Vanuatu

The leak, dubbed the Paradise Papers, contains more than 13.4 million documents mostly from the offshore law firm Appleby.

The papers also contained details from the corporate registries of the Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Samoa and Vanuatu as well as 15 other registries, mostly in the Caribbean.

The papers covered the period from 1950 to 2016.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists is investigating the files along with a network of journalists around the world.

Council President Vidhya Lakhan and CEO Andrew Minogue attended a joint meeting of the Van2017 Pacific Mini Games Authority, chaired by the Minister of Sport, Seule Simeon, and the Games Organising Committee, where the final Games delivery plans and arrangements were approved.

Mr Lakhan also received a briefing from Van2017 CEO Clint Flood.

He was very pleased with the state of preparations and said all stakeholders have worked together to deliver the sporting venues and operational plans on schedule.

Doors were opened to the public on Sunday to see the brand new venues at the Korman Complex, which will host 12 of the 14 sports on offer during the event.

The opening ceremony is now less than 50 days away and Van2017 CEO Clint Flood says it's important to demonstrate to the public - many of whom doubted the venues would be done on time - that Vanuatu will be ready to host the Games.

"It is important for people to see how good these venues are, and that Port Vila now has some of the best facilities in the Pacific," he said.

Samoa and Solomons Men met for the first time for many years and it provided a close tussle. 

At the conclusion of the match it was a 2 all draw.

To find the winner involved the first shootout competition of the tournament.

Exciting goalkeeping kept the score 1-1 as different strikers had their turns however, it was in sudden death that Samoa, in their first Hockey5s shootout broke the deadlock to take the game.

The highlight game in the women's section was the match between Samoa and Fiji. Samoa really challenged Fiji and the match ended 6-4 to Fiji. 

The government yesterday decided to evacuate the whole population of Ambae, as the island's volcano continues to erupt.

More than 7000 people are already crammed into coastal evacuation centres, as a thick layer of volcanic ash and acid rain blankets villages and crops.

The disaster coordinator on Ambae Manuel Ure said authorities were hoping to clear the whole island - more than 11,000 people - this weekend.

The evacuees will be scattered around the nearby islands of Santo, Pentecost, Malekula and Maewo, he said.

Wilex Samoa, a 100% locally owned family business, is showcase its delicately crafted KOKO LOA brand of chocolates.

The KOKO LOA is a new boutique cocoa brand that proudly celebrates its Samoan origins.

Elife’s Samoa Wild Tumeric is another Samoan product that will be promoted at the show this weekend.

Rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, Elife’s Samoa Wild Turmeric Juice is uniquely prepared with alkaline ionised water to ensure you experience its unique and natural flavour, without the interference of additives and preservatives.

The Garamuts backed up their day one win over Fiji with a mammoth 212 run win over a young Samoan side.

Opener and player of the match Igo John Mahuru (98 off 139 balls) led from the top to bring up the tournament’s first half century, unfortunately falling just short of his hundred after trying to go long down the ground.

He was ably supported by his captain Vagi Karaho (41 off 37 balls) and Kevau Tau (32* off 34 balls) as PNG set an imposing total of 295 from their 50 overs.

The three countries include Fiji, Samoa, and Vanuatu.

“The rice price [in the three countries] is Rp23,000 or about US$2 per kilogram. We offer them US$1 [per kilogram] and they are interested,” Amran said after attending a meeting with Agriculture Ministers from Fiji, Samoa, and Vanuatu at his office in Jakarta yesterday, August 9.

Samoa won the toss and chose to bat but may have regretted that decision as they lost their first wicket in the first over and the wickets continued to tumble throughout.

At 5 for 23 it was going to take a big recovery for Samoa to post a defendable score and unfortunately their remaining batters were not up to the task.

Vanuatu’s bowlers shared the wickets with player of the match Tony Tamata (2/6 off 5 overs), Obed Yosef (2/1 off 0.4 oers), Stephane Sandy (2/8 off 5 overs) and William Nalisa (2/10 off 4 overs) all picking up two wickets each.

There's already widespread opposition in Vanuatu for the new tax plan which aims to introduce among other things income tax and corporate tax by July next year.

RNZI reports the ILO's regional wage expert Daniel Kostzer said a recently released review of the proposed tax plan shows government had done a lot more consultations on the proposed reforms but it had failed to take most of the concerns raised into consideration.