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nz Issue 177 | March 25, 2018 | Free Edition

(09) 276 8800 info@theaucklandtimes.co.nz www.theaucklandtimes.co.nz theaucklandtimes

MINISTER SALESA CALLS

PETERS
FOR

OPENS FIJI CENTER REGIONAL

CARE
N
ew Zealand’s New Zealand Prime
Minister Minister at the time

N
for Ethnic of the military coup
Communities in Fiji in December ew Zealand
Hon Jenny Salesa 2006, mentioned the and Australia
officially opened a importance of schools should
telecommunications in encouraging have more
center in Nadi, at forward thinking joint projects in the
Andhara College recently. at all levels. NZ’s Pacific neighborhood
Ms Salesa commended Ministry of Foreign according to Rt Hon
Fiji/NZ relations and Affairs and Trade Dr Satendra Singh. Winston Peters. The
congratulated the center (MFAT) has sponsored Both judges reside in Foreign Minister
for its expected role a writing competition Auckland. In the last was speaking in
in linking with other for the past 10 years in ten years the annual Australia ahead of
schools in nearby areas. Fiji secondary schools competition has attracted talks between the
Education has been at on diverse topics, around 100 secondary two Prime Ministers,
the forefront in Fiji giving valuable awards schools in Fiji, during as per annual
recently, with a Global to winners as well as which period four deputy consultations. Mr
Education Conference embarking on special NZ heads of mission have Peters acknowledged
hosted in Nadi by projects to assist school served in Suva. In 2014 growing significance
the Commonwealth communities. Lady June NZ reappointed a High of the Pacific region,
Secretariat, ahead Hillary, wife of late Commissioner when especially in strategic
of a summit of NZ icon Sir Edmund the military installed terms, as major powers
Commonwealth heads of Hillary has co-judged government was seemed more engaged
government in London. these competitions with replaced by an elected than ever in this part
A keynote speaker, Rt a foundation member one. of the world.
Hon Helen Clark, former of Fiji’s Foreign Office See Editorial.
UNDP director and a past after independence, See Editorial.
 02 Local News The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018

Full Index
Local News 01 - 05
Editorial Commentary 06
Fiji News 08 - 14
World 18 - 20
Entertainment 21-22
Classifieds 24
Horoscope 25
Sports 26 - 32

Auckland Times
THE

NZ shellfish safety
YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER

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N
For more information ew Zealand’s Yet, by the time of the 1993 Marine Farmers Association of monitoring around New
Contact us shellfish industry is shutdown scientists were still president Rob Pooley says Zealand so we know what to
P: (09) 276 8800 celebrating 25 years grappling with how to accurately the three-month shutdown expect - we also benefit from our
M: 021 038 5827 of seafood safety identify and treat the outbreak, brought businesses to a grinding advances in chemical methods
and economic growth after a he said. standstill, with many cultivators and molecular tool,” he said.
Email: toxic algal bloom shut down the “There was something people having no income and relying on This stability had allowed
info@theaucklandtimes.co.nz industry for three months in found very fascinating about this food parcels to eat. the aquaculture sector to now
Website: 1993. unknown thing from the ocean However, there had been flourish into a half a billion dollar
www.theaucklandtimes.co.nz Cawthron Research Scientist affecting their food supply,” he considerable scientific advances industry, he said.
Dr Lincoln Mackenzie recognised said. since then that demystified algal The toxins responsible for the
Disclaimer: Report, article and as early as the 1980s that algal “There was a lot of pressure blooms and left scientists and the 1993 shutdown were identified
advertisement do not necessarliy reflect blooms and associated biotoxins at the time. People’s livelihoods industry much better placed to by Japanese researchers as being
the opinion of The Auckland Times(NZ)
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that put people’s livelihoods on attention was huge.” Mackenzie said. Florida coastline of the Gulf of
reserved. the line. Shellfish farmer and former “We have a long term record Mexico.
The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018
THE PACIFIC
WAY
P
rime Minister
Jacinda Ardern’s
recent visit to
Niue, Samoa
and other Pacific Islands
rekindled strong ties
that set our part of the
world apart, sometimes
people call it as a Pacific
Way. In the 1970’s many
neighboring Pacific
Island states gained
independence. Together
with the two larger
neighbors, Australia and
New Zealand, a determined
search got underway to
find areas where joint
regional approaches could
be possible. The Labour
Government of David
Lange became an example
of how regional dislike of
nuclear weapons and
testing the same in our
part of the world by big
powers outside the region,
meant many outstanding
engagements both
bilaterally and together, in
the Pacific Forum and other
organizations to rid our
clean environment of this
unwelcome development.
In the colonial era, NZ
and Australia played a role
for economic and social
advancement in the Pacific
region through what has
then the South Pacific
Commission. From the
1970’s the Pacific Forum
became a special focus as
Island leaders used this
organization to make
Local News 03
joint strides in fishing,
telecommunications, health
and many basic areas as
well as the annual leaders
summits to engage on
virtually every aspect
that concerns the region.
NZ and Australia are
partners. Not only as large
financial contributors,
both nations identify with
Pacific customs and people
to people engagements. As
the annual summits have
been rotated in the various
island capitals, more
awareness of problems and
solutions have emerged.
Nauru is host to the
2018 Forum summit.
The nation is marking
its 50th anniversary of
independence. Celebrating
the Pacific Way should
continue as a special feature
of our unique place in the
world, largely away from
major world problems
hopefully!
04 Local News The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018

PACIFIC ISLAND
MEMORIAL COMPETITION

A
ssociate Arts Minister Hon Carmel Sepuloni
announced a competition for concepts
to create a Pacific remembrance at the
National War Memorial Park in Wellington.
Ms Sepuloni said the panel of judges will include
the High Commissioner of Niue, Hon Fisa Pihigia.
Concepts will be judged before three are selected
for further development and final judging. Further
information from the Ministry of Arts and Culture.
Check the website.

MINISTER
RON MARK
IN FIJI
N
ew Zealand’s Defense Minister Hon
Ron Mark visited Fiji with several
veterans of the No 5 Squadron of the
Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF)
who served at Laucala Bay in Suva from 1941
to 1967. The premises and land owned by the
RNZAF were gifted to the University of the
South Pacific for a regional development ideal.
Minister Mark said NZ’s links in the Pacific were
significant. He noted it is time for a Pacific reset.
The University is marking its 50th anniversary.
The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018 Local News 05
FIJIAN INDIAN KIWI NURSE HONOURED

T
he International
Red Cross and
Red Crescent’s
prestigious
Florence Nightingale Medal
for 2017 has been presented
to three New Zealand
nurses whose efforts in
numerous places where Ms Singh, formerly of seen in the picture with International Committee of
humanitarian work was Fiji, took part in Red Cross the NZ Governor General the Red Cross to recognize
desperately needed, has efforts in places such as Dame Patsy Reddy at the exceptional courage and
been applauded. West Africa, Iraq and investiture ceremony. devotion in a conflict
The awardees includes Gaza region. Her fellow The Florence or disaster. The 2017
Ms Guru Dev Singh of recipients are Gail Corbett Nightingale Medal was recipients are from 22
Wellington. and Barbara Turnbull, instituted in 1912 by the countries.
06 EDITORIAL COMMENTARY The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018

CURTAIN CLOSES:
SHRIDEVI

T
he death of popular performances and her films President of India. Her
Bollywood star, ranged over several decades demise is mourned by
Shridevi came as in many Indian languages. millions in India and around
a huge sudden After an absence from films the world. The President
wave of shock and sadness. her comeback in “English of India said she was an
Reportedly of drowning in Vinglish” was a high score. inspiration, while Prime
a Dubai hotel bath aged 54, Her many dance sequences Minister Modi called her
the actor was attending a captured the imagination of death untimely. May she
family wedding. Shridevi viewers. Shridevi received rest in peace. The memory
gave many amazing a Padma award from the and fame live on.

