News
12th December
Israeli PM acknowledges Fiji’s contribution
ISRAEL’S Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged Fiji for its longstanding contribution towards United Nations peacekeeping missions. Mr Netanyahu said he looked forward to visiting Fiji in the future. The two leaders discussed growing bilateral...
EU court says UK can U-turn on Brexit if it wants
LUXEMBOURG/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union’s top court ruled on Monday that the British government may reverse its decision to leave the bloc without consulting other member states, a decision welcomed by those campaigning to stop Brexit. In an emergency judgment delivered just 36 hours before it expected the British parliament to vote on a...
Italian Molinari named Europe’s player of the year
(Reuters) – Francesco Molinari was named the European Tour’s Golfer of the Year for the first time on Monday, capping a stellar season in which he won the British Open to become the first Italian major champion. The 36-year-old also won the PGA Championship at Wentworth, the Tour’s flagship event, and claimed a maximum five...
Indigenous groups call for attention to climate-forced migration
KATOWICE, 12 DECEMBER 2018 (CLIMATE HOME) – Amid intensive negotiations over global rules for future work on climate change, some communities are calling for attention to the destruction that is already pushing them out of their homes and killing their heritage. The aim of the Cop24 summit in Katowice, Poland is to agree to complex...
FJFW to cut down number of models for 2019 event
THE Fiji Fashion Week (FJFW ) will minimise the number of models to only 40 for next year’s event, says FJFW media relations officer Onisimo Moi. Mr Moi said the criteria was strict. “We want to bring back the elegance in models from day one since 2008. Our preparations began soon after FJFW18 we began...
Many diabetics needlessly test blood sugar at home
(Reuters Health) – – One in seven people with type 2 diabetes may be needlessly testing their blood sugar at home several times a day, a U.S. study suggests. People with type 2 diabetes don’t need to test their blood at home if they have well controlled symptoms and don’t take medications that can cause...
United States seeks increase in its tuna catch limit
HONOLULU, 12 DECEMBER 2018 (PACIFIC NOTE) – The United States is seeking a higher catch limit for bigeye tuna by its Hawaii-based longline fishing fleet at the annual meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) taking place in Honolulu this week. The move comes as Pacific Island nations through their two main...
WCPFC Secretariat proposes new Science-Management dialogue to expedite sustainable fishing rules
HONOLULU, 12 DECEMBER 2018 (PACNEWS) – The executive director of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) believes the creation of the Science-Management dialogue is best vehicle to expedite the implementation of the Tuna harvest strategy work plan which aims to ensure sustainability for the world’s biggest fishery. Feleti Teo used his address at...
Fulton Hogan commits to upgrading contractors
FULTON Hogan Hiways (FHH) is committed to upgrading its subcontractors to prioritise safety, says FHH manager health and safety John Tinsley. Employees are expected to undergo basic FHH safety training emphasising the significance of safety and the appropriate personnel protective equipment for the various worksites. “Subcontractors are an essential part of our work, who often...
Google+ shutdown speeds up, new privacy bug affected 52.5 million users
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s <GOOGL.O> Google said on Monday it would shut down its Google+ social media service in April, four months ahead of schedule, after finding a software flaw for the second time this year that allowed partner apps to access its users’ private data. However, Google said in a blog post...
Israeli troops raid Palestinian news agency for footage
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Israeli soldiers raided the official Palestinian news agency on Monday in the occupied West Bank, a day after suspected Palestinian gunmen opened fire on Israelis outside a nearby Jewish settlement. Wafa, the Palestinian Authority news service, said on its website that troops entered the server room and went through recordings...
11th December
Literacy a challenge in the region
APIA, 11 DECEMBER 2018 (SAMOA OBSERVER) – When it comes to literacy among students in tertiary education around the Pacific region, there is a lack of competency, says outgoing University of the South Pacific (USP) Vice Chancellor, Professor Rajesh Chandra. Prof. Chandra has spent the past 39 years in educating tertiary students from around the...
Graduates challenged to use knowledge positively in workforce
GRADUATES from the Fiji National University’s (FNU) College of Engineering, Science and Technology (CEST) were today urged to use education as a tool and change the world. Speaking to about 248 graduating students, chief guest Irwin Alsop Pacific Ltd managing director Warren Yee challenged them to use their newly attained qualification, skills and knowledge positively...
Heavy snow kills three, snarls travel in U.S. Southeast
ATLANTA (Reuters) – An intense snowstorm headed out to sea on Monday after dumping up to 2 feet (60 cm) of snow on parts of the Southeastern United States, leaving three people dead in North Carolina and some 138,000 customers in the region still without power. School districts across North and South Carolina and Virginia...
Born from Fire exhibition goes west
THE “Born from Fire” three dimensional art exhibition is now travelling to the West for the first time. Following on from the success of the second annual at the Grand Pacific Hotel earlier in October, the exhibition will now be at the Denarau Yacht Club this month, located in Denarau Marina. According to a statement,...
APEC service providers in PNG yet to be paid
PORT MORESBY, 11 DECEMBER 2018 (POST COURIER) – Papua New Guinea car hire companies that provided services to the APEC joint forces taskforce security say they “may go on strike” if they do not receive payments for services rendered. They fear payments may not be forthcoming before the government accounts close on Friday. Their grievances...
