The Fiji Times

Call for more women to join Fiji Detector Dog Unit

Fiji Revenue and Customs Service chief executive officer Mark Dixon has encouraged female officers from the service and the Fiji police to join the Fiji Detector Dog Unit (FDDU). The unit held an open day yesterday for female officers from FRCS and the Fiji Police Force to seek their interest in joining the unit. “This...

Statistics unveil worrying trend

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) serious sexual offences statistics for September has unveiled a worrying trend with 25 out of 34 victims below the age of 18. According to the ODPP, 43 people were charged with a total of 96 counts of separate incidents last month. Of the 43, 12 were...

Jeers, scuffles as trial of 2013 Spanish train disaster that killed 80 begins

MADRID (Reuters) -The trial of a Spanish train driver and a former head of traffic safety at national rail-infrastructure operator Adif over a train disaster that killed 80 people in the summer of 2013 kicked off on Wednesday, with a protester punching one of the defendants in a scuffle outside the courtroom. In the country’s...

France to turn off hot water in public offices to save energy

PARIS (Reuters) -France will turn off the hot water in the toilets of public buildings and order municipalities to reduce water temperatures at public swimming pools by 1 degree Celsius as part of broader plans to reduce energy consumption, the energy ministry said. President Emmanuel Macron’s government is due to announce sector-by-sector energy saving measures...

Richard Naidu case: High Court refuses application for leave to intervene

High Court judge Justice Jude Nanayakkara says he sensed the Fiji Law Society (FLS) wanted to intervene in the contempt of court proceedings against Suva lawyer Richard Naidu to influence the court’s decision. He said this in his written ruling refusing the FLS’s application for leave to intervene in the contempt of court proceedings against...

A-G announces 20 proposed FijiFirst candidates

FijiFirst Party general secretary Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has announced 20 proposed candidates for the 2022 General Elections at Brown Street, Suva today. Among them is former Republic of the Fiji Military Forces Commander Rear Admiral (Ret’d) Viliame Naupoto, former Land Transport Authority CEO Naisa Tuinaceva, former Foreign Affairs PS Ioane Naivalurua, and former journalist Aliki Bia....

People’s Alliance party to tone down political activities for FICAC investigation

The People’s Alliance (PA) party will tone down its political activities for the rest of the week to allow the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) to clear the areas of concern it is investigating in relation to the FijiFirst party complaint. The People’s Alliance party leader Sitiveni Rabuka said his interview with FICAC yesterday...

About 101,000 still without power in Puerto Rico two weeks after Hurricane Fiona

(Reuters) – An estimated 101,000 homes and businesses were still without power in Puerto Rico on Wednesday, more than two weeks after Hurricane Fiona caused an island-wide outage for its 3.3 million people. Fiona hit Puerto Rico on Sept. 18, about five years after Hurricane Maria also knocked out all power on the island. After...

Plans for low-income earners

Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum promised vendors at the Suva Municipal Market that Government had plans to mitigate the challenges faced by low-income earners which would be revealed in the coming months. He said this at the Suva Market Vendors Association’s Fiji Day celebration yesterday. The A-G said Government always had policies that targeted those with low...

Weather watch: Heavy rain alert remains in force

A heavy rain alert remains in force for the greater Suva, Nausori and Tailevu areas, eastern parts of Ra, Naitasiri, and Serua-Namosi. The Fiji Meteorological Service has also issued a heavy rain alert for Lau Group, Lomaiviti Group and Kadavu, and nearby smaller islands. This is due to a trough of low pressure that remains...

3881 Fijians migrated from January-August this year

More than 3800 Fijians have left Fiji to settle in another country from January to August this year. This, according to data on the Fiji Bureau of Statistics (FBOS) website. The data revealed an average of 485 Fijians have left Fiji each month from January to August 2022 ear to settle abroad. As many as...

Finding their bodies: Indonesian fan’s desperate search for family after soccer stampede

MALANG, Indonesia (Reuters) -Andi Hariyanto says he will never watch a football match again after his wife, two teenage daughters and a cousin were crushed to death in a stampede at an Indonesian stadium last week. Watching local team Arema FC play on Saturday was a special outing for soccer fan Andi’s family, including his...

Make the right decision – Naidu

Nadi lawyer and National Federation Party provisional candidate Dorsami Naidu has called on Fijians to make the right decision, to consider their ongoing struggles, and to think about their future and that of their children as the country heads toward the 2022 polls. He also reminded people not to forget the unfulfilled promises and incomplete...

PM launches $2.89million subdivision site

The $2.89 million Nasoqeloa subdivision site at Namata District, Tailevu, was unveiled by Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama yesterday. The development site would have 15 residential lots, one commercial lot and an open space – a first of its kind in the district. While commissioning the project, the PM said the site had been developed to...

Rewa St brawl: Violence attributed to a manifestation of disenfranchised youth

Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre coordinator Shamima Ali attributed the recent spate of violent brawls to a manifestation of disenfranchised youth. She said young people felt let down by society through a lack of guidance and leadership – whether it was traditional, religious or political. “The utter lack of respect shown in Parliament and the adversarial...

