Photo: supplied
Northern Mariana Islands
A long-serving lawmaker of the Northern Marianas, Diego Tenorio Benavente, has died aged 66.
He was diagnosed with acute leukemia about three months ago.
Pacific Daily News reported Benavente was first elected into office in 1989 as a member of the CNMI House of Representatives.
He served for six consecutive terms - three of those as House speaker.
Benavente was elected lieutenant governor in 2001.
The CNMI's delegate to Congress, Kimberlyn King-Hinds, said Benavente was an extraordinary man.
She said they remember "a pioneer whose strength, vision, and heart shaped our community for the better".
Fiji
Fiji's Prime Minister says it's his prerogative to choose who stands in for him while he is overseas.
Sitiveni Rabuka was responding to questions from the Fiji Times about why the deputy prime minister, Viliame Gavoka, was not chosen as acting PM while Rabuka was in Japan.
Rabuka's nephew, Filimoni Vosarogo, the Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources, was acting Prime Minister instead.
The query follows recent shifts in the coalition government leadership, leaving Gavoka as the sole deputy prime minister.
Samoa
Samoa's prime minister has defended the decision to ban the Samoa Observer from press conferences in response to a joint letter from two media organisations.
The Pacific Islands News Association and the Pacific Freedom Forum have urged La'aulialemalietoa Polataivao Schmidt to reverse the ban.
A statement from the office of the Prime Minister acknowledged concerns raised by the media watchdogs.
It said the criticism was 'respected and understood' but urged them "to seek full information before forming conclusions."
It said "this is not a ban on media freedom - it is a response to persistent unprofessional and unethical conduct."
It added that the action taken relates solely to the Samoa Observer.
Pacific
Health leaders from 16 Pacific countries gathered in Honiara earlier this month for a workshop on Aedes mosquitoes.
The mosquitoes carry dengue fever, Zika virus, and chikungunya.
PMN reports the training was part of the Pacific Mosquito Surveillance Strengthening for Impact programme.
Participants did field work, lab analysis, and strategy planning so they could return home better prepared.
A long-term goal of the workshop is to build up regional health security, by sharing data on mosquito populations and how they respond to insecticides.
Dr Nemia Bainivalu from the Solomon Islands Ministry of Health says mosquito-borne diseases are re-emerging threats, intensified by climate change, rapid urbanisation, and increased human mobility.
Multiple people have died from dengue fever in the region this year.
