The copper- and gold-rich Bougainville region is set to declare independence by 2027, eight years after a landslide vote to secede, the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (ABG) President Ismael Toroama on December 11 said. The region, home to about 300,000 people and a vast, long-shuttered copper and gold mine, voted 97.7% in favor of independence...
