Fiji

Traditionally, farmers have relied heavily on inherited farming knowledge and practices to establish and manage their farms. A major challenge for the industry remains timely access to the latest farming advice.

This innovative project hopes to connect farmers to the latest information and advisory services to help boost their productivity. The project will first undertake market research to determine the information needs of farmers across several regions in the country.

On Friday, Rabuka led a high-level delegation to Tarawa - and key on the agenda was Kiribati's membership of the Pacific Islands Forum.

Kiribati's withdrawal from the Forum last July fractured regional unity and solidarity.

President Taneti Maamau refused to attend the annual Leaders' gathering in Suva due to what he claimed was failure by the PIF to address concerns of equity, equality and inclusiveness in a number of key decisions including the appointment of the current Secretary General.

Skipper Waisea Nacuqu scored two tries in the first half before Samoa fought back from tries to Tuna Tuitama and Motu Opetai to close the contest 12-10 before half time.

The Fijians regrouped in the second half and managed to cross the whitewash twice to  Vuiviwa Naduvalo and Manueli Maisamoa to top the pool the Fiji Times reports.

The Ben Gollings-coached side awaits the second team from South Africa and Argentina to meet in the quarter-final tomorrow.

He is wanted for questioning by police.

Sayed-Khaiyum, who is the General-Secretary of the FijiFirst party, flew out of the country on Christmas Day following the swearing-in of the new coalition government.

Soon after his departure, the Criminal Investigations Department issued a border alert identifying him as a "person of interest" for allegedly "inciting communal antagonism".

Sayed-Khaiyum was Attorney-General for almost 16 years.

The Health Ministry stated that Fiji does not have direct travelers from China and so countries that receive passengers directly have the ability to surveil for variants and Fiji now has an in-country capacity to survey for new Covid-19 variants.

However, Tourism Minister Viliame Gavoka said the ministry has committed marketing funds for Japan and China as they are definite that the number of visitors will accelerate this year.

He said they are aware of the surge in Covid-19 cases in China but will ensure that the safety of Fijians is not compromised.

The team was defeated by hosts, Baby Bula Boys 3-0 in wet conditions at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.

Fiji took a 1-0 lead through a William Khan goal in the first half before Prashant Kumar and Vinayak Rao struck in the second spell.

Australia-based Ibraheem Afazal was named the player of the match.

The Baby Bula Boys will face Tonga in its next pool match next Wednesday.

Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka revealed on Tuesday that the state will provide F$200 (NZD$144) per child to families who earn less than F$50,000 per year.

The education initiative - a first by the three-party coalition - was aimed at ensuring children from "lower-income homes have the best possible start to the 2023 school year", Rabuka said.

"This is due to the hardship many families are facing in the last couple of years due to Covid-19 and the contraction of our economy, whereby a lot of people have lost their jobs," he said.

Due to this, the Health Ministry states it is ready to review some public health border measures.

The sub-variant, also known as Kraken, was descended from the Omicron XBB subvariant, itself a cross between two earlier strains: BA.2.75 and BA.2.10.1.

It comes just a day after New Zealand revealed the variant had also been detected in the country late last week.

The World Health Organization said it has been detected in at least 31 other countries.

Medical superintendent Jemesa Tudravu told FBC news the variant had high transmissibility.

The met service issued the statement in light of the formation of the season’s first tropical cyclone, TC Hale over the weekend.

According to the Nadi Weather Office, TC Hale posed no direct threat to the Fiji group as it tracked southeastward away from the country yesterday afternoon.

However, the weather office says a low-pressure system is anticipated to affect the country this weekend, with showers expected throughout the week.

The Ministry of Health says the first Covid-19 death is a 64-year- old man from Suva.

He was presented at a health centre on 23 December with pre-existing medical conditions and later tested positive for Covid-19.

FijiVillage reports the Ministry also says he later passed away on the same day.

He was vaccinated with 2 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The Ministry says the second death reported was of a 34-year-old female Tuvaluan citizen living in Fiji since 2018.

She was admitted at the CWM Hospital in Suva with diabetes complications on 6 December.