Fiji

SUVA, Fiji --- The Fiji government says the draft constitution, written by the Yash Ghai led Constitution Commission, did not capture the views of the majority of people in Fiji.

SUVA, Fiji --- A professor from University of Hawaii believes Fijians have an opportunity to recognize the potential contributions that movie-making can make to the economy.

NADI, Fiji --- Papua New Guinea’s Trade Minister says he wants to see a common market established in the Melanesian Spearhead Group of nations before it is extended to the wider Pacific.

SUVA, Fiji --- Sex workers in Fiji are not the drivers of HIV transmissions in Fiji.

SUVA, Fiji --- Fiji has shown leadership and is clearly on the way to having 80 to 90 per cent of its energy needs generated from renewable sources.

SUVA, Fiji ---Fiji’s youth have a very important role to play in the 2014 parliamentary elections, says Attorney General and Elections Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.

NADI, Fiji --Officials from Papua New Guinea say they are considering withdrawing from free trade negotiations between Pacific Island countries and Australia and New Zealand.

SUVA, Fiji ---Fiji’s National Federation Party (NFP)says it is ready for the elections scheduled for 2014 in that south pacific island nation.

SUVA, Fiji ---Fiji's economy will be boosted if kava exports are opened up for pharmaceutical or medical purposes.

SUVA, Fiji --- A regional dialogue for civil society organisations on conflict, peace, and security issues was held at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat from 6-10 May 2013.

SUVA, Fiji -- Fiji's Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama has officially received the second A330 aircraft from the Airbus outlet in Toulouse, France.

SUVA, Fiji --An understanding signed between a Fiji recruitment agency and individuals in Papua New Guinea has come under the spot light.

SUVA, Fiji --Fiji's Prime Minister said he would meet Beijing's leaders in China this month, a week after unveiling an official trip to Russia, as he looks beyond strained regional ties in the South Pacific.

SUVA, Fiji --- Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama announced from France today a banner year for Fiji's sugar cane industry.

NADI, Fiji --- Fiji stands to loose the most if Pacific members of the ACP bloc could not conclude their Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union, a senior delegate attending the Pacific ACP Trade Ministers meeting has told PACNEWS.

SUVA, Fiji --- The Pacific region’s Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union could be an important vehicle for sustainable development of our region. This is the message that was conveyed to the Pacific ACP Trade Ministers at their Meeting currently being held in Nadi, Fiji.

SUVA, Fiji ---Suva — India will take part in a five-day meet in Fiji where local and international sugar researchers will share information on "erianthus", a sugar hybrid, the government said Wednesday.

SUVA, Fiji --- About 40 marijuana plants with an estimated street value of $50,000 were uprooted by (Fiji) police near Vatubalavu Village in Navosa on Tuesday. The raid followed a tip-off as police continued their crackdown targeting marijuana growing operations in the Nadroga-Navosa highlands.

NADI, Fiji (PACNEWS) ---- The Pacific ACP bloc remains optimistic that negotiations for their Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU) can be concluded by the end of this year despite claims by the EU that such a deadline is unrealistic.

NADI, Fiji --- Fiji’s acting Prime Minister and Trade Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says Pacific ACP countries will not tolerate further extension to the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) negotiation with the European Union.

International airline Air Pacific – soon to be rebranded as Fiji Air – has been exposed as one of the world’s major carriers of shark fins into Hong Kong. In an extensive investigation, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) has reported that the airlines’ new Airbus A330 aircraft were, according ...

SUVA, Fiji --- Fiji’s NGO Coalition on Human Rights has called for the respect for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) Fijians on the occasion of May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

NADI, Fiji ---- The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Pacific Disability Forum (PDF) signed a memorandum of understanding on 14 May 2013.

SUVA, Fiji --- Fiji's acting Prime Minister and Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says the Pacific Island nation is exercising its sovereign right to decide on a nominee of another country for a diplomatic mission.

SUVA, Fiji --- The Fiji/Papua New Guinea Business Council has begun looking at trade logistics between the two countries.

