The Fijian delegation participating in the Festival of Pacific Arts presented their i reguregu to the Solomon Islands delegation for the passing of one of the members on Sunday.

The reguregu was led by the Deputy Secretary for Education Filipe Jitoko, the Director for Heritage, Culture and the Arts Peni Cavuilagi and the Tui Macuata Ratu Aisea Katonivere (High Chief of Macuata Province).

"Reguregu" is a Fijian traditional ceremony whereby people visit the family of the deceased to pay their respects. They also present gifts. The delegation presented mats and a tabua on behalf of the people and the government of Fiji.

According to the Fiji Arts Council chair, Michael Denis, the Kabu ni Vanua meke group moved the ceremony with their singing.

"The ceremony was very short, we presented our reguregu, the mata ni vanua spoke to the Solomon Islands delegation and the Director of Education spoke on behalf of the government," Mr Denis said.

He added that the Solomon Islanders did not expect the visit from the Fiji delegation and that they were very grateful.

George Garry 47, died on Sunday morning from what is believed to be cerebral malaria. Mr Garry was one of two wood carvers in the Solomon Islands delegation.

His body will be flown back with his contingent on Friday.

Source: Fiji Times

An Auki (Malaita's main twon) based Magistrate in Solomon Islands has been charged with corruption.

A statement from Chief Magistrate Leonard Maina confirmed that David Wale has been suspended from performing official duties as a magistrate since the allegation were raised in January.

The charge relates to a case of selling liquor without license case which went before Magistrate Wale on the 28th of December last year.

It has been alleged Magistrate Wale heard the case and convicted the accused, Yan Jian, before ordering the sale of sixteen cartons by auction and the other sixteen to be returned to the accused.

It was alleged that during the time, Wale obtained two hundred dollars and two ten kilo bags of rice from the shop owned by the accused.

Magistrate Wale has been charged and the case is before the Central Magistrates Court.

In his official statement, Chief magistrate Leonard Maena said every citizen of the country is subject to the law and when charged for committing an offence, will have to face the law or go to court like everybody else.

Source: RNZI

The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands Acting Special Coordinator, Dr Jonathan Austin, today congratulated the people and government of Vanuatu on the occasion of their National Day.

Dr Austin wished the Vanuatu officers serving with RAMSI well on their National Day and thanked them on behalf of the other 14 contributing countries of RAMSI for their valuable work to help rebuild the Solomon Islands.

Dr Austin said that the experience and cultural background of police members from Vanuatu enhanced the work of RAMSI’s Participating Police Force capacity building role.

“We are all under one Pacific umbrella. As a member of the Pacific Islands Forum, Vanuatu is sharing its experience and ideas to help strengthen the Solomon Islands and build a peaceful, well-governed and prosperous country”, Dr Austin said.

The head of the current group of Vanuatu police officers serving with the RAMSI Participating Police Force, Terry Tulang, said that Solomon Islands culture and customs are quite similar to Vanuatu.

“At our pre-deployment training in Australia, Solomon Police officers told us about the culture and custom of Solomon Islands, the history. They told us about the importance of respect, how the community works and things like that. For me, coming from Vanuatu, a lot of these things are very similar to home.”

With over 27 years policing experience in his home country and as part of the 1998 Bougainville peace monitoring mission, Mr Tulang is committed to helping police establish good working relationship with communities. In Solomon Islands he has been working together with the Solomon Islands police community relations team in all aspects of community policing.

“What we want is Solomon police to go out more to establish good relationships with communities”, he says.

“We sit down and talk with the community, about the role of the police, about the law and encourage them to set up crime prevention units. This can help the community deal with problems when they come up”, Mr Tulang says.

There are currently five police officers from Vanuatu serving with the mission.

The countries that make up the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands are Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Source: RAMSI

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 has struck off Solomon Islands at around 8:40am this morning, but there have been no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The undersea quake struck about 135 kilometres east of Kira Kira on San Cristobal Island, 295 kilometres west of Lata, Santa Cruz Islands and 370 kilometres east-southeast of the capital Honiara at a depth of 52.8 kilometres. The eartquake location was 10.582°S, 163.146°E.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii did not issue an alert.

Last year, an 8.0-magnitude earthquake in the western Solomons triggered a tsunami which killed more than 50 people and displaced thousands.

Sources: USGS & RNZI

A member of the Solomon Islands delegation to the 10th Festival of Pacific Arts in American Samoa died this morning from a cerebral malarial infection.

Festival co-chairman Fagafaga Danny Langkilde said George Garry, a 47-year-old carver, was pronounced dead at 5:10am today.

Dr Ivan Tuliau of the LBJ Medical Center in American Samoa said the head of the Solomons delegation, Dr. Robert Au, was informed that Garry had severe back pain at 4:05am. Garry then began having seizures, and emergency medical personnel were called to Tafuna Elementary School, where the Solomons delegation is housed.

Tuliau said EMS personnel declared Garry dead.

Tuliau said the disease is not contagious, and Garry likely contracted the malaria before arriving last week with the Solomons delegation on a charter flight from Honiara. Tuliau said the mosquito that transmits malaria is not found in American Samoa. He said Garry's death was an isolated case, though all members of the Solomons delegation are being checked for symptons of malaria.

Garry exhibited no symptoms of the disease before this morning, Fagafaga said.

The American Samoan government, led by Governor Togiola Tulafono and First Lady Mary Tulafono, festival officials and members of the Solomon Islands delegation held a small service for Garry at the LBJ Medical Center chapel at 10 am today.

The Solomons delegation has withdrawn from events today at the festival, which ends on Wednesday. Fagafaga said the festival organizing committee, in conjunction with the Solomons delegation, was determining today how active the group would be for the remainder of the event.

The Solomon Islands will host the next Festival of Pacific Arts in 2012.

Tuliau said Garry's body was being held at the LBJ Medical Center morgue.

Fagafaga said the American Samoan government has provided a casket and appropriate clothing for Garry's body. He also said a member of the American Samoan Cabinet, and a festival official, will accompany Garry's body back to Honiara.

The Solomons delegation is scheduled to return home on Monday, August 4, by a charter flight. Fagafaga said the schedule is being reviewed.

Source: Pacific Magazine