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The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018
HELEN CLARK: REGIONAL
GLOBAL EDUCATION
AWARENESS
the assembled
ministers
and officials
from many
Commonwealth
nations we need
to listen to our
younger citizens,
and that includes
our student
body. Ms Clark,
who led the
United Nations’s
development
program after
retiring from
NZ politics,
remarked on
the importance
of paying heed
F
ormer Prime to what our
Minister of New youth tell us about making
Zealand, Rt Hon societies inclusive as
Helen Clark told well as peaceful, often
the 20th Commonwealth requiring to work at
ground levels. Ms Clark
Education Ministers
said we have a duty to let
Conference held in Fiji students “think outside
investing in education is a the box”, to question, to
must if we are to produce propose solutions. Exactly!
a future that is just and On that note, may we
viable for all. Ms Clark told commend New Zealand’s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(MFAT) on sponsoring an
eminently apt project in
Fijian secondary schools
for the past 10 years,
offering students such
valuable opportunities
to do a lot of what these
imply - to think outside
the box and to help create
a future perspective. What
better way than to engage
students in expressing their
views on national, regional,
world and bilateral
issues through writing
essays and discussing
such topics in their
classrooms? For 10 years,
consecutively, successive
NZ High Commissioners
and the competition
judges have also visited
many secondary schools
canvassing such issues,
opening doors to better
bilateral and world
engagement. It is always at
the ground level that we
often witness changes and
results. Congratulations
and Vinaka to MFAT.
www.theaucklandtimes.co.nz
R
t Hon Winston Peters
is spot on, calling for
more joint cooperative
programs between
NZ and Australia in the
Pacific region. Engagement
needs to be ongoing and not
tied to assistance packages
when natural disasters strike
the islands. Many Pacific
island states have important
voices in both regional
as well as international
platforms, including the
Forum, Commonwealth and
the United Nations. Regional
solidarity is important.
Currently, there are major
international players taking
more active interest in the
region. This is a good thing,
07
as joint projects help some
of the isolated and at risk
islands, particularly those
affected by climate change
factors. Be that as it may,
immediate neighbors NZ and
Australia, traditionally allied
in many diverse ways with
Pacific countries, need to
take a more proactive stance.
More attention should also be
placed on customary values
shared by neighbors, making
our part of the world a safe
and secure place. The Pacific
Forum summit in Nauru being
a very good example as well as
a recent Pacific Islands tour
by Prime Minister Jacinda
Ardern. Lets revitalise the
Pacific Way!
 08 Fiji News
Teen fails driving
test after crashing
into testing centre
T T
he car in the testing centre
A Minnesota teenager
has failed her driving test
in the most spectacular
fashion, crashing her car into the
testing centre.
According to Buffalo police,
the 17-year-old girl accidentally
put the car into drive instead
of reverse before accelerating,
causing it to jump the curb and
ram into the building.
Images of the accident show
the car in the side of the testing
centre, surrounded by broken glass
and bricks.
The girl and the building’s
occupants were not harmed, but
the 60-year-old female examiner
was taken to hospital with minor
injuries.
Both the car and the testing
centre were heavily damaged.
No charges will be filed against
the girl.
Source: Newshub.
The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018
Meghan
Markle
The advice came as the
American actress and her
fiance went to meet the
people of Belfast during a
and Prince
one-day visit to Northern
Ireland.
Among the hundreds
Harry
waiting patiently outside
one of the city’s most
considering famous pubs, the Crown,
was 38-year-old Ellen
New Hawthorne, who married
husband Nathan in August
Zealand and had some advice for Ms
Markle.
honeymoon “I suggested New Zealand
as a honeymoon destination
he television star because I went there last
is known for her year for a month after my
starring role in
wedding,” she told the Press
Suits.
Association.
Prince Harry’s bride-to-
be Meghan Markle has been “I told her it was lovely
recommended New Zealand and she said she’d keep it in
as a destination for their mind.
honeymoon. Source: Newshub.
The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018 www.theaucklandtimes.co.nz 09

