The first interdenominational bible school will open in Fiji in May at the Lami Gospel Community Church. Faith Bible School will open its doors for the first intake on May 14 to August 4 in a 12-week study for either full-time or part-time students. The School of Ministry is one of the full-time studies offered Read more
The Catholic church expressed “disbelief and shock” after parliament yesterday passed the Judicial Conduct Bill 2012 into law. The law, introduced on Tuesday and passed three times by a vote of 63-7 on Wednesday, gave parliament the power to refer a judge to the governor-general who, in turn, must appoint a tribunal to investigate the Read more
King George Tupou V of Tonga has died, in Hong Kong. No cause of death has been given but Tupou was know to have suffered from diabetes and gout for years and last year had a cancerous tumour removed from his kidney. On February 24 he had an audience with Pope Benedict in the Vatican Read more
The Methodist Church in Fiji nemains opposed to the legalisation of same sex unions. The Church’s general secretary, Reverend Tevita Nawadra, says the church will continue to stand firm against homosexuality because it is not scriptural. Nawadra said the church would not accept same sex unions because it was against its theology. “The church is Read more
The Methodist Church has criticised the abolition of the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC), saying national consultation should have been held before it was abolished. The Church’s general secretary Reverend Tevita Nawadra made the comment after Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama announced a new body would be appointed to replace it. Mr Nawadra said it Read more
A report on gender based violence in Tonga has found that three out of every four women there experiences male violence during her life. The foreword was written by the Prime Minister Lord Tuivakano, who also spoke at the launch ceremony. He said the disturbing statistics show how women have been the focus of rejection Read more
The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, LDS, has more schools in Tonga than anywhere else in the world. The LDS Church has 17 middle and high schools throughout the world, and 15 of those schools are in the Pacific, in Tonga, Fiji, Samoa and Kiribati, and seven of the 15 schools Read more
Fiji’s Prime Minster last week announced that a consultation process will take place on Fiji’s constitution between July and September. There has been speculation that this announcement would give an opportunity for a change in policy towards Fiji in Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand Foreign Minister, Murray McCully, has already broken ranks and begun to engage with Fiji. While Read more
Kiribati is investigating the purchase nearly 3,000 hectares on Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu. Kiribati President, Anote Tong, said fertile land, being sold by a church group for about $9.6 million, could be insurance for Kiribati’s entire population of 103,000, though he hopes it will never be necessary for everyone to leave. Tong said some villages have already Read more
The 11th round of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations is currently taking place in Melbourne, Australia. Although negotiators have agreed to the broad outlines of the TPP agreement, a new trade issue has created a snag in the process: the inclusion of investor-state dispute settlement provisions. Australia has refused to accept the investor-state dispute settlement, Read more