SUVA, Fiji --- Fiji's Elections Ministry will start a campaign from today to encourage people to register in the third round of Electronic Voter Registrations.

SUVA, Fiji --- Fiji and other Pacific islands should not worry about its population ageing facing advanced economies, says Australia’s Griffith University Professor Ross Guest.

AHAU, Rotuma--- Fiji’s furthest flung island Rotuma is poised to start exporting food and water to Tuvalu and other countries in the northern Pacific.

NATADOLA, Fiji --- Papua New Guinea's Minister for Finance James Marape Tuesday urged members of the G77 and China to work together to achieve their development goals.

NATADOLA, Fiji --- Fiji’s chairmanship of the largest voting bloc within the United Nations, the G77, was commended today by the Solomon Islands.

NATADOLA, Fiji --- The effects of climate change, poverty, resource depletion and gender equality dominated the first session of talks at the Group of 77 countries High Level Panel of Eminent Personalities of the South meeting, held at Natadola Tuesday.

NATADOLA, Fiji --- Kiribati has expressed its desire to take up membership of the G77 to strengthen its position on the global stage.

NATADOLA, Fiji --- Fiji’s Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama urged representatives from 15 countries gathered at the Group of 77 meeting currently underway in Natadola to work together to address issues facing member states.

SUVA, Fiji -- The Under-Secretary of the United Nations Dr Babatunde Osotimehin says the UN is positive about Fiji’s elections in 2014

NATADOLA, Fiji -- Fiji's Prime Minister and current chair of the Group of 77 Frank Bainimarama has spoken about the need to change the development system of the United Nations.

SUVA, Fiji (FIJI TIMES) ---- The Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority has confirmed the importation of drugs and other contraband through Suva's wharves.

SUVA, Fiji (USP) -- A special function to mark the one-year partnership extension for the year 2013 between the University of the South Pacific and Australia was held on 30 January.

SUVA, Fiji (FWCC) --- A national survey of women in Fiji has found that more than three in five (64% of women) who had ever been in a relationship have experienced physical or sexual violence or both by a husband or intimate partner.

SUVA, Fiji (FIJI LIVE) ---- Former United People’s Party President Mick Beddoes is intending to apply for a membership with the newly proposed Social Democratic Liberal Party (SDL).

RAROTONGA, Cook Islands (RADIO AUSTRALIA) --- Cook Islands MP, Norman George, has criticised his country's prime minister for being soft on Fiji's government.

NADI, Fiji --- The South Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) hopes a two day capacity building workshop in Nadi, Fiji will help investment promotion agencies and investment units contribute to boosting Foreign Direct Investment and economic growth in Pacific Island Countries.

SUVA, Fiji (FIJI LIVE) ---- Fiji's military as an institution will not support any political party even if Prime Minister and Army Commander Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama decides to form a party.

SUVA, Fiji (RADIO AUSTRALIA) --- The Fijian Government has missed a self-imposed deadline to present its new draft constitution.

SUVA, Fiji -- Fiji's Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama Monday received his Vanuatu counterpart, Prime Minister Moana Kalosil Carcasses.

SUVA, Fiji --- No dates have been finalised on when Fiji will go to the polls next year.

SUVA, Fiji --- The Fiji Transnational Crime Unit will start monitoring the movement of Chinese immigrants in the country, its leader, Savenaca Tuivaga said.

SUVA, Fiji --- The G77 high-level panel meeting which commences in Fiji on Tuesday will discuss creative ways in which the 132 developing countries can engage and cooperate.

SUVA, Fiji --- Former Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands Manasseh Sogavare says the Solomon Islands is satisfied that Fiji is on the right track to democracy.

SUVA, Fiji --- Fiji’s Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama hopes to have a new constitution by June.

SUVA, Fiji --- Fiji’s Attorney General and Minister for Election Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says the focus is now on the compilation of the country’s new constitution.

