Word: vanuatu
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...wondering, and so, evidently, are the cocaine cartels. Uruguay, with its stringent bank-secrecy laws, would seem a natural heir. But after Uruguayan officials extradited an accused money launderer and assured the U.S. of further cooperation, cartel financiers began scurrying for alternatives. Among the prospects being watched by investigators: Vanuatu, a Pacific island republic formerly known as the New Hebrides; the Cook Islands, a protectorate of New Zealand; and the island group of Palau, which is about to legalize gambling, a business that generates the kind of cash flow money washers love to swim...
Bungee jumping is based on an age-old ritual practiced by the "land divers" of Pentecost Island in the South Pacific archipelago of Vanuatu. Every spring villagers there collect liana vines and wind them into long cords. Young men then scale high wooden towers, lash the vines around their ankles and jump. A successful leap is considered a demonstration of courage -- and a harbinger of a plentiful yam harvest...
...financial center of gravity in the world has shifted toward the Pacific Rim, new tax and secrecy havens have multiplied on such remote islands as Nauru in the western Pacific and Palau and Truk in Micronesia. Citizens of Vanuatu, a volcanic archipelago of some 80 islands formerly known as the New Hebrides, have found that international finance beats coconut and taro farming. In Port Vila, the capital, it is not unusual for a $100 million transaction between major international banks to take place on any given...
...sunny sidewalks and streets of Port Vila (pop. 18,000), capital of the island republic of Vanuatu, about 1,000 miles east of Australia, became a South Pacific battleground last week. Chanting "Change the law or there will be a revolution!" about 2,000 marchers, some armed with iron bars and clubs, clashed with 140 police and soldiers. One man was killed and nine were injured. Looters then turned the city into a shambles of debris and shattered glass. A beleaguered Prime Minister Walter Lini requested help from the Australian government, which quickly airlifted in riot-control gear...
...outburst was inspired by the transfer of Port Vila land leases from a semi-government authority to a government department. Members of Vanuatu's three Melanesian tribes, which consider themselves the traditional owners of the land, opposed government control of the leases...