Regional

SUVA (FBC News/Pacnews) — Fiji’s Minister for Policing and Communications Ioane Naivalurua has described Fiji’s illicit drug situation as a national emergency, warning that urgent action is needed to protect communities and young people.

LONDON (Reuters) — Iran is close to a deal with China to purchase anti‑ship cruise missiles, according to six people with knowledge of the negotiations, just as the United States deploys a vast naval force near the Iranian coast ahead of possible strikes on the Islamic Republic.

THE HAGUE (Reuters) — Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was “pivotal” in the murder of thousands of people during his rule, prosecutors at the International Criminal Court or ICC said on Monday, as they pushed for his trial to go ahead.

HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — As defense projects spread across Micronesia and Guam’s strategic role quietly evolves, the U.S. military is signaling a commitment to collaboration. A local expert, though, is asking a harder question: collaboration with whom?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — President Donald Trump will travel to China from March 31 to April 2 for a highly anticipated meeting between the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies, a trip announced as the Supreme Court overturned Trump’s sweeping tariffs on imported goods.

KOROR (Island Times/Pacnews) — Palau Sen. Rukebai Kikuo Inabo is challenging how the Senate has handled two of President Surangel Whipps J.’s key nominees, saying her colleagues have sidestepped the Constitution’s “advice and consent” duty by blocking full Senate votes and mischaracterizing the rec…

GENEVA (Reuters) — Iran and the United States reached an understanding on Tuesday on main “guiding principles” in talks aimed at resolving their longstanding nuclear dispute, but that does not mean a deal is imminent, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said.

KOROR (Island Times/Pacnews) — Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. has issued executive order No. 498 establishing a National Working Group on the Fight Against Illegal Drugs, launching a coordinated national response for 2026, declared the Year to “Just Say No” to Illegal Drugs.

MUNICH (Reuters) — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned on Saturday against “knee-jerk” calls for the United States to distance itself from China and said that despite some positive recent signs from the White House, some U.S. voices were undermining the relationship.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The U.S. military is preparing for the possibility of sustained, weeks-long operations against Iran if President Donald Trump orders an attack, two U.S. officials told Reuters, in what could become a far more serious conflict than previously seen between the countries.