Australia’s re-elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday was greeted by well-wishers at a Sydney café and said the country had voted for unity over division.

Papua New Guinea will gain its own team in Australia’s rugby league in a soft diplomacy deal linked to limiting Chinese influence in the South Pacific.

Papua New Guinea’s prime minister has visited the site of a major landslide that is estimated to have buried hundreds of villagers in the South Pacific island nation’s mountainous interior a week ago.

More than 100 people are believed to have been killed in a landslide that buried a village in a remote, mountainous part of Papua New Guinea.

Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape has accused Joe Biden of disparaging the South Pacific island nation by implying that an uncle of the U.S. president had been eaten by “cannibals” there during World War II.

U.S. officials say newly-approved legislation providing billions of dollars in funding for three strategically important Pacific island nations is an important sign of American commitment, which comes amid warnings China is actively trying to pry them away from Washington’s sphere of influence.

A tribal clash in Papua New Guinea’s remote highlands in which at least 26 people were killed has put a growing internal security problem under the microscope in the strategically vital South Pacific island nation that has garnered closer military attention from the United States and China.

Police in Papua New Guinea say at least 26 combatants and an unconfirmed number of bystanders were killed in a gunbattle between warring tribes.

The Australian government has signed a security pact with its nearest neighbor Papua New Guinea that strengthens Australia’s place as the preferred security partner in a region where China’s influence is growing.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has met with Papua New Guinea leaders to discuss developing the Pacific Island nation’s military strength and deepening security ties, as the U.S. competes with China for influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

The United States has signed a new security pact with Papua New Guinea as the U.S. continues to jostle with China for influence in the Pacific.

Papua New Guinea had declared next Monday a public holiday in anticipation of an historic visit by U.S. President Joe Biden.

The Biden administration is nearing deals with two Pacific Island nations to extend their special ties with the United States, as U.S.-China rivalry for influence in the region heats up.

The Biden administration will pay for $130 million in new climate initiatives for Pacific Island nations by reallocating money that originally been earmarked for military assistance for Egypt.