SUVA, Fiji --- The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) vision should be geared towards securing a healthy, wealthy and prosperous region, says Papua New Guinea High Commissioner to Fiji, Peter Eafeare.

SUVA, Fiji --- Pacific Regional Non-Governmental Organisations (PRNGOS) came away delighted from initial contact and discussions with the visiting Melanesian Spearhead Group Eminent Persons Group in Suva Wednesday.

SUVA, Fiji --- Fiji's Registrar for Political Parties, Mohammed Saneem, announced today that the National Federation Party (NFP), the Fiji Labour Party (FLP) and the Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) have been registered under the Political Parties Decree.

SUVA, Fiji ---- The prospects for Fiji Fashion Week in 2013 are in serious doubt because of a lack of support from sponsors even after financial contribution from naming rights sponsor MHCC.

Air Pacific, Fiji’s national carrier soon to be flying as ‘Fiji Airways’ has announced that following the conclusion of a highly competitive bidding process, it had selected two major international aviation banks for European export credit financing for its three new A330-200 aircraft. The two banks are German-based: KfW IPEX-Bank ...

SYDNEY, Australia (AAP) - Australia will lose its political and strategic influence in Fiji if it doesn't restore good relations as soon as possible, the Pacific nation's former prime minister says.

The Forum Secretariat is currently coordinating a review of The Pacific Plan, while the MSG Secretariat is coordinating a review of the Melanesian Spearhead Group to chart a way forward for the next twenty five years.

SUVA, Fiji ----- There is major concern over the continuing high rate of suicides in Fiji, particularly by young people.

SUVA, Fiji---- Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the Korean NGO, ‘World Zero Tuberculosis (TB) Movement’ will implement the project on the capacity building of TB control services in the Northern division of Fiji, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Fiji and World Health Organisation-South ...

SUVA, Fiji ----- Fiji’s presence and contribution towards the efforts International Criminal Police Organization’s (INTERPOL) in the region was praised by the Secretary General of INTERPOL Ronal Noble.

SUVA, Fiji---- Fiji underlined its commitment to put an end to gender-based violence by signing a global ‘Commit’ campaign Wednesday becoming the first of 27 countries to do so.

MSC certification has landed Fiji Albacore Tuna on the European stage: In a world-first, international seafood supplier Anova Seafood brings the first MSC labeled tuna from Fiji to Europe.

SUVA, Fiji---- The Methodist Church of Fiji is hoping to hold its Annual General Meeting with its fundraising this year.

SUVA, Fiji ---- The head of the University of the South Pacific says Kiribati will be the first to benefit from an upgrade to tertiary education planned for the region over the next six years.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand ----Amnesty International says video appearing to show the vicious beating of two Fijian prisoners is just one of several cases it is aware of.

NADI, Fiji --- U.S Ambassador to Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga and Tuvalu Frankie Reed opened a three-day regional workshop today on combating human trafficking and child sex tourism.

SUVA, Fiji --- Economic empowerment is this year’s National Council of Women’s International Women’s Day celebrations focus says NCW general secretary, Fay Volatabu.

SUVA, Fiji ---- Sixty-two new HIV/AIDS cases were confirmed in Fiji last year, bringing the total number of people living with HIV/AIDS since 1989 to 482.

SUVA, Fiji ---- Former Director of Public Prosecutions and first female High Court judge Nazhat Shameem has been named Fiji’s very first Goodwill Ambassador for Women.

SUVA, Fiji --- Just days after a graphic video of prisoners being severely beaten, Fiji police have ordered a ban on a street march planned for the capital, Suva today.

NADI, Fiji (MINFO) ---- Fiji has called on the European Union (EU) to meet the June deadline established by the Pacific ACP to conclude its comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU.

SUVA, Fiji---- Reports have surfaced that the region’s premier political body the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat is employing two senior officers with expired work visas in Fiji.

SUVA, Fiji ---- Fiji's acting Permanent secretary for Justice, Mere Vuniwaqa, has resigned for personal reasons.

