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

Political Leadership and Regionalism, Peace and Security

• Pacific Islands Forum presses UN chief on climate finance and rising seas concerns

  (PMN)

• ‘The Pacific is our home, not a theatre for geopolitical competition’: Forum Chair Whipps (

  Island Times

  /PACNEWS)

• Pacific seabed mining divide laid bare at UN

  (PMN)

• Marshall Islands: President Heine warns against seabed mining, calls for UN nuclear testing apology

  (PACNEWS)

• Pacific leaders take West Papua human rights call directly to UN

  (PMN)

• Northern Mariana Islands: Governor declares partial government shutdown

  (Marianas Variety)

• Bilums to boardrooms: The business of Australia–Papua New Guinea relations

  (Lowy Institute)

• Naoero tells UN it will withdraw from ICC and takes aim at international seabed mining regulator

  (RNZ)

• Samoa: National Identification Policy Launch

  (Talamua)

• Climate change legal precedents begin to unravel Pacific culture’s emerging rights

  (National Indigenous Times)

• Kiribati government pushes back on call to reclaim Tungaru name

  (PMN)

• What Guam Inherited

  (Grist)

• Australia’s map gap for the Blue Continent

  (The Interpreter)

• French Polynesia’s Assembly backs UN mission to Tahiti

  (PMN)

• From data gaps to better decisions: Pacific statistics leaders set direction for next four years

  (Pacific Community)

• Seven years of diplomatic relations marked as Solomon Islands and China pledge stronger cooperation (

  Island Sun

  )

People-Centered Development

• Life expectancy in the Pacific, and the case of Naoero

  (Devpolicy Blog/Analysis)

• Northern Mariana Islands: CHCC sounds alarm as meth-related cases more than double to 252 in 2025, deaths climb

  (NMI News Service)

• Tonga: First-ever joint replacement surgeries performed at Vaiola Hospital

  (Matangi Tonga Online)

• Health: How do New Caledonia, Polynesia and Wallis finance their social protection?

  (Nouvelle-Calédonie La 1ère)

• Watchdog report flags major gaps in care for Palau, FSM, Marshall Islands veterans

  (Pacific Island Times)

• Cook Islands: ‘It’s okay to ask for help’: Suicide prevention remains top priority for TMO

  (Cook Islands News)

• Pacific produces gender data, but too much remains difficult to access, new report shows

  (Pacific Community)

• Women of the Lagoons: SPC opens its doors to the Committee on Education and Equality and to the next generation of ocean guardians

  (Pacific Community)

• Princess Pilolevu ends China visit with opening of Tonga Centre at Shanghai university

  (Talanoa ‘O Tonga)

• Solomon Islands: Teachers undergo mental health training

  (Island Sun)

• Tuvalu blackbirding story to head towards international screens

  (PMN)

• ‘Years in the making’: Guam to march in Hispanic Cultural Heritage parade in Madrid

  (PDN)

Climate Change and Disasters, Ocean and Environment

• Micronesia calls for Climate finance, Ocean protection, and fossil fuel transition

  (PACNEWS)

• Tuvalu reclaims land as sea-level rise threatens future: PM Teo

  (PACNEWS)

• Pacific: When the sea rises, what happens to home?

  (PMN)

• FSM prepares for drought while rain is still falling in many places

  (Kaselehlie Press)

• These Trees Wreaked Havoc During Storms. Hawaiʻi Is Fed Up

  (Civil Beat)

• Hawai‘i: TMT Doubles Down On Mauna Kea, Declines Spain’s $1B Proposal

  (Civil Beat)

• New Caledonia: Trained volunteers to rescue stranded animals

  (les Nouvelles Caledoniennes)

• In New Caledonia, humpback whales are directly affected by the discussions of the Whaling Commission in Hobart

  (Nouvelle-Caledonia La 1ere)

• FSM vice president describes threats to nation’s well-being in UN address

  (Public Radio Guam)

• One Ocean, One Future: The Pacific’s Blue Thread to COP31

  (SPREP)

• 18 territorial groups back Guam challenge over Air Force explosives disposal

  (Marianas Variety)

Resources and Economic Development, Technology and Connectivity

• Cook Islands faces tough choices over deep-sea mining prospects

  (Cook Islands News)

• American Samoa: ASG launches deep-sea minerals information website

  (Talanei)

• Experts say AI scams are getting harder to spot as Pacific families urged to slow down

  (PMN)

• American Samoa hopes to shield tuna trade under Senate’s anti-poaching bill

  (Pacific Island Times)

• Pacific nations call for stronger international support at Fisheries Summit (

  Cook Islands News

  )

• Best in Travel 2027: The Pacific Makes a Strong Showing on Lonely Planet’s List

  (Wander in Paradise)

• Marshall Islands OCIT launches new visitor resource, regional tourism updates

  (MBJ Guam)

• Local Businesses Look to Vanuatu Made Show to Connect Producers with Buyers

  (Vanuatu Daily Post)

• Northern Mariana Islands: CNMI losing 1,000 residents a year as economy shrinks

  (Marianas Press)

• Tonga: Solar power could bring safer water to 23 more remote communities

  (PMN)

• Papua New Guinea: Cocoa exports earn PNG more than K1.8 billion

  (Papua New Guinea Today)

• Farmers Wanted: Hawai‘i Tries To Fix Its Unique ‘Ulu Problem

  (Civil Beat)

**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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