Democracy is in the news as James Marape has secured another term as Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea after a controversial election, whilst Manasseh Sogavare of Solomon Islands has attempted defer his country’s election by a year.

The international legal system and powerful actors need to establish permanent maritime boundaries for island states to protect their economic futures from climate change, Laurence Phillips writes.

In West Papua, HIV and social inequality go hand in hand, and COVID-19 has made things even worse, Jenny Munro, Els Rieke Tieneke Katmo, and Yustina Wambrauw write.

The new Australia Pacific Engagement Visa has sparked great interest from Pacific workers in Australia, however there is a need for clarification around the details of the scheme, Akka Rimon writes.

Fiji’s upcoming election is expected to be hotly contested, in the backdrop of concerns about a smooth transition of power, Shailendra Singh writes.

Violence has stymied the Papua New Guinean election, whilst the Bougainville government has announced plans to reopen the controversial Panguna mine.