Worker restrictions put construction at risk on Guam; Fiji non-resident landowners remain in limbo; An economist says Papua New Guinea's economic statistics have been deliberately corrupted to paint a more positive picture of the economy; The MP for Lae in Papua New Guinea says coal looms as the best energy source for the city's immediate term future; A war of words has emerged between a Samoan MP and China's ambassador to Samoa over the flying of Chinese flags in the country.

An immigration lawyer on Guam says new restrictions on Filipino workers will turn a labour shortage in civilian construction into a crisis. The removal of the Philippines from the US H-2 temporary worker programme means only military construction projects will have access to skilled workers from their closest Asian neighbour.

Foreign owners of land in Fiji affected by a change in land sale law are in limbo and staying away from the country, according to the Fiji Land Owners Association.

An economist says Papua New Guinea's economic statistics have been deliberately corrupted to paint a more positive picture of the economy; The MP for Lae in Papua New Guinea says coal looms as the best energy source for the city's immediate term future; A war of words has emerged between a Samoan MP and China's ambassador to Samoa over the flying of Chinese flags in the country; A repair vessel, the cable maintenance ship Reliance, has begun work on the severed Tonga undersea cable which had connected the country with the outside world via Fiji, and; the Commonwealth has launched a series of schemes to help countries deal with the challenges they face in their oceans.

An economist says Papua New Guinea's economic statistics have been deliberately corrupted to paint a more positive picture of the economy.

The MP for Lae in Papua New Guinea says coal looms as the best energy source for the city's immediate term future.

A war of words has emerged between a Samoan MP and China's ambassador to Samoa over the flying of Chinese flags in the country.

A repair vessel, the cable maintenance ship Reliance, has begun work on the severed Tonga undersea cable which had connected the country with the outside world via Fiji; doctors in Papua New Guinea have reacted angrily to the health minister's insistence that there's no crisis in the health system; police in Papua New Guinea's Milne Bay province are struggling to contain spiralling lawlessness and violent unrest linked to a criminal gang led by the notorious prison escapee, Tommy Baker; the Commonwealth has launched a series of schemes to help countries deal with the challenges they face in their oceans; the power company in the Northern Marianas is expected to fork out for a new generator for Rota, as the island experiences rolling blackouts this week.

A repair vessel, the cable maintenance ship Reliance, has begun work on the severed Tonga undersea cable which had connected the country with the outside world via Fiji.

The Commonwealth has launched a series of schemes to help its members deal with the challenges they face in their oceans.