The Fiji Times

Technical mission focuses on two key areas

Fiji and Australia share a strong and enduring bilateral relationship underpinned by the Fiji Australia Vuvale partnership. The strength of this relationship was evident during a recent visit from the Australian Taxation office (ATO) to Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS). ATO director of international relations, capacity building and transparency Gabbrielle Jackson and assistant director...

Bank’s assistance gives a significant boost to school

Nuku District School has received a significant boost to its facilities thanks to a community project by Bank South Pacific (BSP). The project, conducted by BSP’s Nausori branch, involved the construction of roofing over the walkway areas from the classrooms to the washrooms and school canteen, repairs and maintenance of the washrooms and upgrade of...

Weather watch | Trough of low pressure approaches the country from the north

A trough of low pressure with the associated clouds and showers approaches the country from the north and gradually spread to the rest of the group till later tomorrow. The forecast to midnight tomorrow for the Fiji group, expect occasional showers over Navua/Suva/Nausori/Tailevu areas, Serua/Namosi/Naitasiri, Yasawa, Vanua Levu, Lau and Lomaiviti group. Elsewhere, cloudy periods...

New York City sues Hyundai, Kia over vehicle thefts

NEW YORK (Reuters) -New York City on Tuesday sued Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Corp, accusing the South Korean automakers of negligence and creating a public nuisance by selling vehicles that are too easy to steal. The most populous U.S. city joined several other major cities that have sued Hyundai and Kia over the thefts,...

Organic farmers discuss gender barriers and solutions

THIRTY organic farmers from across the Pacific met in Nadi this week to identify gender barriers within organic agriculture and find solutions to best address them. In a statement, the Pacific Community (SPC) said the participants were from Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue,...

At UN, Ukraine, Russia blame each other for burst dam, US ‘not certain’

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United States said on Tuesday it was “not certain” who was to blame for a burst dam in Ukraine, but it would not make sense for Ukraine to have done this to its own people and territory, as Kyiv and Moscow blamed each other for the disaster. The 15-member U.N....

iTaukei women yet to ‘pierce’ glass ceiling

The glass ceiling of the judiciary remains unpierced by iTaukei women, claims Suva lawyer Barbara Malimali. In a Facebook post, she said the list of legal practitioners with valid practising certificates for the period March 1, 2022 to February 28, 2023 — which was available on the judiciary website — showed that about 423 of...

Rokovada: Mohan’s tenure a non-issue

A non-issue. This is how Public Service Commission (PSC) chairman Luke Rokovada describes the “controversial” tenure of former chairman Vishnu Mohan. Mr Mohan resigned last December. He was PSC chairman while living in Canada. When Mr Rokovada was asked whether there would be an investigation, he maintained that he was focused on doing his job....

White House: US cannot conclusively determine cause of Ukrainian dam destruction

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House on Tuesday said it could not say conclusively what caused the destruction of a massive dam in Ukraine, but was assessing reports that the blast was caused by Russia, which has been occupying the dam since last year. Spokesman John Kirby said it was clear that the destruction of...

US calls Roger Waters performance in Berlin ‘deeply offensive to Jewish people’

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department on Tuesday weighed in on a controversy over a performance by Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters, denouncing the show in Berlin as “deeply offensive to Jewish people” and accusing Waters of having a record of using antisemitic tropes. Waters, 79, has said the performance last month, during which...

Cuba Gooding Jr settles civil sex abuse case moments before trial

By Jack Queen (Reuters) – Cuba Gooding Jr. reached a settlement on Tuesday with a woman who sued him for $6 million on an accusation that he raped her a decade ago, with the agreement coming minutes before jury selection was set to being in Manhattan federal court. The eleventh-hour deal means the Oscar winning...

Fish ban’s back on

The seasonal ban on kawakawa and donu fish began on Thursday, June 1, and fishermen, exporters and fish sellers have been warned that anyone found breaching the ban will face hefty penalties. “We owe it to all Fijians to ensure that we don’t lose these culturally and commercially important fish. We ask everyone to do...

‘Only at kitchen table’

It looks like the only table they want us at is the kitchen table. This was what Suva lawyer Barbara Malimali said about the disparity in the representation of women in important institutions like the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC), judiciary, and in the various arms of government. In a Facebook post, Ms Malimali said...

1000 sandalwood trees for FNU, says Acting VC

Fiji National University Acting Vice Chancellor Professor Unaisi Nabobo-Baba announced this week a program where 1000 sandalwood and 1000 cumquat and lemon trees will be planted across all its campuses. She said this during World Environment Day celebrations at the FNU’s Lautoka Campus. Prof Nabobo-Baba said the celebration aligned well with the university’s objectives of...

