Pacific Islands News Roundup – Sep. 13-19, 2024

Political Leadership, Regionalism, Peace and Security

• US House panel examines delays in full implementation of COFA agreements (Pacific Island Times)

• Support growing for China-backed leadership in Kiribati (PMN)

• Two dead after clashes with police in New Caledonia’s hotspot (RNZ)

• Former Palau president refutes claims of military base proposal in 2020 (Island Times)

• Whipps and Remengesau clash over policy approaches in 2024 Palau presidential debate (Island Times)

• Papua New Guinea authorizes lethal force to quell deadly violence near Porgera mine (PACNEWS/Benar News)

• New China-Pacific Islands police training center breaks ground in Solomon Islands (Solomon Star)

• Papua New Guinea marks 49th independence anniversary with flag-raising ceremony (NBC PNG)

• Tonga’s crackdown on organized crime – two more Comanchero gang members arrested (RNZ)

• Australia deepens partnerships with Solomon Islands leadership (Sunday Isles)

• Pacific Islands Forum Troika Plus delegation to visit New Caledonia in October (PACNEWS)

• Bipartisan New Caledonian delegation headed to Paris next week (RNZ)

• Tuvalu PM moves into newly completed $2.7 million residence (Islands Business/Tuvalu TV)

People-Centered Development

• Thousands of migrant workers in Australia ‘trapped in slavery’ (Islands Business/AAP)

• Palau faces growing drug crisis, calls for national emergency declaration (Island Times)

• Vanuatu Council of Ministers bans promotion and funding of LGBTQIA+ advocacy (Vanuatu Daily Post)

• Tonga King, council of advisers under scrutiny over gay chief justice (PMN)

• 2,000 hospital bed shortage as $4.46bn needed to provide best services in Fiji (Fiji Sun)

• Vanuatu Council of Ministers approves $40m payout to striking teachers, urgent education reform (Vanuatu Daily Post)

• Fiji govt provides $150m funding to narrow gap between education and employment (Fiji Village)

• Guam Department of Education faces financial challenges for adequate security in schools (KUAM)

• Fiji’s National Development Plan to enhance police responsiveness to drug-related issues (Fiji Times)

• Locked out: Hawai?i nurses barred from local hospital during strike (KHON2)

• Lata Hospital in Solomon Islands receives essential medicine and supplies (Sunday Isles)

• New Zealand paramedics to help local personnel in Samoa for CHOGM (Samoa Observer)

Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment

• IUCN director general urges immediate action on climate crisis at Oceania Forum (PACNEWS)

• Huge turnout expected for rally against deep sea mining in Rarotonga, Cook Islands (RNZ)

• Tonga PM to introduce Pacific Resilience Facility to UN General Assembly (Matangi Tonga)

• Cook Islands PM declares seabed minerals ambition at Underwater Minerals Conference (Cook Islands News)

• Fiji and Japan sign standby loan agreement for disaster recovery (Fiji ONE News)

• 2024 a record-breaking year for bomb disposal in Solomon Islands (Solomon Times)

• In French Polynesia, boom in whale-based tourism sparks concern (Islands Business/AFP)

• Niue champions community of practice to strengthen Pacific countries’ access to climate finance (PACNEWS/SPREP)

• US Coast Guard provides emergency management and boating safety workshops in Yap, FSM (KUAM)

• Solomon Islands handover Parties to the Nauru Agreement chairmanship to FSM (Solomon Business Magazine)

• Pacific Meteorological Council’s 7th meeting in Vanuatu focuses on resilience strategies (Vanuatu Daily Post)

• Cook Islands enhancing ecosystem monitoring capabilities (Cook Islands News)

• Samoa State of Environment report unveiled (Samoa Observer)

• Tonga Breadfruit Festival 2024: “Pacific’s most resilient crop” (Talanoa ?o Tonga)

Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity

• Pacific Islands Forum secretary-general confirms cyber attack against Fiji offices (RNZ)

• 23% of Solomon Islands’ population struggling to meet basic needs (Solomon Business Magazine)

• CNMI governor seeks to turn to the US military for economic recovery (Pacific Island Times)

• US federal govt looking to install offshore wind power for Guam (Guam PDN)

• Local concerns on Palauan “fronts” in the tourism sector continue despite official assurances (Island Times)

• Japan provides $19 million for aviation safety upgrades in Fiji (Fiji Village)

• Solomon Islands PM opens National Energy Summit (Solomon Business Magazine)

• Guam tourist arrivals continue to drag, visitors bureau raises marketing budget by 24% (Guam PDN)

• Cook Islands bolsters cyber defenses (Cook Islands News)

• South African company Sibaneye-Stillwater eyes New Caledonia nickel mining plant (RNZ)

• Fiji outlines targets to achieve in National Development Plan for 2025-2029 (Mai TV)

• Qantas Airways launches new service to Vanuatu, adding 150,000 seats per year (Vanuatu Daily Post)

• Alaska Airlines completes acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines (HNN)

Latest Content from the Pacific Islands Report

• Prioritizing Health System Development in the Pacific: A Layered Approach (Visions & Voices)

• Tebeio Tamton Is Working to Safeguard LGBTQ+ Rights in Kiribati (Visions & Voices)

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, featuring open-access information, is organized with the thematic areas of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and its implementation plan.

Subscribe to get our news roundups delivered to your email inbox and explore our archives at pireport.org.

We value your feedback.