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ALOFI, Niue (April 29, 2001 -- Niue Economic Review/PINA Nius Online)---Several more businesses on Niue have been forced to reduce staff working hours as the country's air services crisis continues.

The lack of scheduled air services to the island has shut down the tourism industry and is hampering the delivery of parts, mail and equipment.

There has been a dramatic downturn in the economy with service firms reporting reduced cash turnovers.

The tourist infrastructure is suffering with the resort hotel, motels and guesthouses shutting down along with restaurants and cafes.

Niue has been without scheduled air services for six weeks following financial and certification problems at Royal Tongan Airlines. These difficulties led to Royal Tongan ending its Auckland-Niue-Auckland jet flight, which was vital for tourism, and suspending its Nuku'alofa-Niue-Nuku'alofa scheduled turboprop flight.

Air Fiji has maintained links with its 30-seat Brasilia,...

RECENT EAST-WEST CENTER PUBLICATIONS

May 13, 2001

The following are new titles from the East-West Center and by East-West Center staff. Ordering information and abstracts of the publications appear after the listing of titles.

· The Asia Pacific Security Order and Implications for U.S. Policy, by Chris Johnstone (rapporteur). Senior Policy Seminar 2000, January 2001.

· Negotiating and Consolidating Democratic Civilian Control of the Indonesian Military, by Dewi Fortuna Anwar. East-West Center Occasional Papers, Politics and Security Series, No. 4. February 2001.

· APEC and the Environment: Civil Society in an Age of Globalization, by Jack Barkenbus. AsiaPacific Issues, No. 51. March 2001.

The Asia Pacific Security Order and implications for U.S. Policy, by Chris Johnstone (rapporteur). Senior Policy Seminar 2000, January 2001. 54 pp. Paper, $7.50 plus shipping/handling.

The many uncertainties in the outlook for the Asia...

SUVA, Fiji (April 30, 2001 - Radio Australia’s Pacific Beat)---An indigenous Fijian woman has built a F$ 2 million (US$ 880,000) business empire from saving a dollar a day for the past 14 years by selling cigarettes in Savusavu village.

Angie Rakai of Savusavu says she’s now set to make even more money by buying residential properties in Suva from people who have lost confidence in Fiji’s future.

Rakai started out in business 21 years ago, right out of school, buying cigarettes by the bulk and selling them by the packet.

"I started saving $1 a day, $7 a week and $365 a year. By the end of 1994, I had collected $5,010," she said in an interview with Pacific Beat’s Sean Dorney. (Fiji$ 1.00 = US$ 0.44).

She used the money to start a boutique in Suva. Six months later, she started a beauty salon. She eventually bought a flower nursery and began her own freelance design business.

The government buys her flowers to beautify the city. And she sells her...

K 22 million set aside for rehabilitation and compensation.

By Melanie Vari-Turia

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (May 1, 2001 – The National)---Twelve years after ceasing operations, Bougainville Copper Limited has decided to pull out of its Panguna copper mine project in North Solomons province and to sell its assets, while seeking new avenues to invest cash reserves totaling K 120 million (US$ 41,640,000).

BCL chairman Barry Cusack said the decision to terminate the link with the world standard mine after a history of successful development was not an easy thing to do.

The company's board had considered the diminishing chances of Panguna ever opening again and the increased cost of replacing infrastructure and declining metal prices. The mine has moved up the world cost curve while world copper mines have been moving downwards, particularly in Latin America, he said.

He told shareholders attending BCL's annual general meeting in Port Moresby...