Latest News Archive July 2012

Up to five hundred young Solomon Islanders will take part in a unique mentoring and training program to receive basic skills to help boost job prospects.

Commerce Minister Elijah Doromuala has defended his decision to grant a foreign company a license to export cocoa along with major exemptions.

Minister for Commerce, Elijah Doromuala, has caused an outcry from local cocoa exporters after he signed an extraordinary gazette to allow a foreign company to trade and export cocoa with major exemptions.

Larisha Barikoa faced almost certain death in a Solomon Islands hospital after a ladder fell on her head, causing a nail to penetrate her brain.

Senior officials from the Smaller Island States (SIS) within the Pacific Islands Forum will discuss a regional technical support mechanism for SIS to access and manage the expected increased flows of climate change resources

Solomon Islands recruiting agents for the Australian Seasonal Workers Program have now received official certification from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade.

Police are investigating reports that a preacher of foreign nationality has been sexually assaulting young girls in Honiara under pretexts of spiritual healing.

PRESS RELEASE - 27th July 2012 - Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Tuiloma Neroni Slade, has called on the Pacific region to intensify and accelerate its efforts towards regional integration.

Solomon Islands is one of the seven nations that may lose their ability to legally trade tens of thousands of wildlife species after U.N. conservation delegates agreed Thursday to penalize them for lacking tough regulations or failing to report on their wildlife trade.

The Speaker of the Solomon Islands parliament is pushing to have control of its funds and daily operations removed from the Prime Minister's office.

A little blue letter was all it took to reunite two friends 44 years after they last met as young men in the Solomon Islands, despite living an ocean apart.

When the school bell rings, 12 year old Bradford Feka'afu heads off to class at Florence Young Christian School in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

This week, Solomon Islands High Commissioner to the Republic of Fiji Islands, has met the country's Commissioner of Police, Brigadier General, Ioane Naivalurua.

PRESS RELEASE - 26 July 2012 - Pacific Islands Forum Economic Ministers confirmed their leadership and oversight of the implementation of the Waiheke Declaration on Sustainable Economic Development endorsed by Forum Leaders in Auckland last year.

Preparations are underway for the visit of Prince William and Kate, organizers say.

A strong 6.5-magnitude earthquake hit the Solomon Islands around 9.40 pm local time, the US Geological Survey said.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA, 23 JULY 2012 - Dr Robert Newman, WHO's Director of the Global Malaria Programme, took in his first WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific country malaria programme when he made a six-day visit to Papua New Guinea earlier this month.

The Malaita Ma'asina Forum is calling on the Gold Ridge Mining Limited and government authorities to reveal to the public information on gold exports to Australia.

Healthy Coffee International, Inc. announced that it opened in the Solomon Islands and participated in the National Trade Show of the 11th Festival of Pacific Arts in Honiara, where delegations from 27 Pacific Island countries and territories come together on July 1-14, 2012.

The 11th Festival of Pacific Arts organising committee, Solomon Islands, will begin auctioning leaf huts in the Pacific village at Panatina Campus tomorrow.

A former Solomon Islands Police Commissioner, Frank Short has questioned when the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) will be made public.

Local Solomon Islanders in Suva, Fiji, were instrumental to the Suva Anglican Cathedral by helping to raise $20,700 from its annual bazaar over the weekend.

The Deputy Prinicpal of St Martin's Rural Training Centre in Solomon Islands says it has been instrumental over the past forty years in helping to curb urban drift.

With the launch of the Pacific Skies aviation magazine this year, the aviation sector in the Pacific has a new voice for communicating its news all around the globe.

With surging global demand and a rise in rural earnings the government is seriously pushing to double the current levels of cocoa output by 2014.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo has re-affirmed the government's full support towards the Political Integrity and Stability bill.

Port Pirie born Bruce Saunders has not become an iron-clad medieval warrior, instead it is his battle for social improvement in the Solomon Islands that has seen him recently named a knight.

Billy Titiulu, the Solomon Islands Attorney General still remains as the Legal Advisor to National Government.

The Government of Makira Ulawa Province, Solomon Islands is now in the process of deliberating a law on the preservation of culture.

