Nauru Has Their Phones Back
Two months after plunging into communication darkness, the tiny island nation of Nauru has their phone service back up, and can contact the outside world. ABC Radio Australia News reports "Australia's international government aid agency AusAID last week sent a telephone technician to Nauru to repair the fault."
As the Sydney Morning Herald discovered, the island now faces a Faustian bargain. Since the SMH charges to view archived articles from last month(!), here is the Go Asia Pacific story:
A secret plan to rescue Nauru from bankruptcy has been put the Nauru government. The plan, exposed by the Sydney Morning Herald over the weekend, would see Nauru hand over many of its sovereign powers to a group of Australian lawyers and businesspeople, who would build up new tax haven, gambling and other businesses and split their profits 50 - 50 with the Nauru government. One of those named as involved with the plan is Nick Petroulias, a former senior official with the Australian Tax Office, now fighting corrupt conduct charges.
Yikes. Don't they have any other options? The World Bank? The IMF? The UN? Asylum elsewhere?
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