Solomon Islands

For the international businessperson with the ability to choose where to live, work and invest, the words "tax haven" almost certainly come to mind. From a laid-back lifestyle in the Caribbean, to the precision of Switzerland, if you have got money to spare, there are plenty of countries that are keen to attract it. Monaco, the UK's Channel Islands, Isle of Man, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, and the Virgin Islands all have low or in some cases zero income tax rates. Even a number of South Pacific nations, including the Solomon Islands, are eager to get in on the act. At all of the above destinations you can create an offshore account and reap the benefits, although there is one country where there is no escape from the taxman -- the United States.

Six whale populations considered to be particularly under threat are on the agenda of the International Whaling Conference in London. These are the North Pacific minke whale, the Southern Hemisphere minke whale, the North Atlantic minke whale, the sperm whale, bryde's whale, and gray whale. It warns of "dire consequences" for one genetically distinct population of minke whale in the North Pacific as a result of Japanese catches. In the southern hemisphere, it says that the rare dwarf minke whale continues to be taken by Japanese whalers.

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island CNN Sen. John Chafee was remembered Saturday in a funeral attended by President Clinton, about half the U.S. Senate and several other dignitaries. ;The turnout of national figures was among the largest ever for the funeral of a U.S. senator a reflection of the admiration the moderate Republican earned during his four decades of public service, including 23 years in the Senate. Chafee died Sunday of heart failure at age 77.;Before the funeral, Chafees flagdraped coffin was removed from the Rhode Island State House, where the late senator lay in state since Friday.

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island CNN Rhode Island Sen. is being buried Saturday in his hometown of Providence.; Before leaving Washington for the funeral, President Clinton announced that he will name a warship after Chafee. White House officials said the destroyer would be built in 2001. ; Along with the president, several other senators and top U.S. officials are expected to attend the service. ;Chafee, 77, was Rhode Islands Republican senator for nearly 23 years. He died of heart failure Sunday, October 24, at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland.

China's President Hu Jintao has urged the world to give full backing to the United Nations in solving security issues. Speaking to the Australian parliament in Canberra Friday, Hu said the world should reaffirm a commitment to multilateralism and give "full scope" to the U.N.'s role on security matters. Hu's remarks stand in sharp relief to U.S. criticism of the United Nations in the lead-up to the war on Iraq earlier this year. And in contrast to the parliamentary address a day earlier by U.S. President George W. Bush, there was no heckling from Australian parliamentarians or onlookers.

Australia is still not taking the risk of terrorism seriously enough despite the October 12 Bali bombings, according to an independent report on Australia's defense needs. The government needs to increase Australia's state of alert from the current "medium" level to "high" and appoint a single "counter-terrorism supremo" to deal with the new threat environment, the report says. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute says Australians face an "unprecedented risk from terrorism", a situation which is not yet fully appreciated by the general public.

Amnesty International has celebrated its 40th birthday by highlighting human rights abuses in 149 countries, including a rise in intolerance of religious and ethnic minorities in Asia. The London-based human rights group says the intolerance was manifest in ongoing civil wars, coups, religious repression, ethnic unrest and displacement, torture, and the harsh treatment of asylum-seekers. In its annual report, Amnesty condemned endemic use of torture in China, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar and noted that people are tortured or ill treated by police and security forces in 20 countries in the region.

Australia's military alliance with the United States has drawn ever closer following a decision by Canberra to buy nearly 60 Abrams tanks from the U.S. The second-hand Abrams battle tanks -- which cost $415 million (Aust. $550 million) -- will replace the Australian army's ageing fleet of German-built Leopard tanks. Importantly, the Abrams tanks will give the Australian defense forces greater operational compatibility with the U.S. military. The tanks, which will not be operation until 2007, will be based in the city of Darwin on Australian's northern coast.

Thousands of Australians and New Zealanders have gathered across the globe to commemorate their war dead in annual ANZAC Day memorial services and marches. The April 25 services mark the 91st anniversary of the ill-fated Gallipoli landing of the First World War during which more than 8,000 Australians and New Zealanders lost their lives and many thousands more were wounded. Commemorations were held in cities and towns across Australia and New Zealand, as well as at Gallipoli in Turkey and other sites of conflict including the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vietnam.