Regional

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — President Donald Trump on Monday said he is seeking to ​delay a highly anticipated trip to China in early April by about a month because of the Iran war.

MANILA (Reuters) — The Philippines said on Monday it rejected Beijing’s assertion of sovereignty over the entire South China Sea, disputing a claim by ​China’s embassy that a Filipino diplomat had once conceded the disputed Scarborough ‌Shoal was not part of Philippine territory.

MAJURO — The new digital currency established with the backing of the Marshall Islands government will debut later this month to assist distribution of the country’s quarterly universal basic income program. But due to restrictions placed on the United States funding underwriting this year’s $26 mi…

PORT VILA (Vanuatu Daily Post/Pacnews) — A British national and a Lithuanian were arrested after the Vanuatu Police Force or VPF seized 1.6 tons of cocaine on board a yacht at Havannah Harbour in north Efate.

HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — With fishing communities on Guam already watching federal officials eye their waters for potential deep-sea mineral extraction, a regional fishery council is heading to three villages to ask a different but connected question: are the federal rules that govern where …

KOROR (Island Times/Pacnews) — The Palau Supreme Court on has denied Ngaraard State Government’s request to temporarily halt U.S. military construction at a defense site in Ngaraard, ruling that the state is unlikely to succeed in its lawsuit and therefore does not meet the high legal standard requ…

HAGÅTÑA (Guam Department of Labor) — The number of H-2B workers on Guam has surpassed the 6,000 mark which has not been seen in over three decades, reflecting the unprecedented demand for labor driven largely by the military buildup and major construction projects.

MAJURO — The persistent and apparently worsening hard drug problem in the Marshall Islands is a major concern of President Hilda Heine, who this week said she is not satisfied with the level of action to stop the spread of illegal drugs in the country.

KOROR (Island Times/Pacnews) — Gasoline prices in Palau have surged nearly 60 cents per gallon in just one week, pushing prices close to $7 and forcing residents to rethink daily travel and household budgets.  

SUVA (Fiji Times/Pacnews) — Fiji could soon have close to 9,000 people living with HIV, a figure that will place growing pressure on the country’s public health system, Assistant Minister for Health Penioni Ravunawa warned in Parliament Wednesday.