Pacific Islands News Roundup – September 24 – September 30, 2026

Political Leadership and Regionalism, Peace and Security

• Pushing a reluctant discourse on free association option for Guam

  (Pacific Island Times)

• French Polynesia proposes independence process at UN

  (RNZ)

• Beyond Treaties: How investment disputes trap Pacific nations

  (Islands Business)

• Samoa: How the world’s media reacted to the PM’s apology

  (Samoa Observer)

• Palau’s balancing act amid its growing leadership role in the region

  (Pacific Island Times)

• Guam’s Gen Z disillusioned, but hopeful

  (Pacific Island Times)

• We are not a French province’: Vanuatu hits back at pro-France lawmaker’s ‘racist rant’

  (RNZ)

• Northern Mariana Islands: Apatang to next governor: I’ll pray for you

  (Marianas Variety)

• Tuvalu makes history with first woman Governor-General

  (PMN)

• ‘Respect the people’: Fiji coalition clash over Rabuka’s fast-tracked constitutional referendum

  (RNZ)

• PNG’s food tax cut: only eight toea in every kina reached the poorest

  (Devpolicy Blog)

• Latest edition of State of Hawai‘i Data Book released

  (Maui Now)

• Marshall Islands nuclear victims still seek justice 80 years after testing began

  (PACNEWS)

• NMI: New Saipan radar to support growing Indo‑Pacific defense network

  (Pacific Island Times)

• US designates prominent Fiji businessman for advancing ‘China-based interests

  (RNZ)

• Guam: 10 states, more back Prutehi Guahan ahead of Tarague Beach Supreme Court hearing

  (PDN)

People-Centered Development

• New Caledonia: At the Tjibaou Cultural Centre, transmission is at the heart of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Cultural Day

  (Nouvelle-Caledonia La 1ere)

• Guam’s cultural board nixes DNA testing request for ancestral remains

  (Pacific Island Times)

• French Polynesia: “Mixing of cultures is in the DNA of the Polynesian people.”

  (Tahiti Infos)

• Tonga: First hip and knee replacements at Vaiola Hospital

  (Talanoa ‘O Tonga)

• ‘Pregnancy and birth are a new faultline’ as extreme heat puts Pacific mothers at risk

  (PMN)

• Epidemic and emerging disease alerts in the Pacific as of 06 October 2026

  (Relief Web)

• Papua New Guinea: Family Planning in PNG has a conversion problem

  (Devpolicy Blog)

• Science Expo 2026 connects and inspires young Cook Islanders

  (Cook Islands News)

• Facing our fears: New youth-led nonprofit report sheds light on what state residents say about Hawaiʻi’s future

  (Maui Now)

• Solomon Islands: When climate change takes away a girl’s choice

  (Islands Business)

• CEDAW hears of persistent data gaps and progress in Cook Islands

  (Cook Islands News)

• Papua New Guinea: Kerevat students turn theory into practice

  (The National)

Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment

• Pacific Resilience Facility

  (Pacific Islands Forum)

• Talanoa: Is anyone listening? Global leaders need to learn and act on climate change in the Pacific

  (ABC Australia/Analysis)

• Pacific debt pressure increases as climate finance falls short

  (PMN)

• Fast-tracking Pacific survival: the push for an ex-post climate fund window

  (Devpolicy Blog)

• 99.9% of corals are dead: Tuvalu urges leaders to acknowledge the devastation caused by climate change

  (Wallis-et-Futuna La 1ere/AFP)

• Why palolo rises in Samoa for only a few nights each year

  (Samoa News Hub)

• Tonga: Population migration from Ha’apai likely, as agricultural drought reaches “point of no return”

  (Matangi Tonga)

• Papua New Guinea: Dry conditions causing humanitarian crisis: Minister

  (The National)

• Guam had a population of three million invasive brown snakes; then US dropped 2,000 mice stuffed with paracetamol in a $8M operation to curb the population

  (Times of India)

• Northern Marianas battered by Choi-wan as outages and flood threat grow

  (RNZ)

• Pacific Tsunami Leaders Advance Regional Readiness and Innovation in Honolulu

  (UNESCO)

• French Polynesia: Ciguatera: Between Surveillance and Research

  (Tahiti Infos)

Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity

• Pacific: Underwater explorers question viability of deep-sea mining gold rush

  (ABC Australia)

• Palau’s CITES obligations put giant clam exports in focus

  (Island Times)

• Papua New Guinea: Garaina tea is premium quality world market standard

  (NBC PNG)

• Advancing Bottomfish Research Through Community Partnerships in American Samoa

  (NOAA)

• Papua New Guinea: Stronger international cooperation ‘needed’ to fight illegal fishing

  (The National)

• Pacific Fair: New Caledonian tourism in search of a rebound

  (Nouvelle-Caledonia La 1ere)

• Air conditioning: how does French Polynesia draw cold from the ocean to reduce its electricity consumption?

  (Nouvelle-Caledonia La 1ere/AFP)

• Federated States of Micronesia: Vital warns of further fuel increases as stabilization funding runs low

  (Kaselehlie Press)

• Who gets Pacific remittances and state assistance, and how much?

  (Devpolicy Blog/Analysis)

• Housing Shortage Driving Poverty In Hawaiʻi More Than Anywhere

  (Civil Beat)

• In Wallis, out-of-service ATMs complicate shopping and penalize small vendors

  (Wallis-et-Futuna La 1ere)

• Japan labour shortage opens opportunities for skilled Pacific workers

  (PACNEWS)

**Disclaimer: **

The PIR seeks to include news coverage from news outlets across the Pacific, representing a diversity of coverage in the region. Please note that the inclusion of article links does not represent PIR or PIDP endorsement of the information presented in the articles.

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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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