Mediator Rabuka returns to Solomons

HONIARA, Solomon Islands—Commonwealth mediator Sitiveni Rabuka will return this weekend following a cautious agreement by rival militant groups to implement a ceasefire and participate in new peace talks the former Fiji prime minister will chair.

However, an armed standoff between the Isatabu Freedom Movement and the Malaita Eagle Force is continuing near Henderson International Airport just outside the capital.

An estimated 55 people have been killed in the past 18 months — including 15 since February — as tensions between indigenous Guadalcanal clans and immigrant Malaitans over land rights and jobs continue.

A. Samoa wants to ban shark fishing

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa—A petition calling on the Honolulu-based Western Pacific Fisheries Management Council to ban shark fishing in U.S. Pacific areas, is being circulated in the territory.

The petition, originated by local businessman Frank McCoy, is directed at the Council’s recent decision to allow the continued hunting of shark in Hawaiian waters with certain restrictions.

The Council voted in March to limit the Hawaiian longline fleet to 50,000 blue sharks annually and one shark per trip for other species. In almost all cases, only the shark’s fins are kept for export to Asia.

Heavy rains disrupt PNG

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea—Heavy rains in the southern part of the country have flooded roads and disrupted power and water supplies.

Almost 12 inches of rain fell in the capital area in just nine hours Tuesday, turning main roads into rivers.

Power blackouts are frequent and water supplies have been disrupted. One woman sheltering under an abandoned house was killed when the structure fell off its stilts.

The National Weather Office said the wet season, which is usually over by April, is expected to continue until August. It’s the wettest wet season since record keeping began in 1945.

Solomons CB gov. issues warning

HONIARA, Solomon Islands—Central Bank Governor Rick Hou has warned that the country’s future economic condition depends on how quickly ethnic battling between Guadalcanal and Malaita islanders is resolved.

He described the impact of the 19-month Guadalcanal conflict on the rest of the country as “unbearable.”

He said if the situation persists, investor confidence in the economy will weaken, with adverse consequences for economic growth.

Westpac bank to pull out of Kiribati

TARAWA, Kiribati—The Australian-based Westpac Bank has decided to pull out of Kiribati effective September 2001.

The decision came after the Kiribati government sought to reduce Westpac’s share in the country’s only bank, the Bank of Kiribati, from 51 to 49 percent.

Kiribati’s Finance Minister Beniamina Tinga said the government has no plans to take over commercial banking services.

“We would like to invite interested banks to replace Westpac,” he said. “We have approached banks, and yes, they have shown interest. But that will be subject to negotiations in due course,” Tinga said. (Pacific Islands Report)