Latest news with #Suva
RNZ News
12 hours ago
- RNZ News
Two juveniles indicted for sexual offences in Fiji in May
Photo: 123RF Warning: distressing content Two juveniles are among 10 people indicted for sexual offences in Fiji's High Court in May. Fiji's Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has released its May update on serious sexual offences and it makes tough reading. It relates to the number of formal indictments filed in the High Courts of Fiji by the Director of Public Prosecutions throughout the month. Ten accused persons have been charged with 30 counts of sexual offences, including 17 cases of rape and nine of sexual assault. There were 10 victims, six of whom were under 18. Eight were female and two male. Incidents highlighted in the report included a 16-year-old boy charged with six counts of rape of his 9-year-old nephew. In another case, a 14-year-old boy was charged with two counts of rape of his 12-year-old sister. There were seven incidents where the victims and the accused were related to one another. Another incident was a 52-year-old man charged with two counts of indecent assault, eight counts of sexual assault and two counts of rape of his 18-year-old niece. Statistics from the Fiji Women's Crisis Centre show that, from January to September last year, it had 530 new visits for counselling. This included six reported cases of rape, three of attempted rape, six of sexual assault and 19 of child rape. The centre's coordinator, told in April that 90 percent of women do not report the domestic violence they endure at the hands of their partners, lovers, or husbands .
RNZ News
17 hours ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Pacific news in brief for 10 June
Photo: Facebook / Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme The Australian Government is taking further steps to improve the protection and wellbeing of Pacific workers under its labour scheme, following reports of exploitation and mistreatment. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Jan Hutton told a roundtable talanoa at the Australian High Commission in Suva there are also concerns relating to worker abuse and absconding. Hutton said her government has zero tolerance for any form of exploitation. She said the overwhelming majority of employees and stakeholders engage very positively in the PALM scheme. She added that a special taskforce looking into the issue of workers absconding found that many workers were misled by false promises of better jobs, often outside the legal program. Hutton said Australia has introduced new options, such as allowing workers to transfer to different employers if there are issues and these changes have helped reduce disengagement from 10 percent to 5 percent, and she said those numbers continue to drop. About 400 Fijians are reported to have left the programme since its inception in 2017. Fiji's Minister for Justice, Siromi Turaga has been appointed as acting Attorney-General. Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka made the appointment after the dismissal of Graham Leung, following the Commission of Inquiry report into the appointment of the now-suspended Commissoner of the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption. The acting appointment will be in effect until a permanent Attorney-General is appointed. The Government of the People's Republic of China will fund the repair of Vanuatu's national parliament chamber. The parliament building has been closed due to structural damage from the December 2024 earthquake. The Vanuatu Daily Post reported Prime Minister Jotham Napat confirmed the funding during a recent press briefing. An engineer's report has confirmed the building to be unsafe. Speaker Stephen Felix said the building is a risk is high, especially not knowing when the next earthquake will occur. Parliament has been operating from a temporary location. A secondary school student in East New Britain in Papua New Guinea faces seven years in prison for possession of drugs, live ammunition and an offensive weapon. The 20-year-old student appeared separately from his 116 school mates who were involved in an inter-school fight. Those students have been fined around US$500 each that they must pay or face a one-year prison sentence. Magistrate Mesmin said lawlessness in East New Britain is caused by drug abuse. Guam's push for a United Nations visiting mission to advance its decolonization efforts has hit a roadblock under the Trump administration, with US officials claiming no record of previous approval granted during the Biden presidency. Executive director of Guam's Commission on Decolonization, Melvin Won Pat-Borja, told the Guam Daily Post the setback emerged following his participation in the UN Special Committee on Decolonization in Timor-Leste last month. The UN visiting mission would allow international observers to assess Guam's progress toward self-determination independently of US reporting. Guam is one of 17 non-self governing territories worldwide, a designation that requires the administering power - in Guam's case, the United States - to support decolonization efforts under international law. New Zealand is funding a feasibility study for redevelopment options for Niue's wharf. The wharf is nearly 100 years old and discussions of an upgrade have been ongoing for years. Poor weather can make it difficult for ships to deliver supplies. New Zeland's foreign affairs ministry said while no funds for construction have been committed, the study will outline options around wharf infrastructure for the government of Niue. Niue is a realm country of New Zealand. It is very isolated, with typically just one cargo ship visit per month. Flights from New Zealand arrive weekly or twice weekly - depending on the time of year. Opposition leader, Douglas Tomuriesa, has replaced the late Sir Julius Chan as leader of the People's Progressive Party. The National reported that the sons of Sir Julius welcomed Tomuriesa with a customary ritual of wearing a mis and tabu. Sinasina-Yongomugl MP Kerenga Kua said: "We must remember that our late founding father Sir Julius concluded his long and distinguished career in the opposition."