SUVA, Fiji ----The Fijian government has already prepared a draft constitution that will be presented to the Constituent Assembly.

NADI, Fiji ---- The Fiji government is looking forward to the appointment of a Climate Change Advisor to strengthen the MSG secretariat’s role in addressing this issue.

SUVA, Fiji --- Fiji needs new political parties with new leadership, Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama says as the country prepares for the 2014 General Election.

SUVA, Fiji --- Fiji’s Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama says no one condones prisoner brutality, but he stands by his men as they do a job "for you and your family".

SUVA, Fiji --- Accountability and Transparency Commission will be set up by the Fiji government in the next three months.

SUVA, Fiji --- The proposed Fiji Labour Party has been given more time to respond to impersonation allegations by some of their field officers.

SUVA, Fiji --- Fiji President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau has officially renamed the container vessel Reef Nauru, the Mana.

SUVA, Fiji ----- Fiji's Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its Climate Change Unit has sought the assistance of the media to educate Fijians on issues pertaining to climate change.

SUVA, Fiji --- Co-operation between Fiji and Tuvalu on fisheries issues will be further developed.

SUVA, Fiji --- High Court Judge, Justice Anjala Wati has dismissed the proposed Fiji Labour Party’s case against the Registration of Political Parties Decree.

SUVA, Fiji ---- The Pacific's peak geoscience advisory body has been accused of assisting United States aerospace giant Lockheed Martin in negotiations for Fiji's new draft decree on seafloor mining.

Minerals, such as rare earth metals, are increasingly becoming an important commodity in a resource-constrained world economy. As a result new frontiers both onshore and offshore, to the depths of the ocean, are emerging around the world.

Minerals, such as rare earth metals, are increasingly becoming an important commodity in a resource-constrained world economy. As a result new frontiers both onshore and offshore, to the depths of the ocean, are emerging around the world.

SUVA, Fiji --- A former prime minister of Fiji, Mahendra Chaudhry, says the regime’s draft constitution should be to put to a referendum.

SUVA, Fiji ---- Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Peter O’ Neill has Tuesday announced that PNG will provide K50million (FJD$40.36million) to assist Fiji prepare for elections in 2014.

NADI, Fiji --- The Pacific region can take appropriate actions to advance human development, as outlined in the 2013 Human Development Report—The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World.

SUVA, Fiji ----Papua New Guinea’s first and longest-serving prime minister, Sir Michael Somare, says their stance on Fiji remains the same – they support Fiji’s leadership.

SUVA, Fiji ---- Papua New Guinea’s founding Prime Minister, Sir Michael Somare has challenged the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) to change the label of being an ‘arc of instability’ to that of being an ‘arc of prosperity.’

SUVA, Fiji ---- The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) should focus its energy and limited resources on a few things it can do well, says former PNG Prime Minister, Sir Michael Somare.

SUVA, Fiji ---- A senior officer in Fiji's military has rejected any criticism in a recent study indicating many Fijians want a smaller army with no political role.

SUVA, Fiji --- The Fiji Financial Intelligence Unit suspects people from Fiji may be involved in human trafficking abroad.

SUVA, Fiji --- Fiji and other Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) countries need to build better relations and share knowledge amongst each other, says National Employment Centre chief executive Vilimone Baleidrokadroka.

NADI, Fiji ----- The arrival of Air Pacific’s new A330-200 Airbus will enable Fiji to expand and sustain its connections to countries with a high number of out-bound tourists, says Fiji President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau.

NADI, Fiji--- Solomon Islands Finance Minister Ric Hou says he expects mining to take over from logging as his country's economic mainstay.

NADI, FIJI --- Flood affected families in Nadi who benefitted from Fiji’s first cash-for-work project to recover from the devastating effects of the twin floods of early 2012, had a first-hand chance to share their stories with Nicholas Rosellini, the UNDP Deputy Assistant Administrator and Deputy Regional Director for Asia ...