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10 Fiji News
Ram Naumi a time for
self-reflection: AG
R
eligious festivals like Ram
Naumi are not only about
rituals but time for self-
reflection.
This was highlighted by the
Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-
Khaiyum while speaking at the
Ram Naumi celebrations in
Cunningham Stage four in Suva
last night.
Sayed-Khaiyum says by
focusing on stories in the Hindu
religious book Ramayana, one
Husband sentenced
for raping wife
A
30-year-old man
who breached
a domestic
violence
restraining order issued
against him and raped his
wife has been sentenced to
10-years imprisonment by
the Labasa High court.
The man pleaded guilty
to one count of breaching
a domestic violence
The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018
should learn how to lead their lives
as an individual and focus on their
relationships with others.
He has stressed that human
beings will be close to living life as
an animal if they do not do things
in the right way.
The AG says gathering like
the Ram Naumi creates a sense
of community, awareness and
concern for each other and this
attitude should continue.
All Hindu faith based schools
restraining order and one
count of rape.
The court heard on
September 3rd last year
the accused punched the
complainant following a
dispute.
Eight days later, a
DVRO was issued against
the man.
On September 22nd
the man threatened the
will be closed tomorrow to
celebrate the birth of Lord Rama.
The Education Ministry has
approved the closure of the
Sanatan, Sangam and Arya Samaj
schools.
Ram Naumi is a significant
event in the Hindu calendar where
Hindus pray and fast for nine days.
The birth of Lord Rama will
be celebrated at midday on
tomorrow.
Source: Newshub.
wife to withdraw the
complaint.
The court heard that
two days later the man
raped the wife in the early
hours of the morning.
The man has been
sentenced to 10-years
imprisonment with a non-
parole period of 7-years
and 6 months.
Source: FBC.
The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018
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Immigration NZ denies crackdown on partnership
visas, despite record number turned down
P
eople applying to
bring their partners
to New Zealand
are being declined
in record numbers - but
immigration officials deny
they’re in the midst of a
crackdown.
They do, however, say
such visas are now being
scrutinised by a single,
dedicated team.
On Auckland’s Queen St
a protest has taken place
against decisions that have
separated families.
Cherie Smith’s partner
is in Jordan. Immigration
NZ doesn’t believe their
relationship is genuine,
meaning their seven-
month-old daughter has
been left without her father.
“All I’m wanting is to
spend quality time with my
husband,” she told. “I want
Bank Refunds Card Scam Losses
S
ome of the money
scammed from the
Prime Minister’s Visa
card in 2016 has been
refunded, it was revealed
during submissions to the
Standing Committee on
Public Accounts.
Officials from the Office
of the Prime Minister
yesterday made submissions
to the committee on the
2016 Auditor-General’s
report.
Director Corporate
Service Moape Rokosuka
said $3368.87 was
unaccounted and was a
result of the Visa card scam
that happened worldwide.
He said they were still
following up with the
ANZ bank about a cheque
number 82785, which was
involved in the scam.
The Office of the Prime
Minister is still trying to
verify the figures.
Mr Rokosuka said to
address the scam issue,
they put in place a strategy
him here and I want his
support.”
In the past financial year,
2349 partnership visas were
turned down - a record high
on recent years.
“I’m very confident in
the quality of our decision
making,” said Peter Elms,
Immigration NZ assistant
general manager.
Immigration relies
on documents like banks
accounts and bills to
prove a relationship is
legitimate and enduring. But
there’s criticism assessing
relationships like that is
narrow-minded and old
fashioned.
“When people are living
in family homes overseas,
they can’t get tenancy
agreements, they can’t get
utility bills in their names
because in these countries
people live in extended
families,” said immigration
lawyer Alastair McClymont.
Mr Elms if he could
accept that in Asia or
parts of the Middle East
it can be difficult to get
documentation.
whereby the card was
activated as soon as
the PM flew out of Nadi
International Airport.
He said the card was
deactivated as soon as the
Prime Minister landed back
in the country.
“We identified the
scam when we did our
reconciliation, and the
acquittals were submitted
by the PM and the team,” Mr
Rokosuka said.
“We checked with
what is there on the bank
statement and we managed
to pick up those figures.
“We noted that some of
these figures came in when
the PM was in the country.
“That is how we managed
to find out about these scam
figures.”
He said ANZ Bank was
still verifying the amount
submitted and would refund
the same if they confirm
that it was involved in the
scam.
Opposition Member of
Fiji News 11
“No I don’t,” he said. “No I
don’t. I think people can get
documentation wherever
they live.”
He claims there’s no
crackdown.
But visa processing
is undergoing massive
change - a single team based
locally is now managing
partnership applicants, as
other branches overseas are
shut down.
“Over the last week,
Hong Kong has closed.
Pretoria will be closing,” Mr
Elms said.
Immigration says that
means they’ll get better
consistency when making
decisions.
But people like Nikki
Harawira fear that could
only mean continued
struggles for her and her
son.
“His father is missing out
on the most crucial years of
his life,” she said.
Source: Newshub
Parliament Aseri Radrodro
questioned Mr Rokosuka if
they were contemplating
utilising the card services
issued by other banks.
He said they had
discussed it with the PM
and he had advised them to
explore the services offered
by other banks.
However, the current
interest rates offered by
ANZ best served them.
Vice-Chairman
Mohammed Dean
commented that Visa card
scams were becoming very
common.
Director Audit of
the Auditor-General’s
Office stated that it was
the responsibility of the
respective ministries to
investigate charges which
have not been cleared to
confirm if it is a scam or not
and have it cleared from
their account.
Source: Fiji Sun.
16 Fiji News
12
Immigration
department moves
transactions online
T
he Immigration
Department will
no longer accept
or issue manual
payments and receipts for
all financial transactions to
prevent anomalies in their
accounts.
Director Nemani
Vuniwaqa says this decision
follows recommendations
made by the Office of
the Attorney General
while scrutinizing the
Immigration Department’s
2016 accounts.
Vuniwaqa while
submitting to the Standing
Record number of students
graduate from USP
F
or the first time in
its 50 year history
the University of
the South Pacific
graduation ceremony was
held over two days and in
three sessions this year
reflecting a consistent and
significant increase in the
number of graduates.
This was highlighted
by the Vice Chancellor,
Professor Rajesh Chandra
while delivering his speech
during the graduation
ceremony.
The graduating
students consisted from
Pacific TAFE, Faculty of
Science, Technology and
Environment and Faculty
of Arts, Law and Education
and the Faculty of Business
and Economics.
A total of 1,774 students
graduated from USP
yesterday and today.
This is the largest number
The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018
Committee on Public
Accounts yesterday
addressed the anomalies in
the accounts.
He says the reason for
the unbalanced credits
are due to the different
accounting systems used
by the Economy ministry
and the Immigration
department.
“We’ve done workshops
and training for our officers
not to accept manual
receipts and to ensure that
all payments are to be done
through the system and
receipts to be generated
of students that have
graduated from the USP
compared to previous
years.
Professor Chandra says
58% of the graduates are
women.
908 students graduated
from undergraduate
programmes (Certificates,
Diplomas and Degrees),
364 students have received
Postgraduate Certificates
and Diplomas and 143
graduated with Master’s
Degree.
Five students graduated
with a PhD.
through the system. So
it can also tally with the
Government’s system.”
Vuniwaqa says these
payments include
overseas missions, Trade
Commissioner’s office,
passport applications and
permits.
He adds all financial
transactions of the
Department will be
conducted online in the near
future to provide better
transparency.
Source: Fiji Sun.
Professor Chandra
highlighted that students
from 28 countries have
graduated, including 16
non-member countries,
testifying to the growing
international profile and
attraction of USP.
He says since its
establishment of USP 50
years ago, the University
has issued close to 60,000
qualifications, testifying to
its foundational role in the
tertiary education of the
member countries.
Source: Fiji Village.
The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018
T
he question I often
get asked is “Can I
bring my brother,
sister, mother
and so on to New Zealand
or can I come to New
Zealand?”
In this climate, I am often
tempted to say it is a
useless inquiry. The doors
are almost always shut
unless some expensive
pathways are pursued.
It is even difficult keeping
some of those we have
here, onshore.
The relationship of the
world to New Zealand is
worth pondering upon in
relation to this point.
In the field of immigration
in New Zealand, we have
undergone an ideological
change which is in keeping
with the global trend of
protecting one’s border.
That translates into getting
rid of those who have
The Tide is Changing!
committed crimes, have
lied or mislead and so on.
This is using a system like
that of a triage system for
those that possess New
Zealand residence rights
and factored into that is
the amount of time that
residence has been held
for. In rare cases, even a
citizenship can be revoked
but it is more difficult to
do so.
Our firm, Idesi Legal with
offices in Auckland and
in Wellington, are dealing
with such cases.
The insight we get and the
message we would like to
share is that the initial visa
application stage should
cease to be viewed as a
form filling exercise. We
know that well intentioned
people and some not so
well intentioned people
undertake this role for
third parties, some at
a fee and others free.
Whatever the arrangement,
understanding the
individual’s context, due
diligence and attention to
detail are required, better
still an understanding
of the implication of the
answers given and the
omissions made.
If the approach is
prudent, then it can be
the difference between
the person being subject
to deportation or not.
When a person comes
to the attention of the
Immigration Compliance
team, the immigration
history can come under
scrutiny and what may
have laid buried for a long
time as an irrelevant fact or
omission becomes subject
to an in depth scrutiny and
investigation.
Secondly, when a person
has a matter before the
court, again the decision
of that proceeding may
have an impact on their
immigration status which
www.theaucklandtimes.co.nz
can in some instances
commence with a
questionnaire. Some are so
busy with their lives; due
importance is not given to
this document and it is hap
hazardly dealt with. At this
point it can be successfully
dealt with as Idesi Legal
can attest to, but if proper
attendance is not given to
this document, then it is an
opportunity indeed lost.
Those from visa free
countries can at times
be oblivious to the
immigration policy and
the obligations because
their initial entry has
been so easily facilitated.
Inadvertently, we find this
group can get themselves
into trouble by overstaying.
We are very saddened
when a simple mistake
which could have been
avoided by the applicant or
their agents at the outset
causes a deportation of a
person from New Zealand
17
13
who leaves behind so
much.
In realty this person is
banned almost for life from
his family and friends. This
is because getting a visa to
come back to New Zealand
in the future, despite
the actual ban period
expiring, will most likely be
impossible.
Kamil Lakshman is
the Principal Lawyer
of Idesi Legal Ltd, an
Immigration, Property
and Refugee Law
Firm. She is a member
of the National Law
Reform Immigration
and Refugee Law
Committee of the New
Zealand Law Society,
and a past Convenor
for a substantial
period of the Society’s
Wellington Branch,
Immigration Commitee.
16 Fiji News
14 The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018

State
Lawyer
AsksFor
25-Year
Jail Term
Financial numbers are heartbeat of a company

