Pacific Islands News Roundup – July 5-11, 2024

Political Leadership, Regionalism, Peace and Security

• Death toll in New Caledonia unrest reaches 10 (RNZ)
• Pacific Islands leaders in China amid intensifying regional competition (PACNEWS)
• Japan prepares to host Pacific Islands leaders for summit this month (The National)
• US territories vying for Pacific Islands Forum associate membership (RNZ)
• US Navy's annual force protection exercise Citadel Pacific 2024 kicks off next week in Guam (Guam PDN)
• Australia's ongoing struggles with Kiribati (RNZ)
• Cabinet greenlights Tonga’s first anti-corruption commissioner (Talanoa ?o Tonga)
• Five new state ministers sworn into office in Papua New Guinea (PNG Haus Bung)
• Fiji PM assures stability of cabinet positions (FBC News)
• Tjibaou and Metzdorf win New Caledonia’s seats in French National Assembly (Islands Business)
• French Polynesian pro-independence party loses support (ABC Australia)
• As NATO gathers in Washington, leaders urged to remember Hawai?i (Hawai?i Tribune-Herald)
• PNG's sidelined petroleum minister pleads not guilty to domestic assault charge in Sydney court (ABC Australia)

People-Centered Development

• Human Rights Comm files complaint as LGBTQIA+ community member in Fiji allegedly driven to suicide following cyberbullying (Fiji Village)
• National exams in doubt after Solomon Islands govt cuts entire funding allocation (SBM)
• Need for greater accountability at the district level in Papua New Guinea (RNZ)
• WHO report shows Tonga not taking serious steps to remove harmful trans fat (Talanoa ?o Tonga)
• 'No humanity': Asylum seekers in Nauru claim mistreatment but Nauru president disagrees (RNZ)
• PNG PM says govt looking at several options to settle evicted 9-mile settlers (PNG Post-Courier)
• No ultrasound in Savai'i hospital: Pregnant women turned away (Samoa Observer)
• Vanuatu students raise awareness amid rising HIV/AIDS cases in Fiji (Vanuatu Daily Post)
• People With Disabilities Solomon Islands (PWDSI) represented at the Pacific Disability Forum (The Island Sun)
• Palau traditional leaders forum highlights challenges to customary authority (Island Times)
• i-Kiribati push to save language for future generations (PMN)
• Pacific journalists' resilience shines through at historic conference (PMN)

Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment

• Chaos and confusion for many two months after Papua New Guinea landslide (RNZ)
• NOAA to provide $1M to train American Samoans for green jobs (Samoa News)
• Fiji leads in flash flood system use in the Pacific (Fiji Sun)
• Palau’s network of marine reserves shows promise for coral reef recovery, says report (Island Times)
• New Zealand climate change model shows risks for Pacific hospitals (RNZ)
• Stakeholders meet to discuss climate resilience in education (RNZ)
• Stakeholders discuss adaptation options and priorities for Nauru (SPREP)
• Over 10,000 taramea removed, Cook Islands government urged to step in (Cook Islands News)
• Hawai?i is saying no to seabed mining. Will international authorities listen? (HPR)
• 5.4 magnitude earthquake hits south of Guam (Guam PDN)
• FFA members to push forward fisheries labor standards at WCPFC (FFA)

Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity

• Pacific Islands are being ‘debanked’. What does it mean – and why are Australia, NZ and the US concerned? (The Conversation)
• China, Solomon Islands’ largest trading partner: PM Manele (The Island Sun)
• Returning to the Pacific after working in Australia? Here's what you need to know about super (ABC Australia)
• Fiji’s decade-long commitment to sustainable tourism development (SPTO)
• FSM hosts first National Energy Forum to address energy challenges and goals (Kaselehlie Press)
• Safety fears in outer islands as Tonga blocks Starlink during cable blackout (Matangi Tonga)
• Fiji 2024-25 National Budget passed (FBC News)
• Honiara’s $10M central market extension opens for business (SIBC)
• Nauru Airlines eyes Honolulu route (Marshall Islands Journal)
• Study recommends replacing Hawai?i Tourism Authority with new governance model (Hawai?i Tribune-Herald)
• New Zealand to send civil servants to boost Niue's public sector (RNZ)
• Palau officials says no operational impact following latest cyberattack (MBJ Guam)
• Peleliu seeks development projects alongside US military activities in Palau (Island Times)

Call for Submissions: Visions & Voices Quarterly Publication

In response to feedback from prospective contributors, we are pleased to announce that the deadline for submissions has been extended to July 19.

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.

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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