Solomon Islands

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---The Solomon Islands Government has made history in the international front after its successful lead in bidding to decolonise Federate State of Micronesia went through United Nation.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- Solomon Islands Ministry of Education is encouraging teachers to return to work today while responsible authorities sort out their salary payments.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- Gold Ridge Mining Company (GRML) workers in Solomon Islands denied access to the mine site on Friday after landowners armed with knives and sticks mounted a road block in protest against the company operations in the area.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands---- Solomon Islands Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo has re-assured the Republic of China’s visiting deputy Foreign Minister, Shin Ting, of Solomon Islands unwavering support to Taiwan's meaningful participation in the UN system, including its aspirations to be a member of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and UN ...

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- The president of Solomon Islands National Teachers Association (SINTA), Samson Faisi is urging teachers in Honiara not to return to work despite calls made by Honiara Town Council school principals to resume classes today.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- The High Court in Solomon Islands has sentenced a Vietnamese national to four and a half years in prison for unlawful wounding of a crew member of a fishing vessel.

HONIARA,Solomon Islands - With seven out of ten Solomon Islanders under the age of 29 and the working-age population set to increase by 30 per cent in the next decade, expanding employment and livelihood opportunities for Solomon Islanders is critically important, according to a new World Bank report, Skills for ...

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- The Solomon Islands Government is to approach the New Zealand Government about engaging its defence force if there are future uprisings.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- Solomon Islands Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo has withdrawn the Prime Minister's Pension and Benefits bill 2013 on the floor of parliament.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- Teachers in the Solomon Islands say they will not resume classes until their pay dispute is resolved.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- The Minister of Police, National Security and Correctional Services Chris Laore says the Police Bill will contribute to creating a balanced and sustainable economy for the country if it becomes law.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- Special Secretary to the Solomon Islands Prime Minister Dr Philip Tagini says the National Coalition for Reform and Advancement (NCRA) vows to end political instability syndrome.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- The proposed peaceful demonstration by the Solomon Islands National Teacher’s Association (SINTA) has been postponed following a meeting with the Commissioner of Police in Honiara.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands--- Solomon Island Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo has paid tribute to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who died on Monday describing her as the champion of reform in the Commonwealth and the world at large.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- Solomon Islands Ministry of Culture and Tourism has launched its 'Measuring Tourism in the Solomon Islands' project.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- The Solomon Islands Government is encouraging both local and foreign companies doing business under the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Trade Agreement to showcase their products and services during the upcoming MSG Silver Jubilee celebrations in Honiara.

Honiara, Solomon Islands—Global UK-based telecommunications giant Vodafone will inch closer to its market ambitions in the motherlode of the Pacific mobile and data market with a historic deal set to take place in Port Moresby today.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- An Australian politician is spearheading efforts to get a dying Solomon Islands girl to Australia for urgent hospital treatment.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- Anti-corruption Network Solomon Islands has called on the parliamentary Entitlements Commission to immediately revoke the huge increase in entitlements for members of parliament.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- The chairman of Solomon Islands Parliamentary Entitlements Commission, Johnson Siapu says the increase in entitlements of Members of Parliament is the result of careful assessment and deliberation.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- The Solomon Islands Government says it hopes to have tough new anti-tobacco laws in place by the end of May to coincide with World No Tobacco Day.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- New Zealand High Commissioner to Solomon Islands, Mark Ramsden and Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA)Director General, James Movick have signed an agreement worth almost NZ$ 4,000,000 over five years to support specific aspects of fisheries sector training for both the public and private sectors.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- People in Honiara have been encouraged to join in the upcoming celebrations marking the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Silver Jubilee in Honiara.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- Solomon Islands is keen to bolster its relationship with Great Britain after 35 years of Independence.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- An international agency that monitors government corruption says the Solomon Islands Government is behaving irresponsibly with its budget.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- Solomon Islands National Referral Hospital (NRH) is running out of blood and is urging the public to donate voluntarily to cater for the demand at hand.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- The much awaited report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in Solomon Islands has been released unofficially by the editor of the report, The Rt. Rev Dr Terry Brown.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- The Solomon Islands and regional media family today mourns the sudden death of the national broadcaster's news editor, Walter nalangu.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- Taiwan has pledged to introduce new crop varieties and seed production to Solomon Islands.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- The AusAID Director General, Peter Baxter will visit Honiara next week for the annual Solomon Islands-Australia Partnership for Development Talks.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- The Chairman of the Solomon Islands Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), Father Sam Ata says the public release of the Truth and Reconciliation Final Report is being done without the knowledge of the commission and is a breach to the TRC Act.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- After ten years of working towards peace and reconciliation in the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, following a five-year civil conflict known as the ‘Tensions’ (1998-2003) which left 30,000 people displaced and hundreds unaccounted for, people now go about their daily lives in improved freedom ...

