THE small-to-medium enterprise (SME) is an important economic sector that needs further support, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said. During the presentation of the draft SME policy and master plan to members of parliament last week, O’Neill told Minister for Trade commerce and Industry Richard Maru that he was fully supporting the initiative. He said the…
Law is now taught at all the three major universities in Fiji. Until 2008, students were only able to study law at the University of the South Pacific (USP). Then, largely as a result of initiatives driven by retired Justice Devendra Pathik, the University of Fiji (UniFiji) opened the doors of its own Law School…
AS many as 51 students from 12 schools in Lautoka are spreading peace and goodwill in the community. The project, an initiative of NGO Live and Learn’s environmental education, involves students spending two days beautifying Lautoka Hospital’s children’s ward. They also painted the veranda and tables and helped with the installation of a peace garden.…
THE Secretariat of the Pacific Community has stepped in to assist the Ministry of Health in the continuing campaign against the dengue fever epidemic. The organisation has purchased insecticides to carry out mosquito control intervention for the next three months. “This financial support from SPC is an unusual response related to the specific nature of…
AUSTRALIAN Foreign Minister Julie Bishop visited the Pacific state of Fiji last Friday and Saturday, promising steps to drop sanctions against its military government as part of efforts to “normalise” diplomatic relations between the two countries. Canberra imposed various sanctions after the Fijian military, led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama, seized power in 2006. The Australian…
GRIFFITH University and the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Secretariat have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 30th January 2014 at the Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia to consolidate a framework for long-term collaboration and partnership between the organisations. The purpose of the MoU is to provide clear direction to the agreed activities and to strengthen…
THE water, sanitation and sustainable energy crises are among the world’s pre-eminent development challenges, senior United Nations officials warned yesterday. And they urged Member States to adopt coherent integrated policies and innovative strategies to tackle these issues, which take a tragic toll on the lives of millions of poor people, especially women and young girls.…
RNZI: The Papua New Guinea police say it has not had any reports of Manus island locals being involved in attacks on asylum seekers in Canberra’s off-shore processing camp. One asylum seeker is dead following two nights of rioting and escapes from the Manus camp, 13 suffered serious injuries, including one flown to Australia in…
United States Congressman and chair of the Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security Homeland Defence and Foreign Operations in the House of Representative Jason Chaffetz has thanked the Papua New Guinea government for its ongoing support of the PNG LNG project. He expressed gratitude when paying a courtesy call on Prime Minister Peter…
RNZI: An advocate for Australia’s asylum seekers on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island says police were involved in a savage attack in the camp last night. Ian Rintoul of the Refugee Action Coalition says more than 50 detainees were seriously hurt when locals stormed the camp. Australia’s immigration minister, Scott Morrison, has confirmed a serious…