Political Leadership and Regionalism, Peace and Security

• French Polynesia’s Tapura party submits a resolution opposing the resumption of American nuclear tests (Tahiti News)
• US military admits it fell short on awarding local contracts in Micronesia (RNZ)
• Thirty Meter Telescope Planners Consider Other Sites On Mauna Kea, Hawaiʻi (Civil Beat)
• Prime Minister Marape escapes no-confidence challenge under new constitutional rule (RNZ)
• We’re not alone’: FSM community celebrates 39 years of independence (Guam PDN)
• Palauan public meets US military over port expansion (Islands Business)
• Fiji’s President meets Pope Leo XIV, invites him to visit the Pacific ‘at earliest opportunity’ (RNZ)
• US govt shutdown sends shockwaves through the Pacific and opens door for change (PMN)
• A country that said no: Palauans nix US proposal to send deportees to Palau (Pacific Island Times)
• Palau president eyes US deportees as a solution to labor shortage (Pacific Island Times)
• Expert says Fiji ‘in a state of flux’ after resignation of two deputy PMs (RNZ)
• Governor ‘envious’ of FSM’s independence as Guam continues fight for self-determination (Guam PDN)
• ‘Federated States of Micronesia’s first Ambassador to the European Union accredited (Kaselehlie Press)
• ‘People are hungry’: US shutdown puts food assistance in CNMI, Guam at risk (RNZ)
• U.S. Coast Guard arrives in Vanuatu for joint maritime patrols (Daily Post Digital)

People-Centered Development

• ADB approves $USD30 million grant for Kiribati education (Islands Business)
• Unexploded ordinance (UXO) explodes at Townground area in Solomon Islands (Solomon Star News)
• Health minister urges public to stay alert as viral infection spreads (FBC News)
• Guam AG’s new billboards show tools to ‘discipline’ kids, from ear pinching to using zori, broom, belt (Guam PDN)
• Former Health Minister: Health disparities remain in Marshall Islands (Pacific Island Times/Op-ed)
• Thousands of CHamoru artifacts found at Camp Blaz would take years to process (Guam PDN)
• Ba Hospital in Fiji achieves global healthcare standard (FBC News)
• NSO: PNG’s population now stands at 10 million (National PNG)
• Voice for the disabled, Tuvalu’s Minister Tehulu (Islands Business)
• PM: Culture and Christian values must guide approach to LGBTQIA+ issues (Solomon Star)
• UOG Chemistry Major Awarded NIH Scholarship (Triton’s Call)

Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment

• Treated but not safe: Experts warn Fukushima treated wastewater “poses grave risks to human rights” (Pasifika Environews)
• More Pacific Island nations back Australia’s COP31 bid, push for “Pacific COP” (Pasifika Environews)
• Carbon markets a new form of colonialism in the Pacific, warns Pacific advocate (Pasifika Environews)
• Cook Islands secures $70m climate finance for cyclone resilience (PACNEWS/Cook Island News)
• Pacific must turn global promises into local action: Forum SG Waqa (PACNEWS)
• Pacific Youth Activists to demand end to fossil fuels and Climate reparations at COP30 (Pasifika Environews)
• Fiji launches third national climate plan ahead of COP30 (FBC News)
• Women lead Vanuatu’s food and climate resilience (Vanuatu Daily Post)
• Pacific Islands first cryopreservation lab opens in Fiji to protect crops for the future (PMN)
• USP researchers turn cassava into sustainable food packaging solution (Fiji Village)

Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity

• Pacific Island countries turn to gold in search of economic sovereignty (PMN)
• Pacific nations step up patrols to curb illegal fishing (Islands Business)
• King launches major upgrade of Tonga’s key port (Talanoa O’ Tonga)
• Student visas used as Australia pathway by Fijians amid skills drain (FBC News)
• Foreign labour demand plunges in Fiji – RBF (Fiji Times)
• Pacific Labour Mobility Leaders Converge in Honiara to Champion Fair Recruitment and Reintegration (In-Depth Solomons)
• Marshall Islands in construction boom of several new projects (Marianas Business Journal)
• Fiji grants market access for Solomon Islands kava (Fiji Times)
• Palau sees 26% fewer visitors in September versus last month (Marianas Business Journal)
• Solomon Islands strengthens geological ties with China (Solomon Star News)

Latest Content from the Pacific Islands Report

• Pacific Islands Security In the Era of US-China Competition (Visions & Voices)
• Abandonment of Soft Power, Neglect of Climate Change, and the Shifting Geopolitical Landscape of the Pacific (Visions & Voices)
• Tackling Systemic Inequities in The Solomon Islands Healthcare System: The Race-Health-Governance Nexus (Visions & Voices)
• The Watchdogs of the Blue Pacific: Media Accountability in Regional Security (Visions & Voices)

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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