S
tate lawyer in the case
against a 37-year-old
YOUR ACCOUNTING & BUSINESS CONSULTING PARTNER man convicted for the
murder of his wife
has asked for a minimum
term of imprisonment of
25-years.
The accused, Venktesh
Premal Goundar, was
convicted by High Court
Judge Justice Salesi Temo
Reliable for one count of murder
when he set fire to his wife.
The incident took place at
Experienced the Bargain Box Shop in
Lautoka on April 4, 2015.
His late wife, Sharol
Trustworthy Sania, 25, suffered 35 per
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The evidence revealed
that the accused and his
wife had been married for
nine years and had three
children together – aged
eight-years-old, four-years-
old and one and-a-half-years
old respectively.
The family lived in
Raviravi, Ba and had
allegedly been having
matrimonial issues for a
couple of months after the
accused suspected his wife
of having an alleged affair
with a Police officer.
The evidence revealed
that the accused went to
meet his wife at the shop
on the day of the incident
and set fire to her inside the
shop.
The medical report
stated that the deceased
died from alleged
septicaemia or blood
poisoning due to infection
of the burns she sustained.
In mitigation, the
defence lawyer submitted
that the accused was deeply
remorseful and had suffered
from high blood pressure as
a result of the wife’s alleged
affair.
The defence lawyer also
sought a minimum sentence
of 12 years imprisonment
for the accused.
The defence submitted
that the accused’s children
were now being looked
after by their 69-year-old
grandmother who was
unemployed.
The accused was
remanded in custody and
will be sentenced in the
High Court on April 6, 2018.
Source: Fiji Sun

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Email: info@kamrana.nz • www.kamrana.nz
154 Puhinui Rd, Papatoetoe, Manukau, Auckland 2104, New Zealand
The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018 Fiji News 17
15
16 www.theaucklandtimes.co.nz The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018

INDIA A
*****
PARTNERS
A
recent visit by
Fijian Prime
Minister V
Bainimarama to
India and a meeting with
his Indian counterpart,
Narendra Modi consolidated
links between the two
nations further. India is set
to assist Fiji re-develop its
sugarcane based rail lines
in some rural parts of Fiji,
where predominantly Indian
cane growers have kept the
industry going for over 100
years. Another area believed
to be in the horizon for
closer linkage is more direct
trade between Fiji and
India taking shape in a joint
council that was established
by India for Pacific Islands reopened by a former Fiji Modi, whose first visit to instead, a complicated
states after Prime Minister Indian diplomat Dr Ishwar the region was to Suva, system of communal and
Modi’s visit to Suva a few Chauhan. Thereafter where he met a number cross voting. The Labour
years ago. While several successive diplomats have of Pacific Island heads of government of Dr Timoci
thousands of Indians left repaired broken fences government at the behest Bavadra was dismissed
Fiji in the aftermath of between India and Fiji, of Fijian Prime Minister in 1987 by Fiji’s first
military coups - the first of making significant strides Frank Bainimarama. military coup makers, who
which was staged in 1987 - in fostering close linkages Indian indentured workers claimed the government
those who remained have in a whole network of were brought to Fiji in was Indian dominated. In
kept the bulk of sugarcane areas including textiles, 1879 by the British Raj 2000 a civilian coup was
growing and associated food, medical equipment administration, essentially responsible for kidnapping
industries plodding along. and manpower, sugarcane to cultivate land and to the elected government
India was once accused growing and related trade. plant sugarcane. Fiji’s of Mr Mahendra Pal
by coup leaders in Fiji of Two Indian Prime Ministers somewhat troubled race Chaudhry and in 2006
interfering in its internal have visited Fiji in the relations developed Frank Bainimarama
affairs and this precipitated past - Mrs Indira Gandhi, to largely separatism and instigated a military coup
the closing down of the help celebrate 100 years of was mirrored in most ousting Mr Qarase’s elected
Indian High Commission in Indian settlement in 1979 constitutional arrangements government. Through
Suva for nearly ten years, and in 2014, Mr Narendra without common voting, these turmoils thousands
The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018
AND
****
since 1879
of Indians left Fiji to settle
in NZ, Australia, Canada,
USA and other destinations,
taking their skills and
diverting businesses.
Efforts by Professor Yash
Ghai’s commissioned group
to recommend a new
constitution for Fiji led to
wide ranging consultations
in the country. But the Ghai
Report was thrown aside
by the military installed
government which adopted
its own version in 2014.
Parliamentary government
www.theaucklandtimes.co.nz 17
FIJI
has been observed and this Pundit Nehru
year (2018) Fiji will face once said
its second general election wisely it was
under the new arrangement.
desirable
Diplomatic relations
between Fiji and India that Indians
are cordial, new ventures overseas live
have been explored and in dignity,
numerous ministerial visits enjoying
to India by Fiji’s Cabinet equal
Ministers have all helped rights and
in the efforts. India sent
prosperity in
observers to the 2014
elections and will probably whichever
do the same again this year. country they
India’s first Prime Minister reside in.
 18 World News The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018

China tells US
it is not afraid Taj Mahal
of trade war up for ‘adoption’,
H
ong Kong: Asian markets
plunged Friday following

