Economist slams EU blacklisting of Vanuatu as discriminatory and unfair

Caribbean economist and regional economic policy advisor Marla Dukharan has criticised the European Union’s (EU) decision to blacklist Vanuatu over tax governance and financial regulation concerns as discriminatory, unjust, and immoral. Speaking...

‘There is no Planet B’: Vanuatu PM Napat

Vanuatu’s Prime Minister, Jotham Napat, has delivered a blunt message over climate change: “There is no Planet B. It’s about our survival.” During a joint press conference with New Zealand’s deputy Prime Minister, Winston Peters, in Port Vila on...

Southeast Asian cyber fraud industry at ‘inflection point’ as it expands globally

The international community has reached a “critical inflection point” in the fight to contain Southeast Asia’s cyber fraud industry as it continues to metastasize into a global behemoth, the United Nations warned Monday. Despite China- and...

Pacific nations split, as NZ abstains vote from global shipping emissions pledge

The International Maritime Organisation will adopt the landmark deal in October. Photo: RNZ Pacific / Kelvin Anthony The world's maritime watchdog has agreed to a landmark deal for shipping companies to pay for their carbon dioxide emissions - but...

NZ abstains from vote as landmark shipping emissions plan passes

By Eloise Gibson of RNZ The world's maritime watchdog has agreed to a landmark deal for shipping companies to pay for their carbon dioxide emissions - but New Zealand abstained from the vote. The Ministry of Transport said New Zealand was...

Asian Scam Farms: ‘Industrial Scale,’ Warns UN Report

Pig butchering and other serious scams still thriving, despite crackdowns in Dubai and Myanmar. Organized crime groups use hundreds of thousands of slaves to scam tens of billions of dollars from victims. That’s the stark warning from the United...

The ‘great’ compromise: IMO agrees to global carbon price for shipping

With the aim of achieving net-zero emissions from international shipping by 2050, IMO has agreed to a mandatory carbon pricing mechanism and global fuel standard for the sector, setting the stage for its formal policy adoption in October. But...

Australian firm granted geothermal exploration license in North Efate, Vanuatu

Australian-based Groundlink Energy has been granted a geothermal exploration license for the Takare site in North Efate, Vanuatu. Australia-based company Groundlink Energy Pty Ltd (Groundlink Energy) has been granted a geothermal exploration...

Pacific Voices Rise To Steer Global Shipping Toward Justice

Ambassador Albon Ishoda, the Marshall Islands Special Envoy for Maritime Decarbonisation, appeals to the Marine Environment Protection Committee to listen to Pacific voices. (Photo/Supplied) As the sun rises over the Pacific Islands, national...

Global shipping to pay for pollution as IMO approves carbon pricing

A section of containers at the Port of Mombasa. March 3,2025 [Omondi Onyango,Standard] The global shipping industry is about to undergo its most dramatic transformation in decades. In a landmark decision that will reshape maritime trade, the...

Vanuatu holds election amid earthquake devastation

Polls have opened in Vanuatu , a Pacific nation grappling with political instability and the logistics of holding a snap election in the aftermath of a 7.3-magnitude earthquake that killed at least 14 people and displaced thousands. As downtown...

Earthquake and renewable energy a focus in Vanuatu

New Zealand is boosting support to Vanuatu to recover from last year’s earthquake and develop its renewable energy sector, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said. “Being in Port Vila has underlined the scale of the challenge that Vanuatu faces...

ED links Gensol Engineering to Mahadev betting app scam; Rs 573 crore assets attached

synopsis According to officials, the frozen shares are part of a larger suspected scheme involving the artificial inflation of stock prices through tainted funds routed via foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is...

We must navigate change on shipping emissions – Editorial

The Ministry of Transport said it was reserving its position and officials wanted to do some more analysis before any formal adoption at the next meeting of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in October. Another relevant factor to...

New Zealand Boost Support of Millions for Vanuatu Recovery from 2024 Earthquake

Photo: NZ High Commission in Vanuatu New Zealand is boosting support to Vanuatu to recover from last year’s earthquake and develop its renewable energy sector, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says. “Being in Port Vila has underlined the scale...

How can Vanuatu fund its earthquake recovery? There’s only one option

By Peter Judge* Rescue teams dig for survivors trapped in crumpled buildings in Port Vila on 18 December. Photo: AFP Last October I argued that Vanuatu was facing an economic emergency. Since then, the world has become far more dangerous and...

Global breakthrough to tackle shipping emissions

Countries have agreed a global deal to tackle shipping emissions, after nearly ten years of negotiations. The agreement covers the vast majority of the world's commercial shipping and means that starting in 2028, ship owners will have to use...

Earthquake & Renewable Energy A Focus In Vanuatu

Rt Hon Winston Peters Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Foreign Affairs New Zealand is boosting support to Vanuatu to recover from last year’s earthquake and develop its renewable energy sector, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says. “Being in...

PNG should assess industries dependant on US imports: Maru

INTERNATIONAL Trade and Investment Minister Richard Maru says the country should assess the impact on industries that depend on United States imports like Air Niugini who mainly import aircraft parts from the US Maru said this this week during the...

IMO to Impose Global Carbon Levy on Shipping by 2028

In a joint statement, they argue the outcome "would do too little, too late to cut shipping emissions and protect their islands". These small island states, some of the most at-risk places on the planet due to sea level rise, had pushed for a flat...