April, a time to learn more about Asbestos
This month we commemorate Global Asbestos Awareness Week to raise awareness of an insidious and slow killer – the substance known as “asbestos”. Asbestos, which occurs naturally as a silky white
2014
New constitution is the key, says Fiji’s new military chief
Bainimarama makes way for career soldier Mosese Tikoitoga The new head of Fiji’s military Brigadier General Mosese Tikoitoga says the country’s new constitution should stay if there is to be no more coups in
Cooks opt for satellite telecom network
Could the Cook Islands become the next Bangalore of the Pacific? They do have the right technology to begin with but comparative telecommunication prices could prove to be the difference between being a technological
Mosese Tikoitoga Leadership change in Fiji
Leadership change in Fiji’s Military A young Fijian man who marched in as a private in the Republic of the Fiji Military Forces more than 30 years ago is now head of Fiji’s 4,000-strong force. Brigadier
PNG coffee has a c rack at niche market with US$30m package
As exotic gourmet coffee from Papua New Guinea ticked all boxes in an international ranking last month, the World Bank began preparing a US$30 million rescue package to rejuvenate the country’s ailing coffee
UN sends mission to New Caledonia
Debates over electoral rolls and alliances The United Nations has sent a delegation to New Caledonia in the lead up to crucial municipal and provincial elections as supporters and opponents of independence joust over
Imported Item – 2015-07-22 01:15:53
Un-Announced boarding’s of 69 fishing vessels, confiscation and torching of fishing tenders and gear and citings of 6 more boats were the highlights of the recently completed annual Rai Balang maritime
French Navy seized Chinese fishing boat
Maritime border dispute flares up again Sea border dispute between Vanuatu and New Caledonia has resulted in the arrest and conviction of a Chinese boat captain and members of his crew. New Caledonian maritime
Tonga gets $10m
The World Bank will give approximately US$10 million to support Tonga’s reconstruction and repair of houses for hundreds of families in Ha’apai whose homes were badly damaged or destroyed by Tropical Cyclone
Judicial shake-up in Nauru
Opposition MPs decry deportations Nauru’s Opposition has described the treatment of two of its highest judicial officers in the land as contempt for the rule of law. Opposition leader Mathew Batsiua alleged that
Closing down loopholes, G20 targets tax havens
Cook Islands, Vanuatu under scrutiny Pacific island countries with legitimate tax-haven status like the Cook Islands and Vanuatu risk being isolated and dealt with under new radical plan to force governments and their
BSP posts US$147m profit
‘Bank’s capital base is sound’ Bank South Pacific, the largest bank in Papua New Guinea and the South Pacific has announced more than K400 million (USD147m) in net profit for the 2013 financial year.
Total Oil joins Oil Search for PNG
A new Asia Pacific hub dawns With less than three months of wait left before Papua New Guinea rolls out exports from its US419.12 billion (Kina 52.16 billion) LNG project, Peter O’Neill’s Government has
Selling the Pacific dream
Would you believe that out of the over 900 million international tourist arrivals registered by the United Nations' World Tourism Council in 2012, only 1.6 million visited the shores of 16 Pacific Islands countries
Give preference to local fishing fleets
Pacific Islands governments have a responsibility to control tuna fishing in their waters, and should be giving preference to local fishing fleets instead of granting more licences to foreign fishing vessels. Parties
Toyota joins Holden exodus
Only two months after Holden pulled out of manufacturing cars in Australia,
Dual citizenship
Govt hopes to raise over US$98m The creation of dual citizenship in Vanuatu through constitutional change has created two fiercely opposing camps in a debate that refuses to die. In one corner are the purists, led by
New benchmarks for Australian aid
Bishop announces ODA cuts and reviews As Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop joined members of the Pacific Islands Forum Ministerial Contact Group (MCG) in Suva last month, she highlighted Australia’s new
Fiji back from the cold?
FiMCG anticipates Fiji’s full Forum participation Fiji is coming back in from the cold. Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama’s announcement that he would step down as military commander on February 28, then on
PM Lilo on a cleanup footing
But will he have the time to complete the job? As his nation prepares for the national general election later this year, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo, is a man whose leadership is under siege. And he
Why I was sacked: Pokajam
Members of the PNA (Parties to the Nauru Agreement) meet in Honiara on March 5-14 to discuss a number of important issues pertaining to their success. For instance what to do with the US$93 million—and that is how
Former AG convicted of public corruption
Focus now shifts to former gov’s extradition In yet another “first” for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and buoyed by a multi-year movement to rid the government of corruption, former
Climate Karma—chickens come home to roost?
According to popular climate change lore, the continuous spewing of carbon and harmful greenhouse gases over nearly 200 years, primarily by western nations, is what has caused the earth to warm up irrevocably these past