Organization for Migration signs MOU with Fiji to boost labor mobility and worker protection (FBC News )

• NZ’s Recognized Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme: Fiji govt concerned about impact on children (PMN )

• American Samoa governor unveils govt budget for fiscal year 2025 (Samoa News )

• Tonga receives US$1.9 million grant for firefighting trucks from Japan (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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