Fiji’s former strongman prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, left a Suva court house in handcuffs Thursday after being sentenced to one year in prison for obstructing justice – a ruling that bars him from seeking public office for nearly a decade.
Mention Kadavu Island to anyone in Fiji and it likely conjures up one word: Marijuana.The volcanic island – which lies south of the Fijian archipelago, about halfway between Tahiti and Sydney, Australia – is notorious for its illegal cannabis crops, often grown in hidden clumps between lines of taro leaves.
The leader of the kingmaker party in Fiji’s election says he doesn’t support forming a security relationship with China, preferring foreign relations to be closely aligned with Australia and like-minded countries in the Pacific region.
Secretary-General António Guterres talks to one of the crew members on “Uto Ni Yalo”, a traditional Polynesian sailing canoe with a solar-powered propulsion system. The boat is used to advocate for ocean conservation.Mr. Guterres is on a visit to the South Pacific to spotlight the issue of climate change ahead of the Climate Action Summit that he is convening in September in New York. The trip takes him to New Zealand, Fiji, Tuvalu and Vanuatu