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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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Toyota joins Holden exodus

Only two months after Holden pulled out of manufacturing cars in Australia,

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Nurturing Entrepreneurs: Key to Economic Growth

Across the Asia-Pacific region, the news is mixed when it comes to ease of doing business, but at least the Pacific Islands are better than the likes of Burma and Somalia. Or, are they? When it comes to doing business,

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Land of business and opportunties

Starting from the first March 2014, Papua New Guinea is implementing new rules for Australian nationals visiting the country. The visa on arrival regime will be discontinued. Visitors wishing to travel to Papua New

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New SIVB boss outlines plans

 Josefa Tuamoto once Fiji’s top tourism marketing official is now taking his vast years of experience to the Solomon Islands. Last month, the Solomon Islands Visitors Bureau (SIVB) announced Tuamoto’s

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Undermining investor confidence

A survey of businesses in Papua New Guinea published last month paints a damning picture of the state of the country’s governance both in terms of corruption and spiraling law and order problems. The country’s

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Leapai rallies Pacific for world fight

That is the clear message Samoan Alex Leapai would like the boxing world to believe as he readies himself for what is deemed as the biggest fight on earth on April 27. Leapai is destined to make history not just for his

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Latest move causing some consternation

This appears to be one of those summers. And the region’s media seems to be in the middle of two cyclones. One in the region’s most substantial media organisation and the other in its media academia.

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Dengue outbreak raises questions in Vanuatu

Is the health ministry capable? A major dengue fever outbreak in Vanuatu, with several hundred cases recorded in Port Vila and Luganville, has opened serious allegations about the state of the Ministry of Health. The

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