Let’s turn to the victims

HONIARA and parts of Guadalcanal are now disaster zones. Minister responsible for natural disasters, Bradley Tovosia, made the declaration on Saturday after devastating floods hit Honiara and the Guadalcanal plains, Thursday. The decision will allow the national government and other humanitarian organisations to mobilise their relief efforts in these disaster areas. The scale and magnitude…

Airline cancels flights

SOLOMON Airlines Thursday cancelled all flights – international and domestic – in and out of Honiara as the bad weather persists. This was due to extensive flooding and associated debris on the run way and surrounding airport areas. All domestic and international flights have been suspended until further notice, a spokesman said The spokesman added…

J Boog concert postponed

Organisers have postponed the much-publicised performance by reggae star J Boog scheduled to happen in Honiara today. A statement from the Heritage Park Hotel said the decision was due to the bad weather condition experienced in the county causing all international flights to cancel. “The performance will not happen tomorrow (today),” the hotel said in…

Church halts programmes

White River South Sea Evangelical Church (SSEC) has cancelled all its programmes for today, assistant pastor Joseph Olofisau said. The church was flooded when the Whiter River stream over-flowed its banks, inundating homes, clinic, police station and community halls. Pastor Olofisau said their church building is now filled up with mud. “We are yet to…

Natural disaster major threat to Pacific economies

THE relationship between natural disasters and economies was highlighted at the Second Pacific Regional Meeting of Ministers of Energy and Maritime Transport in Nadi.. Fiji’s Minister for Labour Jone Usamate said the cost of these disasters to Pacific economies especially infrastructure is large and often unsustainable. “Unexpected events and natural disasters bring destruction to our…

AUSTRALIA RESPONDS TO SOLOMON ISLANDS FLOODING

Today (Saturday) we announce that Australia will provide $250,000 in emergency relief supplies to assist the Government of Solomon Islands respond to the needs of people affected by flooding. This follows a request for assistance from the Government of Solomon Islands on Saturday. In addition, Australia will provide two Australian Civilian Corps engineers and two…

Group C Preview

The 2014 edition of the OFC Champions League is the largest we’ve seen in 12 years and potentially the most anticipated as 12 sides compete for the ultimate prize – a ticket to the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco. The group stage, being held in Lautoka and Ba in Fiji, has seen the…

Media comes to the fore in Fiji

Fiji’s Tanoa Waterfront Hotel played host to a UN reunion of sorts as 12 different nationalities were represented on day one of the OFC Media Officers Workshop. Held annually since 2010, with a brief hiatus in 2013, the workshop works to build on the skills of each of the OFC Member Association media officers in…