Dateline Pacific for Monday 11 November 2019

Everything is falling into place for the upcoming referendum on Bougainville's independence from Papua New Guinea, according to its organisers; the media director of Vanuatu's Daily Post newspaper, Dan McGarry, is prepared to seek a judical review over government attempts to force him out of the country; Fiji has been urged by United Nations members to prevent attacks on freedom of expression, after concerns from human rights advocates that new online safety laws could be used to silence government critics; rescuing asylum seekers from Papua New Guinea's Bomana prison is the aim of a group privately sponsoring the resettlement of refugees in Canada; a former Tongan Prime Minister has hit out at the Australian High Commissioner after he advocated for the death penalty to be abolished during a speech in Nuku'alofa; for the first time, three Pasifika students will compete in the Australasian National Chess finals after winning gold at the New Zealand Power Team tournament.