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- The chief executive of the group, Forum Solomon Islands International, is asking who will be liable for the consequences of the leaking of a report into ethnic tensions quelled by international military intervention a decade ago.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- Solomon Airlines has advised that it’s Airbus aircraft, H4-BUS will be ferried to Manila again to undergo maintenance, which was scheduled to start last month.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- It’s been claimed in Solomon Islands that its Prime Minister, Gordon Darcy Lilo acted unlawfully when he delayed the release of the controversial Truth and Reconciliation Report (TRC).

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- Senior officials from Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands have concluded the 3rd round of bilateral negotiations on the Investment Promotion Protection Agreement (IPPA) in Honiara.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- Solomon Islands Commissioner of Inland Revenue Mark Bell has announced the launch of Inland Revenue’s Tax Compliance Focus for 2013 to 2015.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- Solomon Islands and Australia have agreed to enhance their relationship for development at today's partnership talks in Honiara.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- Solomon Islands foreign office is working on arrangements to return the two I-Kiribati fishermen who drifted to the Solomon Islands after surviving the ocean for more than three weeks.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- With growing public debate over the delay, and the subsequent unofficial release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) report in Solomon Islands, local academic based in Hawaii, Dr Tarcisius Tara Kabutaulaka, says pressure groups should have used the Courts.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- Solomon Islands need to strengthen its internal mechanism to closely monitor the flow of foreign investment into the country.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- Disaster management officials in Solomon Islands are welcoming the opportunity to test new tsunami warning products tomorrow as part of a region-wide drill called PacWave 13.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- Acting Commissioner of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF), Junita Matanga has denied reports in media that the departure of former Commissioner John Lansley has caused a split in the force, also denying claims that Police officers have threatened to stage a 14-day-sit-in protest if ...

Honiara, May 13 --– Local tuna boat operators targeting albacore in the South Pacific are under threat of being pushed out of operation altogether due to the steady growth in numbers of subsidised foreign fishing vessels.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- Solomon Island's first female acting police chief, Junita Matanga has denied reports the departure of former Commissioner John Lansley has caused a split in the force.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- Solomon Islands tuna industry is growing and the Ministry of Fisheries is committed to enure the country's tuna resources are sustainable, says the Fisheries Permanent Secretary Dr Chris Ramofafia.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- An independent environment audit into Solomon Islands Gold Ridge Tailings Dam recommends that the Gold Ridge Mining Limited (GRML) should shut down its operations, install the water treatment plant and discontinue any further extraction of water from Chovohio River.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---A hunt for millions of dollars in lost Japanese wartime gold worthy of a thriller movie plot is unfolding in the Solomon Islands.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands (FAIRFAX NZ) ---- The continuing slaughter of dolphins in the Solomon Islands is set to hit the troubled nation's struggling tourism industry.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands (RADIO AUSTRALIA) ---- Solomon Islands' tourism minister, Samuel Manetoali, says his government will step in to resolve a dispute around dolphin slaughtering on one of the country's islands.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- Solomon Islands Health authorities in collaboration with the World health Organization (WHO) are working closely on strategic plans to prevent any increase of dengue fever in the country.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ----- Pasture work at two major cattle farms in Malaita and Western Provinces is underway as the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock works on developing the country’s beef industry by bringing more cattle into the country.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- Pacific governments will hear a call for island leaders to review forms of governance and development in the region at an assembly of church leaders in Honiara beginning Friday.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- A tight race appears to be forming for the position of general secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ----- Churches must take active roles in the fight against gender-based violence, a regional workshop was told

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- Governments must work with churches in key areas for the benefit of the people, says Solomon Islands Deputy Prime Minister, Mannaseh Maelanga.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- The Uniting Church has asked for forgiveness for the divisions and pain it has caused Pacific communities in the past.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ----- Disaster officials in Solomon Islands say heavy rain has delayed aid efforts for villages affect by the earthquake and tsunami which hit nearly a month ago.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- Religious leaders in the Pacific must speak out on mining and other issues which have an impact on the lives of the people.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands----Christians must fight against the structural injustices like racism, patriarchy and discrimination against women.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---The Pacific Conference of Churches has accepted a report on the state of the regional body’s finances.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ----- Unemployment, landlessness and the failure of the institution of marriage have been described as emerging threats to regional instability.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- The Solomon Islands government has lifted a three-year ban on harvesting and exporting of beche-de-mer products.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands -- Clerk of the Solomon Islands parliament Taiasi Sanga has been honoured for services to the country during a life-long career in the national parliament.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- Conflict will be a threat to regional stability in this century if steps are not taken to understand the root causes of injustice, aggression and climate change.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- Church leaders must address the dangerous trends which threaten plant species and the environment, says Tongan theologian Reverend Doctor Tevita Havea.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands -- Clerk of the Solomon Islands parliament Taeasi Sanga has been honoured for services to the country during a life-long career in the national parliament.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands---Larger Pacific island churches must pay more attention to the threat of climate change and resource use and assist smaller communities which are directly threatened by rising sea levels and environmental degradation.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ----Reverend Francois Pihaatae was elected General Secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) in an overwhelming victory in Honiara Saturday.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- Solomon Islands Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo has successfully negotiated an agreement between disputing landowning groups in the Munda region who signed a deal to allow work on the Munda Airport Project to resume.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- Tahiti self-determination