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
Fiji Football against election of leader with criminal conviction
The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland Photo: AFP The Fiji Football Association (FA) says it does not condone anyone with criminal convictions being part of their leadership set-up. Chief executive officer Mohammed Yusuf said in a media statement on Saturday that the controversial election of Aiyaz Mohammed Musa Umarji as vice-president west, during the Fiji FA Congress on 30 May in Suva, was not according to their laws. He said article 46(6) of the Fiji FA statutes prohibits individuals previously found guilty of a criminal offence from holding executive office. But according to the Football Association statement, Umarji is challenging this in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). He was sentenced in August 2023 to four years in prison but his jail time was reduced by six months after an appeal. He was released last October and deported home. He argues his guilty plea, conviction and three-year and six-month imprisonment in New Zealand - on three counts of importing Class B controlled drugs - cannot have an impact on his eligibility because the offence is not football related. The Fiji FA is opposing this "because there is no such a limitation in the FijiFA prohibition". Umarji was initially disqualified from candidacy by Fiji FA's governance committee under article 46(6), but the Court of Arbitration for Sport issued a provisional order permitting him to contest the election. The CAS president said the decision to grant the requested relief "does not amount to a legitimisation or trivialisation of the importance of maintaining the highest ethical and integrity standards". "The present decision should not be seen as an act of leniency towards any potentially criminal conduct that may be incompatible with [those] standards." The Fiji FA has decided that the new vice president will not be declared elected, has not assumed office and his eligibility remains under review by CAS. But it also acknowledges that a majority of members at the Congress voted for Umarji for the vice-president west position. "We respectfully urge the public and the media to await the final decision of the CAS Panel, which will comprehensively resolve the matter of eligibility." Aiyaz Umarji directed a request for comment to his lawyer, who has not responded to RNZ Pacific' s questions.
RNZ News
6 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
Removal notice issued for Fiji vessel which capsized
The offices of Fiji inter-island ferry company Goundar Shipping in Suva. Photo: RNZ / Jamie Tahana The CEO of Maritime Safety Authority Fiji says the vessel Lomaiviti Princess II "went down" after being towed out of Narain Jetty in Suva by the Fiji Ports Cooperation. Joweli Cawaki said Lomaiviti Princess II was unmanned when it capsized at about 4pm on Monday and nobody was injured. "The boat just tilted to one side and dig in water and took in water and it went down," Cawaki said. The vessel had been tied up at Narain Jetty since 2019. The Fiji Ports Authority - which runs the jetty - served Goundar Shipping which owns Lomaiviti II a removal notice. "Ports came in with a tug and pulled the vessel out; once the vessel was pulled out, it went down," Cawaki said. "It was a risk in all senses of the word risk - it took up space at the wharf and it's been used as Gounder Shipping as a dumping ground and now that it has sunk, it has sunk where there is a channel." He said other vessels could hit Lomaiviti Princess II. It is sitting in just under two metres of water. Cawaki said a boom used to contain oil spills is around the ship and people are watching at all times for any oil leaks. "According to Goundar Shipping there's not much in the inside of the vessel, in terms of the chemicals and the oil." He said the ship could be salvaged by pumping out the water and blocking the holes. Cawaki said a meeting today would decide what would be done with vessel. On May 26, passenger ferry Lomaiviti Princess VII ran aground in Ono-i-Lau, and it was towed back to shore by Lomaiviti Princess XII which also took the stranded passengers. RNZ Pacific reached out to Goundar Shipping managing director George Goundar who refused to comment.
RNZ News
6 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
Fiji ship saga clarified
File photo of the Gounder Fishing vessel. Photo: Facebook/Goundar Shipping Limited Correction: The Lomaiviti Princess II was being towed out of the harbour when it capsized, not on its way to support rescue operations for the grounded vessel as previiously reported. Fiji's Maritime Safety Authority has launched an investigation into Goundar Shipping Limited following two incidents involving its vessels. Late last month, one vessel ran aground on the reef of Ono-i-Lau, and villagers had to step in to ferry stranded passengers to nearby islands using small boats. On Monday, the Lomaiviti Princess II was being towed out of Suva Harbour when it capsized. But this was not on its way to salvage operations for the grounded vessel, as previously reported. The company's managing director George Goundar told local media "the mishap at Suva Harbour regarding the Lomaiviti Princess II was not the works of the company". He directed all questions to the Fiji Ports Cooperation. Minister Ro Filipe Tuisawau said the matter was under investigation and a release would be issued after he receives an update on the matter. On 29 May, the company posted on social media about the first incident, saying "GSL Management would like to sincerely thank the people of Ono-i-Lau for your tremendous support following the mishap". "We acknowledge and appreciate your assistance in ensuring the passengers were safely brought ashore."
