24 cases of leprosy confirmed here

SAVE the Children in Solomon Islands says there’s an outbreak of leprosy affecting 24 people living in displaced people’s centres in Honiara. The head of logistics and emergency, Graeme Kenna, says no one has died from leprosy but the situation is stretching the health services in Solomon Islands as the country struggles to recover from…

Keenan hails RAMSI’s 10-year support

AUSTRALIA’S Minister for Justice Michael Keenan has praised the enduring support of RAMSI and Australia to the Solomon Islands’ Law and Justice sector over the past 10 years. The acknowledgement was made on the Justice Minister’s arrival in Honiara yesterday. Australia has worked closely with the national government to strengthen its justice institutions since 2003,…

Gov’t lifts ban on Gold Ridge expat workers

GOVERNMENT has lifted the immigration ban it imposed on Gold Ridge Mining Limited (GRML) expatriate workers, allowing the first 10 to return last week. Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo initiated the ban after GRML closed its Gold Ridge operation in central Guadalcanal in the wake of the April 3 flash flood and sent all its…

Haununu: SIEC is functioning effectively

THE Solomon Islands Electoral Commission (SIEC) says it is functioning effectively and has rejected claims that ‘the country does not have an Electoral Commission’. In yesterday’s Island Sun newspaper, freelance writer Alfred Sasako claimed that the timetable for the National Election is in doubt because there are ‘no Commissioners appointed’. A claim the SIEC has…

People challenged to take pride in nation

SOLOMON Islands Visitors Bureau (SIVB) has challenged the country’s population to show pride in their nation by keeping the Solomon Islands clean. The SIVB’s new ‘Green Team’, led by marketing manager Freda Unusi, started the nationwide drive recently by cleaning a badly blocked drain at the side of the SIVB headquarters, which had been left…

Temotu youths told to keep away from drugs

TEMOTU premier Fr Brown Beu strongly calls on youths to refrain from drugs and stop acting like arrogant wild men in the province. He made the call at his province’s second appointed day celebrations in Lata, Tuesday. “The positive harnessing of the raw energy in our youth population is of great importance, so great an…

Temotu to set up links with Vanuatu

TEMOTU Province is proposing to establish an agriculture trade link with the Republic of Vanuatu. The province has been liaising with the Republic of Vanuatu for trade link in fishing industry, and now they added another – copra. Premier Fr Brown Beu confirmed this in his keynote address on his province’s secondary appointed day celebration…

Forau attend Turkey-Pacific meet

FOREIGN Affairs minister Clay Forau Soalaoi joined his Pacific Islands Colleagues in Istanbul from June 7-8 to discuss way and means of enhancing cooperation between Turkey and the Pacific’s Small Islands Developing States (SIDS). The talks were held between Pacific Islands foreign ministers and their Turkish counterpart. Solomon Islands has a growing cooperation with Turkey,…

Evita under scrutiny

Gov’t urged to cut ties with investor THE Joint Civil Society Groups & Concerned Citizens (JCSG & CC) is calling on Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo and responsible government authorities to immediately terminate all contracts involving Evita Solomon Limited and urgently declare its Executives persona-non-grata in Solomon Islands. The call comes in the light of…

Housing crisis worsens urban inequality in Pacific Islands

RAPID migration to cities and towns, driven by scarce public services and jobs in rural areas, is producing a profound social shift in Pacific Island countries, where agrarian life has dominated for generations. But the urban dream remains elusive as a severe lack of housing forces many into sprawling, poorly-serviced informal settlements. In the southwest…