The Fiji Times » Opinion

Editorial comment – Rape stats a concern

It is never easy to accept reports of children being raped. So there will be concern over reports that child rape this year has increased to 70 cases compared with 24 cases reported last year. Out of the 70 cases, the Central and Northern divisions recorded the most with 38 reported at the Fiji Women’s...

Letters to the Editor – Sunday, November 28, 2022

Thee best ever THERE was only one man many came to see when Portugal – the 2016 European champions – played Ghana in their opening World Cup fixture in Doha, Qatar. And when he duly delivered with a crisp penalty in the second half, the world witnessed history and another record as the 37-year-old Ronaldo...

Editorial comment – Say no to violence against women

It is a concern that counsellors continue to encounter cases of women who are struggling to meet their family’s needs or suffering from violence and relationship issues. Empower Pacific CEO Patrick Morgam shared this at the launch of the 16 Days of Activism Campaign in Lautoka on Friday. Counsellors, he said, often provide immediate support...

The future rests with your vote; ‘The destiny of your country is in the choice you’re about to make’

Can you believe, the future of who’s going to be driving your country forward is all in the stroke of a simple little tick, cross or a circle. In the past, because some people got ticked off with your tick, cross or circle of approval, they decided to overturn the result creating a ticking time...

Opinion: Our choice – The partnerships and the teams

Fiji’s voters in the 2022 elections face a real choice between two dominant partnerships who could form a government: Bainimarama/Aiyaz or Rabuka/Biman. On the surface, the two partnerships appear similar: Bainimarama and Rabuka are both former coup leaders; both partnerships espouse multiracialism; and both partnerships are multiracial with one member an indigenous Fijian and the...

Opinion: Hacker arrested

Earlier this month, US Authorities seized another Silk Road Hacker’s $3.36 billion Bitcoin stash! (worth $F121,694.06) As reported online in various news agencies including Wired.com, the legendary DarkNet market for drugs known as the Silk Road was designed to be an anarchic underworld economy that evaded all government control. Instead, years after it was taken...

Opinion: Citizenship and belonging

The last article in this series promised to analyse the 1999 elections that confounded many with its results. In the lead-up to polling in May 1999, both Sitiveni Rabuka and Jai Ram Reddy were jubilant that the 1997 Constitution was finally accepted and promulgated as a consensus document that came about through a painstaking, acrimonious,...

Vet corner: Is my dog dreaming or having seizure?

The old saying: “let sleeping dogs lie” was said for good reason! You may have witnessed your dog sound asleep and periodically making twitching movements or even vocalizing little yelping or “crying” noises. A dreaming dog can show twitching, paddling, or kicks of their legs. These movements are often brief (lasting less than 30 seconds)...

Letters to the Editor – Saturday, November 26, 2022

Postal votes THE Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem seems now to be bemoaning the low number of postal votes received. I do not disagree with his concern especially when the FEO did several expensive trips to Australia and NZ trying to register voters, opened and ended registrations on many occasions and did some targeted blitzes...

Editorial comment – When numbers stand out

A lot of Fijians will be encouraged by the revelation that tourists are continuing to arrive in the country in numbers. Last month, a total of 70,152 tourists arrived in the country. It was, however, lower than the 72,657 who arrived in September. The Fiji Bureau of Statistics (FBOS) said out of the 70,152 visitors,...

Letters to the Editor – Thursday, November 24, 2022

Debt concern In The Fiji Times 23/11, Dr Neelesh Gounder firmly said that the State should be “very concerned” about the debt situation in Fiji. I believe this is not the first time Dr Gounder had raised this issue, for I vividly remember sometime back he said that if we are not careful about our...

Editorial comment – For our own good

The fact that a clean-up campaign collected more than 300kg of recyclables in Nausori recently needs to be highlighted. The campaign was organised by the Youth and Sports Ministry with support from Waste Recyclers Fiji Ltd (WRFL) and the Pacific Recycling Foundation (PRF). It attracted more than 100 people who took part in the initiative...

COP27 finale – Leaders debate climate damage funding for Pacific nations

After two weeks of negotiations at the climate talks at an Egyptian resort, it’s now down to the wire. Diplomats have created proposals on the controversial loss and damage agenda that will be decided upon by politicians. Robust discussions have seen many collaborations and discord resulting in negotiators not reaching agreement on funding that would...

Letters to the Editor – Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Steady supply a big issue Sharing her experiences with The Fiji Times, Fiji Cancer Society CEO Belinda Chan said that one of the biggest issues facing cancer patients in Fiji was access to a steady supply of cancer-fighting medicine. She added that patients, who successfully sought treatment abroad, faced issues in terms of access to...

Editorial comment – Bringing down our numbers

So we now have 461 young offenders between the ages of 18 and 25 years under the care of the Fiji Corrections Service, which is quite a large number! The figure was highlighted by FCS Commissioner Commander Francis Kean while addressing 14 senior pastors and retired teachers during the Sow-A-Seed (SAS) mentorship project in Suva...

Opinion

Letters to the Editor – Monday, November 28, 2022