The Fiji Times

Award stuns veteran artist

For Manunivavalagi Korovulavula, being awarded the Living Treasure Award at the 2022 Fiji Performing Rights Association (FPRA) music awards, came as a surprise for him. The 88-year-old man told this newspaper that he did not expect to be given the award. “It was a big surprise but a pleasant one,” he said. “I look through...

Junta set to stay in power after Chad delays elections by two years

By Mahamat Ramadane N’DJAMENA (Reuters) – Chad has adopted resolutions that push back democratic elections by two years and allow interim leader Mahamat Idriss Deby to stay in power and be eligible to run for president in the eventual vote. The decisions have dismayed some opposition forces and defy repeated warnings from the African Union,...

Acknowledge the letters we’re writing – Riddell

The Colonial War Memorial (CWM) Hospital is “run down” which shows there is no money to spend on improving infrastructure, says Pacific Island Pacemaker Services chairwoman Dr Fiona Riddell. In an interview with The Fiji Times, she said she has been visiting the country since 2001 and has not seen any improvement to infrastructure in...

‘Exercise, lifestyle change will not improve your situation’

If you have a slow heart rate, exercise and lifestyle change will not be able to improve your situation, only a pacemaker can do that, says Pacific Island Pacemaker Services chairwoman Dr Fiona Riddell. She said a slow heart rate was completely unrelated to lifestyle changes and exercise. “And it can’t be improved with medication,”...

RHD in pregnancy – Echo screening introduced to address disease – Malo

The burden of rheumatic heart disease in pregnant women is not well defined as there has not been any research conducted to establish its prevalence in Fiji. Cure Kids Fiji RHD project manager Dr llikena Malo said to address this they began a pilot research in August by introducing echo screening for pregnant mothers. “Right...

‘Gap’ in workforce – Cawaru: Ministry to address issues

The Ministry of Employment is working around-the-clock in trying to address concerns raised to them from various organisations and institutions regarding the high turnover of people from work places leaving for Australia and New Zealand. Permanent secretary for Employment Osea Cawaru said this had left a gap in the market which needed to be filled....

Ukraine advance in Lyman shows it can push back Russian forces -NATO chief

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Ukraine’s capture of a city within territory of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s declared annexation demonstrates that Ukrainians are making progress and able to push back against Russian forces, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday. “We have seen that they have been able to take a new town, Lyman, and that demonstrates...

Growing number of alcohol-related cases

With the high number of Fijians joining the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme (PALM) and as well the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme program, the Ministry of Employment is also receiving a growing number of alcohol-related cases. Permanent secretary of employment Osea Cawaru highlighted this while sending off 99 selected Fijian workers to both Australia...

Greece says it’s open to talks with Turkey once provocations end

ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece wants to have a constructive dialogue with Turkey based on international law but its Aegean neighbour must halt its unprecedented escalation of provocations, the Greek foreign minister said on Sunday. The two countries – North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies but historic foes – have been at odds for decades over...

King Charles, stepping back from campaigning, will not go to Egypt climate summit

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s King Charles will not attend a world leaders’ climate change summit in Egypt next month, a royal source said on Sunday, as the new monarch steps back from his previous high-profile campaigning roles. Buckingham Palace sought government advice about the United Nations COP27 summit and it was unanimously agreed that it...

Hospital is ‘run down’ – Riddell urges Government to listen to experts

Pacific Island Pacemaker Services chairwoman Dr Fiona Riddell, says the Colonial War Memorial (CWM) Hospital is “run down” which shows there is no money to spend on improving infrastructure. Ms Riddell has been visiting the country since 2001 and has not seen any improvement to infrastructure in the past two decades despite writing to authorities...

Lami Police investigate stoning of bus

An investigation is underway by the Lami Police into a case where a bus conveying students, parents and guardians of a Suva school returning from Nadi was stoned on Saturday night. Chief Operations Officer ACP Abdul Khan said Police had received information of the alleged incident at Kalokolevu whereby a fire call was conducted and...

How a deadly crush at an Indonesia soccer match unfolded

(Reuters) – At least 174 people were killed and around 180 injured at a soccer match in Indonesia after panicked fans were trampled and crushed trying to flee during a riot, authorities said on Sunday. At 8 p.m. local time on Saturday, a match between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya kicks off at the Kanjuruhan...

From the Editor-in-Chief’s desk: Your October 3 briefing

Bula The big one on the front page of The Fiji Times for Monday, October 3 is about the Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWM). Read about what an expert thinks about it! Headlines Here are some more headlines inside: PAGE 5 – MORE than 500 people attended a walk-in recruitment drive held by the Fiji...

Protesters rally across Iran in third week of unrest over Amini’s death

DUBAI (Reuters) -Protesters rallied across Iran and strikes were reported throughout the country’s Kurdish region on Saturday as demonstrations ignited by the death of a woman in police custody entered their third week. The protests, sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old from Iranian Kurdistan, have spiralled into the biggest show of opposition...

