Solomon Islands

Government workers have been told it's compulsory for them to attend three of the main ceremonies being held next week, and the whole country will have 29 June off.

The Australian-led state building mission was deployed to Solomon Islands in 2003 to end five years of ethnic fighting which had killed hundreds of people and displaced tens of thousands.

The Solomons' government's special secretary to RAMSI, John Wasi, said the week of events is the country's way of saying thank you to the region for helping a friend in need.

They were travelling from West Are'are in Malaita province to Marau on Guadalcanal on Wednesday.

The Solomon Star said two boats were doing the crossing together but one, carrying 23 people, failed to make it.

Police said eight people were rescued but one of them has died since.

Police with the help of the Search and Rescue team have been out in the sea to look for the remaining bodies.

The other boat with about 21 people onboard arrived safely.

Photo: Supplied Pacific search and rescue 

The public broadcaster reported the beetle was sighted last year by farmers who feared the pest would kill coconut plantations and set back copra production.

A spokesman for the Ward Eight Farmers Association Samson Eric Lifuasi said authorities needed to support control measures and to formulate a plan to stop the beetle spreading to other provinces.

Last year, the Australian company Kokonut Pacific reported a renewed infestation of rhinoceros beetle in the Solomons was killing large palm trees.

Kokonut Pacific, a coconut oil producing company was one of three companies from the Solomon Islands invited to attend Auckland’s Pasifika Festival earlier in March as part of the PTI Pacific Path to Market programme.

The six-stage programme involves attending a Pacific Path to Market workshop in their own country, followed by an invitation to Pasifika Festival, a Gap Analysis workshop and one-to-one business meetings with prospective buyers, importers and distributors.

This was confirmed in court on Monday by Immigration Officer Chris Akosawa who appeared on behalf of the matter.
 
He said the total fine of USD$4,300 had been transferred to the Solomon Islands Government (SIG) account through the Central Bank of Solomon Islands (CBSI).
 
Akosawa asked the court for an extension of the detention order for another 14 days to allow the crew members to wait for their flights back to Vietnam.
 
The first four crews will leave the country today whilst the second batch of nine crews will leave on Friday.
 

The Solomon Star newspaper reported 10 people had been arrested and charged by police after failing the country's first breathalyzer tests.

First time offenders can be imprisoned for up to a year and/or be fined more than $US1200 which is equivalent to about four months income for the average family in Solomon Islands.

Repeat offenders can be imprisoned for up to two years and/or be fined more than $US2400.

The tougher laws were introduced last June with the aim to to curb the high number of alcohol related crashes and fatalities.

An Australian company Pacific Bauxite has secured a licence to prospect the island and its representatives are in the island's capital Lata this week.

Some local people are opposed to their presence and have set up roadblocks to stop them from travelling around the island.

A spokesperson for the community, Sir John Ini Lapli, who is also a former governor general of Solomon Islands, said the issue had divided families and tribes, making the situation very tense.

Court fines of $US100 each for illegal entry into Solomon Islands will also be paid by their family members.

The Solomon Star newspaper reports that a total of $US4,300 has been given to the Vietnamese Embassy in Canberra by the men's families to be wired to the Solomon Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Honiara.

Local courts have extended their remand in custody to the 22nd of this month pending the payment of their fines and repatriation costs.

The crew and the boats were detained last month after they were caught fishing illegally in Rennel and Bellona.

The Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation reported that the 40 pleaded guilty to entering the country illegally, but they told the chief Magistrate John Numapo, they did not realise they were breaking the law.

Last week, the boats' owners were fined $US1.59 million each.

The fisheries minister, John Maneniaru, said if the owners did not pay the boats would be destroyed.

Photo: AFP A Vietnamese "blue boat". 

Local media reported the two, a male and a female, had been stabbed sometime over the weekend.

Police said they could not determine the relationship between the two and called for the public to come forward with information.

The killings happened in an area with many Chinese-owned shops and according to the Solomon Star, police have called on the Chinese community in Honiara to remain calm and allow the investigation to take its course.