Water Safety in the Outer Islands: New research with ChildFund New Zealand found 78% of water samples from public and community sources on Tamana (Kiribati) are unsafe or high risk, with 52% unsafe and 26% high risk/possibly unsafe; half of surveyed households also reported a waterborne illness in the past six months, pointing to infrastructure failures rather than a lack of water. Education & Gender Equity: A global map on tertiary education shows Kiribati among the places where women are more likely than men to go to college, with a 56% gap in women’s favour—part of a wider trend of women pulling ahead in higher education. Ocean Governance & Learning: Kiribati’s Fisheries Minister Ribanataake Tiwau visited the Cook Islands to study how seabed minerals governance is set up, covering institutions, regulation, scientific research, and environmental protection, with an eye on future cooperation and capacity-building. Pacific Women in Leadership: Australia’s AU$195m boost for Pacific Women Lead backs more women into leadership, but the region’s top political table at the Pacific Islands Forum retreat still had no women among national leaders. Culture on Screen: A Pacific human rights film festival at the University of the South Pacific in Labasa used movies and talanoa discussions to spotlight human rights and women’s empowerment, including a documentary on women’s rugby. US Pacific Engagement: After the Pacific Islands Forum in Palau, the US announced new economic, security, and disaster-recovery initiatives across the Pacific, including major disaster relief for the Federated States of Micronesia and cultural preservation support in Solomon Islands.