The sea is rising, all is not well

VILLAGERS of Marau, east Guadalcanal, are living in fear. Sea level rise, they say, is eating away their shorelines and digging into their village. They don’t feel safer anymore. They feel their future is in jeopardy. To them, climate change is real. It is happening right before their eyes. They wanted to be relocated to…

Paralympic preparations going well

The head coach of the Solomon Islands athletes with disability says, preparations for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Scotland is going well. The duo, Janet Sipale and Noela has been under intensive training conducted by Topue himself and guided by the president of the Solomon Islands National Paralympics Committee (SINPC), Mrs Nina Davis. The duo…

Palau signs $28.8m loan for sewage improvement

Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao and Palau’s Finance Minister and ADB Governor Elbuchel Sadang have signed a loan agreement to fund the Koror-Airai Sanitation Project, which will improve the delivery of sanitation services in Palau. “The Government of Palau must be congratulated for their integrated approach to improving sanitation and water services,” said…

Pacific growth to pick up in 2014 – ADB

Economic growth in the Pacific is projected to rise to 5.4% in 2014 from 4.8% in 2013, according to the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) latest Asian Development Outlook 2014, launched in Sydney on Tuesday. Most economies across the Pacific are expected to perform better this year due to higher stimulus from the implementation of large…

Fiji rum is best in the world

FIJIS Bounty overproof rum has won a number of significant awards in competition with the worlds best rums at the San Francisco Spirits competition this year. In a statement this week, Coca-Cola Amatil Limited said Bounty overproof rum was one of the portfolios of Fiji Rum Co spirits brands owned by Coca-Cola Amatils Fiji and…

SI warned of declining logging industry

The country faces a challenging future in terms of its economic growth given the dwindling forestry industry as more natural forests are being logged out. Asian Development Bank (ADB) economist Milovan Lucich who is looking after Nauru, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu sounded the alarm during last week’s ADB Pacific business media summit in Sydney, Australia.…