Solomon Islands Financial News

As of now, over 1,000 people have been confirmed dead in Myanmar, with thousands injured. In Thailand, the death toll stands at 20, with dozens still trapped under collapsed buildings.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: Robust sales growth recorded by the Indian government’s generic pharmacy model will put pressure on trade margins in the retail medicine market because of the affordability and quality of the drugs sold, a top official said. The quality certified generic medicines sold at kendras (centres) operating under the Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) help to moderate the prices of medicines and create a benchmarking effect, Arunish Chawla, secretary of the Department of Pharmaceuticals, said in an interview toMint.

Kurt Campbell travelled to the Solomon Islands to counter Beijing's influence in the South Pacific country, he quickly saw just how far China would go to spread its message. The Biden administration's Asia czar woke up one morning in 2022 to a long article in the local press about the US running chemical and biological labs in Ukraine, a claim that Washington calls an outright lie. Started by Russia, the false and incendiary claim was vigorously amplified by China's vast overseas propaganda apparatus. It was another example of «clearly effective Russian and Chinese disinformation,» Campbell told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in July. Two years later, the claim still reverberates online, demonstrating China's sprawling effort to reshape global perceptions.

The central bank of the Pacific island country of Fiji has released a note to the public cautioning that cryptocurrencies and virtual assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether are not recognised as legal tender in the country.

Xi Jinping upgraded diplomatic ties with a record number of countries last year as he seeks to rally the Global South to help reshape the US-led world order. Beijing elevated the way it described ties with 17 countries and territories, most of them from the developing world, according to a Bloomberg analysis of statements issued by the foreign ministry. That’s a pace not seen during Xi’s first decade in office.

The Central Bank of Solomon Islands has revealed a partnership with Japanese blockchain Soramitsu to launch a proof-of-concept for a CBDC named Bokolo Cash.

Penny Wong said on Sunday that a security and migration pact signed with Tuvalu showed Australia was a «genuine, reliable» regional partner, as it seeks to counter China's influence in the Pacific. Australia announced on Friday the security guarantee to the tiny Pacific Islands nation to respond to military aggression, protect it from climate change and boost migration. Australia, a United States ally, has been working to shore up its Pacific standing amid a rising China, which recently upgraded a security pact with Solomon Islands. «It is about Australia saying to the region and to Tuvalu, we are a genuine, reliable partner and when we say we are part of the Pacific family, we mean it,» Wong told the Australian Broadcasting Corp, regarding the Tuvalu pact. Asked if it was linked to China's activity in the region, Wong said: «We recognise we live in a more contested region and we have to work harder to be a partner of choice, we know that». Under the treaty, announced in the Cook Islands by Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Tuvalu counterpart Kausea Natano, Australia will also vet Tuvalu's security arrangements with other nations. Albanese has called the pact Australia's most significant agreement with a Pacific Island nation, giving «a guarantee that upon a request from Tuvalu for any military assistance based upon security issues, Australia will be there.» Tuvalu, population around 11,000, is one of just 13 nations to maintain an official diplomatic relationship with Taiwan, as Beijing has made increasing Pacific inroads. A collection of nine low-lying islands mid-way between Australia and Hawaii, Tuvalu is one of the world's most at-risk countries from climate change and has long drawn

Westpac will maintain a presence in the South Pacific after the federal government indicated it wants to see Australian companies playing a role in the region.

By Kirsty Needham

By Kirsty Needham

By David Brunnstrom

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang's prolonged absence from public view for 12 days has raised concerns and speculation about his well-being. Qin was scheduled to meet with the European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, this month, but China unexpectedly postponed the meeting without providing further information. There have been rumors in Brussels that Qin's absence might be due to health issues, but Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin stated that he had not heard about such reports during a press briefing in Beijing. The official website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry indicates that Qin's last official engagement was on June 25, where he met officials from Sri Lanka, Russia, and Vietnam. On the same day, he also participated in an event alongside Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley. Additionally, a lunch meeting between Qin and ambassadors from the European Union in late June was abruptly canceled, according to an ambassador based in Beijing who was on the invite list.

Australia’s centre-left opposition party toppled the conservative government after almost a decade in power, and Prime Minister-elect Anthony Albanese in his Saturday election victory speech promised sharper reductions in greenhouse gas emissions while he faces an early foreign policy test.