From the Editor-in Chief’s Desk: Your January 14 briefing

Bula! Here are some headlines that made The Fiji Times’ edition for Friday, January 14.

CASH PRIZES

• Before that, this afternoon we had the December draw to select 40 lucky readers who won $152 each in our 152nd anniversary promotion.
• Remember the big draw is scheduled for January 20 when we will select one lucky reader who wins $15,200.
• This month we have another promotion where lucky readers can get cash for their back-to-school shopping. Check the newspaper for details!

HEADLINES

PAGE 1

HEALTH Ministry permanent secretary Dr James Fong says the increase in COVID-19 Omicron cases across the country cannot be solely attributed to the reopening of Fiji’s international borders.

PAGE 2

• SEVEN COVID-19 deaths were recorded for the seven days to Tuesday January 11, bringing the virus death toll to 721, said Dr James Fong.
• DISASTER Management Minister Inia Seruiratu says people should be looking at the ingenuity of Fiji Police Force and National Fire Authority officers in using a cut out water tank to conduct rescue and other work at the height of flooding in Rakiraki.
• CHILDREN have minimal risk of being infected with COVID-19 because the type of receptors in the nose of a child “is much less”, says Dr Fong.

PAGE 3

• THE increase in Omicron cases in Fiji cannot solely be attributed to the reopening of Fiji’s international borders.
• THERE’S nothing special about the school sector getting COVID-19 positive cases, says Dr Fong.

PAGES 4-5

• THIRTY five families sheltering at a Lautoka evacuation centre yesterday received food rations from a west-based business after floodwaters destroyed most of their food supply earlier this week.
• HUMAN rights activist Shamima Ali claims the reality of the situation in evacuation centres is a far cry from the promises made by Disaster Management Minister Inia Seruiratu.
• FOOD rations have been delivered to the 200 climate change refugees at an evacuation centre in Macuata.
• DISASTER Management Minister Inia Seruiratu says more than 3000 people are in evacuation centres and the Commissioner Western and his team are organising a ration distribution for those sheltering there.
• FIJI Labour Party leader Mahendra Chaudhry is calling on Government to step up its relief operations to assist families affected by the recent severe flooding in various parts of the country.
• FIJI needs leadership and direction at this critical time when we are faced with two major crises, says National Federation Party president Pio Tikoduadua.

PAGE 7

• SAM Brown says winning $152 cash in The Fiji Times 152nd anniversary promotion December draw will enable him to put a new coat of paint on his house.
• A WOMAN who was mugged outside a shop in Nadera in September last year may have a civil claim against the State if one of her muggers is found guilty of a similar earlier offence.
• A 21-year-old man was produced in the Suva High Court, before Justice Salesi Temo, on two counts of rape and one count of indecent assault.

PAGE 20

• A FATHER of two said while he was excited his son was returning to school after nine months in the village, he was anxious about his safety because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
• FILOMENA Naitau says she will not send her two children to school for the first two weeks to analyse the extent of COVID-19 infection among students.
• I AM scared to send my daughter to school because of the increasing COVID-19 cases in Fiji.

PAGE 22

• THE People’s Alliance party leader Sitiveni Rabuka recently warned that many of his supporters maybe “disenfranchised and not allowed to vote” because of the surname change requirements and changing of voter cards from green to blue.
• THE Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) will have a new member of Parliament when the House sits on February 7, 2022, as the seat held by Lynda Tabuya became vacant after her resignation from the party.
• THE gender breakdown of male and female voters is roughly balanced and a good sign, says Fijian Elections Office (FEO) operations director Anaseini Seinimoli.
• THE Fijian Elections office (FEO) has moved its front desk services to St Stephen’s House, formerly Suva Boys Grammar School, opposite the Hibiscus Auto Port on Victoria Pde, Suva.
• THERE are 662,615 registered voters in the country and the Fijian Elections Office (FEO) projects there will be 670,000 voters when we go to polls in the 2022 General Election, says Ms Seinimoli.

PAGE 24

• FRIEND Fiji director Sashi Kiran has expressed concerns over the number of unemployed tourism sector workers who have yet to find employment.
• A LOMOLOMO, Lautoka villager says climate change is real, and he has witnessed this with the increasing intensity of floodwaters that have battered the village over the years.
• THE resilience of the people of Ba was obvious in their effort to return to normalcy after the massive flood that hit the soccer town in the past few days
• BA farmer Alipate Neiqisa feared his ready-to-harvest vegetables would go to waste after being inundated by floodwaters for the past three days.

PAGE 26

• IT is painful to see everything gone when you need it to look after your family.
• NADI people are resilient, says former Opposition MP Prem Singh.
• A farmer in Nausori, who was badly affected by floodwaters associated with Tropical Cyclone Cody, is calling on the Government for assistance.
• CHARLES Scott of Gusuisavu Village, one of the youngest farmers in Naitasiri, says he is worried about his dalo farm because it has been under water for the past three days.

SPORTS

• The big one on the back page is about 7s rugby and our new national coach Ben Gollings. He talks about Fiji rugby 7s.