Subscribe
News
Scholarship for women
Scholarship opportunities are accessible for women to pursue within the maritime industry. Fiji Maritime Academy’s CEO Captain Rajitha Semage said back in 2019 WWF-Pacific sponsored 80 students to undertake a fisheries program. “One of the...
What to do and what not to do – Cybersecurity standards and personal data online
A very common question I get asked by C-level executives, and most IT-savvy individuals such as young professionals, is obviously “what are the cybersecurity standards or laws that I or our staff/organisation should adhere to?” Here’s the thing, just as on the Internet, Facebook/Messenger/WhatsApp or Instagram legal policy updates creep up on you, standards too...
Fiji’s girmit history – The enigma of its exclusion revealed!
Fiji recognised the 143rd anniversary of girmit as never before in recent history, marking the arrival of Indian indentured workers in Fiji on May 14, 1879. The first ship Leonidas followed other 86 ships that landed 60,965 Girmitiyas in Fiji from 1879 to 1916. Girmit in Fiji ended on January 1, 1920, which liberated them...
Boeing’s Starliner capsule nears rendezvous with space station in uncrewed test
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – Boeing’s new crew capsule Starliner neared a rendezvous in orbit on Friday with the International Space Station (ISS), a day after launching successfully on a highly anticipated do-over test flight without astronauts aboard. The gumdrop-shaped CST-100 Starliner was due to arrive at the space station at about 7:10 p.m. EDT...
A tribute to Dr Va
When you take a walk in the garden early in the morning, you will come across some mesmerising flowers that you hope will not wilt. But these flowers cannot last forever, nature takes its cause and the flowers will eventually have to pass on. We can only take photos of it and think of its...
Animal welfare
Some people know the sign (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA)) out front in Walu Bay, others may just notice it now with this article – but here is some of what happens behind that sign and that bamboo wall. SPCA and animal welfare organisations of various sorts, and under various names...
Leaving no one behind
Bula readers! I was interested in reading about the Government announcement informing us that poverty is reducing in Fiji, which is great news if this is correct. Unfortunately, when I go on my daily excursions in and around Suva City and along the Nausori-Suva corridor it does seem to me poverty levels may have increased...
A new era for jobs
All Fiji jobseekers should closely watch the results of the 2022 Australian Elections unfolding on the May 21, 2022, and hope for a clear win by the Australian Labour Party as the polls are predicting. In the last few months, former Fiji citizens living in Australia will have seen an extraordinary turnaround in Australian political...
N.Korea reports over 200,000 fever cases for 5th day amid COVID wave -Yonhap
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea reported more than 200,000 new patients suffering from fever for a fifth consecutive day as the country fights its first confirmed coronavirus outbreak, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said on Saturday, citing the North’s state broadcaster. The ongoing COVID wave, declared last week, has fuelled concerns over a lack of...
Do they know the way – A ‘Moana’ moment for manifestos
The well known Moana Disney animation carried that catchy tune, immortalised by Opetaia Foa’i and Lin-Manuel Miranda, called “We know the way”. It was the power anthem for the scene where Moana sings to celebrate the voyaging exceptionalism of South Pacific natives being the world’s first great navigators. Regretfully, however, where this Government is concerned,...
Locked-down Shanghai finds new cases, breaking “zero COVID” streak
SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) – Shanghai announced its first new COVID-19 cases outside quarantined areas in five days on Friday and imposed stricter curbs in two districts, but did not signal any change to the planned end of a prolonged city-wide lockdown on June 1. The commercial hub of 25 million, in its seventh week of lockdown,...
Rabuka’s promise — I will protect them
I will look after them. This was the promise made by The People’s Alliance party leader Sitiveni Rabuka to hundreds of supporters at a campaign meeting in Ba on Thursday night. Mr Rabuka said he made the same promise to former Indian Army Chief General Sunith Francis Rodrigues, his instructor at the Indian Defence Services...
Biman: People will not be fooled
No amount of cosmetic roadworks or promises by the FijiFirst Government will take away the harsh realities faced by the Fijian people under their rule, says National Federation Party leader Professor Biman Prasad. At a campaign meeting in the West this week, he said the people “will not be fooled”. “Our people understand where we...
PM on ‘asset rich, cash poor’
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says the work Government has undertaken to develop iTaukei land is a step closer to ending the notion of the iTaukei people being “asset rich and cash poor”. He said this when he officiated at the ground-breaking ceremony of the iTaukei Land Development Grant in Tavua on Wednesday. “We don’t only...
N.Korea reports over 200,000 fever cases for 5th day amid COVID wave -Yonhap
SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea reported more than 200,000 new patients suffering from fever for a fifth consecutive day as the country fights its first confirmed coronavirus outbreak, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said on Saturday, citing the North’s state broadcaster. The ongoing COVID wave, declared last week, has fuelled concerns over a lack of vaccines,...
