This week on Tagata o te Moana: dengue continues its march in Samoa. The King of Tonga is undoing democratic reforms. Vanuatu's security and economic deal with Australia is closer. Also today Pacific heart health, outside nations told not to meddle in the Pacific. Also Pacific youth on security, Bougainville's election and mining the Cook Islands sea floor.

On Tagata o te Moana this week: New Zealand hosts independence talks between Bougainville and Papua New Guinea. The Samoa Electoral Commission is preparing for an August election. And there's a lot at stake for the World's oceans as leaders, civil society groups, scientists and businesses gather in France.

On Tagata o te moana this week: Politically it is unsettled in parts of the region, while the Pacific is also trying to cope with dengue outbreaks. The continuing washup involving the Manawanui and next week academics in Auckland look at the links between health and climate.

This week on Tagata o te Moana: No solution yet to New Caledonia's political impasse. Polio is again on the rise in Papua New Guinea. The New Zealand Budget delivers substantial cuts to the Ministry of Pacific Peoples and work is underway to improve the response to ciguatera poisoning.

On Tagata o te Moana this week: Reports of some of the worst violence in 60 years in West Papua. Will former Fiji Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, be allowed to stand in the next election? An Auckland kava business celebrates its achievements but finds itself embroiled in a culture argument. And a Samoan legend of New Zealand politics and education steps away.

Is Samoa closer to an election? An ex-pat judge in Kiribati gets another shot in court, why is Australia planning to recruit soldiers in PNG, New Zealand police involvement in curtailing drug trafficking in the Pacific, and the difficulties faced by Fiji garment workers.

Talofa lava! This week on Tagata o te Moana: There are calls in Tonga for a rethink of the Sabbath Observance Laws; Tinian Island, in the Northern Marianas, was a pivotal site for US Forces in WW2 and there is now a US military resurgence there; In Papua New Guinea women continue to face hardship in maternity hospitals, where giving birth on the floors is not uncommon; The former Fiji attorney general Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum attacks the current government and we hear from a Bougainvillean carver who has been in New Zealand for the past month, showing his skills and learning from local artists.

Halo oketa! First up this week on Tagata o te Moana: What's behind the growing assertiveness by the Bougainville Government; A report details systemic issues in the Solomon Islands election process; And why are turtles washing up malnourished in the Cook Islands? All that and more stories from the week on RNZ Pacific.