Published daily by the Lowy Institute

Pacific links: UN chief inbound, don’t forget slip slop slap, more

Tuvalu has no sunscreen, kickboxing titles in PNG, the ADB in Fiji, plus links from the Pacific islands region.

Surely the old ad still rings in the ears? (Photo: Joe Bielawa/Flickr)
Surely the old ad still rings in the ears? (Photo: Joe Bielawa/Flickr)

  • United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has announced he will visit the Pacific next week and attend a special meeting at the Pacific Islands Forum secretariat, aimed at building momentum ahead of the UN Climate Action Summit in September.
  • Catherine Graue explains why Papua New Guineans are amid what is expected to be a tumultuous few weeks in politics, as pressure mounts on the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill to stand down.
  • Speaking of PNG, Michelle Nayahamui Rooney retraces the history of the country’s prime ministers in order to better understand the turmoil in which faces the O’Neill government.
  • The annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank is being held in Nadi, Fiji, with Japan’s Finance Minister Taro Aso calling on the ADB to reduce its low-interest loans to China. Have a look at the highlights of the meeting here.
  • Sun cream (or sunscreen, depending where you live) is one of the most basic protections against skin damage. However, it is not available in Tuvalu. Eleanor Ainge Roy discusses the issue and its implications for locals.
  • In this piece, Alan Tidwell urges the United States to consider Pacific nations for what they are – fully sovereign countries with some needs – rather than as a bulwark against China.
  • Ezatullah Kakar, who was a refugee detained on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island, won a kickboxing title in Port Moresby.
  • Dek Joe Sum and Bao Nguyen examine past shocks to the PNG balance of payments, finding the largest contribution to the deterioration of PNG’s trade balance was from an overvalued kina.

 


Pacific Research Program



You may also be interested in