US support shows importance of partnership

Good news for the Fiji media industry. The United States assistant secretary for Global Public Affairs William Russo is coming to Fiji to talk specifically about how the US Government can assist Fiji media after the repealing of the Media Industry Development Act. In a press release, the US Department of State said Mr Russo...

2023-2024 National Budget | Focus on rural roads

Rural roads need to be fixed. Speaking to sugar cane growers in Nadroga, who raised their concerns about the unattended cane access roads, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Professor Biman Prasad said the bad road issue was experienced throughout the country. He said Government was working closely with relevant stakeholders to address the...

White House vows an improved effort against drug overdoses

By Nandita Bose WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Joe Biden’s administration on Tuesday pledged an improved effort to combat drug overdoses that claimed the lives of about 100,000 Americans last year, using a White House summit to tout a multifaceted approach to tackle synthetic and illicit drugs such as the powerful opioid fentanyl. “Today’s summit is...

2023-2024 National Budget | Villager raises flooding issue at consultation

Lomolomo villager Vereniki Bale hopes that the 2023-2024 National Budget addresses the ongoing issue of flooding at their village, located between Lautoka and Nadi. “Every year we are told that something will be done about it but we don’t see anything happening,” he said. “Whenever there is heavy rain, we prepare for it. It has...

2023-2024 National Budget | Plans for labour shortage

Government is determined to address Fiji’s labour shortage problem, says Minister of Finance Professor Biman Prasad. While speaking at a National Budget public consultation in Nadi, he said strategies to address labour mobility had already been put in place. “As a Government we have already put in place a decision for a government approved funding...

2023-2024 National Budget | Student hopes for more funding

Lautoka resident Christal Kapoor hopes there will be more funding to assist tertiary students and institutions. “What I want to see in the budget is more educational funding opportunities because I feel that TELS (Tertiary Educational Loan Scheme) was good because a lot of students could afford to pursue tertiary education and then pay it...

Saudi-Iranian ties: A history of ups and downs

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran reopened its embassy in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh on Tuesday, Saudi media reported, months after the two regional rivals agreed to end years of antagonism under a Chinese-brokered deal. Protracted rivalry between the Middle East’s leading Shi’ite and Sunni Muslim-led powers has fuelled conflicts across the region including wars in Yemen...

Train crash incident saddens Rabuka

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says Fiji is saddened by the news of the three-way crash involving two passenger trains and a freight train causing about 300 fatalities and about 1000 injured casualties, destruction, and damage in India. The devastating multi-train crash happened in Eastern Odisha State, last Friday, June 2. In his condolence message written...

PM: Fiji recovers well

Fiji is recovering very well, says Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka. He highlighted this, while speaking to about 500 Fijians in Auckland, New Zealand on Monday night. Mr Rabuka was accorded a full traditional welcome ceremony by the Fijian community at Mahatma Gandhi Centre. He said the figures and data provided by the World Bank, the...

Indonesian scientist works with poachers to restore coral reefs

By Abd Rahman Muchtar SPERMONDE ISLANDS, Indonesia (Reuters) – For nearly two decades, Indonesian marine scientist Syafyudin Yusuf has worked with former poachers to rehabilitate coral reefs destroyed by their use of dynamite for fishing. They have restored to health 11.5 hectares (roughly 30 acres) of corals around a group of 120 islands known as...

800 vacant positions will be filled – Fong

Most of the 800 nursing posts left vacant by migrating nurses will be filled by the end of this financial year, says Ministry of Health permanent secretary Dr James Fong. He says the positions of nurses who left last year should be filled by the end of this financial year. The loss included nurses who...

Wiens content of local delicacies to air on Mai TV

World famous YouTuber, Mark Wiens video content of the local delicacies of the Tailevu and Lau provinces will soon air exclusively on Mai TV. The agreement came about during the Food Vlogger and Content Creator’s recent trip to Fiji, where he promoted the local delicacies. Mai TV Director, Stanley Simpson said this was an exciting...

Remuneration package for nurses

Health permanent secretary Dr James Fong says a working group has been set up to look at the remuneration package for nurses for the 2023-2024 National Budget submission. He said the terms of reference of the working group was to look at the remuneration package for nurses in Fiji. “The working group comprises the Ministry...

Nursing job not for the faint-hearted’

Health permanent secretary Dr James Fong told 233 newly-inducted intern nurses yesterday that their jobs were not for the faint-hearted. While officiating at an induction program in Suva, Dr Fong said entering the workforce of medicine was not a passive field. “It is a field that requires the effort of each and everyone to make...

Putting adults to shame, students clean up park

Adults should be ashamed of having kids come out and pick up after them. This was the strong sentiment shared by International School Suva (ISS) oceans and literacy division member Laisenia Ratu, after a group of about 70 Year 2 students from ISS and Veiuto Primary School organised a clean-up around My Suva Picnic Park...

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