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Fiji welcomed back to the Pacific Islands Forum

FUNAFUTI, 12 AUGUST 2019 (PACNEWS) — Tuvalu’s Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga has welcomed the return of Fiji’s Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama to the Pacific Island Forum meeting in Tuvalu this week. Fiji will be represented by the Prime Minister for the first time since it was re-admitted in 2015 after six years of suspension from […]

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World War II Pacific battlegrounds now site of US-China tug of war

MAJURO,12 AUGUST 2019(AFP)— Pacific islands that were key World War II battlegrounds but largely neglected for the past 30 years are now back in the spotlight as China challenges traditional US supremacy in the region. Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, whose territories stretch thousands of kilometres across the Pacific, have […]

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NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to attend Pacific Islands Forum

WELLINGTON,12 AUGUST 2019 (NZ GOVT)—New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio will attend the 50th Pacific Islands Forum in Tuvalu this week, the foremost annual meeting of Pacific leaders. “The Government is lifting New Zealand’s strategic ambition and investment in the Pacific, through our Pacific Reset, and the […]

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PNG’s debt overture to Beijing rings alarm bells

CANBERRA, 08 AUGUST 2019 (THE AUSTRALIAN) — On a cold Canberra morning 18 days ago, Scott Morrison stood alongside Prime Minister James Marape at Parliament House, declaring Australia had “no truer friend” than Papua New Guinea. Marape, on an official visit with full red carpet treatment, said he came to Australia as “friend and family”, […]

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Marshall Islands declares health emergency over dengue outbreak

MAJURO, 08 AUGUST 2019 (RNZ PACIFIC) — The Marshall Islands has declared a health emergency after a dengue outbreak was confirmed. President Hilda Heine signed the emergency declaration on Tuesday, freeing up extra resources to fighting the disease. Daily safety broadcasts have begun, as has clearance of mosquito breeding sites. The first case of type […]

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Climate crisis already causing deaths and childhood stunting, report reveals

MELBOURNE, 01 AUGUST 2019 (THE GUARDIAN) — Climate change is “absolutely” already causing deaths, according to a new report on the health impacts of the climate crisis, which also predicts climate-related stunting, malnutrition and lower IQ in children within the coming decades. The report, From Townsville to Tuvalu, produced by Monash University in Melbourne, pulled […]

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