Bula! Here are some headlines that made The Sunday Times edition for January 9.
Page 1
- People’s Alliance Party leader Sitiveni Rabuka announced that 55 candidates would contest the next general election under the party banner and hinted that more Social Democratic Liberal Party members will join his party.
- The whole of Viti Levu may feel the effect of a Category 1 tropical cyclone from today with heavy rain and strong winds of 62 kilometers per hour to 87 kilometres per hour.
Page 2
- The Omicron variant infects a large number of people in a short period, says Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr James Fong.
- If the Education Ministry continues to be ‘stubborn’ considering the escalating cases of COVID-19 in the community, this could have some very serious implications, says Fiji teacher’s Union general secretary Agni Deo Singh.
Page 3
- The People’s Alliance Party (PAP) will be looking at what potential candidates can bring to help ensure PAP forms the next government. This, according to PAP party leader Sitiveni Rabuka.
- The Fiji Meteorological Service has issued heavy rain and damaging gale-force wind warning for the Yasawa and Mamanuca Group. This includes the Northern and Western parts of Viti Levu, Western and interior parts of Viti Levu, Kadavu, Western and Northwestern parts of Vanua Levu
Page 4
- A mother of two claimed she was forced to stay home after her teenage daughter fell ill in school. Roshni Lata, a garment factory worker, said the company she worked for had a policy that said that no employee was allowed to enter the work premises if a member of their family was sick.
- The head of a non-governmental organisation that was instrumental in assisting people who were unemployed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic is wary of the third wave currently wreaking havoc across the country.
- If children contract the COVID-19 virus and take it home, it could become a very serious issue, says Qauia Methodist Church minister Tadeo Masitabua.
Page 8
- Two boarding secondary schools in the Yasawa Group will now be able to plant their own vegetables, thanks to the installation of an irrigation system via a west-based non-governmental organisation.
- The Fiji Meteorological Service says a tide event on January 3 this year was the highest tide for the month with a height of 2.39m at Lautoka and 2.14m in Suva.
- A staff quarters at Mataso Primary School in Ra was burnt to the ground last week. The quarters was occupied by a teacher but no one was hurt in the incident.
- The FJD$60 million project to extend and upgrade of the Nausori Airport runway reached practical completion in November 2021, says Fiji Airports Acting CEO Isei Tudreu.
SPORTS
- The big one on the back page is about soccer and Fiji’s campaign leading up to the world cup qualifiers.
