Five local students who were kicked out from the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) Waigani campus accommodation by the university administration have now been cleared from Students Discipline Council charges. This was confirmed to this paper in an exclusive interview with a local lawyer working in Papua New Guinea who assisted the five students…
The court has on Wednesday confirmed which magistrate will hear the trial of the Member of Member (MP) of Parliament for East Guadalcanal Bradley Tovosia and Guadalcanal Premier Anthony Veke. Magistrate Augustine Aulanga will be hearing the trial that is yet to be fixed a date. The court on the last occasion has adjourned the…
Closing submissions will be made next month on the case of an elderly man accused of indecently assaulting three young girls in Central Province last year. This was after the trial ended on Wednesday at the Honiara Magistrates’ Court. The 55 year-old man who cannot be named to protect the identity of the three alleged…
SOLOMON Islands Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) says it is disappointed at Solomon Islands Port Authority’s (SIPA) decision to leave the Chamber. SIPA withdrew its membership last week in the wake of the controversy surrounding its reforms. A number of Chamber members have sharply criticised SIPA’s new tariff rates, describing them as excessive. SICCI…
NEWLY elected Guadalcanal Premier Anthony Veke has announced his new executive. The announcement of the new line-up was made after consultations which resulted in the allocation of portfolios. Mr Veke says his new government will focus and implement reforms that will improve effectiveness and the efficiency of administration and service delivery to people of the…
The Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, Duddley Kopu has encouraged a shift from the current subsistence agriculture to the semi-commercial mode and later to the commercial and agribusiness mode in rural areas. Mr Kopu made the suggestion at the opening of the annual Senior Agriculture Extension Staff Conference in Honiara this week. He said refocusing…
Pacific economies will grow by an average 3.8 per cent this year; down from 7 per cent last year, mainly because of pressures faced by Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Fiji — the region’s largest economies. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) notes Pacific economies face lower growth and tighter fiscal conditions this year because of…
NELSON, (VOXY) —Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) is to host a delegation of Pacific island fisheries ministers and agency representatives next week (April 14). Ministers from at least a dozen nations will spend the day in Nelson. Participants have been invited from the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru,…
NUKU’ALOFA, (MATANGI TONGA) —-A Tongan line mechanic group will be deployed in Fiji to assist with the efforts to repair the damage to the Electricity Distribution Network caused by Tropical Cyclone Winston. The group consists of six qualified and experienced line mechanics personnel from Tonga Power Limited, led by line supervisor Metuisela Afu. The first…
Gold dam scare THE controlled de-watering of Gold Ridge tailings dam in central Guadalcanal is reportedly gone out of control due to heavy rain in the area. Downstream villagers have lodged complaints to health authorities in the past week about the safety of the water that was released into their streams. This had prompted teams…