Out of the shadows to join a family calling
IT’S just days after New Year and while chaos reigned on the mainland as news spread of an underwater earthquake, the then President of the National Federation Party, parliamentarian Tupou Draunidalo, was sitting
Out of the shadows
Fashion emerges as new business IN a span of 10 years, fashion has emerged as a growing new industry in Fiji. This is evidenced in the fact that Fiji Fashion Week (FJFW) celebrates its 10th anniversary this May with a
Out of the race
EXCLUSIVE Kepa wants support for Winston victims FIJI’S OPPOSITION Leader, Ro Teimumu Kepa, is out of the 2018 Election race. That leaves the field clear for MajorGeneral Sitiveni Rabuka to lead SODELPA (the
At death’s door
How Winston killed a sugar mill IT’S been a year since Tropical Cyclone Winston roared through Rakiraki in north-western Fiji leaving a trail of destruction and suffering in the small township. While the recovery
How Cyclone Winston left us exposed
THE successive natural disasters that impacted the Fiji Islands in the first months of 2017 are a clear signal of the future – greater climate unpredictability, persistent droughts and stronger cyclones, resulting
TC Winston Recovery Action assists commercial farmers
THE European Union (EU) has supported several disaster response and recovery initiatives in Fiji in response to the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Winston, but one particular action has focused on recovery for
Rabuka ready for big race
Loyalty pledge by MPs WITH around 12 months before the next election in Fiji, former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka has consolidated the support of the current parliamentarians of the main Social Democratic Liberal
Bad kava ‘not good for sex’
Uproar over kava-drinking women WOMEN’s advocates have lashed out at criticism against kava-drinking women who beat men at their own past-time. The Deputy Secretary of iTaukei Affairs Board, Saimoni Waibuta, was
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 July
Fiji deports land reform critic
Land sold for US$10 as retrospective law takes effect OUR ‘Paradise Lost’ story last month about controversial land sale law changes was just hitting the streets in Fiji when news broke of the deportation of
Saint of Fiji 7s rugby
Ben Ryan, the legacy THE Free Dictionary defines a saint a person of great benevolence and virtue; a founder or patron of a movement. Many people would identify this with Englishman Ben Ryan who moved to Fiji in 2013
The bu boss
How the bu changed one man’s life WHEN the entrepreneurial bug bit Inia Komaicawalevu in 2000, he didn’t realise he was to be more than his own boss. He quit his job of 10 years at the Public Works
Hope for youth with different abilities
WHILE the Fiji National Budget 2016 – 2017 allocation towards the people with different abilities was a sign of progressive realisation, lack of facilities towards accommodation was still a concern for many.
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
Using and misusing GDP
What the figures really say about Fiji’s economy IF Fiji’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is growing at 4 per cent per year, the public can normally conclude that this is “good for Fiji
Using and misusing GDP
What the figures really say about Fiji’s economy IF Fiji’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is growing at 4 per cent per year, the public can normally conclude that this is “good for Fiji
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
Fiji wins UN presidency role
HISTORY was made last month when Fiji’s ambassador to the United Nations Peter Thomson won the votes to become President of the upcoming 71st session of the UN General Assembly. He beat leading diplomat of Cyprus,
Copy of Tribute to godfather of Pacific music Sounds of Sevesi
SEVEN months after becoming the first Tongan to be inducted into New Zealand Music’s Hall of Fame, Wilfred Jeffs, who went by the stage name Bill Sevesi, passed away, aged 92,,on April 23. When the news trickled out
Road to recovery: Fiji growth forecast in the wake of Winston
THE Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) expects economic growth for the rest of this year to be driven by significant post-Cyclone Winston reconstruction work and continuing strong activity in the retail and tourism sectors. It
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
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