Vanuatu national, Ron Sumsum has been re-appointed as the head of the Solomon Islands national carrier, Solomon Airlines, following an exhaustive selection process by the Airline's Board.

The Isabel Development Company (IDC) will be commissioning their fourth cargo vessel this Friday at Buala, Isabel Province, Solomon Islands.

The Solomon Islands Rugby Union Federation (SIRUF), last Friday 13 July through an appointed selection panel had finalized its training squad for the upcoming FORU 7s tournament that will be played in Sydney, Australia on the 24th and 25th of August 2012.

The Solomon Islands Attorney General, Mr. Billy Titiulu has tendered his resignation yesterday afternoon.

Through a special program sponsored by the South Pacific Tourism Organization (SPTO) and Pacific Islands Trade & Invest (PT&I), Pacific Island hoteliers across Fiji, the Cook Islands, Tonga, the Solomon Islands and Kiribati are now benefiting from a special suite of Hotel Link Solutions products and services.

A photographic exhibition showcasing the history and achievements of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) will be open at the Australian National Parliament House in Canberra this week, 20 July.

Tuesday 17 July 2012, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) headquarters, Noumea, New Caledonia

Seventy Five year-old Viliame Liai wants to turn back the time and trace his ancestors in the Solomon Islands.

The Media Association of Solomon Islands (MASI) yesterday has congratulated members of the local media for their persistent coverage of the recent festival of Pacific Arts in the country.

The Solomon Islands Member of Parliament for East Choiseul, Hon. Sogavare has condemned the government for advancing five million dollars from the Millennium Development Fund, funded by Republic of China.

On Saturday 14 July 2012, RAMSI Participating Police Force personnel in coordination with the Solomon Islands Marine Rescue Coordination Centre successfully rescued two Dutch sailors stranded at sea near Rennell Island.

PFF, Rarotonga-- As the result counts from Papua New Guinea's general elections continue to flow in, the country's national media workers association has joined the Pacific Freedom Forum in its concern over returning officers interfering with media work at two provincial centres.

The Honiara Club, Solomon Islands, has unanimously endorsed the Government's new Debt Management Strategy (DMS) during a meeting on Wednesday last week.

Tens of thousands of wild birds exported from the Solomon Islands have been laundered into the global wildlife trade by declaring them as captive-bred, a new TRAFFIC study has found.

Friday 13 July 2012, Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Honiara, Solomon Islands - After two weeks of festivity, the cultural extravaganza that is the 11th Festival of Pacific Arts comes to a close in Honiara this afternoon.

Advocacy teams from the Solomon Islands Electoral Commission for the upcoming bye-elections in East Are Are and North Malaita Constituency are now back in Honiara after their awareness mission.

The Nationwide Company which holds 20% shares in RIPEL on behalf of former RIPEL workers have welcomed the Solomon Islands Government decision to ban Patrick Wong from entering the Solomon Islands.

There has never been a gathering in Solomon Islands to rival that of the 11th Festival of Pacific Arts.

The Solomon Islands Governor General has apologised on behalf of the people of Solomon Islands to the overseas delegates of the 11th Festival of Pacific Arts over how the Master of Ceremony expressed himself during the festival opening ceremony.

Fiji's Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama last week visited Wailoku settlement outside Suva and paid tribute to those Fijians with Solomon Islands ancestry.

Top Fiji designer Robert Kennedy launched a new range of clothes at the 11th Festival of Pacific Arts in the Solomo Islands and looks forward to improving them when he gets home.

10 July 2012, Bucharest, Romania - Oceania has a raised profile at the 11th Conference of the Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

Centuries of knowledge and skill are expressed in the work of the artists.

The founder of a rural training centre for deaf youth in Solomon Islands is accusing the government of failing to address the country's high rate of disability.

As the Solomon Islands celebrated its 34th independence yesterday, the people of the Pacific paid tribute to those who helped shape this nation with song, dance and displays that depicted the freedom of their cultures and traditions.

The Solomon Islands Electoral Commission is happy to announce and confirm to the good constituents from North Malaita and East Are'Are constituencies the final list of validly nominated candidates who will be contesting for the two parliamentary seats on the 1st August.

