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☆ Fiji's former attorney general taken into custody - police
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, May 1 (Reuters) - Fiji's former attorney general, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, who is also general secretary of the Pacific island nation's main opposition party Fiji First, was taken into custody on Monday after being charged with abuse of office, police said. The charge relates to a complaint lodged by an election official in February, Fiji police said in a statement. "Mr Sayed-Khaiyum remains in custody and will be produced in the Suva Magistrates Court tomorrow," the statement said. The criminal charge was approved by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, it added. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside of office hours.

☆ Fiji's former leader Bainimarama bailed after court appearance
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, March 10 (Reuters) - Fiji's former long-serving prime minister Frank Bainimarama pleaded not guilty in a Suva court on Friday after being charged with abuse of office and held in police custody overnight. Fiji's Director of Public Prosecutions Christopher Pryde approved the charges of abuse of office against Bainimarama and suspended police commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho. read moreBainimarama, who led the Pacific island nation for 16 years until narrowly losing an election in December, rejected the charge. "I served as Fiji's prime minister with integrity and with the best interest of Fijians at heart," Bainimarama said outside court, according to video taken by Fijian media outlets. Bainimarama resigned from parliament on Wednesday after being suspended last month for sedition and insulting the president.

☆ Fiji fires its top cop and scraps a policing agreement with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Police operate a security check point in the Fijian capital of Suva in December following general elections. The Pacific island nation has played an important regional role amid competition between China on the one side and Australia, New Zealand and the United States on the other. Fiji's president on Friday suspended the commissioner of police following a general election saw the first change in government in the Pacific island nation in 16 years, after the military earlier warned against "sweeping changes." Qiliho declined to comment to local media because he said he will face a tribunal over his conduct. The Pacific island nation, which has a history of military coups, has been pivotal to the region's response to competition between China and the United States, and struck a deal with Australia in October for greater defence cooperation.

☆ New Fiji govt suspends police commissioner, scraps China policing arrangement
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere said Commissioner of Police Sitiveni Qiliho had been suspended on the advice of the Constitutional Offices Commission, "pending investigation and referral to and appointment of, a tribunal". The Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem was also suspended by the commission, the statement said. Qiliho declined to comment to local media because he said he will face a tribunal over his conduct. On Thursday, Fiji Times reported Rabuka said his government would end a police training and exchange agreement with China. Republic of Fiji Military Forces Commander Major General Jone Kalouniwai earlier this month warned Rabuka's government against making "sweeping changes", and has insisted it abide by a 2013 constitution which gives the military a key role.

Leaving parliament on Saturday, Rabuka told waiting media he was humbled to have become the prime minister of Fiji before being rushed away to be sworn in by the country's president. Biman Prasad, leader of the NFP and the new finance minister, said the incoming government would work for the Fijian people. The prime ministers of both New Zealand and Australia released statements to congratulate the newly sworn-in Rabuka. "We strongly value Fiji as a close friend and partner as we progress our shared priorities for the region," New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. Anthony Albanese, Australia's prime minister, added in a tweet that he also looked forward to working with Rabuka.

☆ Fiji’s king maker party SODELPA votes to support opposition coalition
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SYDNEY, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Fiji's Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) said on Friday that it would form a coalition with two other parties, a move that will dislodge current Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama. "We believe we have agreed on a way forward that benefits this country," party leader Viliame Gavoka said in a news conference after an internal party vote. The Pacific island nation's military was called in on Thursday to help police maintain law and order. read moreReporting by Kirsty Needham and Lucy Craymer; writing by Praveen Menon; editing by Christian SchmollingerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Fiji Deploys Military, Risking Tensions in Election Aftermath
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Rhiannon Hoyle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

ADELAIDE, Australia—Fiji mobilized its military after the party of longtime leader Frank Bainimarama failed to win a majority in an election this month, a move that risks inflaming tensions in a Pacific nation that the U.S. has courted to counter China’s inroads in the region. Mr. Bainimarama’s Fiji First party has yet to concede after the main opposition parties in Fiji, where there has been four military coups in the past 35 years, this week formed a coalition to oust the incumbent government.

