Subscribe
News
At Sunday’s Grammys, will Beyonce finally win top honor of best album?
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Pop superstar Beyonce, winner of more Grammy awards than any other female artist, has never taken home the coveted album of the year trophy at the music industry’s highest honors. That...
Hair salon stands the test of time
Vijay’s Hair Salon has stood the test of time for more than three decades. Vijay Chinnaiya, the man who established the hair salon way back in 1991, was the late Tui Vuda and former president Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda preferred hair dresser right until his demise. Mr Chinnaiya, 70, better known in the Sugar City...
Back in history: The fishing base
About 59 years ago, a Japanese government minister for Agriculture came to Fiji looking for a suitable fishing base. His choice was Levuka on Ovalau because of the abundance of fresh water which was vital for freezing works. That’s how the Pacific Fishing Company (PAFCO) was established there. It was registered in 1963 as a...
Pakistan’s former President Musharraf, key U.S. ally against al Qaeda, is dead
ISLAMABAD/DUBAI (Reuters) – Pakistan’s former President Pervez Musharraf, a key U.S. ally in the campaign against al Qaeda following the militant group’s Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, died in Dubai on Sunday after a prolonged illness. He was 79. Musharraf, a former four-star general who seized power after a 1999 military coup, died in hospital in...
Chris Hipkins to look into Pacific overstayer petition
New Zealand’s new Prime Minister has agreed to look at an overstayer petition that was launched by Pacific community leaders almost three years ago. The petition calls for pathways to residency to be established for Pasifika overstayers under compassion grounds. The petition has 11,119 signatures. The Petitions Committee recommended that Parliament take note of it....
Samsung to help digitise school system
One of the world’s popular android mobile producers, Samsung has been roped in by the Ministry of Education to improve the country’s school system’s digital learning tools. A workshop held in Nadi between Samsung New Zealand and the Ministry of Education focused on the digitisation of Fiji’s school system using the global brand. While closing...
Achari takes up new role
The Marriott Group has appointed a Fijian woman as their new cluster sales manager for the New Zealand market. In a statement, the hotel chain announced University of the South Pacific graduate Lavon Achari had taken the regional post from January 23. Ms Archari has extensive experience in the tourism industry having worked at Novotel...
Tourists conscious of environment – Hill
Tourists are now demanding a level of sustainability in terms of protecting the environment, says Tourism Fiji CEO Brent Hill. He said they needed to step up to these demands. “What I am very conscious of – looking at around the world – you see social media images of other tourism destinations like Fiji where...
Checks, balances – PM: Coalition Government to ensure consistency, transparency
The decision-making machinery to be adopted by the coalition Government will put in place checks and balances and ensure inclusiveness, coordination, consistency, transparency and accountability in decision making. Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka highlighted this in a news conference yesterday. He said Cabinet has reviewed the decision-making machinery of Government with the objective to improve co-ordination...
Thousands of Danes protest cancelling of public holiday
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Thousands of people gathered in Copenhagen on Sunday to protest a bill put forward by the government to scrap a public holiday to help finance increased defence spending. The demonstration was organised by the country’s biggest labour unions which oppose abolishing the Great Prayer Day, a Christian holiday that falls on the...
Republicans criticize Biden for waiting to shoot down Chinese balloon
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republican U.S. lawmakers on Sunday criticized President Joe Biden for waiting days to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon as it floated over the United States, accusing him of showing weakness toward China and initially trying to keep the breach of U.S. airspace undisclosed. A U.S. Air Force fighter jet on Saturday...
Get your children screened, mother urges
My child is saved and I want other children having heart problems to be saved as well. These were the sentiments of Talei Vulase, the mother of the 5-year-old Anand Kumar who had a successful open heart surgery at Sri Satya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital on Sunday, January 29. She said her child showed no...
A new lease of life
Mikaele Buaserau was the 100th child that had undergone free heart surgery at the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Children’s Hospital. His mother Kelera Buaserau said she was thankful to the team for helping her four-year-old son. “From the day we entered the hospital, we have felt at home and I just want to thank the...
Service is the key – Father and son an inspiration for family and ‘vanua’
Speaker of Parliament Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu urged family members and friends to teach their children, who are the future leaders of the country, Christian values. The gone turaga bale na Tui Cakau said in return these children would become better citizens of Fiji. Ratu Naiqama made the following remarks during a traditional ‘vakasenuqanuqa’ ceremony at...
Italy sounds alarm on large-scale computer hacking attack
ROME (Reuters) -Thousands of computer servers around the world have been targeted by a ransomware hacking attack, Italy’s National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN) said on Sunday, warning organisations to take action to protect their systems. The hacking attack sought to exploit a software vulnerability, ACN director general Roberto Baldoni told Reuters, adding it was on a...
