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Pacific News In Brief For 19 September
French Polynesia - PIF
French Polynesia will be the first French Pacific territory to host the Pacific Islands Forum leaders' summit in 2031.
This was endorsed in the Forum's final communiqué last week in Honiara.
French Polynesia became a full member of the Forum in 2016, the same year as New Caledonia.
President Moetai Brotherson was in Honiara last week and he said the historic move made him and his country proud.
He told Polynésie La Première that, even though Tahiti has hosted several Pacific Games in the past, to host the Forum is something else.
He said all the Pacific leaders will be in Tahiti, and that's a source of pride for French Polynesians.
American Samoa - mining
A petition opposing plans for deep sea mining in the waters off American Samoa has been signed by more than 2300 residents and diaspora from US territories.
The petition to protect the seabed has been submitted to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
It is backed by leaders, scientists, educators, and cultural advocates across American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the USVirgin Islands.
A petition organiser said the deep sea mining issue is "deeply tied to legacies of colonial rule, perpetuating a pattern of extractive exploitation".
Nauru/New Zealand - talks
Nauru's president David Adeang has had talks with New Zealand foreign affairs minister Winston Peters on deepsea mining and development projects.
The pair met in Port Moresby on Tuesday while in Papua New Guinea for the country's 50th anniversary of independence.
Nauru has special rights to a deep sea mining area in international waters of the Pacific Ocean.
No commercial mining has yet taken place there.
New Zealand supports a moratorium on deep sea mining in international waters.
David Adeang also met with China's special government representative for the Pacific, Qian Bo, in Port Moresby.
Fiji - fire
Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry says a big fire at the Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC) Rarawai mill in the Western Division will significantly impact the economy.
The Fiji Times reported the fire service is investigating how the blaze started.
FSC chief executive Bhan Pratap Singh said parts of the mill have been seriously damaged, and operations mill will remain suspended until further notice.
Nobody was reported injured in the fire.
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