Bougainville Copper lays out plans for a return to the Panguna mine; women around the region push for change in celebration of international women's day; we speak to Tonga's prime minister Akilisi Pohiva about his cabinet reshuffle; Guam caught in the midst of geopolitical tension in the region; Samoa launches ILO report on child street vendors; opponents of a plan to build a giant telescope in Hawaii vow to fight on; waste from banana trees turned into an ecofriendly business; Cook Islands Rugby league dispute could reach the High Court.

Solomon Islands police are to be armed for the first time in 14 years; The UN is urged to investigate West Papua's human rights situation; Papua New Guinea's Govt is advised to seek help from the IMF; French Polynesia's OscarTemaru secures support to contest the French presidential election; The United Nations declares 'war' on ocean plastic; A Hawaiian Voyager Hokule'a spreads conservation message in Rapa Nui ;And in sport pressure is mounting on the Samoa govt to reward the country's first ever olympic medalist

There are demands for an independent inquiry into death in police custody in Fiji; A group trying to bring dialysis treatment to Tonga says its efforts are being hampered by government; Actor Oscar Kightley calls on NZ to help refugees in Australian detention centres on Manus and Nauru; We talk about a vote of no confidence in Tonga's prime minister 'Akilisi Pohiva which is to take place on Monday; American Samoa's long-serving former congressman dies; The popularity of Fiji's prime minister Frank Bainimarama remains high in latest poll; Stadium delays in Tonga have forced organisers to move a rugby test against Wales offshore; And an art exhibition highlights lack of representation of indegenous women around the globe.

We look at the situation in Fiji a year on from Cyclone Winston; NZ to keep its Solomons' police presence; Tonga's parliament to debate a rare no-confidence motion; The CNMI is shocked by abuse allegations against former bishop; a controversial film on PNG squatters wins in regional festival; There are hopes that photos will trigger an NCD discussion; Fiji's renown sevens squad are finally offered contracts.

Amnesty International has brushed off inflammatory comments made by Fiji's Attorney-General about the group's latest report into human rights in Fiji; Manus Island refugees from Muslim countries banned by President Trump say they are not a threat to the United States; an award winning cartoonist detained on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island is in a perilous state of health as his hunger strike enters a second week; the Government of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea says it is struggling to respond to a major earthquake that hit the east and south of the main island last month; New Zealand's Department of Conservation is encouraging customs authorities around the region to continue raising awareness about export permits for cultural items; Tonga's Ministry of Internal Affairs says Tongan fruit pickers were ordered to return home from New Zealand last week because they were not meeting their work conditions; an inconspicuous red shed nestled in the hills near a small New Zealand town is the unlikely base for an effort to revive the maritime culture of the Marianas Islands, some 6000 kilometres away; the links between Rapa Nui and New Zealand are brought to the fore in a new NZ Fringe Festival show.

A lawyer representing an asylum seeker from Iran in Fiji has accused police of acting like 'thugs' after deporting his client back to Manus Island in PNG; Save the Children says it welcomes an expression of regret from the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection to its nine staffers forced off Nauru in 2014; Samoa looks set to become a Christian state but what could that mean for people of other faiths? the Russian businessman, Anton Bakov, reveals more about his plans to revive the Romanov Empire in 'peaceful' Kiribati; a province in Vanuatu has declared itself the first 'Organic Province' in the hope of promoting healthy eating and encouraging tourism; the Australian Broadcasting Corporation has ended its shortwave service to the region today saying it's not viable and too expensive to maintain; The Pacific Islands are being tipped as a perfect Rugby Sevens host if the plug is pulled on the struggling Wellington tournament.

The US abortion gag said to endanger Pacific women; Solution sought for over illegal fishing by Vietnamese vessels; Russian's plans in Kiribati met with scepticism; Tahiti floating village to test technology for a better ocean; Guam on alert over Agent Orange allegations; A remote Cook Island demands shipping company deliver on its promises; A film in Vanuatu gets an oscar nomination.

Flood-hit Fiji has a massive clean-up to deal with over Christmas; Solomons' police are standing by to re-arm; Mass demonstrations across West Papua and beyond lead to treason arrests; Inflation fears after PNG central bank prints money; The Cook Islands hopes to increase the amount of renewable energy powering Rarotonga; A Tongan psychiatrist backs attempted suicide law, and; Norfolk Island's hoping for an Air New Zealand change of heart.

A decolonisation plebiscite on Guam that was due to be held last month is likely to be deferred to 2018; A real estate agent says Fiji is still "open for business" despite laws that threaten foreign land owners with fines or imprisonment; The environmental group, WWF, regrets the failure of a European Union move to place limits on shark finning at last week's meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission; Cannery workers in American Samoa will have few job options following the cannery's closure; The Fiji Rugby Union has come under fire from all quarters after it emerged that their highly accomplished sevens team was playing without contracts; Allowing one percent of Pacific citizens to work in Australia would deliver greater benefit than Australia's entire aid programme, according to new research; Niue Honey are the winners of two golds and an international best in show at the UK's National Honey Show.

An Amnesty International report brings Fiji torture back to the fore; The Fiji government says a woman was deported at short notice for swearing at the President of Fiji; Some foreign landowners say they've been through hell because of changes to Fiji's land laws; Conservation and management measures for depleted tuna stocks in the Pacific polarise the Tuna Commission meeting in Fiji; Former PM urges PNG to empower people outside capital; There is upset around the Pacific at plans by the Australia Broadcasting Corporation to drop its shortwave radio services; Samoa's so-called third gender is celebrating fa'afafine week while advocating for equal rights for the community.