Stolen iphone returned

A FEMALE expat working for an international NGO here has expressed her joy at the return of her stolen iPhone last week. The woman has had her Phone snatched from her hand at the Borderline bus stop last month. “Thank you very much for the honesty shown by the one who returned it,” the woman,…

PM heads for MSG summit

Leaves on Monday with 7-member delegation Prime Minister Rick Houenipwela leaves today for the 21st Melanesia Spearhead Group (MSG) summit in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. He is leading a seven-member delegation. In Port Moresby, Houenipwela is expected to hand-over the MSG chairmanship to his PNG counterpart Peter O’Neill. This traditional handing over ceremony will…

New solar project for Selwyn College

Selwyn Collage principal Reverend Bishop David Vunagi was impressed with the new solar hybrid power project designed for his school. The Solar hybrid power project was still under design stages by the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology. It was the first of its kind in the country and will also roll…

Learning Mandarin

Language of the times By LESLEY SANGA  THE growing importance of the Chinese language globally didn’t go unnoticed by Solomon Islands’ government. At its request, Taiwan responded by sponsoring the Mandarin teaching program here since 2012 as part of the partnership in education between the two countries. Committed to providing relevant and high quality teaching,…

Challenges of running coconut crushing mill

OPERATING a coconut crushing mill is a great income generating opportunity for many rural Solomon Islanders. But keeping the operation going and maintaining the crushing mill machine can be challenging and costly. Billy Funusulia looks after his community crushing mill at Gwa’adingale village, Malu’u, in north Malaita. He said the challenges faced by rural communities…

PM offers condolences to Taiwan

PRIME Minister Rick Houenipwela has offered sincere condolences to the President of the Republic of China (ROC) of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-Wen and the people of Taiwan. This followed the devastating earthquake that hit Hualien County in eastern Taiwan late on Tuesday. The magnitude-6.4 quake struck on Tuesday evening and was centered 14 miles northeast of…

Malaita fisheries monitors bech-de-mer ban

FISHERIES officials in Malaita say they’ll be on the look-out for possible illegal harvest of beche-de-mer now that the open period has closed. Senior fisheries officer Martin Jasper warned that his office will closely monitor the all fisheries activities to ensure there’s no illegal harvest of the product. The three-month open period the government permitted…

Demand for road fee illegal: Varley

THE practices by some youths who filled up potholes on public roads and then demanded money from drivers could amount to criminal offences. This is what Police Commissioner Matthew Varley said when responding to a question raised by a journalist at his weekly conference on Friday on this issue. “There are responsible authorities around town…

Boyers hits back at Sasako

KADERE Party president Peter Boyers has urged journalist Alfred Sasako to “stop misleading the public on issues he knew little about”. Mr Boyers was referring to recent articles Mr Sasako penned about his meeting with chairman of Russell Islands Plantations Estates Ltd (RIPEL) chairman Patrick Wong. “The suspicions Sasako raised about my meeting with Mr…

Auki Travelers Lodge death

Police receive medical report, no arrest as yet By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN   POLICE have now received the pathologist’s report of the young woman who was found dead inside a room at the Auki Travelers Lodge on Christmas Eve. However, Police Commissioner Matthew Varley last Friday said no arrest has been made at this stage. But…