The Vice President of Kiribati has praised the Western Provincial Government and its FOPA Satellite venue organizing committee for the hospitality and kind reception accorded to the Kiribati contingent during their short visit to Gizo, Solomon Islands.

Solomon Islands is planning to set up a national university for local students and those from the surrounding region.

Delegates at the first cultural rights symposium for the Pacific were told yesterday that their cultural rights are enshrined in a number of international human rights conventions. Despite this, these rights continue to go unrecognised.

Youth delegates from around the Pacific discussed heritage at a regional workshop held last week during the 11th Festival of Pacific Arts in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

A meeting on gender responsive market governance and reform has successfully concluded in Honiara, Solomon Islands this week.

The Honiara City Mayor, Israel Maeoli has been ousted by his Council via no-confidence motion last week.

Pacific ministers of culture on Wednesday endorsed a regional strategy to further enhance the development of the Pacific's cultural sector.

The Guam leaf hut in the festival village in Honiara Solomon Islands is always a hub of activity with massive crowds huddling around to view the carving artwork/jewelry on display, video and digital photography along with the various demonstrations.

Solomon Islanders living in the Australian Capital State, Canberra, had a really good time in commemorating the Solomon Island's 34th Independence Day over the weekend.

Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, Richard Marles says improving road infrastructure and maintaining roads and bridges is a critical part of Australia's development partnership with the Solomon Islands Government.

El Niño conditions can be expected across the Pacific region by the end of this year, according to the latest Island Climate Update issued today by the Pacific Island Meteorological Services, SPREP and NIWA.

New accommodation for medical students studying through the Fiji School of Medicine was opened at the National Referral Hospital by the Minister for Health and Medical Services, Charles Sigoto earlier this week.

Axiom Mining Limited has expanded its operations from Isabel into San Cristobal, Makira and Guadalcanal in Solomon Islands.

The OFC Just Play programme has reached a significant milestone with the announcement that 100,000 children from across the Pacific have now taken part in the highly-successful initiative.

Four athletes will represent Solomon Islands at the Olympic Games in London, which begin later this month.

Hawaii has officially presented its bid to host the thirteenth Festival of Pacific Arts and await formal endorsement at yesterday's Cultural Ministers' Meeting in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

Solomon Islands Opposition Leader, Hon. Derek Sikua has expressed his disappointment over the failure of the organizing committee to avail an official programme for the 11th Festival of Pacific Arts.

Australia's enduring commitment to Solomon Islands has been reaffirmed during meetings in Honiara between Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Islands Affairs, Richard Marles and Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Gordon Darcy Lilo and Deputy Prime Minister, Manasseh Maelanga.

The Solomon Islands Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet says it shares the concerns of the public over the behaviour of the Master of Ceremony for the Festival of Arts opening on Monday.

Thousands braved the sweltering heat for the very colourful and culturally charged opening of the 11th Festival of Pacific Arts in Honiara, Solomon Islands yesterday.

The Chairlady of the 11th Festival of Pacific Arts underway in Solomon Islands capital says she hopes the event will prompt the government to recognise the arts.

This week, Solomon Islanders will be introduced to the much talked about coins.

The power outage experienced at the opening of the Festival of Pacific Arts was said to have been a result of a technical problem.

Honiara, Solomon Islands once again experienced another extravagant event last night at the official opening of the 11th Festival of Arts, at the Lawson Tama stadium.

New Wellington Phoenix signing Benjamin Totori is confident he can handle the step up to the A-League and feels he will be able to cope with the physical nature of the competition, the only fully professional league in this part of the world.

A training workshop on gender and climate change was conducted in Suva, Fiji, from 20 to 22 June 2012.

Stopping violence against women and girls will be the focus of a campaign during the two week Arts Festival which gets under way in Honiara next week.

Visiting Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, Richard Marles officially welcomed the Australian delegation to the Festival of Pacific Arts who are taking part in the two week festival in Honiara.

The excitement continues to build in the air as more and more people begin to flood Honiara from the Province and overseas.

At about 3am this morning, Honiara woke up to the sounds of fireworks to welcome the arrival of the Regional "Vakas" from the region and the Tomokos (war canoes) from the Western Province.

Heads of plant protection and quarantine from across the Pacific are this week meeting in Nadi to discuss plant protection issues relating to quarantine and trade.