A local school teacher has been awarded a Teaching Training scholarship in Japan.

Edwin Taimwane, an industrial arts teacher at St Josephs Tenaru National Secondary School received his airline ticket during an official hand-over ceremony On Monday at the Embassy of Japan in Honiara.

Mr Taimwane is from the Southern region of Malaita.

After completing his Diploma in Teaching at the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education in 1999, Mr Taimwane taught at Dala Community High School and later joined the Catholic Education Authority in 2006.

He has been teaching industrial arts at Tenaru Secondary School since.

Mr Taimwane had also attended a teaching experience course in Japan under the JICA program last year.

The program he will be attending this year in Japan is Industrial Arts in Wood Technology and Wood Machining.

Mr Taimwane leaves Solomon Islands on the 6th of October this year and will return from studies in 2010.

Source: SIBC

It began promisingly enough when Eliot Ragomo gave Solomon Islands Kurukuru the lead mere seconds into its debut match at the FIFA Futsal World Cup - Brazil 2008 - but it was Cuba that eased toward a comfortable 10-2 victory.

The Solomon Islands - the youngest team at these futsal finals in Brazil - looked to be on their way to a special day when Elliot Ragomo opened the scoring inside the first minute. Unfortunately for the Oceania men, their early joy only served to aggravate the Cubans.

Yulier Olivera, Carlos Madrigal, Olivera, Boris Saname and Eduardo Morales all scored for the Cubans to make it 5-1 at the interval. In the 27th minute, the Solomons' defeat was fairly well complete, with Morales scoring two more goals and and Johnnet Martinez adding one of his own.

Morales went on to add another before Mesa made it 10-1 for the men from CONCACAF. In the dying moments, Ragomo added a bit of scant consolation with his second goal of the match for the outgunned Solomon Islands.

Solomon Islands face a daunting match with host nation Brazil in two days time and will take note of the clinical manner Japan were dismantled in the tournament's opening match by 12-1.

Source: OFC

A prominent Solomon Islands leader, Paul Tovua has blamed the early termination of the National Peace Council (NPC) for the recent spate of criminal activities in some parts of Guadalcanal.

Mr Tovua was the Chairman of the National Peace Council which was prematurely terminated in 2006.

He says the termination of the Peace Council was a very bad move by the government.

Mr Tovua said this after returning from South Guadalcanal with the executive members of the Regional Assistance Mission to talk to villagers following recent disturbances there.

Source: Pacific Beat

Australia's guest worker scheme involving Vanuatu, Tonga, PNG and Kiribati is unlikely to be up and running before the year's end.

That's because the Australian government is yet to finalise how the visas will be allocated and also which potential employers may qualify to employ Pacific workers.

The three year trial program which is to be reviewed 18 months after it starts is designed to overcome the worker shortage in Australia's horticultural sector.

Source: Pacific Beat

If the Solomon Islands Futsal team needed any further reminding that they had reached the big time, then it came early on the weekend when four police officers on motorcycles arrived at their hotel to accompany the team bus from Goiania to Brasilia.

Report from Brazil say the road through Goiania's city centre was cleared by the officers, who were constantly buzzing around the bus and blocking other vehicles from hindering the team's path.

For the humble boys from Honiara – such was their excitement about participating in the FIFA Futsal World Cup that they would have gladly walked to Brasilia.

However, the report says it was a real thrill to have been given such treatment.

Meanwhile, the three Kurukuru players nursing injuries, Elliot Ragomo, Jenan Kapu and Junior Kogua have been assessed by a medical officer and given the all-clear to play for Kurukuru in their first game against Cuba this week.

Further light training sessions are taking place and will give coach Victor Wai'ia a further opportunity to assess the squad and make a final selection of the team.

The report from Brazil says all 14 Kurukuru players are proud to represent their country and are determined to raise the profile of Solomon Islands through a strong showing at the World Cup.

SOURCE: SIBC