Pacific Islands News Roundup – September 26 – October 2, 2025

Editor’s Note: We are undergoing a web host migration process and may need to make necessary modifications to our format and frequency over the next several weeks. Thank you in advance for your understanding. Political Leadership and Regionalism,...

WWE creative clueless about Solo Sikoa's booking, feels wrestling veteran: "That doesn't make any sense" (Exclusive)

Former WWE head writer Vince Russo vehemently criticized Solo Sikoa's video package on SmackDown. The Street Champ once again appeared in a vignette on the blue brand. This week on SmackDown, Solo hyped up the seven-foot-tall behemoth, Talla...

This week brings a bumper harvest of brand new books

Some weeks in the books world, a headliner or emergent theme happily suggests itself right away. This is not one of those weeks. Below, you'll find quite a variety: memoir, comics journalism and speculative fiction, horror and humor, in climates...

Electricity tariff goes up, government maintains subsidy scheme

From 1 October 2025, Tonga households will face a power tariff rise to 92.16 seniti per kWh, driven by rising diesel costs and a retained government subsidy. The Competent Authority has approved a $0.14 seniti per litre diesel increase (7.10 %)...

Film review: The Patriots’ 1 big flaw and how Drake Maye keeps improving

In critical situations, the Patriots offense is now down to a few options. Drake Maye can zip a completion to Stefon Diggs, his favorite target under pressure. He can scramble. He can toss a go-get-it ball for Kayshon Boutte, who sealed Sunday’s...

Analysis: Te Pāti Māori turmoil exposes a deeper hurt for Māori

Analysis: It is hard to overstate how damaging the past few weeks have been, not just for Te Pāti Māori but for Māori. The movement, supposed to represent a political resistance, has found itself imploding under the weight of internal accusations,...

NRL welcomes PNG Chiefs

NRL CEO Andrew Abdo (far right in suit) watching on as PNG Prime Minister James Marape and Queensland Senator Nita Green, Assistant Minister for Pacific Island Affairs, just before the PM's 13 kick off on Sunday in Port Moresby (NBC News: Jack...

Fauono Ken Laban’s Historic Win Ushers In New Zealand’s Potentially Most Diverse Council

Article – Mary Afemata – Local Democracy Reporter The long-time broadcaster and community advocate says his victory in Lower Hutt reflects the generations of Pacific migrants who worked hard, served others, and built the foundation for todays...

NZ’s first Pasifika mayor heads Lower Hutt’s most diverse Council

Report from LDR by Mary Afemata Lower Hutt’s new mayor says his election as Aotearoa’s first Pasifika mayor reflects a community built on service and trust, and a council more diverse than any before it. Fauono Ken Laban has made history as New...

Position grades from the Patriots’ win over the Saints: Drake Maye aces another test

Coming off an electric primetime victory over the previously unbeaten Buffalo Bills, the New England Patriots traveled to New Orleans for a meeting with a one-win Saints team. The focus throughout the week was clear: don’t fall into the trap. The...

Scottish rugby head coach Gregor Townsend to see red as well as dark blue after taking up new job on side

Scottish national rugby team head coach Gregor Townsend is taking up a new part-time job alongside that role as an adviser to Austrian energy drink producer Red Bull. Though the Galashiels 52-year-old’s new side-hustle is billed as a global...

Discriminatory Migration System Fails Pacific People Facing Climate Change And Disasters – Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand

Authorities in Aotearoa New Zealand are failing people most at risk of climate-related harm in the Pacific islands, subjecting them to discriminatory migration policies that tear families apart and disregard children’s rights, Amnesty...

Declaration of Peace amid realities of violence

ANALYSIS: Pacific leaders have declared a Blue Pacific “Ocean of Peace” - yet many warn the document misses a chance to ground peace in Pacific values and practice. The Blue Pacific Ocean of Peace declaration was signed earlier this month at the...

Sink or swim: Can island states survive the climate crisis?

Small island nations across the world are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis, and their problems have been accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has severely affected their economies, and their capacity to protect themselves from...

Sailors Celebrate the Navy’s 250th Birthday Aboard the USS John L. Canley

WESTERN PACIFIC OCEAN – Multinational service members deployed in support of Pacific Partnership 2025 celebrated the Navy’s 250th Birthday embarked on the Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary sea base USS John L. Canley (ESB-6) underway in the...

WWE star Grayson Waller calls for Australian tour after success of Crown Jewel, Smackdown and Raw in Perth

Australian WWE star Grayson Waller hopes the success of this weekend’s tour of Perth, combined with the excitement generated at Elimination Chamber last year, will result in a national tour the next time the wrestlers return to the country....

An Open Letter Rejecting Presidential Attacks on Nonprofit Organizations

Human Rights Watch stands with civil society and signed this letter, alongside more than 3700 other organizations, condemning the Trump administration’s attacks. It is a testament to our community’s solidarity.We are a coalition of nonprofit and...

Petroleum shortage in Tongatapu 

By Tupou Vaipulu Jr A delay in shipping caused a significant shortage of petroleum in many bowsers in Tongatapu, over the weekend, but a shipment expected tonight in Nuku'alofa is expected to relieve the situation. Konifelenisi Gas Station...

Seizing on disaster

When the Indian Ocean tsunami reached Myanmar’s coast in 2004, the Moken people had already sought safety on higher ground. They had no written records of tsunamis. What guided them were oral histories of an ancient wave -- stories passed through...

Discriminatory Migration System Fails Pacific People Facing Climate Change And Disasters

Press Release – Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand Amnesty Internationals recommendations to the Aotearoa New Zealand Government are to help people to migrate with dignity or, if they choose, to stay on their islands with dignity....