Photo: TVNZ
Cook Islands - cryptocurrency
There's concern over a cryptocurrency bill before the Cook Islands Parliament which could be used to hack into systems around the world.
An investigation by 1News found Drumcliffe, a high-value debt collector specialising in international asset seizure, hired at least two Cook Islands-based lawyers to draft the Tainted Cryptocurrency Recovery Bill 2023.
The bill allows for "recovery agents" to use a variety of means, including hacking, to investigate and find cryptocurrency that may have been used for illegal means or is the proceeds of crime.
On Friday local time, Cook Islands Crown Law's deputy solicitor-general David Greig slammed the bill in Parliament.
He said the legislation essentially validates carrying out criminal activities in any part of the world.
Prime Minister Mark Brown said the legislation is intended to help in the fight against international cyber crime.
Samoa - Starlink
Vodafone Samoa is questioning the appointment of BlueWave Wireless as the local partner for Starlink.
Starlink's satellite service has been given a license to operate in Samoa.
Regulator Lematua Gisa Fuatai Purcell has confirmed SpaceX selected Bluewave Wireless as their local partner with no tender process.
She said Starlink looked for their partner from a provided list and they selected Bluewave because they had already done this kind of work.
Vodafone boss Rana Bose said the BlueWave contract announcement was a surprise.
She said there was a tender in January for procurement of internet data and maintenance of 120 schools, for which they were the only bidder, before being informally told the process was on hold.
NZ - smuggling
A 60-year-old Auckland businessman has been sentenced to 28 months' imprisonment for his role in smuggling nearly six tonnes of loose tobacco from Tonga.
A New Zealand Police operation found Mosese Vakapuna hiding it in frozen food.
A Customs spokesperson said he evaded more than USD$6 million in import and excise taxes.
Vakapuna was found guilty on 23 charges at the Auckland District Court.
A police operation identified a total of 23 imports without declaration during a 21-month period.
Palau - shark
A shark species previously thought to live only as far south as Taiwan has been spotted in the waters of Palau, thanks to a deep-sea camera system.
The Palau International Coral Reef Center said a Pacific sleeper shark was seen swimming in Palau's waters.
The adult male shark interacted with the camera and bait canister - bumping into the camera and moving it.
Pacific sleeper sharks are considered to be near threatened, and are large deep-water sharks that live at depths of up to 2000 metres.
The finding will lead to further studies by Palau International Coral Reef Center and the National Geogrpahic Society.
Fiji - sugar
Fiji is looking at bringing in more Bangladeshi nationals to work in the sugar industry.
Minister for Sugar, Charan Jeath Singh has announced a collaboration between the Sugar Cane Growers Council and Anchor Care Migration and Consultancy, working on rolling out expressions of interest to fill labour shortages.
He said foreign workers will play a crucial role in supporting agricultural activities, particularly during peak seasons of harvesting.
Tahiti - language
A cultural institution in Tahiti is considering introducing the letter K to the Tahitian language.
Linguists and cultural associations have been invited to consultations with Tahitian Academy which is officially recognized as an authority that standardised the Tahitian language.
Tahiti Nui TV reports there has been mixed reaction towards the proposal.
The letter K is only used in certain parts of French Polynesia.