Fiji News & Sports

09/01/2026

🚨 URGENT: Please Help Little Ansh 🚨
Little Ansh is still fighting a serious medical condition and urgently needs continued treatment. The medical costs are ongoing and overwhelming.

Tragically, Ansh lost his father just a year ago. His mother is now raising four children on her own, while also suffering from a serious kidney condition herself.
This family is facing more than anyone should illness, loss, and financial hardship all at once.

🙏 Every donation matters. Every share helps.
Please support Ansh in his fight and help ease this family’s burden.

Donation details:
📱 M-PAiSA: +679 971 2278
🏦 Bank Transfer (BSP): Account No. 86673476
🌍 GoFundMe: gofund.me/5f8a798cb

🙏 Thank you for your kindness and prayers.

09/01/2026

09/01/2026

HUNDREDS OF PASSENGERS STRANDED AT AUCKLAND AIRPORT FOR TWO DAYS

Serious questions must be asked about Fiji Airways’ handling of cancellations, communication failures, and passenger welfare.

We are writing to bring to your attention a serious incident involving Fiji Airways that left hundreds of passengers stranded at Auckland Airport over two days, raising concerns about passenger welfare, communication failures, and misinformation.

Fiji Airways flight FJ418, scheduled to depart from Auckland to Nadi at 4:25 pm yesterday, was only confirmed as cancelled at 6:00 pm—nearly two hours after its scheduled departure.

Meal vouchers were not provided until approximately 11:00 pm, and hotel accommodation was arranged close to midnight.

Today, passengers were advised that the rescheduled flight would depart at 10:00 am.

This was repeatedly delayed, first to 11:30 am and then to 1:00 pm, with little clarity or communication.

As a result, all passengers remained stranded at Auckland Airport for extended periods, including elderly travellers, families with young children, and mothers with distressed infants.

Compounding the situation, duty-free purchases made prior to the original flight were confiscated at customs today.

This occurred despite Fiji Airways staff explicitly assuring passengers that their duty-free items would not pose any issue due to the overnight delay.

This misinformation resulted in direct financial loss for passengers and highlights a serious lapse in staff guidance during disruption management.

The incident raises significant concerns about Fiji Airways’ handling of flight cancellations, passenger care obligations, and the accuracy of information provided during travel disruptions.

We believe this matter is in the public interest and warrants scrutiny, particularly given the number of affected passengers and the vulnerability of many stranded travellers.

09/01/2026

Australia Pacific Management Training has officially opened an office in Nadi, creating new opportunities for skills development, education and leadership training in Fiji and the wider Pacific.

09/01/2026

Media Statement: The 84,000 Ton Crisis at Rarawai
Hon. Viam Pillay

I have spent the last few days on the ground in the Rarawai mill area, and the message from our farmers is clear: they are at a breaking point. We are sitting on 84,000 tons of standing cane. This isn't just a supply issue; it is the lifeblood of thousands of families who are watching their hard work rot in the fields because the system is failing to keep up.

I am making a personal and humble appeal to the Minister for Agriculture and Sugar Industry, Hon. Tomasi Tunabuna. I know the Minister is a man of the people who understands the struggles of our rural communities. Minister, I am asking you to step in now. Our farmers have battled terrible weather and a shortage of labour, yet they have pushed their gangs to the limit, often at a massive extra cost to themselves. They have done everything asked of them.

The sun is out this morning, and the fields are finally drying. This is the moment we need to move. We cannot allow a rigid calendar or a "closing date" to dictate the survival of our farmers. If the cane is there and the farmers are ready, the mill must stay open.

I am calling for two immediate actions:

First, the FSC must extend the crushing at Rarawai. We have to be flexible. We cannot punish the farmer for the weather or for the fact that manual gangs can only move so fast. Every ton of that 84,000 tons needs to be crushed.

Second, if any cane is still left when the gates finally shut, the government must compensate these farmers. They have invested their savings, their fertilizer, and their sweat into this crop. If the industry cannot process what they grew, the farmer should not have to carry that loss alone. It is only fair.

Our farmers are not at fault here. They are the ones carrying the risk for the entire industry. I am asking the Minister to stand with them, show them the leadership they need, and make sure no family is left empty-handed after a long year of toil.

09/01/2026

Leader of the Opposition Expresses Deep Disappointment Over State’s Handling of COI Proceedings

The Leader of the Opposition has expressed deep disappointment and grave concern at the manner in which the State is now handling the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the circumstances surrounding the appointment of Ms Barbara Malimali as FICAC Commissioner, following developments in the High Court.

The Commission of Inquiry was established by the Government, at the direction of the Prime Minister, to inquire into the circumstances of this appointment in the public interest and to restore public confidence in key state institutions. It was advanced as a serious exercise in transparency and accountability. It is therefore alarming that the State now appears prepared to retreat from that position by entering into a settlement that undermines the very purpose for which the COI was established.

Of equal concern is the State’s indication that it intends to keep certain terms of settlement with the Judicial Services Commission confidential. The Leader of the Opposition firmly maintains that the entirety of the terms of settlement must be made public. This Commission of Inquiry was funded by the taxpayers of Fiji, conducted for the benefit of the public and justified on the basis that the public had a right to know the truth. It is wholly unacceptable that public funds may now be used to settle proceedings on terms that will never be disclosed to the Fijian people.

The State’s apparent willingness to settle, coupled with its insistence on confidentiality, is a clear reflection of weak and indecisive leadership at the highest level. Rather than allowing the legal and accountability processes it initiated to reach their proper conclusion, the Prime Minister’s Government appears to be prioritising political expediency over principle.

The people of Fiji want and deserve, a transparent and accountable Government. Unfortunately, this episode reinforces a growing perception that this Government has failed to uphold those values from the very beginning of its term in Parliament. Transparency cannot be selective, and accountability cannot be negotiated behind closed doors.

The Leader of the Opposition calls on the Prime Minister to demonstrate genuine leadership by ensuring that all terms of settlement arising from this publicly funded Commission of Inquiry are fully disclosed and by recommitting his Government to openness, integrity and accountability to the people of Fiji.

09/01/2026

09/01/2026