Amid intensifying competition in the region, Australia is bankrolling a Chinese government-backed construction company with a chequered history to build Nauru’s new port.  In January, the Chinese Communist Party’s news organ had happy news for the Pacific island nation of Nauru following its decision to align with Beijing and ditch its diplomatic recognition of Taiwan.  […] The post Australia pays controversial Chinese company millions for Nauru’s new port appeared first on Islands Business ..read more

Lobbying to form Solomon Islands’ next government is intensifying.  With only four more seats in the 50-member parliament yet to be officially declared, there is no outright winner.  As of Monday, the two largest blocs in the winner’s circle, independents and the incumbent prime minister Manasseh Sogavare’s Our Party, were tied with 12 MPs each.  […] The post Solomon Islands: No clear winner as lobbying to form next government intensifies appeared first on Islands Business ..read more

Succumbing to the pressures from its creditors, Imperial Pacific International has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S District Court for the CNMI, reporting debts totaling of US$165.8 million.  Before the filing of bankruptcy on 19 April, IPI had attempted rigorous legal maneuvering against the Commonwealth Casino Commission,  The commission has yet to render […] The post Saipan casino buried in $165m debt but hoping to regroup and resume business appeared first on Islands Business ..read more

The Papua New Guinea National Court in Waigani on Friday closed criminal proceedings against Ialibu-Pangia MP and former prime minister Peter O’Neill regarding the K3billion (US$790 million) UBS loan saga for lack of evidence.  Judge Teresa Berrigan said O’Neill was free to go after the Public Prosecutor’s Office filed a declaration declining to lay any […] The post Former PNG PM O’Neill cleared of UBS loan allegations appeared first on Islands Business ..read more

Caretaker Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has been re-elected for his seventh tenure as the Member of Parliament for East Choiseul.  The four-time Prime Minister secured his seventh parliamentary election by a total of 1,808 votes, beating his runner-up David Qurusu of the Solomon Islands Democratic Party by 259 votes.  Qurusu polled a total of 1549 […] The post Sogavare returns for his 7th term appeared first on Islands Business ..read more

The Solomon Islands Electoral Commission (SIEC) has reported a 50 percent voter turnout so far, with the ongoing counting in Honiara.  In response to SIBC’s request for updates on the voter turnout, Chief Electoral Officer and Commissioner Jasper Highwood Anisi stated that they would finalise the data once all counting is complete and results are […] The post Voter turnout reaches 50 percent, over 80 percent of seats declared appeared first on Islands Business ..read more

Suva, Fiji: A significant milestone in the advancement of Fiji’s Development Minerals sector has occurred as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Pacific Office in Fiji – in collaboration with the European Union in the Pacific (EU) and the Pacific Community (SPC) – officially handed over a state-of-the-art scanner and associated software to Fiji’s Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources Development.  This support will […] The post UNDP, EU, and SPC Collaborate to Enhance Fiji’s Development Minerals Sector appeared first on Islands Bu ..read more

Extreme droughts in the Western Pacific region are expected to persist over the next three months. Parts of the Marshall Islands, Guam, Palau, Mariana Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) are now designated under extreme and exceptional drought. These conditions are causing a massive strain on agriculture, water supply, and daily life for […] The post Micronesia: Prolonged drought now impacting food and water across region appeared first on Islands Business ..read more

After a total of 216 confirmed cases of dengue fever since November last year, the Ministry of Health, Thursday, declared a dengue fever outbreak in Samoa. Director General of Health Aiono Dr Alec Ekeroma said the majority of the patients have recovered and have been discharged from the hospital. He added that about 80 percent […] The post Samoa declares a dengue fever outbreak appeared first on Islands Business ..read more

More than 60 percent of the national results of the Solomon Islands election are now in. So far, two female MPs have been elected and three former prime ministers may be in the running for the top job. Counting is still progressing at a snail’s pace – partly because it took so long to transport […] The post More than half of Solomon Islands election results in as counting continues appeared first on Islands Business ..read more