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- Health authorities in Solomon Islands have declared a state of emergency Tuesday, as the dengue fever outbreak takes its toll.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- A former Member of Solomon Islands Parliament for Central Honiara Constituency has died.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- The Leadership Code Commission in Solomon Islands could consider the sexual misconduct complaint against the Prime Minister as early as next week, following the appointment of two commissioners to the anti-corruption body.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---Thirty days after a remote region of Solomon Islands was hit by an earthquake and tsunami, permanent housing and sanitation still pose a challenge.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- The dengue fever outbreak in Solomon Islands impacts heavily on the country’s tourism industry.

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

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.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- As part of RAMSI’s transition, the withdrawal of the Participating Police Force (PPF) from the police post at Lofung in the Shortland Islands is the 11th such event undertaken in the past 18 months as the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) assumes greater responsibility for ...

HONIARA, Solomon Islands --- The Police Bill 2013 aims to develop a legislation that will provide a solid foundation in strengthening the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force operational capabilities, maintain law and order, ensure community safety and build community support and confidence.

HONIARA, Solomon Islands ---- Solomon Islands diplomats serving in overseas mission will soon see changes in their job descriptions.

National air carrier Solomon Airlines has won the top award at Solomon Islands’ inaugural Business Excellence Awards at Honiara’s Heritage Park Hotel complex on Saturday night.

The Papua New Guinea Defence Force has completed a 10-year stint under the military component of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands. JOHNSON HONIMAE reports on the farewell of the PNGDF.

It’s a story that won’t go away. Like a narrative being developed into a movie, the plot just gets thicker by the day. The story is about treasure hunt in Solomon Islands. And the chances are that you’ve heard it before. Or read about it somewhere.

Australia, New Zealand and big Pacific Islands countries have been called on to be prepared to accept people fleeing climate change disasters in small Pacific countries.

The outstanding service of the Clerk to Solomon Islands’ National Parliament, Taeasi Sanga, has been recognised with the RAMSI Special Coordinator’s Award for Women. Johnson Honimae profiles the inspiring story of this quiet achiever.

As RAMSI prepares to downsize, Solomon Islanders are taking responsibility for the welfare of their communities as JOHNSON HONIMAE found out during a series of community outreach meetings recently.

Solomon Islands was on a downward spiral when an Australian-led intervention force landed in Honiara in 2003. The country was then dubbed “a failed state.” For good reasons.

It was around 2002/2003— when Solomon Islands was in the middle of a bloody and costly ethnic crisis, engulfing the nation and was tearing it apart.

As the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) scales down its operation, the country it came to rescue 10 years earlier from a deadly ethnic social uprising appears to be tethering on yet another.

Working with RAMSI on governance reforms has only heightened Atenasi Ata-Wasuka’s interest in playing a direct role in taking her country forward.

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).

Some people have heard the phrase ‘RAMSI’s transition’, and think this means the mission is packing up and leaving but this is not the case. What RAMSI is doing is changing and adapting to what the Solomon Islands needs from the mission now.

When someone asks me a question for which I don’t know the answer, I often ask a question in return: “How long’s a piece of string?” This saying came to mind time and again as I read The Last Wild Island: Saving Tetepare by John Read. Such is the implicit ...

Appointed Chairman of the Solomon Islands Public Service Commission in 2009, Eliam Tanirongo is clear about the pivotal role the country’s Institute for Public Administration and Management (IPAM) is playing in the on-going efforts to strengthen and reform the public service. Here, he speaks with QILA TUHANUKU about the progress ...

Only three events this year have managed to bridge Solomon Islands divisive politics, bringing together the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.

It all began with a dress and an island shirt left in the room of Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge during their recent visit to the Solomon Islands, that has embarrassed palace officials, sparked furor in cyberspace and anger in Honiara towards a ...

‘From policing to prosecution, some impressive Pacific women are helping Solomon Islands build a strong, fair and accessible justice system. As ERIN GLEESON discovered, their stories reveal just how much a shared Pacific Way is making a difference to the country’s efforts to entrench the rule of law and revitalise ...

In the Solomon Islands' province of Isabel, police morale is up and community confidence growing, as Erin Gleeson reports from Honiara.

Its progress as a national development project may seem slow to Western eyes but for the past two years, officials behind the Auluta Basin Oil Palm Project have navigated through the contentious issue of landownership on the island of Malaita.

