Koa valley celebrates St John

For the first time after the April flash flooding community of Koa Valley below Koa Hill near Mataniko river has celebrated St John the Baptist day yesterday. The celebration coincided with the blessing of the church building and to remember those who lost their lives during the flash flooding. Deputy Prime Minister Manasseh Maelanga, community…

Curiosity led him on

HE describes himself as one who is shy and reserved. You would not have suspected it if you were at his presentation at the University of the South Pacific last week where the topic has been something of interest to him since he was a boy. Lekima Copeland is freshwater ichthyologist at the USP’s Institute…

Fijians in high spirit at arts festival

THE Fiji delegation led the march for the official opening ceremony of the 5th Melanesian Arts and Culture Festival in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea on Saturday. A statement from the Ministry of Information reported that the delegation marched for more than five kilometres from the festival arts village to Sir John Guise stadium. Permanent…

Global tuna fisheries show significant progress, says ISSF

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has released its annual report, which outlines the organization’s goals and achievements in 2013 and highlights its ongoing commitment to the continuous improvement of global tuna fisheries through collaboration and advocacy. The report, Enabling Sustainability through Engagement and Advocacy, also emphasizes efforts to encourage industry engagement, including efforts by…

New technology for monitoring Pacific Island tuna fisheries

New technology for monitoring catches of vessels fishing in Pacific Island waters is being tested on two large Chinese Taipei flagged tuna longliners. The vessels were fitted with video electronic monitoring systems in early March before fishing in the Solomon Islands EEZ (exclusive economic zone) for a trip of almost 80 days. The electronic monitoring…

Youths told to be role model

The Honiara City Council (HCC) deputy clerk Ronald Amigo told youths to develop spiritual values and good characters to be a role model for the nation. He was speaking at the opening of the week-long Seventh Day Adventist Youth Alive congress yesterday at the Maranatha Hall, Burns Creek, East Honiara. He said that “we (youths)…

Adventist youth congress kicks off

A week long Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Youth Alive congress officially commenced yesterday at the Maranatha Hall, near Burns Creek, East Honiara. The event brought together more than 3000 youth groups and students who are members of the Adventist tertiary and secondary students association (ATSSA) from Honiara, the provinces and overseas countries like Vanuatu, Fiji…

$179m for FNPF Members

Today (Monday), FJD$179 million will be distributed and credited to 300,000 accounts of members of the Fiji National Provident Fund. This represents 5.75 per cent interest rate for the institution’s financial year ending June 30, 2014. FNPF chief executive Aisake Taito said this has been delivered through positive outcomes of the Pension Reforms implemented two…

Bad publicity slows sectors development

NEGATIVE publicity of Papua New Guinea does not help in the growth of tourism in the country, Gateway Hotel general manager Mathew Cooper said last week. Cooper, speaking during a panel discussion on the country’s tourism industry, said security was an issue to potential tourists coming to Papua New Guinea. “Media reports don’t help it.…

Gizo women undergo loan management training

Fifty women from seven zones around Gizo have undertaken a loan component training last week in preparation to manage and administer their loan component. The women are members of the Gizo Environment Livelihood Conservation Association (GELCA) and Nusatuva Environment Conservation and Development Association (NECDA) who have established their savings club late last year. The training…