- Papua New Guinea is still experiencing a tense political atmosphere. Elements of the police force are in open dispute over the legality of arrests made by anti-corruption police.
- Sean Dorney, a Lowy Institute non-resident fellow, described the situation for The Interpreter earlier this week.
- Meanwhile, Lowy Institute research rellow Jonathan Pryke provided an update on the significant challenges facing the Papua New Guinean economy.
- The appointment of the new director general of the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG), Fijian diplomat Amena Yauvoli, by current MSG chairman and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, has been rejected by Vanuatu. Next month's MSG leaders summit in Vanuatu will be instructive as to the future of Melanesian relations.
- Papua New Guinea is facing a prolonged outbreak of drug resistant tuberculosis, dubbed 'Ebola with wings' by journalist Jo Chandler, who contracted the disease five years ago.
- Nauru became the 189th member of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Almost simultaneously, Australian bank Westpac has ended its business with the Nauruan Government over money laundering concerns.
- The Australian Financial Review ran a profile of Oil Search chief executive, Peter Botten, discussing his long term relationship with Papua New Guinea.
- The Australian Defence Force and New Zealand Defence Force will return home from Fiji, concluding their assistance mission in the wake of Cyclone Winston. At its peak, the mission involved around 1000 Australian and 500 New Zealand defence personnel.
- China's Foreign Ministry claimed Fijian support for Beijing's 'proposition' on the South China Sea this week. In response, the Fijian Government asserted its neutrality and its support for strict adherence to international law. The Lowy Institute's Euan Graham discussed Fiji's reaction.
- A surfboard shaper and an architect have designed low cost prefabricated homes known as 'Nev Houses' to withstand cyclonic winds in Vanuatu:
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