UNICEF Australia and Rotary are supporting the HPV vaccination campaign in Kiribati, where logistics and culture make immunization challenging; working in synergy with communities is crucial to protect girls from cervical cancer

A blue alert for rotavirus remains in effect, especially in Betio, accounting for the most cases, as well as a blue alert for DENV-1 and DENV-2, with most cases counted in South Tarawa but a transmission rate still contained

NEC's East Micronesia Cable System EMCS now connects Kiribati with FSM and Nauru; the submarine fiber-optic cable has been handed out to state-owned telecommunications company Bwebweriki Net Limited BNL for local operations

Fuel supplies are enough to keep Kiribati going for three to four months more, Minister for Social Affairs said, as stocks were replenished just before the US attacked Iran; attention focuses on how other Pacific island countries are handling the shortage

Amid a shifting balance of influence on Kiribati between Australia and China, international experts say China would be trying to gain more weight but still has to fully consolidate it, a last minute opportunity for Australia to counter it with new ties