A 26-YEAR-OLD man has denied having unlawful sex with a 17-year-old girl on two occasions when he appeared in the Honiara Magistrate Court. The defendant, whose identity is withheld to protect the alleged victim, faces two counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 18. His case was adjourned this week and will continue tomorrow…
CALLS are mounting for the Control Price Unit (CPU) in the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Labour and Immigration to conduct thorough inspections of foreign-owned shops operating in Gizo, Western Province, amid concerns that they do not comply with pricing regulations. Residents of the Western Provincial Capital, including community leaders, are urging the CPU to ensure…
BETELNUT chewers in Gizo, the provincial capital of the Western Province, are facing a significant financial squeeze as the seasonal betel-nut shortage currently experienced drives prices to a record high. Over the past months since the early Christmas festive and prior to new year, the cost of betel nut has skyrocketed across the province and…
A 43-year-old male suspect has been arrested for an alleged attempted murder of a 19-year-old girl in Northwest Choiseul recently. Provincial Police Commander (PPC) Choiseul Province, Superintendent Berry Pogesopa said, it was alleged that the suspect repeatedly punched the victim on her forehead and repeatedly hit the victim’s head against the post of a graveyard…
Police in Auki have arrested a suspect who attack and cut a victim in his 20s with a bush knife early Wednesday morning at Maofa village in West Kwara’ae, Malaita Province. Provincial Police Commander (PPC) Malaita Province, Chief Superintendent Tex Tafoa, said it was alleged that the suspect entered the victim’s house and attacked him…
Two men, a 36-year-old and a 43-year-old male suspects have been arrested for assaulting a 24-year-old male victim recently at Taro in Choiseul Province over a missing phone. Provincial Police Commander (PPC) Choiseul Province, Superintendent Berry Pogesopa, said, “The incident occurred at Sunset Lodge at night when the suspects accused the victim of taking a…
MINISTRY of Education and Human Resources Development (MEHRD) will advise the public when the results are ready. The assurance came after many students, teachers, parents, guardians and the public are anticipating the release of the placement results for forms 4, 6 and 7. Placement results for year 7 (form 1) were the first to be…
THE Minister of Finance and Treasury, Manasseh Sogavare, has approved a total of $15.2 million in exemptions for Xiao’s Henderson Hotel Ltd, a Chinese company. The exemptions include: Both exemptions were granted on 31st July 2024 and will expire on 31st January 2025. The issuing of exemptions to both local and foreign businesses has been…
WESTERN Province Premier Billy Veo has confirmed that the ongoing review of the Provincial Government Act (PGA) of 1997 could offer a pathway towards greater provincial autonomy in the Western Province and Solomon Islands as a whole. The Western Provincial Government (WPG) has already submitted its report to the Ministry of Provincial Government and Institutional…
TUBERCULOSIS (TB), a disease eradicated from the country in the late 1970s and early 1980s, has returned. But the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) has still to announce what provinces the disease has reached their shores although it has announced the efforts to deal with it. After the disease was eradicated, the MHMS…