U.S. says it has agreed Pacific Islands partnership, offering ‘big dollar’ aid

The United States said at a summit with Pacific island leaders on Wednesday that it had agreed on a partnership for the future with them and held out the prospect of “big dollar” help to a region where it hopes to stem China’s expanding influence. The Washington Post quoted U.S. officials as saying the Biden administration would announce an investment of more than $860 million in expanded programs to aid the islands at the two-day summit, on top of more than $1.5 billion provided in the past decade. The White House had no immediate comment on the funding figure, but…