Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. Photo: Facebook/Fiji govt
Ex-Fiji Attorney-General has 'got to move on in life'
The former Fijian attorney-general Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says he's moving on from politics and is planning to launch his own legal practice in the Western division.
Sayed-Khaiyum, who is also the FijiFirst party general-secretary, told the Fiji Sun newspaper he's written to the new attorney-general, Siromi Turaga, to open a trust account that will allow him to operate a law firm.
He said he's "got to move on in life".
Sayed-Khaiyum has been at the heart of Fijian political affiars for the past 16 years - and widely regarded as the brains behind former prime minister Frank Bainimarama's FijiFirst government.
He was elected as an MP after the 2022 general election last December but subsequently had to give up his parliamentary seat after sitting in a Constitutional Offices Commission meeting.
Fiji's 'No Jab, No Job' policy set to be removed
During the peak of the Covid pandemic period in 2021, then Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama announced that civil servants would be dismissed if they refused to receive the Covid vaccine.
FBC News reports Attorney-General Siromi Turaga saying the decision to remove the policy should have been made a long time ago.
Turaga said according to the Ministry of Health, there is sufficient protection out there but for some strange reason, a good number of people in Fiji have been prejudiced because of that.
Papua journalist awarded for courage
Journalist Victor Mambor, who is the chief editor of West Papuan newspaper Jubi, has received the Oktovianus Pogau Award from the Indonesian-based Pantau Foundation for courage in journalism.
The Foundation's Andreas Harsono said Mambor's decision to return to his father's homeland and defend the rights of indigenous Papuans through journalism, as well as being steadfast in the face of intimidation after intimidation, made the jury agree he was a courageous journalist.
Late last month a bomb exploded outside Mambor's home in Jayapura in an apparent planned atack.
Mambor suspected it was related with Jubi's coverage of the murder and mutilation of four indigenous Papuans in October 2022, wherein four soldiers were charged with "premeditated murder".
Volcano monitoring system could be set up on Vanuatu island
A permanent volcano monitoring system could be set up on Epi, the closest island to the submarine volcano that has been spewing ash into the sky.
Volcano data analyst, Rerena Vatu said they do not currently have a monitoring station on Epi.
She said the information on the eruption came from a station on another island - Ambrym - and a technical team was sent.
Vatu said having monitoring stations near submarine volcanoes is a must so they can be recorded.
PNG ranks poorly on 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index
The Index ranks 180 countries and territories around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, scoring on a scale of 0, which is highly corrupt, to 100 for very clean.
PNG scored 30 points - to be 130th-equal on the register out of 180 countries.
Transparency International PNG chairman Peter Aitsi said the 2022 election may be a major cause of PNG's ranking because it had a lot of concerns and a lot of irregularities.
In light of this ranking, transparency international PNG has made several recommendations for the government, including strengthening and securing independent watchdog agencies; limiting private influence by regulating lobbying; and promoting open access to decision-making.
Other smaller Pacific island countries are higher, with Fiji on 53 points, Vanuatu 48 and Solomon Islands 42.
Talks underway to prevent mass strike at airports
A fresh attempt is being made in French Polynesia to avert an indefinite strike by firefighters at more than 40 of the territory's airports.
The meeting was arranged after talks collapsed two days ago, when the unions walked out of the discussions with the territory's vice-president Jean-Christophe Buissou.
If no agreement can be found, an indefinite stoppage will begin tomorrow and cripple domestic aviation.
The unions say a deal reached in October, which ended the last strike, has not been honoured.
The government said the unions' stance was incomprehensible as work on all contentious issues was underway.
Manslaughter plea in Samoa
A woman has pleaded guilty to manslaughter of her 13-year-old daughter, who died after being hit by a stone.
The Samoa Observer reports the 38-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter and one count of being armed with a dangerous weapon, through her lawyer.
Supreme Court Justice, Fepuleai Ameperosa Roma, noted the plea and adjourned the matter for the parties to prepare pre-sentencing documents by March 8.
According to a report received by the Police, initially the mother beat her 11-year-old daughter, who ran off and angered the mother.
The mother then allegedly picked up a stone and took aim at her disobedient child, but the stone instead hit her 13-year-old daughter.
Deputy Police Commissioner, Papali'i Monalisa Tia'i-Keti said the 13-year-old was later taken to the hospital complaining of a sore head. She died a few days later.
Korean airline flying more to Marianas
Korean airline T'way Air is doubling its current four flights a week to Saipan.
Marianas Visitors Authority acting board chair Gloria Cavanagh said the move from this month is a very good sign of continued interest by South Korean travellers in the Marianas.
She also attributed the rise in demand with the gradual stabilisation of the exchange rate the Marianas has been battling for several months, as a US dollar-based destination.