Solomon Islands

Some people are calling for a crocodile cull to reduce numbers.

The deaths come less than a month after the country lifted a ban on harvesting the nocturnal marine animal, also called beche-de-mer, in a bid to boost is pandemic-hit economy.

Local police commander Joseph Maneluga said the beche-de-mer gold rush is attracting divers to crocodile-infested waters.

Customers in China and South-East Asian countries consider the dried sea cucumbers a delicacy and one kilogram can fetch up to 170 dollars in the Solomons.

on half-pay from the 31st of October.

This was announced by the Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare this week and will apply to any employee of the national or provincial governments as well as state owned enterprises.

Mr Sogavare said if by 1 January 2022 they still have not taken up the vaccine their employment will be terminated.

It is the strongest messaging yet to come from the government with so far only 6.4 percent of the eligible population full vaccinated against the virus.

The Kurukuru conceded three goals in each half against the African champions.

Soufiane El-Mesrar opened the scoring in just the second minute before Achraf Souad doubled their advantage a minutes later.

Idriss Raiss El-Fenni made it 3-0 close to half-time, while Bilal Bakkali, Otmane Boumezou and Soufiane Borite all found the back of the net in the second spell.

Solomon Islands, who are competing in their fourth consecutive World Cup, are back in action on Friday morning against Portugal, who outclassed Thailand 4-1 in the other Group C clash.

The Australian-based administrator was CEO of the 2015 Pacific Games in Port Moresby and has held several other positions in Papua New Guinea and at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji.

He replaces Shalom Akao Waita, who was the first woman to lead a Pacific Games Organising Committee.

The former Solomon Islands netball and basketball representative was appointed in October but stood down earlier this year.

In a statement on Friday the government said the lockdown was necessary given the surge of the deadly COVID-19 delta variant globally.

It said this was especially important as the country prepares for a limited re-opening of incoming flights which have been suspended for weeks because of worsening delta outbreaks in neighbouring countries.

It said Cabinet has approved the trial of the revised Lock-down plan for the Honiara Emergency Zone through a 36-hour lockdown from 6pm on Sunday 29th August to 6am Tuesday 31 August 2021.

Kukum youth leader Raziv Hilly (aged 29) died from injuries after being rushed to the National Referral Hospital. Two others remain in hospital in critical condition, and one sustained minor injuries.

Reports stated that four young people were cooking food on a wood fire for a fundraiser when the incident occurred, unaware that that the heat from the fire would trigger the bomb.

According to Solomon Star, Mr Hilly was from Vella La Vella and Ranoggah in the Western Province and was a qualified aviation engineer and property manager.

Officer In-charge (OIC), Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Team, Inspector Clifford Tunuki said, “One of the four casualties has been confirmed dead, the other two are in critical condition and one has some minor injuries.”

Two of the three casualties are females according to OIC Tunuki.

A submission for the ban was said to be brought to Cabinet by the Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and Communication and Civil Aviation Minister Peter Shanel Agovaka.

Agovaka told Solomon Times Online (STO) that this temporary ban was made because of the controversial issues raised via Facebook.

“Abusive languages against Ministers, Prime Minister, character assassination, defamation of character, all these are issues of concerns”, Agovaka said.

The Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said all five cases involved passengers on a recent repatriation flight connecting through Auckland in New Zealand.

Sogavare said four of the people who tested positive were local footballers returning from the United Kingdom and the fifth person was a Korean national.

The worker flew into the Solomons with about 80 other Chinese nationals, many of whom will construct stadia for the 2023 Pacific Games.

The Covid-19 Oversight Committee said the worker passed a package to a Chinese national outside of quarantine, who owns a hardware store in Honiara.

The Solomon Times reported that person had now been quarantined at the Pacific Casino for 14 days.

The Ministry of Health said it was continuing to investigate the breach.