Bula
Here are some headlines that made The Fiji Times’ edition for Thursday, January 20.
But before that…
MAJOR DRAW
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HEADLINES
PG 1
1. PRIME Minister Voreqe Bainimarama is looking forward to returning to Fiji after a successful surgery in Australia.
PG 2
1. Children need to be well supported by school counsellors once they are back in school, says Save the Children Fiji CEO Shairana Ali.
2. Education Minister Premila Kumar says they planned to resume face to face classes for Year 8 to Year 13 students on January 24 but the ministry will confirm re-opening dates.
3. THE dates for external exams for Years 12 and Year 13 will not be changed, despite the two-week school closure caused by bad weather.
PG 3
1. RESPONSIBLE citizens would use “common sense” to prepare before a disaster – and they would take a disaster kit, including two to three days worth of food to evacuation centres, should the need arise.
2. GOVERNMENT is liaising with Australia to establish the status of Fijia nationals in Tonga after the undersea volcanic eruption that occurred last Saturday.
PG 4
1. ALMOST all of the 52 COVID-deaths reported in this third wave died at home without receiving treatment in a care facility.
2. THE Tropical Cyclone Cody agriculture rehabilitation package will cost the Government $5.84 million, says Minister for Agriculture- Dr Mahendra Reddy.
3. THERE is no danger of volcanic activity in Fiji as a result of recent increased seismic activity in Tonga, says Minister for Land and Mineral Resources Jone Usamate.
4. A total of 75 Republic of Fiji Military Forces will be deployed to assist Tonga and islands in the Lau group affected by last Saturday’s volcanic eruption.
PG 5
1. TROPICAL Cyclone Cody is the first cyclone that has become so politicized and one can bet that this is because this is an election year”.
2. WE must protect our mangroves from further destruction and we must ensure wetland areas do not fall prey to development, says human rights activist Shamima Ali.
3. THE equipment and software currently used by the Mineral Resources Department is for detecting earthquakes and resulting tsunamis – and not volcanoes, Minister for for Land and Mineral Resources Jone Usamate said
4. INITIAL statistics from Tonga’s violent volcanic explosion suggested that it was the largest blast since Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines 30 years ago, says Minister for Land and Mineral Resources Jone Usamate.
5. THE threat of marine life poisoning in Fiji is very low, says Minister for Land and Mineral Resources Jone Usamate.
PG 7
2. LEGAL practitioners must report within 48 hours, any suspicious transaction pertaining to their clients to the Fiji Intelligence Unit. This requirement is included in a FIU guideline for legal practitioners that comes into effect this Saturday.
3. THE High Court in Lautoka has found Mohammed Raheesh Isoof guilty of five counts of murder and a count of attempted murder.
4. THE High Court in Lautoka heard that a mother facing a charge of manslaughter contracted COVID-19 and completed her two weeks isolation period whilst in remand at the Ba Police Station.
PG 18
1. LEGAL practitioners must monitor client engagements or transactions on an on-going basis, a Fiji Intelligence Unit in a guideline for legal practitioners that comes into effect this Saturday says.
2. LAW firms in Fiji will be required to carry out due diligence on clients who may be involved in money laundering or terrorist financing.
3. ANY cash transaction above $10,000 must be reported by a legal practitioner to the Fiji Intelligence Unit, states the Fiji Intelligence Unit in a guideline for legal practitioners that comes into effect on January 22.
4. LEGAL practitioners must appoint an Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer (AMLCO), states the Fiji Intelligence Unit in a guideline for legal practitioners that comes into effect on January 22, 2022.
5. LEGAL practitioners must identify their clients and verify their identities using reliable and independent sources.
PG 20
1. TEN THOUSAND cut flower orchid plants worth around $200,000 belonging to South Sea Orchids were damaged in the recent floods brought on by rain associated with Tropical Cyclone Cody.
2. SIGATOKA based fresh produce exporter and managing director of DKAY Exports, Dharmend Kumar, claims he lost crop valued at $80,000 due to the damage caused by flooding brought on by Tropical Cyclone Cody was worth around $80,000.
3. IN just a few days, floodwaters washed away months of hard work Naivote Mataibau put in at his Raiwaqa, Navosa, farm.
PG 25
1. WOMEN of Raiwaqa village in the upper Navosa region resorted to washing clothes in a flooded creek because they were without tap water for a week.
2. KAVANAGASAU farmer Jone Fuata says he needs assistance in digging out proper drains for his farm so water can drain out quickly when it floods.
3. TWO commercial okra plantation along with other fresh produce plantations belonging to export company G Group Fiji Ltd were badly damaged as a result of the recent flood events in the Western Division.
PG 26
1. A VISIT by Fiji Council of Social Services workers gave wheelchair-bound diabetic patient Niumai Tavaga a glimmer of hope and temporary relief after she was provided food rations.
2. LUKE Radaveta has six children and his biggest worry right now is how he is going to feed them in the coming days.
