Fiji has turned a tiny part of Germany into a tropical Pacific island as it leads global negotiations on climate change, and so securing a stage for islanders’ worries about rising sea levels. Fiji is the first small island state to preside at UN climate negotiations since they began in the 1990s. The country’s chief Read more
The Pacific Conference of Churches has asked governments and donors not to attach conditions to relief efforts in the region. The call came as Indonesia’s Co-ordinating Minister for Political Affairs, Law and Security visited Fiji. Luhut Binsar Padjaitan was reportedly delivering Fiji an assistance package worth up to US$5 million, plus a contingent of engineers, Read more
Fiji’s police commissioner has called for religious gatherings to be held only in daytime as a community safety measure. Brigadier General Sitiveni Qiliho said it is about time this happened. The commissioner also said parents should accompany their children to church services and other gatherings. He said police are working on strategies to ensure children Read more
The Marist Fathers in New Zealand are accepting donations to alleviate people’s suffering and aid the re-establishment of their lives in Fiji. New Zealand Marist Mission promoter, Fr Tim Duckworth, SM, confirmed the move on Tuesday evening. “The people of Fiji are resilient, but in many cases will have to start again from the foundations,” Fr Read more
Several Marist missions in Fiji were severely affected by Cyclone Winston, according to a report by Fr Pio Fong Waqavotuwale, SM. At the Tutu Rural Training Centre in Taveuni, 22 buildings were either completely or partially destroyed. These were staff houses, dormitories, workshops, hall and kitchens. Tens of thousands of kava and dalo plants, many belonging Read more
Reports from Fiji are confusing but it appears that up 60 people have been charged with sedition in three separate cases. Twelve people from Nadroga-Navosa were scheduled to appear in the Sigatoka Magistrates Court on Monday morning but were later informed that the case will be heard in Nadi. The Director of Public Prosecutions, Christopher Read more
More than 1000 Fiji Catholics have come together to commemorate one of the most famous battles in their nation’s history. They have gathered on Fiji’s fourth largest island, Taveuni, to remember the victory by Ratu Golea’s forces against invading Tongans in the 1860s. According to local history, before Ratu Golea went to battle against Ma’afu Read more
It has been estimated that more than 30,000 people came to Suva in the course of last week to pay their respects to the late Archbishop Petero Mataca. A large number of people attended the requiem mass on Friday. The Sacred Heart Cathedral in Suva was packed out and the congregation spilled out onto the Read more
Domestic violence has spiked over Christmas – New Year in Fiji. Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre says it has received reports of 120 cases of violence against women in the past eight days. The news comes less than a month after the Fiji Women’s Crisis centre released the results of a survey that showed 64 per Read more
2013 was the year when the Fiji Constitution demands Fiji become a secular State. It was also the year when the churches spoke out the loudest. The Catholic Church took a prominent position when Peter Chong became the new Archbishop and refocussed the Church. Stressing the church could not only be a private affair but Read more