InDepth: Life during the lockdown
For over two months, Fiji’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Satyendra Prasad has been largely confined to his home, He describes life during the COVID-19 induced lockdown in New York, and how it is
Fiji
We Say: The virus is the threat, not people
The UN Human Rights Office has warned of “toxic lockdown culture” in a number of countries, with UN Secretary General António Guterres reminding governments that the threat was the “virus, not people.” States
Fiji businesses say COVID-19 has increased violence
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased employees’ experiences of domestic and sexual violence say two-thirds of companies surveyed in Fiji by the IFC and Fiji Human Resources Institute. Fifteen companies were surveyed as
Fiji Airways lays off workers, seeks urgent loan
The Fiji Parliament will be today asked to urgently grant a government guarantee for a loan to keep Fiji Airways afloat, as the adverse impacts of the COVID19 pandemic begin to bite on the national airline.
Dengue fever another blow for PICs
The Red Cross says a dengue outbreak continues to threaten a number of Pacific island nations, even as they rebuild after Tropical Cyclone Harold and struggle with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. More
COVID-19 a wake up call on the need for regional cooperation
Fiji’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations says the COVID-19 pandemic is a wake-up call for the Pacific on the need for regional cooperation. “If the world ever needed confirmation of why multilateralism
A ‘people’s funeral’ for Qarase
Deprived of a state-funeral after his death on 21 April, supporters of Fiji’s ousted Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase helped his family to give the 79-year old leader a send-off befitting the national and populist
Resting by his mother
Fiji’s sixth Prime Minister, the late Laisenia Qarase will be buried next to his mother, opting not to be entombed in the sautabu, the sacred burial ground reserved for chiefs in his sea-side village in Lau.
Island readies to bury favourite son
Some 400 people have arrived on Vanuabalavu – a remote island on Fiji’s eastern sea borders – as they prepare to bury one of their favourite sons who became the country’s sixth prime minister. They are
Another killer: dengue
The impact of the novel coronavirus has understandably absorbed all the energies and resources of health ministries across the region. But even as the Pacific grapples with the real and anticipated impact of COVID-19,
USP Saga: Thompson under pressure to cease probe
The controversy surrounding the top job at the University of the South Pacific (USP) has refused to go away nearly one year after it first erupted at its main campus in Suva, Fiji. By March this year, exactly 10 months
A tribute to Ratu Finau Mara
The death of Ratu Alifereti Finau Mara (June 9, 1957 – April 15, 2020) occurred in Suva after a short illness. He was a Fijian chief, lawyer, politician, and diplomat. Ratu Finau was the eldest son
FNU seeks to leap into first place
Fiji National University is celebrating its 10th anniversary as a national university, but 150th anniversary as an education provider. Talking to Islands Business just before his recent departure, FNU Vice-Chancellor
ATH offering shares to pay down debt
Shareholders in Fiji’s biggest telecom conglomerate are being offered more shares for cash. Amalgamated Telecom Holdings (ATH), which owns all major telecom carriers in Fiji except Digicel Fiji, is listed on the South
Rewa burial for Ratu Finau Mara
Ratu Finau Mara will be interred at the chiefly burial grounds of the paramount chief of the Burebasaga Confederacy, in the chiefly village of Lomanikoro on the delta of the Rewa River, just outside the Fijian capital
Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Fiji counting the cost of TC Harold
Clean up efforts are already underway in Vanuatu and Fiji, parts of which were hit by Cyclone Harold this week. In Vanuatu the first reports have emerged of the category-five storm’s destruction in Vanuatu.
Fiji faced with a potential US$608 million tourism loss
Fiji is looking at a potential loss of F$1.4 billion (US$608 million) in tourism earnings as global travel grinds to a halt by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This is according to a recent assessment by the ANZ Bank
Potential wait of “months” for green light on Fiji US$200m ADB loan bid
Fiji’s loan request of US$200million (F$460m) from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) “will be considered by ADB’s Board of Directors in the coming months,” according to a statement from the ADB this
Guam reports 4th COVID-19 death, Fiji 5 more cases
An update on COVID-19 related developments in the region today: Guam Guam has suffered its fourth COVID -19 related death. The Guam Daily Post reports that the a 67-year-old woman, who had recently traveled
Fiji confirms economic recession
The Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) has today confirmed Fiji’s sure path to an economic recession, as all sectors of the economy brace for the harsh impact of the current coronavirus pandemic. “Following almost a
Enough cash for next 12 months: FNPF
The Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF) said it has enough cash to pay out to members who lose their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the Fijian economy. Amid growing concerns that the Fund is
20% suspended pay for Fiji cabinet, MPs
Suspending 20 per cent of pay for government ministers as well as all members of the Fijian Parliament formed a key part of Fiji’s COVID 19 response budget handed down in a special sitting that ended a short time ago.
Agriculture: Niche markets still key
The need for Pacific island agricultural exporters to target niche markets has long been accepted wisdom. A report produced by the Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access (PHAMA Plus) program late last year