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Villagers learn from training
A WEEK-LONG bamboo handicraft training has been rewarding for a group of villagers in Labasa as they aim to generate income from it. Facilitated by the Northern Christian Training Centre and the Sunnyville Bamboo Development Company, the training was aimed at equipping participants with the knowledge and skills to make their own handicraft from bamboo to support their livelihood.Trainer Sukulu ...
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Birth of the oldest union
IT took a group of New Zealanders to help turn casual rugby into a competitively structured competition -- thus the birth of the oldest union in Fiji (Suva) in 1913. The visitors, according to Fiji rugby's historical reports, had come to build the Grand Pacific Hotel in Suva.The brainchild behind the birth of rugby in the capital city was a plumber Paddy Sheehan from Dunedin -- a former ...
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Japan trains in Fiji
THE Japanese national rugby sevens team will be seeking as much game time as possible to finetune their warriors before they cross the Japanese strait for their attempt on the Rugby World Cup in Moscow. However whilst Moscow is just across the ocean from Japan, their road to Moscow begins here at the home of sevens rugby in Fiji at the mother of all Fiji's sevens tourneys -- the 37th Fiji ...
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The traditional champs of Fiji rugby
WHEN you mention provincial rugby in Fiji, it is always synonymous with Nadroga, known as the traditional champions of the oval ball game. But rugby in Fiji did not begin in the Coral Coast province as initially there were only two unions, Suva and Lautoka.The western teams played for Lautoka while the Central and Eastern clubs were affiliated with the Suva Rugby Union.There was a sort of ...
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Evolution of Flying Fijians
RUGBY is like religion to Fijians. Regardless of race and colour, people rejoice in glory and mourn the loss of our national team -- be it fifteens or the abbreviated code. Rugby in Fiji has come a long way after its humble introduction in the late 1800s.According to online and library research, rugby is said to have been introduced in the country by the British and New Zealanders to Fijian ...
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Tailevus rise to the top
TAILEVU Rugby Union stormed on to the rugby scene in the late 1990s and quickly stamped its mark as one of the giants of provincial rugby in Fiji. TRU was formed in 1997 after many of its players represented Rewa Rugby Union at provincial level and the same year earned its first Telecom Cup victory defeating Suva 19-15 at Ratu Cakobau Park.The Tailevu clinched its first ever ...
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Mobile giant supports sevens
DIGICEL Fiji has joined the Fiji Bitter Marist Sevens tournament as official communications partner. The telecommunications company will be taking care of the communication needs of the organising committee in the two-day event which starts next week on Friday at the ANZ Stadium in Suva.Digicel Fiji commercial director Andrew Skelton said they were pleased to continue with their partnership ...
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Air rescue for woman
A 60-YEAR-OLD woman had to be airlifted from the Waimanu Hills in Namosi yesterday morning after she suffered medical complications while on a trip to catch prawns. Police spokeswoman Ana Naisoro said a report was lodged at the Lami Police Station on Wednesday afternoon by the woman's 30-year-old daughter who had accompanied her mother and 16-year-old sister to catch prawns in the ...
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Marist 7s partners Pacific Energy
+ Enlarge this image Digicel's Commercial Director Andrew Skeleton (middle) shakes hands with Lawrence Tikaram from the Marist rugby club with support from Koli Korovulavula in Suva yesterday. Picture: ELIKI ...
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Search on for sugar buyers
THE search for a buyer for the remaining 60,000 tonnes of sugar continues. The FSC said four firms had expressed interest in purchasing the local sweetener but nothing had been determined yet."We still have not received the types of prices that we are looking for and will continue to negotiate with the four buyers until we find something closer to what we want," said FSC executive ...
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First Test played at 7am in Apia
THE Fiji rugby fifteens team played its first international against Western Samoa in Apia, Samoa, on 18 August 1924. Fiji's 20-man squad came exclusively from the five registered native clubs of the time.The match was played at 7am to allow the Samoans time to get to work afterwards and was played on a pitch with a large tree on the halfway line.At that time the Fijians wore black and won ...
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The face of the Flying Fijians
AMONG Fiji's greatest players, there is one who literally became the face and name of Fiji rugby. Josefa Levula was the original Flying Fijian who has been immortalised by the Fiji Rugby Union in nearly all of their banners and the name Flying Fijians is also used to describe our national 15s team.Born in Nadi in 1930, the Narewa villager is most remembered for his long strides on the ...
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Growing with Kaji Rugby
Being one of the countries that produces the most number of rugby players in the world, how do you keep track of all of them? More importantly how do we monitor their develpoment in the game. Fiji's simple answer is in Kaji Rugby competition for primary school level. Nearly all children go through the primary schools, the first place where they can show their talent to people who ...
