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Income from suluka used to rebuild damaged houses
INCOME earned from selling suluka (pandanus leaves) was used to rebuild houses damaged by STC Yasa in Vunivutu Village, Macuata. Village headwoman Ranadi Raluna said they didn’t wait for government assistance but helped themselves after...
Google won’t use other web tracking tools after phasing out cookies
(Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s Google will not build or use alternate tools to track web browsing traffic once it begins phasing out existing technology from its Chrome browser next year, it said in a blog post on Wednesday, in a move that will reshape how online advertising works. Google first announced it would get rid...
In The Fiji Times tomorrow – Friday, March 5, 2021
Bula! Here’s The Editor’s briefing for tomorrow’s – Friday, March 5, 2021 – edition of The Fiji Times. NEWS: The big one on Page 1 is about the Draft Police Bill. FWCC The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre says it is alarmed by the sudden and unexpected introduction of the draft Police Bill 2020 by Government....
‘Rentals used for crime’
SOME people hire rental cars just to commit crimes, says Acting Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu. Mr Tudravu revealed they have recorded 39 such cases in the past five years. “For rental vehicles involved in crimes over the past five years, there are some figures that we have registered,” Mr Tudravu revealed. “Thirty-nine cases of illegal...
Use of terms a crime under draft Bill
IT will be a crime to use the terms “police” or “Fiji police” and “Fiji Police Force”, states the draft Police Bill 2020. The Ministry of Defence and National Security is now seeking public submissions on the draft Bill before it is endorsed by Cabinet and sent to Parliament. The draft Bill states a person...
As U.S. interview nears, Meghan and Harry won’t tango with UK tabloids
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince Harry and American wife Meghan decided long ago they would not play the traditional royal media “game”, and on Sunday they depart from the norms of engagement again with an in-depth interview with U.S. chat show host Oprah Winfrey. Smarting from sometimes critical tabloid headlines and press intrusion in Britain,...
‘Apply Act on animal protection’
ANIMAL activist and Greater Good Foundation Fiji volunteer Mohammed Khan is calling on authorities to look into prosecuting individuals abusing animals. This, after the animal shelter in Tuvu, Ba spent the past couple of months rescuing dogs from pig hunters at the Ba and Lautoka markets. “There is nothing wrong with pig hunting and I...
Stop departure order under proposed law
THE Commissioner of Police will have the powers to issue stop departure notices, states the draft Police Bill 2020 that is now up for public scrutiny. The Ministry of Defence and National Security is now seeking public submissions on the draft Bill before it is endorsed by Cabinet and sent to Parliament. The draft law...
Leadership Fiji inducts 20th class of leaders
Leadership Fiji inducted its 20th class of leaders and held its graduation ceremony for the class of 2019 at the Holiday Inn tonight (Thursday, March 4). Founding Member and chairman William Parkinson said the class of 2021 is the largest class at 34 inductees, and was a complex class to select because the number of applications...
Australian attorney-general denies historical rape claim
CANBERRA (Reuters) – Australian Attorney-General Christian Porter, the country’s chief law officer, identified himself on Wednesday as the subject of a historical rape allegation, declaring his innocence and strongly denying the claim. Politicians who last week received an anonymous allegation of an assault in 1988 had referred material to federal police. On Tuesday, police in...
Tabua’s livelihood
At 73 Kasanita Tabua still dives into the depths of the Rewa River in search of fresh water mussels commonly known as kai. The Nakini Village, Naitasiri, native said this had been a source of livelihood for her family and an activity she had been engaged in since she was 15. The Fiji Times caught...
Climate change awareness
FARMERS are aware to some degree of what climate change is but they need more education on the issue, says Environment Ministry permanent secretary Joshua Wycliffe. Speaking to this newspaper after a forum for extractive industry stakeholders in Lautoka last week, he said his ministry was working to address climate change-related issues and also increase...
South Korea investigates deaths of two who received AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean authorities are investigating the deaths of two people, both with pre-existing conditions, who died within days of receiving AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine. AstraZeneca said it was aware of the investigation by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), but the safety of the vaccine has been extensively studied in clinical...
Organisation to focus on its own product
“IT is time to promote our own product”, says Post Fiji chief executive officer Dr Anirudha Bansod. He made this statement yesterday in regards to the company’s recent decision to cease Vodafone’s M-PAiSA services from Post Fiji outlets nationwide. “Since 2013, Post Fiji has graciously given our platform to Vodafone to operate its M-PAiSA services...
Customer repayments resume
CUSTOMERS of a local bank are now turning in to meet repayments in full or start with interest payments. In a statement issued yesterday HFC Bank chief executive officer Rakesh Ram said the bank would continue to individually assess each client’s situation and see how best it would be able to assist. According to Mr...
