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A weekly wrap-up of news, issues and current affairs from the Pacific. The programme is broadcast nationwide every Saturday evening on Radio New Zealand National and is produced by the newsroom of Radio New Zealand International. The following rundown is supplied from the broadcaster’s news system:
1. Thousands of people have been left displaced in the Federated States of Micronesia after the category five supertyphoon Maysak tore through the states of Chuuk and Yap this week.
2. As the rapid relief response to cyclone Pam continues to gain momentum in Vanuatu, the national disaster management office has started the next phase - assessing the overall damage in the country.
3. New Caledonia again has a president after the position had been left vacant for more than 100 days.
4. The Bougainville electoral commissioner, George Manu, says nine people will contest the presidency for the autonomous Papua New Guinea province at next month's election.
5. The Fiji government is pushing ahead with its plans to change its flag, despite heavy dissent from the opposition benches.
6. The Asian Development Bank says the jury is still out on whether Papua New Guinea's government is managing the windfall from the landmark LNG gas project for the long-term benefit of the country.
7. The prime minister of the Cook Islands, Henry Puna, says his government is delighted with the outcome of this week's Vaipae-Tautu be-election.