Bula! As we count down the hours to the weekend, I wish you well wherever you are. Stay well and stay safe. Wishing you a great weekend!
Today we farewelled two senior journalists in the newsroom.
It was an emotional moment for members of the team, but we realise that life must go on, and we wish them well in their future endeavours.
This opens up positions in the newsroom, and if you are interested, you have what it takes to be a journalist, you have qualities we are after, and you feel you can make the cut to be part of the team, check out the vacancy adverts in Saturday’s edition.
HEADLINES
Here are some headlines that made The Fiji Times’ edition for Saturday, January 15.
PAGE 1
- Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama should have told Cabinet before leaving the country and he should have announced who would act in his absence, says The People’s Alliance party leader and former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka.
PAGE 2
- COVID-19 test positivity among tourists remains low, and the Government does not view hotels as major drivers of transmission, says Tourism Minister Faiyaz Koya.
- 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 Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr James Fong.
PAGE 3
- ALL political party leaders have a role to play when a nation is going through a crisis, says former prime minister and The People’s Alliance party leader Sitiveni Rabuka.
PAGE 4
- ISSUES raised by the Fiji Teachers Union (FTU) are just another “hollow” and “baseless” attempt to criticise and attack the Government, states the Education Ministry.
- GOVERNMENT does care about the wellbeing of everyone.
- MORE than 500 low-level crossings around the country need to be upgraded, says Fiji Roads Authority CEO Kamal Prasad.
PAGE 5
- MOTHER of five Oriva Tuibuinase says her family will return to their Lovu Seaside settlement home once it is safe to do so.
- NADI Town is back in business after a major clean-up of the tourist town in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Cody.
- THREE rubber dinghies were handed over to the Rakiraki and Tavua police stations yesterday.
- EDUCATION Minister Premila Kumar says it is unfortunate that most schools are located in flood-prone areas.
PAGE 6
- AN elderly couple of Navutu, Sigatoka, is seeking urgent assistance after they lost almost all their belongings to a recent landslide that damaged a large portion of their two-bedroom home.
- WHEN floodwaters damaged the Natuvu Bridge in Bureiwai, Ra, Samisoni Mara decided to do something to assist the women and elderly get across the fast-flowing Natuvu Creek.
PAGE 7
- SAVINESH Karan claims his eldest child tested positive for COVID-19 after attending school for two days and that he spread it to other members of their household.
- PEOPLE who steal pets to make a quick buck by selling them will be taken to task, states the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
- VILISONI Pita Muavani was all smiles after winning The Fiji Times 152nd anniversary draw for the second time. He said he would use the money for his family and to cultivate his farmland in Naitasiri.
FEATURES/OPINIONS
- We have a strong list of writers for your weekend reading pleasure.
PAGE 12 – Preparing for disaster
By PIO TIKODUADUA
- WE are back in cyclone season and, before we are even hit by a serious storm, the usual litany of failures is already occurring.
PAGE 26 – Interesting times in Fiji politics
By AJAY BAHI AMRIT
- WITH the political landscape changing in Fiji, there is now every reason to start feeling optimistic about the future.
PAGE 28 – Cyberattacks and data privacy
By ILAITIA B TUISAWAU
- IT’S official – past year was another record year for cyberattacks! The fifth year in a row according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
PAGE 30 – Fiji 7s chases 3 gold medals
By SATISH NARAIN
- THE first pair of weeks of 2022 hastily transported back renewed recollections of the past year when the pandemic hit the country.
PAGES 32-33 – FT Anniversary – Melbourne Hotel
By ANA MADIGIBULI
- SOON a colourful reminder of Suva’s past disappeared along with part of the city’s history.
PAGE 36 – Exciting year of rugby
By RAJNESH LINGAM
- WE said good bye to the 2021 sporting year. Although the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on most sporting activities, fans enjoyed a range of thrills.
PAGES 38-39 – The Omicron Variant
By DR SIVASELVAM SIVA
- ON November 26, 2021, WHO designated the variant B.1.1.529 a variant of concern, named Omicron.
PAGE 40 – Remittances in 2022
By SHABNAM BANO and T K JAYARAMAN
- THE COVID-19 pandemic struck heavy blows to developing countries, ever since the official announcement of its arrival was made by World Health Organization (WHO) in April 2020.
YOU CAN WIN CASH
- Check out the newspaper for details on how you can win cash in our back-to-school promotion.
EARLY BIRD SUBCRIPTION DRIVE
- Think about it! All the news, features, opinions, and other interesting stuff in you’re the Fiji Times, delivered right to your doorstep daily. No hassles. Consistent and fresh off the press straight to you, every day! Check The Fiji Times for details!
