The Fiji Times

Firms ‘have healthy bank balances’ | Court states Aiyaz is a director and shareholder of two companies

A Magistrate’s court ruling delivered on September 13 states former attorney-general, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum is a director and shareholder of two companies that “have healthy bank balances”. Magistrate Jeremaia Savou noted this in the bail variation ruling for Mr Sayed-Khaiyum who was seeking court orders to travel to Singapore for medical reasons. Mr Sayed-Khaiyum was allowed...

Argentina wheat sales stall as farmers wait for election, rains

By Maximilian Heath BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s sales of the upcoming wheat crop are the slowest in seven years, delayed by farmers waiting for heavier rainfall and gambling on the result of the country’s Oct. 22 presidential election, with some candidates pledging tax cuts on grains exports. Argentina, a major exporter of wheat, along...

Karabakh Armenians: no agreement yet with Azerbaijan on guarantees or amnesty

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The ethnic Armenian leadership of breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh said on Friday that there were no concrete results yet from talks with Azerbaijan on possible security guarantees or an amnesty that Baku is proposing. “These questions must still be resolved,” David Babayan, an adviser to Samvel Shahramanyan, the president of the self-styled Republic of...

Shortage of surveyors in Fiji

There is a shortage of registered surveyors in Fiji, says deputy secretary for Lands and Mineral Resources Timoci Samisoni. In an address at the 2023 surveyors conference in Nadi last week, Mr Samisoni said the lack of registered surveyors has been a challenge for the industry with the problem affecting both the private and public...

Obscene images of Fijian children found on websites

At least 7000 obscene images of Fijian children have been found on websites online, the United States Government has found. Attorney-General Siromi Turaga said this had prompted greater collaboration between the Fiji Police Force and the US State Department to find the source of these disturbing images. Mr Turaga said mobile phones were the perpetrators’...

Brazil favela activist plants green roofs to combat heat wave

By Ricardo Moraes RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Luis Cassiano climbs a ladder and gently places small bundles of plants on a tin rooftop in a poor Rio de Janeiro neighborhood. The 53-year-old Brazilian environmental activist is planting “green roofs” to grow atop the Rio homes in an effort to lower the sweltering temperatures inside....

Undisclosed wealth | Sayed-Khaiyum under the spotlight

A recent investigation by The Fiji Times has found that former attorney-general and FijiFirst party (FF) general-secretary Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum did not declare the value of shares he owns in two companies, as per the asset declarations filed with the Fijian Elections Office since 2017. Section 24 of the Political Parties (Regulation, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures)...

Collective statement on nuclear wastewater issue

The Forum Fisheries Ministers (FFM) will issue a collective statement on the Fukushima nuclear wastewater issue, which will highlight the need for more intense dialogue between the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) scientific panel, the Government of Japan, and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) scientists on the impact of the ongoing release. Following a one-day FFM...

Spain’s Catalonia region to provide period products for free at pharmacies

BARCELONA (Reuters) – Catalonia will provide reusable menstrual cups, period pants and pads for free at pharmacies to counter so-called “period poverty”, as the Spanish region follows Scotland with one of the first initiatives of its kind. The products are due to become available during the first quarter of 2024 and will benefit around 2.5...

Brown on secretary general’s role

Forum Foreign Ministers chair and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown says the ministers have acknowledged the Suva Agreement on the position of the secretary general and no discussion was made regarding this during the meeting in Suva last week. “There was no discussion on the secretary general’s role in the incoming secretary general. The...

From the Editor-in-Chief’s desk: Your September 23 briefing

Bula AT least 7000 obscene images of Fijian children have been found on websites online, the United States Government has found. Attorney-General Siromi Turaga said this had prompted greater collaboration between the Fiji Police Force and the US State Department to find the source of these disturbing images. Mr Turaga said mobile phones were the...

Nigeria’s Tinubu urges UN to help curb exploitation of Africa’s resources

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Nigerian President Bola Tinubu urged the United Nations to become more proactive in addressing his African nation’s poverty and security issues and helping to fight illicit resource extraction, his spokesman said on Thursday. Tinubu raised the issues when he met U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday on the sidelines of the...

Pacific forest experts exchange ideas

More than 20 Pacific forest experts are meeting in Nadi to exchange and learn from selected good experiences in the management of forests on customary lands in the Pacific. Opening the workshop, Fisheries and Forestry Ministry permanent secretary Atelaite Rokosuka said customary land ownership was an integral part of land governance in the Pacific, with...

Israel says its tanks hit two structures used by Syrian army in Golan area

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s military said on Thursday that its tanks had struck two “temporary structures” used by the Syrian army in the area of the Golan Heights in violation of a 1974 disengagement accord. “The strike was carried out after IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers identified the two structures in the area of the...

What’s happening today!