SUVA, Fiji ---- The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) needs a ‘roadmap’ to guide its work for the next 25 years and beyond.

SUVA, Fiji ---- The manager of the Pacific Heritage Hub has called on the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) countries Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the Kanaks of New Caledonia to involve young Melanesians in promoting their culture and heritage.

SUVA, Fiji --- It wouldn’t have been right for Fiji not to join the Melanesian Spearhead Group when it did in 1996, says then Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.

SUVA, FIJI --- New Zealand companies injected $342million (US$191 million) into the local economy from 2005 to 2010, adding mileage to its third spot ranking as one of Fiji's top five investors behind China and Australia.

SUVA, Fiji---- For the first time in Fiji, three government ministries have worked together to publish a glossary of climate change terms, translated into the iTaukei vernacular language.

SUVA, Fiji ---- Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama released the draft document in Suva, Thursday.

SUVA, Fiji --- New trial dates were set yesterday for the case against four senior Methodist Church ministers in Fiji facing charges of organising and participating in an unlawful meeting.

SUVA, Fiji ---- The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) has announced the appointment of Inoke Ratukalou from Fiji as its new Director of the Land Resources Division.

SUVA, Fiji ---- The president of the proposed National Federation Party in Fiji says he is happy a draft constitution has been released.

SUVA, Fiji ---- Fiji's Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says the draft Constitution spells the way forward for a new Fiji.

SUVA, Fiji --- Fiji's Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says he will resign as army commander to contest the 2014 elections.

SUVA, Fiji ---- Any amendments to Fiji’s new constitution will have to be approved by majority of the registered voters and parliament.

SUVA, Fiji ---- The Acting Australian High Commissioner to Fiji, Glenn Miles told a gathering of Australia Award scholars that people to people connection is very important.

SUVA, Fiji --- The Biosecurity Authority of Fiji has warned that the country could face losses of up to $21million (US$11.7 million) in export earnings if the spread of dalo beetles is not arrested.

SUVA, Fiji --- The Castaway Island Resort has successfully bounced back from the $6million (US$3.3 million) loss incurred by Tropical Cyclone Evan in December.

SIGATOKA, Fiji --- Church leaders have failed to step up to the challenge of climate change, says Taholo Kami, Regional Director for Oceania Program of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

SIGATOKA, Fiji --- Double standards by key organizations and pressure from big investors pose a major threat to the environment, religious leaders were told at a stewardship summit Tuesday.

SIGATOKA, Fiji --- Seawalls are not an option to stop rising sea levels and villagers threatened by climate change must be relocated, religious leaders have been told.

SIGATOKA, Fiji ---Women played an integral part in the success of environmental conservation projects in Fiji's Northern Division.

SEAWALLS are not an option to stop rising sea levels and villagers threatened by climate change must be relocated, religious leaders have been told.

SIGATOKA, Fiji --- Religious leaders have been challenged to involve young people in discussions on important social issues such as the environment and extractive industries.

SIGATOKA, Fiji ---Fiji’s Department of Environment lags behind in balancing, enforcing and monitoring the environmental trade-offs of the pace of national social and economic development, says President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau.

SUVA, Fiji --- Fiji’s Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama is concerned that some individuals and non-government organisations are trying to misrepresent and mislead the public about the draft constitution.

The Commerce Commission of Fiji (CCOF) is charged with fostering competition in the Fiji economy and discouraging non-competitive behaviour or the abuse of "substantial market power".

SUVA, Fiji ---- Fiji’s former Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase who was released from prison yesterday is calling on all Fijians to make their submissions on the new draft Constitution.

SIGATOKA, Fiji -- Poaching of Marine Protected Areas is a concern to coastal village communities.

SUVA, Fiji ---- Fiji's draft Constitution has a lot of mechanisms to prevent future coups in Fiji, says Attorney General and Minister for Elections, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.

SUVA, Fiji --- Fiji Airways has been crowned top choice among the amazing six airlines of the Pacific Rim that have made it into top 10 this year for its stunning livery.