Don’t use protests in France to curb climate ambitions: French officials
KATOWICE, Poland (Reuters) – Governments should not use the violent protests in France that were sparked by a carbon tax increase as an excuse to stem policies to curb global warming, French officials said on Monday. French Secretary of State for Ecology Brune Poirson, and Laurent Fabius, who presided over the 2015 Paris climate agreement,...
Cobblestones commemorating murdered Jews stolen in Rome
ROME (Reuters) – Twenty cobblestones commemorating members of two Italian Jewish families who were deported to Auschwitz or killed in Rome were dug up and stolen in the early hours of Monday in an apparent anti-Semitic attack. The bronze-capped cobblestones were embedded into the pavement outside a building in Rome’s central Monti neighbourhood that was...
Bid to encourage young people on living a healthy lifestyle
ONE of the main goals for the Dash for Diabetes organised by the Petero Civoniceva Foundation is to encourage the younger generations to live a healthy lifestyle. This was highlighted by co-founder of the foundation Lauren Jagger while speaking on the initiative. Ms Jagger said in all the programs organized by the foundation their key...
PNA focuses on electronic monitoring programme
HONOLULU, 11 DECEMBER 2018 (PNA) – Electronic monitoring of fishing vessels operating in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean is gaining greater focus following directives by the President of the Federated States of Micronesia and Ministers of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) members. PNA officials recently considered the development of a PNA E-Monitoring...
National Provincial Women’s Age Grade Championship kicks off tomorrow
THE Fiji Rugby Union National Provincial Women’s Age Grade Championship kick starts at Nadi’s Prince Charles Park tomorrow. The first match kicks off at 9am in which Namosi will take on Tailevu at 9am in the Under-15 grade. Macuata faces Naitasiri in the same grade at 9.15am. Pool matches will be played in three grounds...
Catalan hunger strikers sending message, not risking life – jailed separatist
MADRID (Reuters) – Jailed Catalan separatists who have gone on hunger strike are protesting against their treatment by the Spanish judicial system but have no intention of starving themselves to death, one told Reuters. Jordi Sanchez, one of nine Catalan politicians in pre-trial detention on charges including misuse of public funds and rebellion in relation...
Pakumotu fugitive caught at French navy open day
PAPE’ETE, 11 DECEMBER 2018 (RNZ PACIFIC) – A fugitive member of French Polynesia’s self-styled Pakumotu kingdom has been arrested in Papeete. Tahiti Nui TV said the man presented an identity card when asked to so while entering a secure zone at the French navy’s open day. It said he was immediately taken to prison. The...
Focus on increasing tourism value, quality and returns
FIJI’S Tourism Ministry remains focused on increasing the country’s lucrative sector by way value, quality and generating higher returns. This was underscored by the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism Shaheen Ali to participants at the 2018 Tourism Fiji’s Industry Day held in Suva today. Mr Ali said the vision, as...
European Jews feel under threat, think of emigrating – EU survey
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – More than one in three European Jews have considered emigrating over the past five years because they no longer feel safe amid a surge in anti-Semitism, a European Union study showed on Monday. The survey in 12 countries that are home to 96 percent of European Jews showed widespread malaise at a...
Torture, crimes against humanity’: Class action for Nauru, Manus asylum seekers
CANBERRA, 11 DECEMBER 2018 (SBS/AAP) – A legal advocacy group has launched two class actions in the High Court on behalf of the roughly 1,200 remaining refugees and asylum seekers in offshore processing centres on Manus Island and Nauru. George Newhouse, director of the National Justice Project, told SBS News the legal team led by...
$28.35k boost for new NCDs outreach intervention program
MOBIL Oil Fiji today handed over a cheque worth $28,358.72 to the Fiji Red Cross Society in Suva. The donation was done to help fund FRCS’s to implement a Comprehensive Non-Communicable Disease Outreach Intervention Program around the country. Mobil Oil Fiji Lead Country Manager, Patrick Bulaon said they were proud to partner with the Fiji...
EU blacklists nine over rebel Ukraine vote, no new Russia sanctions for now
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union blacklisted nine locals involved in last month’s rebel elections in east Ukraine on Monday, but was unlikely to heed swiftly Kiev’s call for more reprisals against Moscow over the latest flare-up of tensions in the Azov Sea. Ukraine’s Pavlo Klimkin asked the EU’s 28 foreign ministers in Brussels to...
PNG Court clears charges against Paul Paraka lawyers
PORT MORESBY, 11 DECEMBER 2018 (POST COURIER) – All 27 charges of conspiracy, stealing and money laundering against Papua New Guinea embattled lawyer Paul Paraka have been dropped. Senior committal court magistrate Mekeo Gauli ruled Monday that the criminal charges laid against Paraka, principal of Paraka Lawyers, by the fraud squad (formerly known as the...
Community policing through music
THE Fiji Police Force Band with members of the Community Policing Unit is spreading a little festive cheer with the aim of using music to create awareness about safety. Director Community Policing Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Waqa Cavuilati, in a statement, said the initiative was in two folds as it was an opportunity to...