GMR and ITC in

a sell-off in New York as
Donald Trump sparked
fresh trade war fears by imposing
huge tariffs on Chinese imports
and Beijing unveiled countermeas-
ures against US goods.
The president announced lev-
ies on up to $60 billion of imports
from China for what he describes
cent and Shanghai lost three per
cent, while Sydney sank two per
cent. Singapore dived 1.8 per cent
the race
as the “theft” of American intel-
and Seoul was 2.3 per cent down,
lectual property, fuelling specula-
while Wellington gave up more
tion that a strong recovery in the
than one per cent, Taipei fell 1.5
world economy could be thrown
per cent and Manila dropped 2.3
off course.
per cent.
Thursday’s announcement
Hannah Anderson, global mar-
comes just weeks after the White
ket strategist at JP Morgan Asset
House imposed stinging taxes on
Management, said: “The economic
steel and aluminium products en-
impact on both China and the
tering the US— causing equities to
US will be determined by what
plunge— as Trump drives through
form the tariffs end up taking. The
with his America First protectionist
effects are likely to be felt more
agenda.
strongly in the US and increase
China responded immediately
in both consumer and producer
to the latest volley from Washing-
prices.
ton by releasing a list of potential
“Exports are extremely im-
tariffs on $3 billion worth of US
portant to the Chinese economy,
goods, from meat to fruits and
but have been trending less so in
wine, warning that it was “not
recent years and the US has been
afraid of a trade war”.
shrinking as a share of China’s
Wall Street was sent spiralling
export market.
by the news with all three main The idea behind the scheme is to ensure that tourists get an ‘awesome’ experience while visiting the Taj Mahal.
“The equity market will bear
indexes shedding between 2.4 per
cent and 2.9 per cent.
the brunt of the market reactions. The ‘Adopt a heritage’ GMR Sports Private Limited, best that apart from the Taj Mahal, it
Most impacted will be the US, known as the owner of the Delhi has also bid for the Itimad-Ud-
And those losses filtered through
Korea, and Taiwan as companies scheme envisages the Daredevils team in the Indian Daulah and the Red Fort .
to Asia. Tokyo was hammered 3.6
per cent, with exporters also hit by
domiciled in these markets make adoption of historical Premier League, made its bid to According to the ITC spokes-
up a significant portion of the adopt the Taj Mahal. Companies person, the company has bid for
a surging yen, which is considered
global production chain of Chinese sites and monuments were allowed to bid to adopt any the Rock Cut Hindu Temples in
the go-to currency in times of
turmoil and uncertainty.
exports. Chinese listed firms, on by private and state- monument or historical site. Andhra Pradesh and the Charmi-
the other hand, derive most of In response to GMR’s bid, the nar in Hyderabad.
The greenback fell below 105
their sales— around 80 per cent—
owned companies. government said the Taj was not Tourism Minister KJ Alphons
yen for the first time since Novem-
from the domestic market.” The companies are part of the scheme because of its informed Parliament on March
ber 2016, while it was also down
against the euro and pound.
Analysts also said the trad- expected to pay for the importance. 19 that “Letters of Intent have
ers were also spooked by the fact “As such, the government been issued to 24 agencies for the
China is the biggest buyer of Treas- upkeep of the monu- proposed that GMR come up with Submission of Vision Bids for 75
US worse off?
Hong Kong collapsed 3.4 per
uries, which the US needs to keep ment or site from their a vision document to maintain the sites, other than Taj Mahal. Two
its economics wheels greased. Taj corridor which connects the Taj expressions of interest have been
CSR (corporate social Mahal to Agra Fort,” a senior offi- received for the Taj. However, no
responsibility) budget. cial from the ASI said on condition decision has been taken yet.”
of anonymity. The minister didn’t reveal the
Consumer products and cigarette “On February 1, in the Union name of two companies in Parlia-
company ITC Ltd and a company Budget, the government an- ment.
that is part of infrastructure con- nounced the development of 10 The bids suggest that most
glomerate GMR Group are in the prominent tourist sites as iconic companies are interested in adopt-
race to adopt India’s most iconic tourist destinations, and it was ing monuments around their area
monument, the Taj Mahal, under subsequently decided to put the of operations.
the government’s ‘Adopt A Herit- Taj Mahal under the ‘Adopt a Her- Alphons said that the primary
age’ scheme. itage Scheme as well,” this person purpose of the scheme is to let the
The scheme envisages the added. community perceive that it “owns
adoption of historical sites and “ITC is the second bidder for the monuments”, rather than
monuments by private and state- the monument under the scheme government agencies such as ASI.
owned companies. The compa- but no letter of intent (LoI) has “The main structure will re-
nies are expected to pay for the been issued to either,” said the main with the ASI and the selected
upkeep of the monument or site official. corporate entity will provide basic
from their CSR (corporate social Shortlisted bidders will be amenities..., cleanliness, public
responsibility) budget. The site issued a LoI and asked to prepare conveniences, ease of access ...,
or monument will remain under and present a vision document besides advanced amenities such
the purview of the Archaeological on how they will manage and as cafeteria, surveillance system
Survey of India (ASI). Indian law maintain the site or monument. ...” he added.
requires companies to spend 2% of A seven-member Oversight and Subhash Goyal, Chairman,
their profit on CSR activities. Vision Committee, chaired by the Tourism Expert committee, AS-
Spokespersons for both ITC secretary, tourism and comprising SOCHAM welcomed the scheme.
and GMR confirmed that they have senior officials from the tourism “Putting the Taj Mahal under the
expressed interest in adopting the and culture ministries and ASI, scheme is good initiative. It’s an
Taj and written to the ministry of will decide who gets to adopt the iconic site and tourists must get an
tourism. site or monument based on the awesome experience while visit-
When the scheme was presentation. ing such a site. This scheme will
launched in September last year, The GMR spokesperson said ensure that.”
The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018
O
bama spent his
last hours in
New Zealand in
Auckland meeting
“Wahine Toa”. Credits: Image
- Getty ; Video - Newshub
Barack Obama has opened
up on the “experiment” he
would like to see - letting
women run the world for
two years.
He spent his last hours in
Auckland meeting “Wahine
Toa” - a network of Maori
women leaders.
Mr Obama spent the
morning with women like
Lynell Huria - a lawyer,
Liana Poutu - a Te Atiawa
leader and Deidre Otene -
from the Moko foundation.
Ms Poutu says “I think
there’s huge alignment
in what the Mr Obama
foundation is doing and
what we do on the ground
with our people”.
Obama was ‘hungover,
sunburnt and really tired’ -
Patrick Gower
An evening with Barack
Obama - reactions from
those who were there
The network was organised
by Nancy Gilbert, a friend
of the former president and
wife of former American
ambassador Mark Gilbert.
She said Mr Obama
was impressed with the
network.
“The Wahine Toa were
on fire, I could not be any
prouder, they were calm,
cool, collected they were
savvy and smart.”
Women were also a
key part of Mr Obama’s
90 minute conversation
on Thursday night when
he was a guest at an event
World News
Golf, a powhiri
and meeting Maori
women leaders, a
packed 60 hours
for Obama
at the Auckland Viaduct
Centre.
He told the audience :
“New Zealand is so advanced
now because this is the first
place in the world to give
women the vote.”
“Women should run the
world for two years every
two years and if women ran
the world there would be no
conflict.”
The former President
also revealed he will no
longer wear a tie, unless
for weddings, funerals or
meeting the Queen.
19
He also said: “The
mission to kill Osama Bin
Laden was a 55-45 chance
when he authorised it”.
“China doesn’t know how
to act as a “Superpower” and
there was no mention of
President Donald Trump.
Sixty hours in New
Zealand saw Mr Obama golf,
attend a Powhiri, and meet
members of the Wahine Toa
- and now it is “Obama Out”.
Source Newshub.
 20 World News The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018

How
Stephen
Hawking
reshaped
concept of
space, time,
Big Bang
theory
In this file photo taken on February 8, 2015, British scientist Stephen Hawking arrives for the BAFTA British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Opera House in London. Hawking‘s mental
genius and physical disability made him a household name and inspiration across the globe.
Stephen Hawking, who for the hard-to-grasp concepts, it and space via wormholes, a fa- South Pole... There was never a origins of the universe, became a
included only one equation: E = vourite of science-fiction writers. Big Bang that produced something research fellow at Caius College
sought to explain some mc2 or the equivalence of mass With mathematician Roger from nothing. It just seemed that and married Wilde in 1965.
of the most complicated and energy, deduced by Einstein Penrose, Hawking used Einstein’s way from mankind’s perspective,”
questions of life, worked from his theory of special relativ- theory of relativity to trace the Hawking explained. In 1970, Hawking realized the
ity. The book outlined the basics of origins of time and space to a sin- mathematical approaches he
his entire life under the cosmology for the general reader. gle point of zero size and infinite ‘Profound Impact’ developed with Penrose could
shadow of a likely prema- Hawking’s fame increased density. Their work gave math- The Nobel Prize in Phys- be applied to black holes, a term
ture death. In his time, as his health worsened. After his ematical expression to the Big ics proved elusive for Hawking, coined by physicist John Wheeler.
degenerative muscle disorder was Bang theory, proposed by Belgian whose theories required observa- Hawking worked for the next four
he probed the limits of diagnosed, he defied medical opin- priest Georges Lemaitre in 1927 tional data to win the praise of the years on black holes, discovering
human understanding of ion by living five decades longer and supported two years later by awarding committee in Stockholm. they weren’t totally black, but
space and time. than expected. He communicated Edwin Hubble’s discovery that the The Nobel Foundation excludes leaked radiation, now known as