Baravilala: Fiji working to bridge communication gap with remote areas

Fiji’s Acting Permanent Secretary for Communications Tupou’tuah Baravilala delivered a statement at the International Telecommunications Union Plenipotentiary Conference 2022 in Bucharest, Romania. The event is being attended by more than 3000 participants including heads of governments, ministers, diplomatic corp, senior government officials, regulators, technical experts, academia, and the private sector. In her statement, Ms Baravilala...

Italy’s Meloni vows government action to tackle soaring energy prices

MILAN (Reuters) – Italy’s next government will direct its efforts to trying to tame soaring energy prices, Giorgia Meloni, who is widely expected to be named prime minister, said on Saturday. Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party and allies Forza Italia and the League face a daunting list of challenges, including the spike in energy prices...

FIU warns Fijians of cryptocurrency scam

The Fiji Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) is warning members of the public of a current cryptocurrency scam in the country. The FIU stated those scammers had circulated advertisements on various Viber and other social media groups using theofficial logo of a government agency and staff photo. “These advertisements are fake,” FIU director Razim Buksh said....

Kabul blast a setback for Afghan women seeking education against the odds

KABUL (Reuters) – Raihana, 19, wanted to be a doctor, studying until midnight in recent weeks for Afghanistan’s university entrance exam, a chance for women to advance their education even as they face growing restrictions from the Taliban government. Her diligent preparation ended on Friday when a suicide attacker detonated his explosives during a practice...

What’s happening today!

Bula readers! Here’s some quick basic information that could come in handy when making some decisions on what to do today. As usual, here is our quick look at the weather forecast for today to until midnight tonight: Weather Situation: A trough of low pressure is anticipated to approach the group from the west and...

Violence, mismanagement plague volatile Indonesian scene

(Reuters) – Volatile crowds and violent fan groups have long been a hallmark of Indonesian soccer, left reeling from Saturday’s rioting in East Java in which 129 people were killed following Arema FC’s defeat by Persebaya Surabaya. The sport is the country’s most popular, with huge crowds turning out for bitter clashes between local rivals...

Hurricane-ravaged Florida, Carolinas face daunting recovery

MIAMI (Reuters) – The largely innocuous but soggy remnants of Hurricane Ian drifted through Virginia early on Sunday, leaving in their wake storm-ravaged residents in Florida and the Carolinas facing a disaster recovery expected to cost tens of billions of dollars. The storm’s toll on human life also was expected to rise as floodwaters receded...

Pope begs Putin to end ‘spiral of violence and death’, cites nuclear threat

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Francis made an impassioned appeal on Sunday to Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop “this spiral of violence and death” in Ukraine, saying the crisis there was risking a nuclear escalation with uncontrollable global consequences. In an address dedicated to Ukraine and made to thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square,...

EU ambassador leaves Nicaragua in week of diplomatic tensions

(Reuters) – European Union Ambassador Bettina Muscheidt left Nicaragua on Saturday, just three days after being declared “persona non grata” by the government of President Daniel Ortega, in a week of tensions with the international community. Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Denis Moncada verbally notified Muscheidt that she should leave the country after the EU delegation demanded...

Tired of gridlock, Bulgarians vote in 4th election in less than two years

SOFIA (Reuters) -Bulgarians voted in their fourth national election in less than two years on Sunday, with little hope for a stable government emerging because of deep divisions within the political elite over how to tackle entrenched corruption. Prolonged political turmoil threatens to undermine Bulgaria’s ambitions to join the euro zone in 2024 amid double-digit...

Indonesia authorities say 125 dead in soccer stadium stampede

MALANG, Indonesia (Reuters) -A stampede at a soccer stadium in Indonesia has killed at least 125 people and injured 180 after police sought to quell violence on the pitch, authorities said on Sunday, in one of the world’s worst stadium disasters. Officers fired tear gas in an attempt to disperse agitated supporters of the losing...

Australian government slams Optus for cybersecurity breach

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – The Australian government on Sunday levelled its harshest criticism yet against Optus, the second-biggest telecoms company, for a cybersecurity breach that affected the equivalent of 40% of the country’s population. The government blamed Optus, owned by Singapore Telecommunications, for the breach, which affected 10 million accounts, urging the company to speed up...

Australia expands sanctions against Russians

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia on Sunday imposed targeted financial sanctions and travel bans on 28 Russian-appointed separatists, ministers and senior officials after President Vladimir Putin proclaimed the annexation of four regions of Ukraine. The new sanctions targeted individuals who the Australian government said were flouting international law to legitimise Russia’s actions in Ukraine through “sham...

V5 wows crowd at 2022 FIPRA Music Awards

Young talented V5 comprising four teenage singers and songwriters wowed the crowd at the 2022 FIPRA Music Awards at the GPH in Suva last night. The musical group was the winner of the inaugural 2022 Domo Vou Talei competition. Lia and Jasmine Daunakamakama, and Sevu and Vika Tuisawau performed their winning ‘Mango tree’ – inspired...

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Women empowerment – Females increasingly participating in all spheres of life – Bhatnagar