Nawaikula jailed
Niko Nawaikula may have seriously reduced public confidence in Fiji’s democratic system. This was the word from High Court judge Justice Dr Thushara Kumarage yesterday while handing the former Opposition MP a two-year jail term with a non-parole period of 18 months. He sentenced Nawaikula to an aggregate sentence of 36 months imprisonment which was...
Nicaraguan bishop, alleging police harassment, goes on hunger strike
MANAGUA (Reuters) – A Nicaraguan bishop critical of President Daniel Ortega’s government began a hunger strike on Friday after taking refuge in a Catholic church indefinitely in the capital Managua, alleging he had been targeted by the police. Rolando Alvarez, bishop of the Diocese of Matagalpa and Esteli in the north of the country, said...
State ‘out of ideas’
They keep talking about the past. This, according to National Federation Party leader Professor Biman Prasad. In Nadi this week, Prof Prasad said the Government was running out of ideas to improve Fijian livelihoods. “We are not going into the past because the people need the solutions to our current issues,” he said. “You know...
‘Tickets being offered to me’
Women’s rights advocate Shamima Ali says she has no intention of standing for this year’s election. She made her intention clear following an outburst from Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama that Ms Ali hoped to secure a National Federation Party ticket at this year’s polls. “As I said, I don’t tell lies,” Ms Ali said. “And...
Change with me – Rabuka’s plea to Fijians of Indian descent
Change with me. This was the plea by The People’s Alliance party leader Sitiveni Rabuka to a large number of supporters in Ba where the former PM urged Fijians of Indian descent to support their campaign with the National Federation Party in the 2022 General Election. “We pay our respects to the leaders who formed...
Two cases of monkeypox confirmed in Canada, health agency says
(Reuters) – The Public Health Agency of Canada said on Thursday two cases of monkeypox have been detected in the province of Quebec, the first confirmed cases in Canada.
EU exploring ways to use Russian oligarchs’ frozen assets to rebuild Ukraine
BERLIN (Reuters) -The European Union is looking into ways of using the frozen assets of Russian oligarchs to fund the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday. The commission proposed on Wednesday a 9 billion euro loan to Ukraine to keep the country going as it...
COVID-19 Fiji: Health ministry reports 29 new cases
Fiji’s Ministry of Health and Medical Services has reported 29 new cases of COVID-19 since the last update announced mid-week. According to the ministry, four new cases were recorded on May 17, eight new cases were recorded on May 18, and 17 new cases in the last 24 hours ending at 8am on Thursday. Ministry...
SPC’s CePaCT wins award for innovative island research
The Pacific Community’s (SPC) Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT) has won the 2022 Island Innovation award for Innovative Island Research. The award – given by Island Innovation, a global network that connects island stakeholders through digital communication and events – was presented to CePaCT in a ceremony held in April. CePaCT is managed...
U.S. says ‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero Rusesabagina ‘wrongly detained’
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States has determined that Paul Rusesabagina, portrayed in the film “Hotel Rwanda” sheltering hundreds of people during the African nation’s 1994 genocide, has been “wrongfully detained,” the State Department said on Thursday. Rusesabagina, 67, was sentenced last September to 25 years in prison over eight terrorism charges tied to an organization...
$8.15m Waiwai treatment plant in Ba to be commissioned in June
The Waiwai Water Treatment Plant in Ba worth $8.15million will be commissioned by June 2022. Water Authority of Fiji CEO Dr Amit Chanan said the present Waiwai Water Treatment Plant was a conventional system that was built more than 60 years ago. “With a treatment capacity of 13 million litres per day, the plant is...
Tausili gains valuable knowledge through PAL
Lale Tausili learnt about Peer Assisted Learning through a virtual orientation session and instantly knew he needed to register as a participant. In the short time he joined the virtual PAL meetings, Tausili (pictured, right) admitted learning new things. “The useful presentation by the PAL leader provided me enough tips and tricks on how to...
U.S. CDC advisers recommend COVID booster for children 5-11
(Reuters) – A panel of advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday voted to recommend that all children aged 5 to 11 should receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose at least five months after completing the primary vaccination course.
What’s happening today!
Hi everyone. Here’s some basic information that you and your family may find useful in your day-to-day planning. But first, a quick look at the weather forecast for today until midnight tonight: Weather Fine apart from isolated afternoon showers and thunderstorms over western Viti Levu and showers gradually becoming occasional with isolated heavy falls from...
U.S. launches $3.5 billion program to speed development of up carbon removal tech
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Energy Department launched a program on Thursday to fund four large-scale projects across the country that can remove carbon dioxide from the air, investing $3.5 billion in a nascent technology the Biden administration says is necessary to meet a goal of achieving net zero emissions by mid century. The agency...