S
his ideas through an American- universe is expanding. posthumous nominees. “Hawking radiation.”
tephen Hawking, the British accented speech synthesizer after “By any reasonable stand- For 30 years, Hawking was
physicist and black-hole a life-saving tracheotomy in 1985 Before the Big Bang ard, Stephen Hawking is a great Cambridge’s Lucasian professor of
theorist who brought sci- took away his ability to speak. To With American physicist James scientist. Even if time shows some mathematics, a chair once held by
ence to a mass audience the layman, the robot-like voice Hartle, Hawking later tried to mar- of his more radical proposals to be Isaac Newton. US President Barack
with the best-selling book ‘A Brief only seemed to give his words ry relativity with quantum theory incorrect, Hawking will have had Obama awarded the Presidential
History of Time’, has died. He was added authority. by proposing the no-boundary a profound impact on the history Medal of Freedom to Hawking in
76. “To my colleagues, I’m just principle, which held that space- of science,” Henry F Schaefer III, 2009, the year of his retirement.
Hawking, who suffered from another physicist, but to the wider time is finite and the laws of phys- a chemistry professor at the Uni-
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also public, I became possibly the best- ics determined how the universe versity of Georgia, said in a 2001 His other popular books included
known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), known scientist in the world,” began in a self-contained system, lecture. ‘The Universe in a Nutshell’ (2001),
was confined to an electric wheel- Hawking wrote in his 2013 memoir without the need for a creator or Stephen William Hawking was ‘On the Shoulders of Giants’
chair for much of his adult life. ‘My Brief History’. “This is partly prior cause. born in Oxford, England, on Jan. 8, (2002), ‘A Briefer History of Time’
Diagnosed at age 21, he was one because scientists, apart from Ein- “There was nothing around 1942, exactly 300 years after the (2005) and ‘The Grand Design’
of the world’s longest survivors of stein, are not widely known rock before the Big, Big Bang,” Hawking death of Italian physicist Galileo (2010).
ALS. stars, and partly because I fit the told physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson Galilei. Hawking’s father, Frank, In 2015, Eddie Redmayne won
A Cambridge University profes- stereotype of a disabled genius.” at the “Star Talk” show aired on was a doctor of tropical medicine. an Oscar for his portrayal of Hawk-
sor, Hawking redefined cosmology National Geographic Channel His mother, Isobel, was a tax ing in ‘The Theory of Everything’, a
by proposing that black holes emit Black Holes earlier this month. inspector and a secretary. He had film about the scientist’s life.
radiation and later evaporate. He Hawking applied quantum According to Hawking, the two younger sisters and a brother. Hawking separated from his
also showed that the universe had theory – governing the subatomic laws of physics and time cease to At age 8, Hawking moved with wife in 1991 and married his
a beginning by describing how world – to black holes, which he function inside that tiny particle his family to St. Albans, where he nurse, Elaine Mason, four years
Albert Einstein’s theory of general claimed discharge radiation that of heat and energy. The ordinary went to school. He then graduated later. They divorced in 2007.
relativity eventually breaks down causes them to disappear. This real time as we know now shrinks with first-class honours in natural By 2017 Hawking was spend-
when time and space are traced process helps explain the notion infinitely as the universe becomes science at Oxford’s University Col- ing more time pondering human-
back to the Big Bang about 13.7 that black holes have existed at a ever smaller but never reaches a lege. While he was a doctoral can- ity’s future and concluding that
billion years ago. micro level since the Big Bang, and definable starting point. didate at Cambridge, Hawking was we should plan to colonize other
the smaller they are, the faster “It was always reaching closer diagnosed with ALS, also known as planets. “We are running out of
Best-Seller they evaporate. to nothing but didn’t become motor neuron disease. He was told space, and the only place we can
‘A Brief History of Time’, first Black holes are formed when nothing,” said Hawking. he had only a few years to live. go to are other worlds,” he told a
published in 1988, earned its a massive star collapses under the He drew an analogy between gathering of scientists. “‘It is time
author worldwide acclaim, selling weight of its own gravity. Detected the distorted time with Ancient Pondering the future to explore other solar systems.
at least 10 million copies in 40 by the movement of surrounding Greek philosopher Euclid’s theory As the illness progressed slow- Spreading out may be the only
languages and staying on the best- matter, they devour everything in of space-time, a closed surface er than expected and he found thing that saves us from ourselves.
seller list of the UK’s Sunday Times their path and may play a role in without end. inspiration in his girlfriend, Jane I am convinced that humans need
newspaper for a record 237 weeks. the birth of galaxies. Physicists say “One can regard imaginary and Wilde, Hawking began to work at to leave Earth.”
Often referred to as “one of these invisible cosmic vacuums real time beginning at the South his studies for the first time. He
the most unread books of all time” might allow travel through time Pole. There is nothing south of the completed his doctorate on the (With inputs from PTI)
The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018
Kriti Sanon
confirmed for comic-
caper Housefull 4
A
fter bagging
Ashutosh
Gowariker’s
period drama
Panipat, actress Kriti Sanon
has signed another big film
on the dotted line. Yes, the
actress has given her nod
to star in the forthcoming
comedy film Housefull
4, which is the next
installment of the superhit
Hindi film franchise,
Housefull. The official page
of the production house
Nadiadwala Grandson
Entertainment tweeted,
“Let the fun begin ????????
@kritisanon ?? Welcome
to the Housefull gang!
#SajidNadiadwala’s
#Housefull4onDiwali2019
@akshaykumar @
thedeol @Riteishd @
Entertainment 21
WardaNadiadwala.”
Elated Kriti Sanon too
shared her excitement
on her Twitter handle by
tweeting, “Housefull4 it
is!! ???Super excited to
start this crazy ride back
home with #SajidSir @
WardaNadiadwala and
@NGEMovies !! Let the
madness begin????????????
@akshaykumar @Riteishd
@thedeol @SimplySajidK
#Housefull4onDiwali2019.
As of now, Akshay
Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh,
Bobby Deol and Kriti Sanon
have been confirmed for
the movie. The rest of the
cast will be announced
soon.
To be directed by Sajid
Khan, Housefull 4 will
release during Diwali 2019.
22 Entertainment The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018

Vidya
Balan in
Quick crossword no 14,738

talks to Across
1 Huggable (10)
7 Likely to collapse (7) 6
1 2 3 4 5

star in a 8 Grassland — variety (5)

10 Successor (4)
11 Having dark brown
7 8 9

biopic on
hair (8)
13 Struggle tenaciously 10 11
(6)

former
15 Reveal (intentionally or 12
unintentionally) (6)
17 Uncommunicative (8) 13 14 15
18 Hot tub (4)

Andhra
16
21 Condescend (5)
22 Violent cyclonic storm 17 18 19
(7)

CM NTR?
23 Brought to an end (10) 20

Down 21 22

A
ccording to some
media reports, The
1 Plants native to arid
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister
NTR. Reportedly, the actress
a source.
The source adds that Vidya
are addressing those. They
hope she confirms to do the
directed by Teja. Its first look

Dirty Picture actress has yetregions

not made her(5)mind and has expressed some doubts film,” said the source. If Vidya
was unveiled a couple of
Vidya Balan has Composition
will2take the final call soon.for two
about the script and the makers
23 those.
gives her nod to the project, the months ago which generated
been approached to play
superstar Balakrishna’s wife in
performers (4)
“She has shown an interest
to play Basavatharakam’s role
are currently addressing
“The actress has expressed
biopic will mark her debut in
Tollywood.
a positive response from the
an upcoming biopic on former Strata
but3it is (6)
not yet confirmed,” says a few doubts and the makers The NTR biopic is being audience.
4 Withered (8) 19 Sidestep (5) Solution no 14,737
Quick Crossword Sudoku
5 Beast — on terms 20 Notice — blemish (4)
Fill the numbers in the boxes to satisfy only one condition: each row, F I TTHEB I L L
(anag) (7) O W O Y E P
(Issue No. 176)

column and 3x3 box must contain the digits 1 through 9 exactly once.
6 Forbidden (10) C U T I T OU T EMU S
N N F H D R
9 The whole shebang (10) DOSH L E T S L I P
12 Precious silvery-white E R W S
ON T H EWA Y OU T
metal (8) D G Y V
14 Based on the sense of K I NGP I N NA F F
touch (7) O E M S T A
HUGE E L I G I B L E
16 Person from Brittany S S N L O S
(6) PE S T I L ENCE
Previous Issue Solutions
The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018 Entertainment 23

Accompanied by Bhakti Satsang Boys (BSB) & Jaiho Boys

Saturday 21st July 2018 6pm

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HOT FOOD, SOFT DRINKS & KAVA WILL BE SOLD

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 24 Calssifieds The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018

