- Australia has increased its Cyclone Winston relief contribution to Fiji by a further $10 million. The Fijian diaspora living in Australia are using social media to raise funds and awareness.
- The ABC will partner with the Australian Red Cross on 4 March to raise awareness about the plight of the people of Fiji, and to raise funds for relief activities. Details of the appeal can be found here.
- This neat infographic produced by UNOCHA shows the variety of foreign military assets providing humanitarian support for cyclone-ravaged Fiji:
- The sugar cane industry in Fiji was severely damaged by Cyclone Winston, losing up to 80% of this year's crop. The EU is preparing an aid package to help rehabilitate the industry.
- 11 Papua New Guinean prisoners were shot and killed in Lae during a jailbreak, with at least 64 escapees still at large.
- Médecins Sans Frontières released a report on the failure to protect survivors of family and gender based violence in Papua New Guinea. The impact of gender-based violence is the focus of recent articles in The Guardian and The Age.
- Still in Papua New Guinea, the drought continues to cause food and sanitation problems. Sam Bolitho from CARE Australia describes it as a 'slow burn disaster'.
- Elder statesman Sir Peter Kenilorea, a Malaitan school teacher who became the first Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands at age 35, passed away last week. A state funeral was held in Honiara.
- Devpolicy published an interview with Dr Transform Aqorau, the head of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement, discussing the future of Pacific tuna fisheries.
- This post from Meg Keen and Julien Barbara discusses the planning challenges and development opportunities related to urbanisation in the Pacific.
- The debate series on Sean Dorney's paper The Embarrassed Colonialist continues on The Interpreter.