Women’s Economic Empowerment: UN Women and Samoa’s EMD have partnered on the M4C Life-Con Pacific Women’s Market Expo 2026 (15–18 July), aiming to improve market access, skills, and safer networking for women-led businesses across Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. Pacific Environment & Governance: Fiji helped lead talks on a future legally binding plastics treaty, co-facilitating the “means of implementation” cluster on finance, capacity building, and technology transfer—key for small island delivery. US–Pacific Strategic Focus: New US Ambassador Jared Novelly says Cook Islands critical seabed minerals are a top priority, while warning Pacific states about China’s growing influence and potential “debt traps”; he also signals deeper defence partnership ambitions with New Zealand. Regional Fisheries: Niue’s Mona Ainu’u handed the Forum Fisheries Committee ministerial chair to New Zealand’s Shane Jones as the 25th FFC ministerial meeting wrapped in Wellington, setting priorities for regional cooperation. Health Innovation in the Pacific: Vanuatu launched the HeartCare app to let community health workers and partners screen for heart risk earlier and link people to care.