Police make arrests for illicit drugs
The Fiji Police Force has made a number of arrests for illicit drugs throughout the country over the past few days. Chief Operations Officer (COO) Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police (A/ACP) Livai Driu said seizures made were for white substances believed to be methamphetamine and plants and dried leaves believed to be marijuana. “In the...
33 students in drug related crimes
Thirty-three primary and secondary school students, the youngest being a 13-year-old committed drug related crimes last year. In a statement, Fiji Police Narcotics Bureau urged parents to talk to their children about the dangers of illicit drugs. “We do hope that when talking to your children, these issues will be discussed at length,” the statement...
Driu: We will not condone attacks
Police Chief Operations Officer Acting Assistant Commissioner Livai Driu says the force will not condone any attacks on his officers after a policeman was allegedly assaulted in Labasa last week. He said the officer from the Delailabasa Police Post was on patrol in the Tuatua area when the alleged incident happened. “We are concerned with...
Trust helps 10 needy students with $500 each for education
Ten needy students from Lautoka have received $500 each as education assistance from Swaran Singh Educational Charitable Trust of New Zealand. On behalf of the trust, Minister for Sugar Charan Jeath Singh presented the cheques to the needy Sikh students at the Lautoka Gurudwara Saheb yesterday. The Lautoka Gurudwara Saheb president Bayant Singh said the...
Court allows killer to appeal judgment
The Fiji Court of Appeal has allowed a man who was sentenced to life in prison to appeal the judgment that was delivered by the High Court. Nazeem Ali had been indicted at the High Court in Lautoka with one count of murder of Susana Vakaloloma on May 7, 2016 at Yalalevu, Ba. In his...
Company willing to work with community
Ram Sami and Sons (Fiji) Ltd says it is willing to work with the Wainadoi community and listen to their grievances and concerns. Group human resource manager Rohit Prabhakar Chetty said they called for a consultation to discuss how their manure production process was affecting the residents health and lifestyle but no one turned up....
Situation is ‘worse’
Ekari Iranavuna of Wainadoi Village says the smell from Ram Sami and Sons (Fiji) Ltd laying farm has worsened over the years. Speaking to this newspaper, she said despite living across the road from the police post, the villagers faced the same issues as those living close to the farm. “Whenever the company burns the...
Poultry farm saga – Residents up in arms over claims of foul smell
Wainadoi residents are up in arms over claims that the foul smell produced by poultry and egg producer Ram Sami and Sons (Fiji) Ltd at a nearby facility is forcing them to live as prisoners in their homes. The residents claimed smoke and a repulsive stench emanating from the company’s laying farm and manure production...
Tackling rising sea levels
The bishops of Oceania must tackle the reality of rising sea levels in their part of the world “because if they don’t, no one else will”. These were the words of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO) president Archbishop Peter Loy Chong. In an interview with this newspaper after the opening mass...
Boost for hospital cold storage
A new walk-in cooler and a -80°C freezer, gifted to the Labasa Hospital recently, is expected to improve reagents storage capacity and facilitate clinical laboratory work. Representing the Ty-FIVE Consortium at the official handover of the machines on Tuesday last week, Murdoch Children Institute’s Paediatrician, Dr Kim Mulholland, said they were privileged to optimise health...
Japan government has sounded out Amamiya about becoming BOJ governor -Nikkei
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s government has sounded out Bank of Japan (BOJ) Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya to succeed incumbent Haruhiko Kuroda as central bank governor, the Nikkei newspaper reported early on Monday, citing anonymous government and ruling party sources. The next BOJ chief will face the delicate task of normalising ultra-loose monetary policy, which is drawing...
No one is exempt from the law – Tikoduadua
Home Affairs Minister Pio Tikoduadua has reiterated that no one is exempt from the law. He made this comment while speaking on the crucial importance of the separation of powers by law enforcement agencies under his ministry. “Even though I am the minister responsible, I have a mandate of government. The police should only respond...
Debt ‘limits’ State’s capacity
Fiji’s $10 billion national debt and a further $1.8b in contingent liabilities will severely limit the Coalition Government’s capacity to borrow further for critical capital expenditure on infrastructure such as roads, ports, hospitals, water and sewerage. “Our national debt also restricts the Government’s ability to direct spending into key areas such as education, health and...
PM urges parents to be vigilant
Be mindful of your children’s safety as the new school year begins today. This was the message given to parents by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka while attending a church service at Viseisei Methodist Church in Lautoka yesterday. Mr Rabuka cited an example where a woman on Friday in Seaqaqa saved a family from drowning while...
‘1400-1600 cancer cases each year’
There are as many as 1400 to 1600 new cancer cases each year, says Ministry of Health and Medical Services chief medical advisor Dr Jemesa Tudravu. Speaking during the World Cancer Day landmark lighting celebration at the Grand Pacific Hotel on Saturday, Dr Tudravu said cancer was estimated to be the cause of 13.5 per...