Bula vinaka everyone. Here is another edition of some basic information you may need to know for today. First, here is your weather forecast for today: Weather Expect Occasional rain, heavy at times and isolated thunderstorms over the greater Suva-Nausori/Tailevu areas, Serua-Namosi, Kadavu and nearby smaller islands, Lau and Lomaiviti groups, southern Bua and Cakaudrove...

From Harvard to cattle ranch

Harvard University graduate, Laisa Bale, took heed of her father’s advice to stay close to the land no matter how far across the oceans her white-collar job took her. A third generation cattle rancher, she is now pursuing her Certificate in Commercial Agriculture (Level 3) at the Fiji National University’s Naduna campus in Labasa. FNU’s...

Back in history | Battle of the voices

On August 6, 1993, The Fiji Times reported that this “was the typical sight yesterday” when the choir masters took to the rostrum as the annual Methodists Choir competition entered its second day. Groups came from all over the country. “The choir competition is being run with the national fundraising drive, mainly by donation. By...

Can kava mana be exported?

Kava is the ancient drink of Pacific people. Surrounded in custom, and steeped in thousands of years of tradition, it is considered a ‘life source’ for many. ‘Anau Mesui Henry describes kava as ‘being alive’, that you’re honouring it when you’re drinking it ‘the proper way’. “When my family moved to Aotearoa, my mum and...

Triple bottom line | Shifting smaller businesses from informal to formal sector

Soleya, a management consultancy company, has dedicated itself to the aid of micro enterprises; one woman’s passion project to uplift aspiring entrepreneurs in a nation that she now calls home. Mrs Noellie Garand, managing director of Soleya, holds a diploma in Innovation Management and two master’s degrees: one in Policy Studies and another in Development...

$35 million complex for Nausori

Nausori residents will soon have access to an apartment hotel and retail complex at the heart of the town’s main business area thanks to a public private partnership between the Nausori Town Council and Shop N Save Supermarkets Ltd. The approximately 7500 metre squared plot where the old Nausori market once stood will house a...

North bank staff donate blood to help save lives

Inspired by the 43 pints of blood donated by staff of the Westpac Suva and Lautoka branches during an organised blood drive earlier this year, the Labasa branch staff took it upon themselves to donate to the Blood Bank up north. Westpac Fiji organised blood drives for staff in partnership with the Fiji Red Cross...

Yemen Houthis flex military muscle in parade as Riyadh seeks ceasefire

By Abdulrahman Al-Ansi SANAA (Reuters) – Yemen’s Houthi movement displayed ballistic missiles and armed drones in a massive military parade in Sanaa on Thursday, a message to their foes in a Saudi-led coalition as they continue ceasefire negotiations with Riyadh. The head of Yemen’s Houthi Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, and other officials watched as...

36 hotels record $4.3m room sales

Thirty-six hotels in Fiji recorded room sales of $4,372,033 in the month of August, Tourism Fiji has revealed in its monthly accommodation report. Fiji recorded 87,368 visitor arrivals in August. “In August 2023, properties in Fiji maintained a steady occupancy rate of 84%, showing a slight decline from the previous month of July, which averaged...

Vidya Patel leaves legacy behind

The founder of major developers Challenge Group of Companies, Vidya Ben Patel, was laid to rest at the Lovu Crematorium in Lautoka on Tuesday. Mrs Vidya Patel, the wife of business tycoon Suresh Patel, died at the William Harvey Hospital in Willesborough in Ashford, United Kingdom, on September 5. She was remembered at an intimate...

China won’t stand by idly in case of German 5G restrictions – embassy

BERLIN (Reuters) – China will not stand by idly if the German government decides to restrict the use of components from Chinese firms such as Huawei and ZTE <000063.SZ> in its 5G network, the Chinese embassy in Berlin said on Thursday. Germany’s interior ministry has proposed forcing telecoms operators to curb their use of equipment...

Warmth of people and delightful dishes leaves lasting impression

My one-week stay in Chengdu, one of the biggest cities in China, has had a profound impact on my life. Although it was a short visit, the warmth of the people and the delightful dishes left a lasting impression on me. Throughout the week, I had the opportunity to visit several incredible places. And I...

A visit with many firsts

My visit to China is filled with many firsts. My first time travelling out of Fiji and first time on an airplane. And to experience China in my first overseas trip has been nothing short of amazing. Chengdu is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me personally. Because before this, my life was centred around Wainiveidio...

For Libya’s Haftar, flood aftermath tests strongman image

(Reuters) – After Derna’s catastrophic floods, eastern Libyan military leader Khalifa Haftar flew in by helicopter and received salutes from his troops as he toured the city where thousands of people were killed when whole districts were swept away. Three days later, residents vented their anger on the mud-caked streets, torching the mayor’s house as...

Not just another ‘talk fest’: Prof Shaista

The National Education Summit was not just another ‘talk fest’ says University of Fiji vice chancellor Professor Shaista Shameem. Professor Shameem said the three day discussions was data driven that showed the need to change and review Fiji’s education sector. “I was very encouraged by the data provided by the Ministry’s permanent secretary who gave...

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