Bula vinaka everyone
It’s that time of the week when we look forward to the weekend.
Whatever you plan to do, we hope you will enjoy the moment and stay safe with your loved ones.
LATE UPDATE
The permanent secretary for Health and Medical Services Dr James Fong has just announced 752 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hour period that ended at 8am today. He said 88 cases were from the Western Division and 664 cases were from the Central Division.
Read more on www.fijitimes.com
SPECIAL OLYMPIC GAMES LIFTOUT
Remember there’s a special Olympic Games liftout inside. It’s 40 pages of news, reviews, pictures and much more from the Olympic Games.
Here are some headlines that made The Fiji Times’ edition for Saturday, August 7.
PAGE 1
Million-dollar reward package
PRIME Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has announced a million-dollar reward package for the Fiji 7s men’s and Fijiana teams. Mr Bainimarama, on his official social media Facebook account, said the package would also include helping the men’s captain Jerry Tuwai with a house.
PAGE 3
Equal capabilities
THOSE who are unvaccinated and those who have been completely vaccinated have equal capabilities of spreading the COVID-19 virus. This, according to Dr Jone Hawea, a former surgeon with the Ministry of Health and Medical Services.
Mosese Bulitavu
THE Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) secretariat is going through the party’s constitutional provisions to seek SODELPA member of Parliament Mosese Bulitavu’s expulsion from the party, says SODELPA general secretary Lenaitasi Duru.
Minister Vuniwaqa resigns
MINISTER for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation Mereseini Vuniwaqa has resigned from FijiFirst. A social media post on the Fijian Government page said Mrs Vuniwaqa’s cause of resignation was due to personal reasons and new opportunities.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
We have seven pages of letters to the editor. Get a feel of the pulse of the nation. Read about what people are talking about. Find out what’s on their mind, and get a glimpse of some of the interesting topics of discussion. Pages 8,9,18,19,20,21 and 22.
PEOPLE
In this popular section of the newspaper, read about: Apisai Bose
IT was not until he was faced with no money and no place to spend the night, that Apisai Bose really started to ponder about his future and to make a choice on being the man he wanted to be. He decided never to sleep out on the streets again and promised himself that.
FEATURE/OPINION
We have a host of quality features and opinions for your reading pleasure this weekend.
Printing money – By EDWARD NARAIN
The notion of printing money has come up again and, once again, this has led to a bit of confusion. It is important to clarify, because of the recent discussions in parliament over how Fiji tackles the economic challenges of COVID-19.
Muldoon, Tora and the dawn raids – By MATT WILSON
Apisai Tora, the prominent politician and traditional leader, passed away a year ago. To mark this anniversary, Matt Wilson his friend for 50 years, has written the untold story of what happened when Apisai met with late New Zealand Prime Minister, Robert Muldoon. Their encounter was on Matt’s mind in light of the recent apology by the New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to Pacific communities for the infamous Dawn Raids more than 40 years ago.
Fijiana 7s – you beauty! – By SATISH NARAIN
It has been a rollercoaster ride for the Fiji women’s rugby sevens side (Fijiana) since the early days in 2012 when World Rugby introduced the world series grand-prix style tournament for female rugby players but now, the Fijiana are the talk of the world and what more they can bring to spice up the women’s series.
Fiji Times history- By JOHN KAMEA
A ROYAL Commission should be set up after the general election to seek the most appropriate method of election and representation for Fiji, the Constitutional Conference in London agreed. This was reported in The Fiji Times of May 2, 1970.
The inspiring Fijiana – By RICHARD NAIDU
And how they should get us thinking. I’ll put my life at risk here and say that I am not a rugby fanatic. I can enjoy a game of 15s or sevens with a sort of disconnected respect for the skills and fitness of the players. But I don’t leap to my feet every time they touch down or spend three days in gloom because Fiji missed out on a trophy. But I confess that the Olympics performance of the Fijiana sevens team lit me up – as it did, I think, most of us. It inspired me even to venture here into something I know nothing about – sport and the opportunities it can create for Fiji.
Hail Fijiana – By PRANIL RAM
Just like our men’s sevens team did it by winning gold in Tokyo, similarly, the women’s team greatly inspired by the men’s accomplishment, emulated nearly the same feat by emerging victorious in the bronze medal match at the Olympics. What a win it was? The Fijiana broke through the glass ceiling as the first team of any sort in the Pacific to win a medal.
NZ’s scheme – By CHARLOTTE BEDFORD
At the start of July 2021, over 350 stakeholders in New Zealand’s Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme gathered in Nelson for the 14th annual industry-led RSE conference under the banner: ‘RSE: The Post-COVID Future’.
The ransomware epidemic – By ILAITIA B TUISAWAU
The cybersecurity industry is stretched thin. Ransomware attacks are now so prolific that some companies simply cannot help every newly hacked victim get back online. And a shortage of workers means no immediate help in sight.
Pay back time- By AJAY BHAI AMRIT
Happy Saturday readers, as we continue into our fourth month of the pandemic, and the situation seems to have gotten from bad to worse as most of us have given up looking at the daily records for positive cases. The reality is that with limited testing available and only very serious cases being hospitalized, no one really knows the true figures of the virus cases and also the deaths. I have now lost 11 people I know to COVID-19 and that figure tells us how badly we are struggling against this deadly virus, it is now truly a national tragedy.
ENTERTAINMENT
Check out the entertainment section for some interesting revelations.
MOTORING
This section is much more than just about motoring.
SPORTS
Read about former national 7s skipper Kalioni Nasoko’s journey to the Olympic Games and that gold medal win.
There’s more to read inside but you’ll have to get a copy to know what we are talking about.
Happy reading!