Pacific Beat

The captains of three Vietnamese boats caught harvesting beche-de-mer illegally in Solomon Islands waters face jail if they fail to pay million dollar fines within 30 days and the tourism industry in Solomon Islands looks to Fiji for ideas on how to unlock custom land for development.

The award of a health supply contract raises questions in Papua New Guinea. Fiji's prime minister is down under as he looks to strengthen trade ties with Queensland.

The new pathology laboratory at Vila Central Hospital hailed as an important step forward for medicine in Vanuatu and The Green Climate Fund says it wants to hear about ambitious projects to advance the cause of climate change mitigation in the Pacific.

The PANGU party sweeps to power in Papua New Guinea's Morobe province. A Fiji businessman claims he was disinvited to a symposium for political reasons.

Tributes around the region for Fiji's reigning Woman Footballer of the Year, Francine Lockington, who has died of a mystery illness at just 18 years old and Vanuatu's Deputy Prime Minister Joe Natuman calls for the establishment of a permanent RAMSI-style force, to provide help to Pacific countries when needed on law and order, and in the aftermath of natural disasters.

Calls for Papua New Guinea's Election Commissioner to resign amid allegations of Ghost Voter. A landmark week for medicine in Vanuatu as Vila Central Hospital's Pathology lab gets up and running.

As East Timor goes to the polls, we look at why the country's parliament has one of the highest proportions of women MPs in the world and SIBC broadcaster and regular Pacific Beat contributer Georgina Kekea, one of 10 Pacific Island journalists to win a competition to cover the COP23 climate change talks in Bonn, Germany.

The latest updates on the Papua New Guinea national elections as several cabinet members lose their seats. Concerns over an increase in the illegal adoptions of marshall islands babies.

A plan to set up "husband schools" in Papua New Guinea and get men talking about family planning. And, who'll step into the breach to host the 2019 Pacific Games? We get the latest from Andrew Minogue at the Pacific Games Council.

Hopes fading for an increase in female representation as the ballot counting in Papua New Guinea continues. And, we speak to Fiji's entrant in the Miss World competition... the first indigenous woman to represent her country at the pageant.