Letters 1_

Inside

Coven Stony Page 30

Editorial 6

Letters 1_

Special Report: A modern-day Gold Rush 10 Rusiness: Hollywood comes to Fiji 13 "The Thin Red Line" A flawed visionary film 14 Tuvalu's Internet dreams turning into problems 16 Pentagon approval for Aloha air service 18 Tonga, China, missionaries and satellites 20 Festival or farce? Rritain's Millennium debate 22 PNG bankers face withholding tax dilemma 24 Kai kokorako (Eat chicken) 26 A radical unified Pacific airspace soon a reality 28 Cover: If you can't beat 'em, merge them!

The final say on mergers and acquisitions 32 Fair Trading Act Section 49: Mergers 33 Rothmans and Wills poised to control industry 34 Aust companies could be takeover targets in H2/99 34 industry: QBE set for solid HI profit, say funds, analysts 37 Cooks govt proposes major pearl farm in sanctuary 38 FFA supports PNG's tuna management plan 40 PNG govt/environmentalists at loggerheads 42 Report hits out at CNMI's 'inadequate reforms' 44 Volcanoes stiil active in Fiji 47 Sport: Safety paramount in Coffs Harbour/Fiji race 51 Yachting: Smoky's Pacific odyssey 52 Opinion: David Rarber/Jemima Garrett 54

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