Tagata o te Moana

Covid-19 'widespread' in PNG capital; mystery PNG plane crash linked to suspected drug run; Fiji's $US1.7bn Budget comes under heavy scrutiny in Parliament; The ADB offers economic projections for the Islands region; A Samoa chief convited of slavery and trafficking sent to jail; Research on how climate change affects Pacific peoples' identities underway; Big shoes to fill for Solomons new police...

Papua New Guinea authorities scramble to contain a covid-19 outbreak in the capital; Covid-19 surging among Pacific Islanders in the US; An economist notes that Fiji over-reliance on tourism hasn't been addressed by the government's new budget; Fiji opens up to boats in a bid to get some tourism rolling; New modelling aims to improve cyclone predictions; Bilingualism concerns over NZ plan for Paci...

Tributes for the former longtime premier of Niue, Sir Toke Talagi, who died this week after a lengthy illness; The Cook Islands and New Zealand appear to be closer to a travel bubble - but no date's been set yet; The harsh economic effects of the coroanvirus pandemic really start to bite; Saving Samoa's Manumea; And, the politics of dance. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Nuclear waste dump in Marshall Islands deemed safe by US government; PNG laws to stop violence against women need enforcement, NGO's; Released Balikpapan Seven member says he will keep speaking out about injustice; Spotlight on Samoa corrections system after one inmate was found to have been kept in jail for nearly five years longer than he should have been; ILO works with unions and employers to...

Lives on the line for observers of the lucrative Pacific fishery; a humanitarian crisis emerging in Fiji due to the pandemic; Unlocking the potential for off-field roles for Pasifika in NZ rugby; Fiji govt targets growing drug threat; Canadian company touts seabed as path to green transition; Te Papa appoints first Pasifika head of Pacific/NZ cultures and histories; Bougainville elections could br...

Fiji attempts to frontfoot a Pacific travel bubble with it's own Bula Bubble - but the reaction's been mixed; A group of absconding Air Force personnel upset Guam's progress in eliminating coronavirus; Tonga announces it's largest ever deficit; Slow progress in tackling racism towards Papuans; A three-horse race to become secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum. Go to this episode on rnz.co...

Coronavirus setback dampens enthusiasam for a New Zealand travel bubble into the Pacific; NZ covid-19 border slip-up highlights 'unfair' system for Pasifika; The struggle for Marshallese to cope with Covid in the US; Suspension controversy comes to a head at the University of the South Pacific; Fiji's police and the culture of fear under the spotlight; Crucial identity and immigration reckoning fo...

Anger that Australia is in line for a New Zealand travel bubble before the Cook Islands, whose people are New Zealand citizens. Crisis at the University of the South Pacific: A vice-chancellor is suspended, students protest, and governments accuse Fiji of a takeover. A PNG athlete shares her story of domestic violence; The Polynesian Panthers speak on Black Lives matter, and the latest from the ra...

A dire warning from Tuvalu's prime minister, who says that without more international help,some Pacific economies may collapse; We hear about the ordeal faced by two Marshall Islands fisherman who spent 42 days adrift at sea; And, we check in on a wild political week in Papua New Guinea, Bougainville and Fiji - where benches have been shuffled, parties ousted and careers ended. Go to this episode...

With many Pacific countries having had no cases of Covid-19, just how likely is a travel bubble with New Zealand? Fiji's main opposition is suspended for three months; A raft of constitutional reform bills before Samoa's parliament sparks a backlash; And, both Niue and Kiribati have upcoming elections. Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

This week the threat from Covid-19 came closer to home in the Pacific, with the first confirmed cases reported in French Polynesia; the West Papua National Liberation Army has been launching attacks against the operations of a major gold and copper mine, run by US company Freeport McMoran, in its war against the Indonesian state; the Cook Islands will host its first pride day this weekend, as the...

The Covid-19 global outbreak is hurting economies in the Pacific; New Zealand's government to focus on supporting democracy in Fiji elections; where to next for the American Samoa caucus after Michael Bloomberg's withdrawal from the US Democratic Presidential Candidate race; Maori and Pacific babies bigger but leaner; jailbreaks and disease outbreak reflect dire state of PNG prisons; Solomon Islan...

Papua New Guinea's prime minister warns against rushing into the Bougainville independence process; Bougainville's president keeps trying for a third term; The once immovable Gaston Flosse's bid for a political comeback in French Polynesia appears to be over; The latest on coronavirus measures from around the Pacific; Growing concern about drug trafficking, getting more indigenous voices into clim...

Papua New Guinea's prime minister James Marape has embarked on a four-day state visit to New Zealand, saying he wants to elevate the relationship between the two countries; the attack on Manus Island refugees by an angry mob in Port Moresby has raised questions about refugee security in Papua New Guinea; two government MPs in Solomon Islands have lost their seats after being found guilty of bribin...

PNG gun buyback proposal not the answer, says former army head; How will RNZ youth proposal impact Pacific Media Network?; Indonesia urged to allow probe into displaced Papuans; Vote buying and cross-border registrations mar Solomons 2019 election - ANU; Fijian student happy to be out of Wuhan; Pacific criminalisation of homosexuality decried in NZ; EU to strengthen Pacific's fight against climate...

A fortnight on from Cyclone Tino, Tuvalu's still reeling. Half the population has been affected, its government says, while in Niue, businesses are struggling without the island's only wharf; As the Wuhan coronavirus spreads further, Pacific countries take extra steps to tighten their borders; 7000 plaintiffs in Papua New Guinea plan to sue a mining company for billions; A health provider tackles...

Samoa's preventative measures against the new coronavirus outbreak is affecting travellers; Papua New Guinea has again maintained its position as the most corrupt country in the Pacific according to last year's global rating; Bougainvilleans hold high expectations for independence after the referendum; Drug-related domestic violence is on the rise in Tonga; And new tech will bring Tsunami detectio...

The Marshall Islands health system struggles to cope with the country's worst-ever dengue outbreak; Samoa's measles crisis wanes, but questions remained unanswered; PNG defends itself from a damning human rights report; A noted Cook Island environmentalist sets up a new foundation; A Tongan scientist looks to boost Pasifika interest in STEM subjects; We celebrate 30 years broadcasting to the Pacif...