Shadowy exotic pet trade thrives in Pacific island nation

The Pacific’s Solomon Islands has become a key player in the global live animal trade, with foreign collectors sourcing exotic species including some subject to trade bans, an AFP investigation has found. 

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May 2024 Vol 50 No.5

The tragedy of New Caledonia Solomon Islands elections: A change in direction or just smoother sailing? Pacific leaders prioritise connecting their people over geopolitics in cable competition University’s

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Change in direction, or just smoother sailing?

It was perhaps the most watched and closely observed elections to have taken place within the Pacific region in the last decade. As voters in Solomon Islands went to the polls on 17 April 2024, the world’s two

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The complexities of undersea cables

While outside actors may see undersea cable infrastructure through a lens of geopolitical competition, political leaders in the Pacific Islands region are geared towards providing digital connectivity to the islands, an

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Whispers

Against independence – and each other As French President Macron flew into Noumea for 18 hours, there were sharp divisions between political leaders – and that’s just on the anti-independence side! Even though

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Briefs

American Samoa American Samoa is working to establish and record physical addresses. Talanei News reports that the absence of official physical addresses or location identifiers for streets, households, business,

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Movers and Shakers

The Solomon Islands Government for National Unity and Transformation (GNUT) has sworn in 12 Members of Parliament as Ministers. They are:- Rex Annex Ramofafia, National Planning and DevelopmentCoordination.- Makario

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Macron flies home from New Caledonia without breakthrough

Following ten days of riots and clashes between protestors and police in New Caledonia, French President Emmanuel Macron travelled to Noumea to meet with politicians, community leaders and business associations. 

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France declares state of emergency in New Caledonia

After three nights of rioting in Noumea, with violent clashes between police and protestors, French President Emmanuel Macron has declared a state of emergency in New Caledonia, taking effect from Thursday morning. The

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Australian officials scrambled to halt China-PNG policing deal

China’s top diplomat pushed for Papua New Guinea to sign a policing agreement with Beijing during a trip to Port Moresby last month, forcing Australian and PNG officials to scramble to prevent an embarrassment for

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Vanuatu celebrates top ranking in Happy Planet Index

Vanuatu is proud to announce its achievement of ranking number one out of over 150 countries worldwide on the Happy Planet Index (HPI), for the second time since the index was first published in 2006.  Two Government

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AI is being used to save pygmy seahorses and whale sharks in Papua New Guinea’s Coral Triangle

The Coral Triangle spans six countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea – and is home to 6,000 coral reef fish species. The region provides food and

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