SUVA, Fiji ---- National observers will now have a clear guideline on the monitoring, control and surveillance of licensed long line fishing boats in Fiji.

SUVA, Fiji --- The provision of effective care for women in need of maternal health services was boosted this week with the handing over of emergency obstetric care (EmOC) equipment on Thursday to the Ministry of Health (MOH) from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

SUVA, Fiji -- Fiji’s Electoral Commission will be set up once the new Constitution is in place.

SUVA, Fiji ---- Fiji's Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama refutes claims that the draft Constitution gives too much power to the next Prime Minister.

SUVA, Fiji--- Fiji's Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama has defended his government’s position on the transfer of land in Momi.

SUVA, Fiji ---At church, at the dinner table, at work or at school, we are surrounded by HIV prevention messages, and many of us have heard the common refrain: Abstain, Be Faithful, Use a Condom, otherwise known as ‘ABC’.

SUVA, Fiji ---A new report on Fiji's inter-ethnic relations says decrees and constitutional clauses for equality are not enough to force change in the country.

SUVA, Fiji --- Fiji's official tourism body is boycotting an event aimed at luring Australians to the Pacific, claiming it may instead encourage holidaymakers away from Fiji.

SUVA, Fiji ----Representatives of the group known as the United Front for a Democratic Fiji has proposed for the reinstatement of the Yash Ghai Commission’s draft constitution.

NADI, Fiji ---Fiji's President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau opened a regional consultation on HIV and AIDS in Nadi today.

SUVA, Fiji ---- The deadline for submissions on Fiji's draft constitution has been extended by four days.

SUVA, Fiji ---Ministers from the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) expressed concern about the Fiji government’s recent actions Friday and stressed elections scheduled to be held next year must be free and fair.

One of my most cherishable memories at the University of the South Pacific is that of a visit to the journalism students’ newsroom by a small group of quaintly dressed people, some of them wearing heavy furs and thick skintight leather jackets, rugged blankets and heavy boots. And it was ...

More coastal villages may have to relocate due to eroding shorelines and coastal flooding

An offshore investment made by pension funds in the Pacific does not only have to mean diversifying to the more developed Western or Asian economies.

After years of effort to get Fiji tuna caught using longline fishing method to carry MSC certification, the first taste for European consumers carrying the coveted label will hit their stores in June. This follows the launch of the Fiji albacore tuna range by global seafood supplier Anova Seafood at ...

The revitalisation of the country’s oldest overseas trade is an ambitious project that could shake the very root of the Fijian economy and catapult the earning power of Fijian landowners to a level never experienced before. This could earn the country millions and even billions of dollars in the next ...

‘The inability to grasp simple concepts like calculating interest, planning a budget, computing tax payments, investing wisely, discerning between competing financial offerings such as mortgages besides other financial concepts can put individuals at a distinct disadvantage and set them on a path to financial ruin despite being educated’

Joji Nava is a 21-year old from Namarai Village in Nakorotubu, Ra on the western side of Fiji’s main island Viti Levu. Dropping out of school in 2010, he decided to return to his village to start subsistence farming to help feed his family. People on that side of the ...

Is Fiji now finally in transition towards a new government, after more than six years of military rule? Frustratingly for many, it’s still too soon to tell. Much controversy has been stirred up this year so far, within the country and overseas, about the drafting of a new constitution and ...

Low productivity in state-owned enterprises is inhibiting growth in the poor islands countries, a leading regional development assistance advocate has cautioned.

Fiji companies trading with China stand to benefit immensely from the ANZ Bank’s Renminbi Trading Platform. Launched recently in Suva, the platform now means Fiji traders won’t have to convert their cash into US dollars and then convert it again into Chinese currency—termed as double conversion.

Over the next few weeks, political groupings formed under the new Political Parties (Registration, Conduct, Funding and Disclosures) Decree 2013 will be applying to register as hopeful new political parties aspiring to contest the next national election, scheduled for September next year.