Police: Two-year-old child dies in road accident in Savusavu

A two-year-old child is dead after a motor vehicle accident in Savusavu on Vanua Levu last night. Police said the accident occurred along the Jerusalemi and Nabaci Village highway after 6pm. “It is alleged that while crossing the road with a relative, the victim was bumped by a taxi driven by a 36-year-old man,” Police...

Europe must show ‘far greater ambition’ on climate -UN

NICOSIA (Reuters) – Europe should show “far greater ambition” on climate change because its overall greenhouse gas emissions are still rising, and so countries must embrace recycling, tighten air quality and spend more on the environment, a U.N. report said on Wednesday. Cuts in emissions mostly in western European countries have been offset by rises...

Rewa St brawl: The people are with us – Rabuka

The brawl that took place on Tuesday night at Rewa St, Suva, was a “childish act” and the police should not be blamed for what happened, says People’s Alliance party leader Sitiveni Rabuka. The former prime minister said the police would have a better record of the previous brawls and a better understanding of what...

Rewa St brawl: Brawls a new phenomena for Fiji – Chaudhry

Fiji Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry said the brawl that erupted in Rewa St, Suva, on Tuesday night was “frightening” and “a new phenomena” for the country. He said the Governmend had been spending big on defence forces such as police but people’s security and safety continued to be at great risk. “Whatever happened on...

Morocco issues first permits for cannabis production

RABAT (Reuters) – A Moroccan state agency has issued the first 10 permits for the use of cannabis in industry and medicine and for export, it said, the result of a law passed last year. Farmers who organise into cooperatives in the northern mountain areas of Al Houceima, Taounat and Chefchaouen will be gradually allowed...

Rewa St brawl: Sad reflection of law and order – Narube

The brawl in Rewa St, Suva, on Tuesday (October 4, 2022) night is a sad reflection of the breakdown of law and order across the country, says Unity Fiji Party leader Savenaca Narube. He said the party strongly condemned the lawlessness and violence on our streets. “Whatever the reasons for this violence, we must put...

Rewa St brawl: Witness describes scene ‘horrifying’

People who witnessed a brawl along Rewa St, Suva, on Tuesday night, described the scene as “horrifying”. They also claimed police numbers had to be beefed up after the first officers at the scene were outnumbered. An eye witness who spoke under the condition of anonymity claimed the incident happened just after 6pm. When a...

Trial date set for man accused of threatening to kill Queen Elizabeth

LONDON (Reuters) – A man accused of making a threat to kill the late Queen Elizabeth after being arrested at her Windsor Castle home on Christmas Day last year will go on trial next year, London’s Old Bailey Court heard on Wednesday. Jaswant Singh Chail, 20, who has been charged under Britain’s Treason Act, is...

Vakarisi denied bail

Please don’t make me lose my home. This is what Jone Vakarisi asked the Suva Magistrates Court before he was remanded in custody for allegedly assaulting a man. The matter was called before Resident Magistrate Indula Ratnayake yesterday. Police said Mr Vakarisi was a person of interest in relation to recent attacks and was charged...

Russian cosmonaut hitching ride with SpaceX as part of next space station crew

By Joe Skipper and Steve Gorman CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – Elon Musk’s rocket company SpaceX was due to launch the next long-duration crew of the International Space Station into orbit on Wednesday, with a Russian cosmonaut hitching a ride with two Americans and a Japanese astronaut as part of the mission. The SpaceX launch...

Drought ‘major worry’ for vendors

Market vendors in Nadi Town claim the continuous dry season in the country has affected the price of vegetables in the marketplace. Nadi Market Vendors Association president Lia Launimate said it was a major worry for most vendors during this period. She said vegetables at the market were a bit expensive because of the long...

Ukraine opposes Belarus bid to lead conflict diamond organisation

By Helen Reid JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Ukraine has accused Russia of trying to push its ally Belarus to the top of an international diamond certification body to protect Moscow’s gems from being branded conflict diamonds following its invasion. Some members of the Kimberley Process, a coalition of governments, industry and civil society that certifies diamonds,...

‘Pleas fallen on deaf ears’ – Farmers await ministry’s response

Farmers in Dravo Village, Tailevu say constant flash flooding is affecting their crops, impacting on their livelihood and has led to the downsizing of workers. They claimed their pleas to fix a damaged floodgate in Dravo had fallen on deaf ears. Dravo Village turaganikoro Tevita Ravavai said it was futile for farmers to plant vegetables...

Cate Blanchett on film ‘TÁR’: ‘We were standing on the edge of a cliff every day’

By Hanna Rantala LONDON (Reuters) – Acclaimed Australian actor Cate Blanchett says the themes of her new drama “TÁR” galvanised its cast and crew, making the film shoot “the most stimulating” she had ever been on. Blanchett plays Lydia Tár, a world-renowned gay conductor of a Berlin orchestra whose high-flying career comes tumbling down with...

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Weather watch: Coastal inundation alert now in force