Lamb to the slaughter
FijI TV discards CEO WHEN Fiji Television Limited CEO, Geoffrey Smith, finally steps down this month, he will put to rest one of the media industry’s worst-kept secrets. Appointed to replace Tevita Gonelevu in
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Coach inspires the nation
WITH the world now his oyster, former Fijian sevens coach Ben Ryan has more opportunities than he can shake a stick at. Movie deals, speaking tours, a book and now the possibility of a Super Rugby franchise. Even the
Vanuatu continues to lead the kava market
Danger lies within VANUATU has always taken great pride in the varieties of kava cultivated locally. As long ago as 2002 the International Kava Executive Council was formed and Vanuatu saw fit to start to introduce
The FUTURE of kava
Yoshida looks to Ovalau as market key OVALAU, Fiji (Invictus News Service) – In the sleepy little town of Ovalau, once capital of Fiji and a pivotal Pacific port, an ancient crop is emerging as a potential game
Rags of riches
Hard work and innovation clothe business success THE Fijian coup of 2006 and subsequent currency valuation forced small businesses to take drastic measures. Some folded and went out of business. For the Chute
The Ryan legacy
What next for Fiji rugby AFTER the glory of Olympic gold at Rio de Janeiro, expectations in Fiji will be huge heading into the World Series next year and the Rugby Sevens World Cup in 2018. Back-to back winners of the
Stuck in the slum
Corruption investigation into NGO activities WHEN Fijian Prime Minister, RearAdmiral Frank Bainimarama, handed out keys to the residents of Lagilagi Housing Estate in November 2013, he was giving homes to the
What is Lagilagi Estate?
LAGILAGI (Fijian for Glorious) is a portion land in what was once the Jittu Estate in Fiji’s capital, Suva. In the late 1960s and early 1970s it was the largest squatter settlement in Fiji, housing families from
PCN outlines inquiry
AN internal investigation is underway to establish whether homes in the Lagilagi Eastate in Fiji’s capital were given to the poor, disabled and elderly. Peoples Concern Network Director, Semiti Qalowasa, confirmed
No pain, no gain for Hayne
Hard yards to go ahead of Rio for Fijian code hopper THE barrage of negative publicity when Jarryd Hayne chose to join the Fiji team for the London leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series was not a surprise.
MSG’s coup de grace? Melanesia cracks up
WILL the controversy surrounding the appointment of a new director general of the Melanesian Spearhead Group be its coup de grace? The question is being posed as first Vanuatu, and now Papua New Guinea, the former being
MSG
THE Melanesian Spearhead Group is headquartered in Port Vila, Vanuatu in a two storey building that was built and gifted to the MSG by the Government of China. It was founded from an informal meeting of leaders of Papua
Palau puts in place measures to control Chinese ‘takeover’
TWO years ago the number of Chinese tourists that travel to Palau barely reached 30,000, but by 2015, there were 87,058 visitors from China and the glaring change was that this market have edged out the other markets
PNG crackdown on bad Chinese traders
PAPUA New Guinea has seen a series of anti-Chinese protests and riots in recent years, driven by the increasing number of Asian nationals taking over small businesses. The latest anti-Chinese aggression, though less
VANUATU tax haven opens doors
THE opening up of the pre-independence tax haven in Vanuatu did not, of itself, bring in the large numbers of Chinese immigrants the country hosts today. As one of Vanuatu’s two colonial masters, the British
What Winston left behind: Death’s, debt and heartbreak.
$billion damage bill in the isles ALONG the dusty road in Fiji’s Tailevu North, sheets of mangled corrugated iron mark the path left by Tropical Cyclone Winston. Up hills and down valleys the pieces of tin
Will Fijian economy weather Winston’s wrath?
SEVERE Tropical Cyclone (STC) Winston didn’t just leave death and destruction in its wake – it also left Fiji’s economy in a shattered state. Preliminary estimates by the Fijian government placed STC
Climate, not God
IT did not take long for people in Fiji to point to Tropical Cyclone Winston as having some connections to a wrathful God seeking to punish people. On social media, from pulpits and in the yaqona circles the link was
El Nino It’sNot Over
FROM the highlands of Papua New Guinea in the western Pacific to the salad bowl on the southern coast of Fiji’s main island in the central Pacific, the long spell of dry weather is taking its toll. Cash crops and
Deaths and no water
TWO small children have died of malnutrition in Tanna, there are seven deaths of children under 12 in Santo that may be linked to the drought and no water is available during the day in Luganville. Those are some of the
Expecting the worst from El Nino
SOLOMON Islanders will be feeling the worst brunt of the current El Niño period this month (December) and through to early next year. The long drought has affected the country following three months without rain
Cost of farming increases as dry spell drags on
“I THINK climate change is causing this,” Sigatoka Valley grower Its 4pm daylight saving time on the so-called salad bowl of Fiji and Anand Prasad, assisted by his son is watering his watermelon plants. The