☆ Factbox: Five Facts on Fiji's Prime Minister Bainimarama
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 22 (Reuters) - Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, a former military chief who has ruled the Pacific island nation for 16 years, has not conceded defeat despite opposition parties saying they have a combined majority after a closely fought election last week. - He made his first major mark on Fijian politics as head of a post-coup Interim Military Government from May to July 2000. He overthrew Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase in 2006, and has been in power since. Three opposition parties have pledged to form a coalition, effectively dislodging Fiji First, although the alliance is yet to be tested in parliament. His interests include military history, current affairs, rugby union and athletics, and he is President of the Fiji Rugby Union.

☆ Fiji PM Bainimarama says military deployed to maintain law and order
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SYDNEY, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said on Thursday that the military was deployed across the country to complement the police in maintaining law and order. "The reports of harassment suffered by our citizens and violence targeted at Indo-Fijian homes and businesses in the wake of the election are deeply disturbing," he said in a Facebook post. The government called in the military citing racial tensions after last week's election delivered a hung parliament. read moreOpposition parties have disputed reports of violence and have called for evidence. Reporting by Kirsty Needham; Writing by Praveen Menon; Editing by Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama's Fiji First has not conceded defeat, while a coalition of three parties say they have a combined majority and have agreed on People's Alliance leader Sitiveni Rabuka as prime minister. In a statement on Facebook, Bainimarama said the military "has been deployed to complement the Police in maintaining law and order". Bainimarama has been prime minister for 16 years, taking power in a coup, and later winning two democratic elections in 2014 and 2018. New Zealand's Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said New Zealand was "aware of the statement from Fiji's Police Commissioner". The prime minister must be voted in by more than 50% of lawmakers on the parliament floor.

WELLINGTON, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Fiji's Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) is due to meet on Friday to decide if its decision to form a coalition with the opposition stands, a move that comes after the Pacific country's military was called in to help police maintain law and order. Fiji is waiting for its president to recall parliament so lawmakers can vote for a new prime minister after a national election last week showed no party received a clear majority. SODELPA, a power-broker holding three seats in the hung parliament, supports policies favouring indigenous Fijians, and on Tuesday signed a coalition agreement with the People's Alliance and the National Federation Party. However, the SODELPA's board is to meet again on Friday, after the validity of the decision to back the coalition was challenged by the party's general secretary and Fiji's Supervisor of Elections. However, opposition parties accuse Bainimarama and his allies of stoking fears of ethnic trouble as a pretext to cling to power.

SYDNEY, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Fiji's parliament has delayed its first sitting, where it had been expected a new prime minister would be sworn in to the Pacific islands nation for the first time in 16 years. People's Alliance leader Sitiveni Rabuka is expected to become prime minister, after three parties signed a coalition agreement on Tuesday after a hung election. The deal would dislodge Fiji First's Frank Bainimarama, who has led Fiji since a 2006 coup. read moreThe constitution requires lawmakers to elect the prime minister from the parliament floor if no one party has won more than 50% of seats. On Wednesday morning New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said New Zealand was yet to congratulate Rabuka as it waited until the "dust settles and there is finality over processes".

☆ Fiji's ruling party leads provisional count after national election
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dec 15 (Reuters) - The ruling Fiji First party led provisional national election results, boosted by a 31.42% vote for Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, with half of polling stations counted in the Pacific island nation after Wednesday's vote. He is in a tight race against another former coup leader and one-time prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, whose People's Alliance Party has formed a coalition with Fiji's oldest political party, the National Federation Party. The provisional result showed Fiji First with 45.88% of votes at 7 a.m. Thursday, ahead of the People's Alliance Party with 32.66% of votes, while the National Federation Party had 9.29% of votes. On Thursday morning, Fiji's election commissioner, Mohammed Saneem, demonstrated to media a "double blind data entry" system being used to avoid errors in the final count. Australia's foreign minister Penny Wong told reporters Fiji's election appeared to have been conducted "peacefully and in an orderly manner".