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The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018
Shipping & Freight
SAILAX
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love. Health will be superb.
Ravi Kumar (Director) Taurus
(April 21 - May 21)
Travel & Tours
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any changes can
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be expected by
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Director
sign in career due to the
0800 031 855 influence of Uranus.
Mercury will help you to
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grow financially. Turmoil
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in relationship with your
Silva Travel & Tours spouse requires diplomatic
handling. Spiritual healing
689 Sandringham Road,
techniques will be of great
Mout Roskill, Auckland,
help in maintaining health.
New Zealand 1025
Ph: 09 620 6201 Gemini
Email: silvatravel@xtra.co.nz
(May 22 - June 21)
C
areer prospects for
Cancer star sign
promises to be good
due to positive planetary
aspects. Income from
career will be the main
source of financial stability.
Lunar eclipse and planet
Mercury will impact your
love relationships greatly.
Health can be maintained
by conserving energy.
Cancer
(June 22 - July 22)
I
ndependence and
social skills are
equally important
for Cancer born in April
2018. The Solar eclipse
will impact your career
and the organization
where you are employed.
More effort is required for
financial progress during
the Mercury retrograde.
Love relationships will be
turbulent and health will be
challenging.
Horoscope Predictions
APRIL2018
Leo
(July 23 - Aug 22)
areer prospects for
Leo zodiac sign
for the month of
April 2018 are superb.
Uranus will create some
disturbances in your love
relationships. Financial
prosperity will be highly
encouraging. Health will
be marvellous and can be
improved by delegating
unimportant jobs to others.
Virgo
(Aug 23 - Sept 22)
P
lanet Uranus will
have a deep impact
on the professional
life of Virgo star sign.
Finances will have the
assistance of your spouse.
Love relationships will be
highly passionate. Health
can be enhanced by good
diet and detoxification.
Libra
(Sept 23 - Oct 23)
F
inancial health
of Libra zodiac
will be excellent
till the 20th of April
2018. You will have
the backing of your
partner for your finances.
Family environment
will be subject to some
disturbances. Career
growth will be affected by
the Lunar eclipse. Health
requires the support of
spirituality to remain
stable.
Scorpio
(Oct 24 - Nov 21)
P
rofessional
atmosphere will
be hectic and
challenging for Scorpio
astrology sign. Influence
of the Sun and Mercury
will make love life highly
stimulating. Finances will
be excellent due to the
multiple opportunities
available. Health can be
maintained with sufficient
rest.
Horoscope 25
Sagittarius
(Nov 22 - Dec 21)
P
lanet Mercury will
make Sagittarius sun
sign highly attractive
and social life will be
wonderful. Do not risk your
money on speculations.
Career environment will be
very much demanding and
successful. No problems
are likely in your physical
well-being.
Capricom
(Dec 22 - Jan 20)
C
apricorn zodiac sign
should maintain
their poise while
dealing with professional
problems in April 2018.
Family environment will be
full of life. Money making
has to be combined with
pleasure. Health prospects
are not very bright and
require enough attention.
Aquarius
(Jan 21 - Feb 21)
N
eptune will be
impacting finances
of Aquarius star
sign and spirituality plays
a significant role in your
earnings. Family will be
instrumental in getting
singles their love partners.
Career will be subject to
major changes. Health can
be maintained with enough
rest and relaxation.
Pisces
(Feb 22 - Mar 21)
P
isces sun sign will be
surprised to see that
both their finances
and career development
progressing at phenomenal
speed. Both physical and
emotional health will be
superb. Life with your
love mate will be highly
enjoyable and there is scope
for pregnancy.
 26 Sports
Heroes of Hong Kong:
A study of Fiji sevens
With 16 titles, Olympic
gold medallists Fiji have
more Hong Kong wins
than anyone else. Here
is a look at what makes
them so special.
F
iji men’s sensational
success at the Rio de
Janeiro Olympics, in
last summer’s inaugural
rugby sevens competition, was
undoubtedly one of the most
absorbing sporting narratives of
2016. And the jubilant supporters
of the impoverished, tiny Pacific
island nation have Hong Kong to
thank for inspiring their country
to become giants in the discipline
and earning a maiden Games
podium finish.
For exactly 40 years before
the Rio 2016 triumph the first
Hong Kong Sevens took place,
and that 1976 edition, which
The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018
Fiji participated in, triggered an
unparalleled passion for the game
which is evident on and off the
pitch.
In Rio, Fiji’s golden journey
climaxed in a 43-7 demolition
of Team GB and the manner of
their final victory at the Deodoro
Stadium in mid-August – which
the side’s London-born coach
Ben Ryan posits was the most-
watched game of rugby in history
– underlined their superiority,
and increased their universal
appeal. In full-on attack mode,
Fiji breathtakingly bamboozled
the British defence with telepathic
offloads and unpredictable,
unstoppable running angles,
scoring sevens tries – including
five in the dizzying 10-minute
first half – to one.
Heading for glory: Semi
Kunatani attacks during the
Olympic final Tom Mitchell, the
defeated Team GB captain, calls
The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018 Sports 27
 28 Sports
it “the best performance I’ve ever
seen on a sevens field, from any
team”, and adds: “Sometimes you
have to accept the opposition has
played better, and on that day Fiji
were sublime. We were gutted,
but to lose to them, on top form,
somehow lessened the blow. When
Fiji perform like that, as they have
done so often in the past, it makes
sevens so exciting.”
While their success
generated thousands of new
admirers – according to Ryan
‘Fiji’ was the most-searched
term on Google for an hour
after the final – few familiar
with the country’s proud and
glittering sevens heritage were
surprised. After all, they were
strong favourites going in to
the tournament, having secured
back-to-back HSBC World Rugby
Sevens Series titles, and have
hitherto amassed a record 16
Hong Kong Sevens titles. But
how exactly did humble Fiji rise
to become the dominant force in
sevens?
Firstly, it is hard to overstate
The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018
to lift individual players, and
their nearest and dearest, out of
poverty. Young players dream of
playing for Fiji, and the promise
of relative wealth only serves to
further motivate them. On the
40-minute drive from Suva to
Pacific Harbour, where Cracknell
and Ryan lived, the pair would
count over 50 games of sevens
being played by youths attempting
to emulating their heroes.
Mastermind: Ben Ryan
speaks publicly Regardless
of whether players make
the top grade or not, sevens
remains a vital part of Fijian
life, particularly in village
communities; the daily games
extend for hours, after sunset.
Ryan, who stepped down after
the Olympics and is now helping
HSBC spread rugby sevens
around the globe, reveals that
he would often catch his players
flinging the ball about in such
how popular, and important,
rugby sevens is in Fiji. The sport
dominates both front and back
pages of the two main newspapers,
Fiji Sun and The Fiji Times. “For
the Olympics, they published a
daily, 20-page pull out about the
sevens,” says Chris Cracknell,
Ryan’s deputy and coach of the
women’s side for Rio. “And there
was a 72-page collector’s edition
produced after the final.”
Representing the country
is not just a source of pride; it
provides a gilt-edged opportunity
matches when they were supposed
to be resting after a tournament.
“You can only admire that pure
love of the game,” he says. “They
can’t stop playing, they love it and
it is a central part of the culture
in the villages. You’ll see sevens
everywhere, most of the time
being played on uneven surfaces,
and very rarely with an actual
rugby ball.”
Despite a perennial lack
of investment and structured
coaching – or perhaps because
of it – Fijians are blessed with
the key attributes for sevens:
physique; speed; and jaw-dropping
skill. Fiji’s love affair with rugby
began in the early 1900s, though
the sport was not introduced by
the British – the Pacific nation’s
colonial masters from 1874 until
independence in 1970 – as one
might assume, but a plumber
from New Zealand named Paddy
Sheehan.
The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018 Sports 29
While working at the Grand
Pacific Hotel in Suva, the former
Otago player, who would go on to
be voted Fiji Rugby Union’s first
chairman, established the Escott
Shield, which is still played today.
Indeed, it is 15-a-side rugby which
is played in Fijian schools rather
than sevens, a simpler, more
expressive game reserved for
playtimes, after lessons, and back
home with friends and relatives.
However, it was not until
the Hong Kong Sevens began,
in 1976, that Fijians truly fell
head over heels for rugby – and
specifically the abridged version
of the game. Suddenly, and for the
first time, their sportsmen had
a rare chance to travel overseas,
and showcase their sporting talent
on a global stage. Following
that inaugural edition, which
Fiji participated in, the team’s
manager, George Reade, saw
the sport’s potential and, once
home, immediately organised the
country’s first sevens tournament,
the Marist Sevens.

