Oceania Palau Palau will be home to the Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner, if the Micronesian group's request to the Pacific Islands Forum is granted
Oceania Vanuatu Vanuatu chiefs asked the Malvatumauri Chiefs' Council and the Vanuatu government to build a chiefs' Nakamal building
Oceania Micronesia Micronesian bloc of Pacific Islands Forum says it's "ready" and "already working" to attend special meeting of Pacific Islands Forum leaders; President of the country said the sub-region's leaders made "big decisions" at Micronesian Presidents' Summit
Oceania Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea's Department of Information and Communication Technology has released a first draft of the National Media Development Policy for consultation to use the media as a development tool
Oceania Kiribati The economy continued to expand after the removal of all COVID-19 restrictions in the second half of 2022, reads the concluding statement of the 2023 Article IV Mission published on the IMF website
Oceania Tuvalu Tuvalu's new Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Tapugao Falefou, presented his credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres; since 2020 Tapugao Falefou has been Secretary to the Government of Tuvalu
Oceania New Zealand Because of flooding in Hawke's Bay, residents have been forced to swim to safety from flooded homes after Cyclone Gabrielle passed through; a national state of emergency has been announced - only the third time in history
Oceania Solomon Islands The presence of Papua New Guinea police in the neighbouring Solomon Islands, following the anti-Chinese unrest in late 2021, has been formalised by an agreement between the two countries
Oceania Samoa Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Laaulialemalietoa Polataivao Schmidt, predicts an increase in the country's revenues based on the number of events hosted and incoming flights after Samoa’s reopening
Oceania Tonga The Royal Agriculture, Fisheries, Tourism and Trade Show will return in June-July this year, after a three-year hiatus due to COVID-19 and the 2022 Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha'apai volcanic eruption and subsequent tsunami
Oceania Kiribati Nippon Foundation-GEBCO's Seabed 2030 project has entered into a MoU with Ministry of Information, Communications and Transport to collaborate as part of the global effort to advance ocean science and obtain a comprehensive map of entire ocean floor
Oceania Australia For the first time in history, the Environment Minister has blocked the creation of a coal mine about 10km from the Great Barrier Reef under environmental laws