The University of the South Pacific will require $242 million to finance its Strategic Plan which aims to focus on meeting the needs of the region.

A mere $5 a month from the Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF) as pension annuity payout for some of its members is almost a joke. But this has long been the harsh reality for the nation’s only superannuation fund that caters for the country’s working population.

Fiji will take on its role as chair of G77—a significant group of developing nations from across the world—this year. It was elected to the post on September 28 last year at the United Nations in New York.

Deaths of young school-leavers partying after their exams in Australia has been alarming everyone in recent years but an incident in Fiji last month has sparked furore among parents.

As the European Union (EU) takes Fiji and Vanuatu to task for having weak laws to tackle illegal fishing, international environmental campaigner Greenpeace has urged the EU to also set a good example and support local fish conservation efforts while fishing in the Pacific.

Capacity, Capability and Collaboration will prominently feature in this month’s Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC) conference in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Canberra began 2013 by restoring full diplomatic ties with Suva and urging Australian businesses to capitalise on impending boom in Papua New Guinea. Several senior Australian government ministers landed in PNG last month on separate occasions seeking closer ties.

Last month, Sir Mekere Morauta launched a new website, calling for public submissions into his review of the Pacific Plan. Over the next eight months, the former Papua New Guinea Prime Minister will lead a team around the region to look at the plan, which is supposed to set priorities ...

Fiji and New Zealand handed Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) a severe blow in their 2012 profit results with both countries noticeably losing sales and demand for alcohol and beverages due to economic slowdown.

As more and more weather systems develop over the next few months with potential to become full-blown cyclones that can ravage vulnerable islands countries in the Pacific and do untold damage to properties and lives, the importance of disaster preparedness is as critical as ever.

Finally official in Fiji is the proposed sale by the Fiji government of its shares in FINTEL (Fiji International Telecommunications Ltd) to Amalgamated Telecom Holdings (ATH).

Friendly competition between two Melanesian airlines has turned sour after one government closed its door on cooperation.

The London Olympics had just finished. Our medal hopes were dashed yet again, or so we thought. The Paralympics that followed barely rated a mention with little television coverage.

Aviation agencies around the world have been talking about how the Integrated Aviation Management System or IAMS has made their work more efficient.

A red alert is on for two of Fiji’s major export commodities—fish, which earns around $200 million in foreign exchange annually—and sugar, which rakes in around $100 million a year.

So the PACP (Pacific group of the African, Caribbean, Pacific group of states) leaders have spoken. They have made their point loud and clear: They’ve had enough of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS). They want Fiji back into the PACP fold. Plus, they want to handle all EPA (a ...

Tucked among the trees in a little corner of Toorak in Suva, the headquarters of St John Association of Fiji (used to be known as St John Ambulance), may at first glance seem insignificant to a visitor from outside Suva or Viti Levu.

‘Fiji’s poor citizens have missed out on a huge opportunity to better their living standards because of these illogically unreasonable restrictions that ostensibly are aimed at hurting the interim administration. While it has made little difference to the administration, it has hurt people badly by keeping them out of the ...

It is now a month since the Leaders Summit in Rarotonga and things that were hushed up during the meeting are now beginning to come out.

Fairtrade certification of sugar cane in Vanua Levu, Fiji, is producing significant economic benefits, according to a new study by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).

Leading Australian travel operator, Flight Centre, has listed Fiji as one of its target business expansions over the next five years as it foresees phenomenal growth in both leisure and corporate travels.

The media's role is said to be to hold a mirror to the government and to society without fear or favour. But Pacific media practitioners and academics are doing a disservice to their professions and to media consumers at large as they continue blackening one other's faces putting their narrow ...

It was a typical Monday on the Coral Coast. Waves rose and crashed out on the reef. A bleach blonde Californian fiddled with a camera, his surfboards stacked a few hundred feet away in the sand. His brother and their friend chatted with a local villager, discussing plans for the ...