Achieving a viable and lasting structure for the provision of air services for passengers and cargo has been a huge challenge for airlines of the South Pacific.

As one of the longest running airlines in the region prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary in October with a new Dash 8 aircraft, the stage is set for what Solomon Airlines' chief executive Captain Ron Sumsum believes will be a critical period in determining the future of the national ...

It was in October 1962 that Australian aviator Laurie Crowley conceived the idea of Megapode Airlines—a charter service flying between the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.

In early April 2012, rumours spread briefly but quickly in Honiara of a return to tension-era conflict. The rumours were that members of the Isatabu Freedom Movement (the Guale militant group during the 1998–2003 period of civil unrest) were threatening to chase out Malaitans in communities around Guadalcanal plains.

A recent audit has confirmed Correctional Services Solomon Islands’ leading stance on gender equality. “This is a ground-breaking initiative. I do not know of another correctional service anywhere in the world that has actually conducted a gender audit.” — Emele Duituturaga-Jale

The Solomon Islands-RAMSI Partnership has been one of the focal points of an exhibition on peacekeeping and peace-building held at the United Nations in New York in June.

Gold discovery in Solomon Islands goes back more than 440 years. The yellow stuff was first discovered in 1568 when Spanish explorer Alvaro de Mendana de Neyra arrived at the major island in the nation, Guadalcanal, and named the group Solomon Islands after the King of Israel who had built ...

It was 6pm on a day in March 1996. And Kevin Riria Malopo, a landowner at Gold Ridge, Solomons’ only commercial gold mine outside the capital Honiara, remembers it well.

Joy, Peace, Progress and Prosperity; that men should brothers be, make nations see. Our Solomon Islands, our Solomon Islands—our nation Solomon Islands, stands forever more.

Pacific Islands delegates from Nauru, New Zealand and Niue were the first to arrive in Honiara for the 11th Festival of Pacific Arts.

Solomon Airlines will play a part in developing health facilities in Honiara as part of its community focus for its 50th anniversary.

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.

Over five weeks in April and May, Solomon Islands One Television premiered RAMSI’s new documentary series, Mere Blo Iumi, Stori Blo Oketa—Our Women, Their Stories.

By the time you’re reading this article, Solomon Islands will be ready—so say the organisers of the 11th Festival of Pacific Arts—to receive its Pacific guests for what promises to be a fun-filled two weeks of cultural festivities.

The latest People Survey has again revealed some interesting trends in Solomon Islands.

Banana trees in the garden, leafy greens for lunch, Lisa Hilli’s childhood was like many others in the Pacific. Only she grew up in the Queensland capital Brisbane, hundreds of kilometres from her ancestral home in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea.

Businessman David Iro, who pioneered solar development in his native Solomon Islands, was looking forward to cap off his success by manufacturing solar for the first time this yea—12 years after he started from almost nothing.

It’s a huge responsibility being the Governor of the Central Bank of a former failed state but Denton Rarawa believes only visionary leadership can keep Solomon Islands from sliding back into deficit.

A top Solomon Islands career public servant renowned for her fearless commitment to accountable government is this year’s recipient of the RAMSI Special Coordinator’s Award for Women.

The region’s leading tuna management control authority in the Pacific believes the latest move by the Solomon Islands to give priority to fishing companies that invest in the country would influence investment and offer more employment for locals.

As part of efforts to explain the plans for RAMSI’s transition, senior RAMSI and Solomon Islands Government officials have been holding consultations with provincial communities across the country.

When Danny Philip, Solomon Islands’ eighth prime minister, was forced on the floor of Parliament to tender his resignation last November, his accusers were adamant he deserved the humiliation.

Protests in Honiara during the election of new Prime Minister, Gordon Darcy Lilo late last year, provided an important barometer for the effectiveness of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force.

Gordon Darcy Lilo is truly Solomon Islands’ 2011 Christmas present. But as a present, the wrappings are so thick it keeps everyone guessing what the real present is.

It’s not often that one receives US$3.2 million-“Christmas pressies”. But that’s exactly what businessman Patrick Wong would have received by the time you are reading this, except the money is not all his.

There are two main ways in which people’s actions can lead to the collapse of reef fish stocks. The most well known is overfishing—catching too many fish. But human activity can also impact on reef fish stocks by preventing fish from spawning.

I bought a banana in Canberra last weekend. The one single banana cost me two Australian dollars. For the same money, I bought two dozen sweet bananas in Honiara (the Solomon Islands) a month ago.

Teisi Puguva, a revenue officer with the Ministry of Finance & Treasury’s Inland Revenue Division, recently had the opportunity to return to her home village in Arariki, on Wagina Island in southern Choiseul Province, for the first time in over seven years. TOM PERRY from RAMSI’s Public Affairs Unit was ...