Page 4 - IB May 2024

Publisher
Netani Rika

General Manager
Samantha Magick
A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Editor
Richard Naidu
New Caledonia was simmering, waiting for a catalyst to flare up. Which it did in May,
Reporters when an increasingly fragile peace finally came apart at the seams.
Kite Pareti
Prerna Priyanka French President Emmanuel Macron’s move to unfreeze New Caledonia’s electoral roll
and in the process, push the Kanak objectives under the Noumea Accord further out
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of reach, tipped a cart that was tottering at cliff’s edge after the skewed referendum
Waisale Rokotuiveikau
of 2021.
We take time to examine some of the key drivers of this conflict, the history behind it,
Designer and what lies ahead for this French territory as the contentious issue of decolonisation
Dick Lee moves to front and centre space.
The other event of note in the region in May was the general elections in the Solomon
Contributors
Islands – and Manasseh Sogavare’s departure from the top job. We look at how the
Carolyn Blacklock
elections played out and examine the sentiments on the ground and how they played
Nic Maclellan against Sogavare returning to the Prime Ministership.
Georgina Maka’a
Our special feature on telecommunications is an interesting dive into the complexities
Alipate Pareti
surrounding the rapid development of undersea cables in the Pacific, in particular,
Joe Yaya
the economic priorities of Pacific Island countries and the geopolitical interests of the
big powers that’s spurring an explosion of sorts in this sphere.
The sports section, as usual, is more upbeat. We capture the noteworthy achievement
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Front Page Pte Limited of the Vanuatu Women’s Cricket team’s defeat of Zimbabwe at the ICC Women’s T20
Editorial & Advertising Offices World Cup qualifier in Abu Dhabi in April.
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4 Islands Business, May 2024