Rise in prices
VEGETABLE prices in the municipal markets have increased after recent weather extremes with middlemen feeling the brunt of wholesalers increasing their prices drastically. Kiran Lata is a 54-year-old middleman and has been based in the Suva Municipal Market for 30 years. “For 30 years I’ve been in the Suva Market and I’ve never seen prices...
Australia building world’s first platypus sanctuary
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian conservationists on Wednesday unveiled plans to build the world’s first refuge for the platypus, to promote breeding and rehabilitation as the duck-billed mammal faces extinction due to climate change. The Taronga Conservation Society Australia and the New South Wales State government said they would build the specialist facility, mostly ponds and...
Bangladesh at 50 – Development without democracy?
By MUBASHAR HASAN and KATHINKA FOSSUM EVERTSEN This year marks 50 years since Bangladesh’s independence, at which time the country was described as a developmental ‘basket case’. Independence was achieved after a devastating cyclone and a bloody independence war and was soon followed by a country-wide famine. Then, when the country started hitting one development...
Man gets 12 years for rape
THE High Court in Labasa has sentenced a man to 12 years and 11 months imprisonment for raping his 16-year-old niece last year. The offender was found guilty and convicted of one count of rape by the court. Justice Thushara Rajasinghe, while delivering his sentence, stated rape was one of the most humiliating and distressing...
Fiji soldiers depart for military training
THIRTY-Seven Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) infantry, logisticians and engineers left for Australia aboard a Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster III aircraft on Tuesday. In a social media update, the Australian High Commission in Fiji shared photos of the officers at the Nadi International Airport and aboard the aircraft wearing face masks and...
Nearly 40 killed in violent day of protests against Myanmar coup, U.N. envoy says
(Reuters) – Thirty-eight people were killed in Myanmar as the military quelled protests in several towns and cities on Wednesday, the United Nations said, the most violent day since demonstrations against last month’s military coup first broke out. Police and soldiers opened fire with live rounds with little warning, witnesses said. The bloodshed occurred one...
Uni offers first Fijian language program
TWENTY-TWO students will be the first ever to pursue a postgraduate program in Fijian language at the University of the South Pacific (USP). Funded by the iTaukei Trust Fund Board (TTFB), it is the first Fijian language postgraduate program in the region. The program is offered by the School of Pacific Arts, Communication and Education...
Supervisor of Elections presents submission
SOME 56 proposed amendments are now before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights. Supervisor of Elections (SOE) Mohammed Saneem made his submission to the committee on Monday. Mr Saneem described Fiji’s electoral framework as, “The first law introduced for elections since 2006 was the 2012 Electoral Registration of Voters Act followed...
Climate resilient healthcare – Waqainabete launches guidelines
THE climate change impacts on health can never be overemphasised and recent cyclones have exposed our health system, and there is a need to build better with approved global best practices and standards. This was the word from Minister for Health and Medical services, Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete while launching the Guidelines for Climate Resilient and...
ICC prosecutor to probe war crimes in Palestinian Territories, angering Israel
THE HAGUE (Reuters) – The International Criminal Court prosecutor said on Wednesday her office will formally investigate war crimes in the Palestinian Territories, a move welcomed by the Palestinian Authority and denounced by Israel. The decision follows a ruling by the court on Feb. 5 that it has jurisdiction in the case, prompting swift rejections...
Home to receive elder, disability friendly bus
THE Golden Age Home in Lautoka will receive a retrofitted bus, thanks to the Japan government. Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Mereseini Vuniwaqa and Japan’s ambassador to Fiji, Kawakami Fumihiro, signed a grant contract to formalise the assistance in Suva yesterday. Mrs Vuniwaqa thanked the government of Japan for the assistance. “The USD...
More power for the force – Draft Bill: Police can eavesdrop, enter premises
POLICE will have sweeping powers to monitor communications and forcefully enter premises to place tracking devices under the proposed Police Bill 2020. The draft legislation is now open to public submissions and will replace the Police Act of 1965 once passed by Parliament. Police will have the powers to secretly or forcefully enter any premises...
EU vows legal response as UK moves unilaterally on Northern Ireland
BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) – The European Union promised legal action on Wednesday after the British government unilaterally extended a grace period for checks on food imports to Northern Ireland, a move Brussels said violated terms of Britain’s divorce deal. Since it left the EU last year, Britain’s relations with the bloc have soured, with both sides...
Seruiratu: Reforms to help tackle new crime
THE draft Police Bill 2020 aims to provide additional enforcement power to the force to address new forms of crime, says Defence Minister Inia Seruiratu. Mr Seruiratu said it aimed to provide legal powers for the use of modern technological aids to combat complex and organised crimes, and further institute deterrent penalties in comparison to...
Bail extended for former Goodman Fielder employees facing fraud charges
A former employee of Goodman Fielder International Fiji Limited accused of fraud charges had his bail extended by the High Court in Suva. Biren Lal appeared before judge Justice Thushara Rajasinghe today. In court, it was revealed that the lawyer representing Mr Lal was not present for the case. The court was also told that...