☆ Fiji national election a tight race in early provisional counting
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Voters queue at a polling station to vote during the Fijian general election in Suva, Fiji, December 14, 2022. Bainimarama is in a tight race against another former coup leader and one-time prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, whose People's Alliance Party has formed a coalition with Fiji's oldest political party, the National Federation Party. The election office said result updates were put "temporarily on hold" shortly before 11 p.m., and later said its election results app, used by the public, had errors. Bainimarama's Fiji First supporters campaigned on stability and progress, while the opposition said national debt was too high and questioned the state of democracy, he said. A multinational observer group led by Australia, India and Indonesia includes 90 election observers who are also monitoring the national vote counting centre.

REUTERS/Akhtar SoomroUNITED NATIONS, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Countries on the front lines of the climate crisis are fed up. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asked world leaders why his people were paying the price of global warming. "We renew our call to the world to declare total war on this century's greatest challenge: the climate change monster. Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the least responsible for climate change are suffering the most. And yet, we are the fourth most vulnerable country to climate change," he told the U.N. gathering.

☆ Factbox: World leaders to attend Queen Elizabeth's funeral
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Canadian Prime minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Gregoire Trudeau attend the funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey. Jack Hill/Pool via REUTERSRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterLONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Queen Elizabeth's state funeral will take place in London on Monday and a host of world leaders, royalty and other dignitaries will attend. Countries that have not been invited include Syria and Venezuela because London does not have normal diplomatic relations with those states. Britain has also not invited representatives from Russia, Belarus or Myanmar after it imposed economic sanctions on those countries. Related ContentFactbox: Plans for Queen Elizabeth's state funeral on MondayFactbox: Comments from crowds in London on Queen ElizabethFactbox: World leaders to attend Queen Elizabeth's funeralFactbox: Order of service for Queen Elizabeth's state funeralWindsor Castle, Queen Elizabeth's home and now final resting placeWestminster Abbey - traditional church for royals in life and death(This story was refiled to correct spelling of first name of Belize governor general)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterCompiled by Farouq Suleiman and Kate Holton Editing by Deepa Babington and Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Yasa, cel mai sever ciclon tropical a crescut în intensitate în Pacificul de Sud și se apropie de Fiji
▼ + stars: | 2020-12-16 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +1 min

Serviciul meteorologic din Fiji a precizat că furtuna, încadrată în prezent la categoria 5 (cea mai severă), este însoţită de rafale de 280 kilometri/oră şi continua să crească în intensitate în timp ce se afla la aproximativ 550 kilometri nord-vest de Viti Levu, principala insulă din arhipelag, scrie agerpres.ro Agenţia meteorologică din Noua Zeelandă, Weatherwatch, a declarat că Fiji se află "în vizorul ciclonului care avansează încet, fiind aşteptat să atingă arhipelagul joi seară sau vineri dimineaţă". "O furtună de o asemenea intensitate poate distruge clădiri, smulge din rădăcini copaci, spulbera frunzele şi provoca alunecări de teren şi inundaţii", a avertizat Philip Duncan, director executiv al Weatherwatch. "Yasa este o furtună care poate face victime în zonele joase din Fiji", a adăugat el.Primul ministru din Fji, Frank Bainimarama, a cerut deja locuitorilor să se pregătească pentru ce e mai rău.Elevilor li s-a cerut să rămână acasă, deoarece numeroase şcoli au fost transformate în centre pentru sinistraţi.Veşti bune, însă, pentru zonă, în condiţiile în care celălalt ciclon care ameninţa Pacificul de Sud, Zazu, şi-a schimbat traiectoria marţi seară, îndreptându-se acum spre sud-est, fără a mai ameninţa capitala statului Tonga, Nuku'alofa.Prezenţa acestui ciclon, încadrat la categoria 1, complică însă prognozele privind traiectoria lui Yasa.

Persons: Philip Duncan, Frank Bainimarama Locations: Fiji, Viti, Noua Zeelandă, Fji, Pacificul de Sud, Tonga

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