Island Brewing Company has added three new export markets—Japan, Hawaii and California—taking the number of export markets to a total of six. These partnerships are pivotal for the company and will increase export production ten-fold over the next five years.

A resurgence of use of cannabis in Fiji and three American Pacific islands territories has the United Nations alarmed and looking for solutions.

Not many tourists associate the sport of cricket with Fiji. To most ‘outsiders,’ sport in the Pacific usually refers to rugby or to a lesser extent football.

‘These announcements reflect the rising confidence of New Zealand and Australia that the Fiji leadership is on the right track, although they couldn’t be caught dead saying it in so many words in the media. In their pronouncements, both countries have been cautious. Despite their financial commitments, they still continue ...

Fiji’s Central Division, where the capital Suva is located, will be allocated more housing lots in the coming years to accommodate the growing number of people moving from the rural to the urban areas.

Air Vanuatu has scored a major victory. From July 1, it will be flying its 68-seater ATR72-500 aircraft once a week from Port Vila to Nausori Airport, Fiji’s second international airport, and back to Port Vila.

One of the first things that struck Tony Gollin when he joined Airports Fiji Ltd (AFL) last October as its chief executive officer was what he called “its enormous potential”.

In October 2010, Peace Corps volunteer Michelle Ferreira showed three women in Wailevu village on Vanua Levu how to make virgin coconut oil.

If the mana in kava still packs a punch, it is sorely needed. The Pacific’s kava producing nations are engaged in yet another rescue mission to save once and for all the reputation of this commodity.

Expect a ‘tit for tat’ battle between Australia’s mega-carrier Qantas and Fiji’s Air Pacific to get messy, observers have warned.

One man’s attempt to propel Fiji onto the international beauty pageant scene through the Miss World franchise in April turned into a curious and messy spectacle. It thrusted the country back into the global news agenda for all the wrong reasons and had the government annoyed at the damage to ...

The Pacific Islands Forum Ministerial Contact Group (MCG) on Fiji has acknowledged the country is “in transition” towards democracy following its third visit in early May—its first in three years.

Last month’s Ministerial Contact Group (MCG) meeting was a potential game changer that ended up simply reaffirming the sanctions status quo.

Expect new money (new credit) into Fiji’s financial system when the new commercial French owned Bred Bank begins operation in Fiji in September. Also expect the lowering of interest rates.

Economic conditions in Europe and North America remain volatile. It is uncertain economic times and there is little hope of conditions improving soon. The only certainty is that the volatile conditions are likely to remain for the rest of 2012 at least.

Forget China. The next best thing, if you want a new market brimming with more opportunities than you can swallow, is much closer to home than you think.

Not many tourists associate the sport of cricket with Fiji. To most ‘outsiders,’ sport in the Pacific usually refers to rugby, or to a lesser extent football.

Fiji is the latest Pacific Islands nation eyeing a fishing ban on sharks after Palau and Marshall declared their waters a shark sanctuary.

Plans by Australia’s top miner Newcrest to mine copper and gold in Fiji has hit a snag due to agitation by landowners.

The commitment by Fiji’s interim government for a list proportional representation method in the new parliament is welcome news for everyone.

Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd (CCA) expects to complete by the middle of this year any acquisition of businesses relating to the sale of its stake in the Australian-based Pacific Beverages Ltd.

It seems every corporate big player wants a slice of the big spending cake of Asia. The airlines are no exception.

Mahendra Dahia, a director in Fiji-based Dahia Shoes, is unmistakably excited.

That message is ringing loud and clear on many different levels.

Ignore the political sideshows and pre-World Cup scaremongering. The possibility of Fiji, Samoa and Tonga ever hosting a Rugby World Cup maybe slim, but New Zealand hasn’t forgotten its Pacific islands neighbours as the country counts down to hosting this year’s biggest international sporting event in September.

For a small islands nation, Fiji has too many universities that are creating waste and un-necessary duplication of roles and courses, a Fiji-born lawyer and former diplomat has said.