Solomon Islands is a nation in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea. It consists of more than 990 islands, which together cover a land mass of 28,400 square kilometres. Its capital is Honiara, which is located on the island of Guadalcanal.

The Solomon Islands have been inhabited by Melanesian people for at least 30,000 years. The United Kingdom established a protectorate over the Solomon Islands in the 1890s. Some of the bitterest fighting of World War II occurred on these islands. Self-government was achieved in 1976 and independence two years later. The country remains a Commonwealth Realm.

Since 1997 ethnic violence, government misconduct and crime have undermined stability and civil society. In June 2003 an Australian-led multinational force the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) arrived to restore peace and disarm ethnic militias.

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Christian Science Monitor | World

New tests: Chinese milk melamine-free
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:00:00 -0500
South Korean officials recall M&M's and Snickers, as China's production standards improve.
In Israel, a first attempt at high school integration
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:00:00 -0500
Fourteen students in Israel are taking part in an educational experiment that aims to teach Jewish and Arab high-schoolers together for the first time.
Cypriots unearth a little reconciliation
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 01:00:00 -0500
Greek and Turkish Cypriots exhume mass graves to help move beyond a bitter past.

NPR Topics: World

Europe Works To Stem Banking Crisis
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:40:00 -0400
More European governments are following Germany's lead by offering blanket deposit guarantees to savers in a frantic effort to calm fears among investors over the worst financial crisis in 80 years. Sweden became the latest to act.
In Pakistan, Some Seek Spy Agency Reform
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:39:00 -0400
U.S. officials are urging Pakistan to reform its Inter Services Intelligence spy agency. Pakistanis don't like taking orders from the U.S., but there are those who agree the ISI needs reforming. Recently the new prime minister attempted this, but he got cold feet.
Nobel Panel Decides Against U.S. HIV Discovery
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:57:00 -0400
The 2008 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine went in part to two French researchers for discovering the virus that causes AIDS. The award was not shared by American Robert Gallo, who has also claimed a role in the discovery of HIV. Additionally, a German scientist got the prize for establishing the cause of most cervical cancers.

NYT > World

News Media Feel Limits to Georgia’s Democracy
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 05:00:37 -0000
Georgia’s critics cite a lack of press freedom as an example of the shortfalls in the country’s democratic standards.
Discoverers of AIDS and Cancer Viruses Win Nobel
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 05:06:19 -0000
Three European scientists who discovered viruses behind two devastating illnesses, AIDS and cervical cancer, will share the Nobel Prize for Medicine.
Rain Forest Tribe’s Charge of Neglect Is Shrouded by Religion and Politics
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 06:10:32 -0000
There is growing concern in Venezuela over indigenous health care after a scandal erupted in August over a tepid official response to a mystery disease.

World business news - CNNMoney.com

Europe: The new Wall Street?
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:23:30 -0400
Leverage, the menace that helped bring down some of the biggest names on Wall Street, is now threatening the health of big banks across the Atlantic.
Financial system needs reform
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:30:20 -0400
A lack of appropriate and necessary banking regulation by governments around the globe led to the current economic crisis, according to a report by a body of leading economists and experts released Monday.
G-7 unsuited to global crisis - World Bank
Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:45:01 -0400
Read full story for latest details.

FRONTLINE/World - Reports | PBS

Sri Lanka: A Terrorist in the Family
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:00:00 -0500
Filmmaker Beate Arnestad moved to Sri Lanka in 2002 and saw that an entire generation was growing up surrounded by violence. Her resulting film "My Daughter the Terrorist," recut and excerpted here, goes inside the special Tamil Tigers' suicide division and is believed to be the first time any suicide bomber has spoken on film about their training and motivations.
Burma: Inside the Saffron Revolution
Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:00:00 -0500
On the one-year anniversary of Burma's September uprising, when hundreds of thousands of monks protested for change, the country's military junta continues to wage war against its own people and the crisis there has slipped back into obscurity. Our correspondent inside Burma reports on what comes next for the pro-democracy movement there.
China: Kung Fu English
Mon, 18 Aug 2008 21:00:00 -0500
Xinjiang province in remote western China is best known for the Taklamakan desert and the struggle for autonomy among the region's Muslim Uighur people. It's also considered a provincial backwater looked down upon by the Western influenced provinces in the east. Xinjiang native Jake Yong set out to change that perception by teaching himself -- and others -- to speak English.

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