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New homes for families
FOUR families in the Western Division received a new lease of life with the opening of their brand new cyclone-proof homes by Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama yesterday. Nadi farmer Arvind Singh said his new home meant a better life for his family."I want to thank you Prime Minister for thinking of us and never forgetting about our problems," Mr Singh said."My family ...
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Reminder for cane farmers
AS the new crushing season approaches, sugarcane farmers have been reminded not to employ children under 18 years as cane labourers because it is against the memorandum of gang agreement. Speaking at a stakeholders training on child labour in the sugar industry in Labasa on Thursday, Ministry of Labour child labour unit manager Atish Kumar said it was only proper for children to be in school ...
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$1.3m boost for Navosa
THE people of Navosa have been urged to change their mind-set and work closely with the government to alleviate poverty. This is the advice of assistant roko tui Nadroga Rusiate Raidaveta in light of the $1.3million assistance provided by Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA) towards various agricultural products in the highlands.Mr Raidaveta said the opening of the cooling storage ...
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Seabed drilling to start soon
OCEAN drilling is to become a reality soon after government granted a licence to a Korean company, and a multinational company to test Fiji's ocean minerals. Director Mineral Resources Malakai Finau said potential minerals existed under the seabed within Fiji's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which has been established over the years through past research."The key here is ...
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New airline CEO next month
A NEW CEO for national airline Air Pacific could be announced next month. June is also the month the carrier is expected to be renamed Fiji Airways.Acting CEO Aubrey Swift said the board would make the final decision on the top job."All I can tell you is what the company is looking into it," Mr Swift said."We are taking every opportunity to look into this and we expect to make an ...
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Serevi among the worlds greatest
TUESDAY, August 16, was the day we shocked the British Lions 25-21 in Suva -- the day a burning desire to become a rugby icon was born in the heart of a 9-year-old. "I returned from school one day and set to washing my school uniform at my mother's request," he recalls."As I washed the uniform, great shouts of joy came from the streets. I asked my mother, "why do the ...
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Concern over dynamite use in fishing
CONCERNS have been raised by the government and community leaders on the use of illegal fishing methods such as dynamite in the Western Division. Tavua district representative Apisalome Uluisova said the use of dynamite in Tavua waters had been a major concern to the fishing ground owners.He said fishing wardens had tried their best to stop this but to no avail."The use of dynamite has led ...
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Market day for city
ORGANISING flea markets to support unemployed youths and budding artists sell their creative wares has been the driving force behind five friends living in the Sugar City. Makete Grove -- Tessa and Alfred Chan, Cecil Leger, Yvette Kava and Teresa Ali got together in February this year and decided to host a series of markets to revive trade activity in the Sugar City on weekends."The aim of ...
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The introduction of the cibi and rugby boots
The origins of the cibi date back to the country's warring times with its Pacific neighbours and inter tribal warfare. On their return home, the warriors heralded their victory by displaying flags -- one for every enemy slain.They were met by the women who would sing songs with accompanying gestures.The cibi was meant for open battle to inspire the troops, but it was sung with more vigour ...
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The game that wins us — all the time
IMAGINE a Fiji without rugby union, but only soccer, boxing and athletics. Unimaginable and this is why we owe a lot to the Kiwis who first introduced rugby to Fiji 100 years ago. While soccer, boxing and athletics were prime sports then, rugby hit the track running when it was introduced by a Kiwi, Paddy Sheehan 100 years ago.It suited the Fijian physicality and since life was communal based ...
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Catholic event to air live
THE Episcopal Ordination of Archbishop elect, Father Peter Loy Chong will be broadcast live throughout Fiji and the Pacific. This was revealed on Thursday by the spokesman of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Suva, Tukini Cama.He said the auspicious occasion would also be streamed live on the net to a global audience.He said the Liturgical event would be special compared to the last ordination ...
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Lautokas finest years at the helm
THE years 1979 and 1991 are perhaps the finest moments in Lautoka's rugby history. In 1979 it was 19-year-old Samu Yalayala who scored the winning try as the Maroons halted Nadroga's 28-game, 8-year unbeaten run in the Farebrother-Sullivan Trophy with a 6-4 victory at Lawaqa Park.The Maroons were captained by one of the three Ratudradra brothers Eneri with hooker Sunia Seru handling ...
Fiji Feature
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Fiji needs to focus more on needs of the poor
Fiji is facing a major problem with informal housing or ‘squatter colonies’, especially on the outskirts of major cities such as Savu, which draw people in with the promise of jobs and prosperity. An ongoing effort by government to provide affordable housing for low-income earners is hampered by mismanagement, a lack of funds and the reluctance to evict non-payers from their homes.
Fiji is one of the more developed countries of the South Pacific island nations, but a large proportion of the population remain in poverty and exist through subsistence means rather than through formal integration with the national economy. Read more
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