A neon cross lit up against a moody early morning sky Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
A Muslim in Papua New Guinea says he is fine with the country being a Christian nation as long as freedom of religion is still respected.
PNG's parliament has passed a constitutional amendment formally recognising the nation as a Christian country.
Imam Ismaeel Busaeri said PNG's constitution guarantees freedom of religion, which he hopes will still be upheld regardless of whether it becomes a confessional state.
"So that their right is guaranteed and protected, to associate freely, \[in\] private, in public, and assemble and practice their religion. So that is our concern."
He said his position is the same as the United Nations Charter for Fundamental Human Rights.
### Pacific - registration
A new partnership has been set up between the Pacific Community (SPC) and Bloomberg Philantrophies to improve paperwork registration in the region.
SPC said about half of births and about 80 per cent of deaths in the Pacific still go unrecorded, with considerable variation from place to place - from some countries with 100 percent coverage, to others below 20 percent.
Jeff Montgomery, from SPC's Statistics for Development Division and a former New Zealand Registrar-General, said failure to formally record a birth has lifelong ripple effects at both individual and government level.
He said civil registration is fundamental to each person's legal identity.
### Hawai'i - fire risk
Scientists at the University of Hawaii at Manoa have been working on a mapping system to help detect fire risk zones in real time.
_Hawaii News Now_ reported the program got funding from emergency agencies and the state legislature.
The maps use data from various weather stations and provide a daily, high-resolution look at fire ignition risks.
Professor Sayed Bateni from the university's water resource research center said the next steps are to do real-time monitoring of vegetation humidity and to install AI-based cameras to detect smoke.
The maps are publicly available on the Hawaii Climate Data Portal, where users can zoom in on an area to assess its current fire risk.
In August 2023, wildfires ripped across Lahaina and 102 people were killed.
### Pacific - marine
Pacific Island representatives are meeting in Palau this week to coordinate their approach ahead of the first United Nations Preparatory Meeting on the Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty, set for April in New York.
Palau's Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Environment Steven Victor has urged Pacific nations to stand together and ensure their priorities are reflected in the treaty.
The _Island Times_ reported him saying there's no livable planet without healthy oceans.
He said the Pacific must maintain solidarity and speak with one voice.
### Northern Mariana Islands - defence
Northern Marianas Islands governor Arnold Palacios says the US Department of Defence plans to expand its presence to other islands as the Tinian divert airfield project nears completion.
Palacios said they're looking at a concept to build fuel warehousing facilities in Rota and Saipan.
His comments to local media follow a closed-door meeting with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero and Guam Delegate James Moylan at Andersen Air Force Base last week.
The plan also includes expanding the aprons at Rota and Saipan airports, and improving the ports in the Northern Mariana Islands.
### Pacific - fisheries
The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council is urging the US to address severe funding shortfalls.
The Council is requesting immediate increases in funding allocations to regional fishery management councils, from the Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Office of Management and Budget.
Council members had concerns about budget reductions, particularly for the Council's scholarship program, which supports university students from American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.
### Fiji - ocean
Fiji sent a delegation to the Ocean Accounts Exchange in Costa Rica last month.
Attendees included development banks, experts, and policymakers aiming to advance ocean accounting practices ahead of the UN Ocean Conference in June.
Fiji's government said ocean accounting is an emerging priority for Fiji.
Climate Change minister Mosese Bulitavu said Fiji's leadership in ocean stewardship is built on its commitment to ensuring that the ocean is managed not just as an economic asset, but as an integral part of national identity, culture, and environmental security.