Fans favourite:
Fiji are popular with
spectators wherever they go determined. And, truth be known, a style which broke the mould After a modest showing in period, which happily coincided
“Before then, rugby sevens was our local club sevens circuit was and replaced it with a thrilling the first edition of the Hong Kong with the birth of the country’s
not played in Fiji,” says local probably much tougher than Hong alternative, fuelled by attacking Sevens, a much-improved Fiji won national television service.
historian Culden Kamea. “What Kong.” ambition, verve, and smiling three of the next four tournaments Waisale Serevi
drove public interest was the In the early editions of mischief. Such an expansive (1977, 1978 and 1980). They The king: Waisale Serevi
Marist Sevens. Not only did it the Hong Kong Sevens, which approach came with risks were champions again in 1984, evading tackles in his prime
offer the biggest prize money remains the pinnacle of the Sevens attached, though. No matter to though it wasn’t until 20-year- The 5ft 7in playmaker, whose
domestically, it was also the Series circuit, Fiji’s romantic the neutral: entertainment was old Waisale Serevi was selected off-field humility belies the
tournament from which Fiji’s reputation for swashbuckling guaranteed when Fiji took to the for the 1989 campaign that the flamboyance he displayed on it,
team to play in Hong Kong rugby was formed. Theirs was pitch. Fijians entered their next golden would become a giant of sevens.
that particular year would be
 30 Sports
Moreover, he was Fiji’s first
globally revered sports star; he is
regarded as the game’s best-ever
player and known universally as
‘The King’. “Without Hong Kong,
there is no Serevi, no Fiji sevens,”
he says. “Sevens suits Fijians so
perfectly; we have the skills, the
speed and the physique,” Serevi,
whose country has now accrued
five more titles than second-
placed New Zealand, continues.
“And rugby is the only way we can
express ourselves. For the youth
players, it is a great opportunity
to make a name for yourself, and
more importantly make a living,
and help your family.”
In his first Hong Kong
outing, the impish, jinking
Serevi was awarded the Leslie
Williams Trophy, handed to the
competition’s best performer, even
though Fiji didn’t make the final.
With him pulling the strings,
Fiji won five more crowns in the
next 11 editions. And he was
The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018
twice named the player of the
tournament when Fiji won the
World Cup, at the same venue in
1997 and also in 2005 – the latter
achieved a couple of months before
his 37th birthday.
For almost a decade, up
until Ryan took a punt on Fiji
four years ago – after his record-
breaking tenure as England
coach ended acrimoniously – the
country had failed, for the most
part, to perform to their usual
high standards, though they still
turned it on to win in Hong Kong
in 2009, 2012 and 2013.
The 45-year-old, now
working with HSBC to promote
Rugby Sevens having stepped
away from Fiji following the
Olympics, has been rightly
lauded for maximising the team’s
potential, with Rio the zenith. By
dramatically improving the team’s
discipline, game knowledge,
fitness and diet, the Cambridge
University graduate contrived to
stud a velvet glove with deadly
spikes. And winning the last two
Hong Kong Sevens competitions
propelled Fiji to Olympic gold.
Joeli Lutumailagi
Celebration: Joeli
Lutumailagi holds his hands aloft
in Las Vegas With Welshman
Gareth Baber taking charge in
January as Ryan’s successor, the
link and bond with Hong Kong
remains strong; the 44-year-
old former Bristol scrum-half
has spent the last three seasons
coaching the national team.
“The key thing now is to
maintain what Ben has done,”
adds Serevi. “It should be an
exciting year because of Gareth
taking over. But 90 per cent of
the things that made Fiji win the
back-to-back World Series and the
Olympics are still there.”
On the eve of this year’s
Hong Kong Sevens, the seventh
round of the 10-stop season, the
Fijians – yet to win a tournament
this term, despite reaching
three cup finals – sit third in
the rankings. However, another
victory at the sport’s mecca would
be typical.
Whatever, it is vital to
inform the legions of rugby sevens
supporters who were converted
thanks to the country’s heroics in
Rio – according to World Rugby
the Olympics generated almost
17 million new fans – that Fiji’s
passion for the sport was sparked
in Hong Kong over 40 years ago.
The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018 www.theaucklandtimes.co.nz 31
32 Sports The Auckland Times | Issue 177 | March 25, 2018

‘Go For 4 In A Row’ Philippine Azkals survive Fiji in

International Friendly Match
A
zkals survive Fiji
in International
Friendly Match
The Philippine
Azkals survived a late
rally to defeat Fiji, 3-2, in
an International Friendly
Match, Thursday evening.
With arguably the biggest
match in Philippine football
history looming, the
curling the ball into the
back of the net in the 52nd
minute.
Kevin Ingreso joined
the scoring party in the
61st minute, pouncing on a
cleared ball and firing one in
from outside the box.
Just when looked like a
decided match, the visiting
Fiji side staged a run of their

A
lifereti Dere urges
Seremaia Tuwai to
lead the team to
score four straight
wins in Hong Kong next
month
Former national 7s
coach/captain Alifereti Dere
has issued a challenge to Fiji
Airways Fijian 7s skipper
Seremaia Tuwai.
He wants Tuwai to be the
first Fijian to lead the team
to score four straight wins
at the Hong Kong Sevens
next month.
The Nadi native led
Fiji to win the Hong Kong
Sevens three times in 1990
– 1992 and coached Fiji to
win in 2012 and 2013.
He urged the team to
lift their defence to another
level and aim for four
consecutive wins.
“There is nothing
impossible to achieve in
sport. We did it during
our days and we hope that
team can make history by
recording four straight wins
in So Kon Po,”Dere said.
“That is the challenge for
Tuwai and the players. We
won three in a row, they can
create history and go one
better.
He strongly believes
Tuwai has slowly matured
as a leader.
“Tuwai has started to
understand the role he is in
and how he can distribute
the task to senior players
around him.
“The boys are playing
well. I do have my advice to
the team – beef up defence.
When the defence is good
they win, but we need them
to lift it to another level,” he
said.
Source: Fiji Sun.
Philippine Azkals returned
to the pitch Thursday
evening and edged out Fiji
in an International Friendly
Match at the Rizal Memorial
Football Stadium.
The match served as
a tuneup for the Azkals’
final 2019 AFC Asian Cup
Qualifiers match against
Tajikistan on Tuesday,
March 27th.
After not being able to
finish on their first three
shots on goal, the Azkals
were gifted a penalty
attempt after Misagh
Bahadoran was fouled inside
the box in the 28th minute.
The Philippines’ leading goal
scorer Phil Younghusband
stepped up and sank the
penalty in the 29th minute
for his 49th international
goal and a 1-0 Azkals lead.
Coming off the halftime
break, Pika Minegishi
doubled the Azkals’ lead
early in the second half,
own, starting with Ame
Votoniu capitalizing on a
keeper miscue to pull one
back in the 74th minute.
Six minutes later, the Azkals
gave up a foul inside the
box, giving the visitors a
penalty attempt.
Krishna Roy sank the
penalty to cut the Azkals’
lead to just a single goal
with around ten minutes
left.
With an opportunity to
pull even, Fiji pushed the
pace and came within inches
of getting an equalizer off
a scramble near the Azkals
goal. Fortunately for the
Pinoy side, a game-tying
goal did not materialize,
and they held on for a 3-2
victory.
“This was a good game as
preparation for Tajikistan,
because they were a little bit
physical,” said Man of the
Match Misagh Bahadoran
during the post-match press
conference. “The team did a
very good job, it’s just that,
as coach said, the transition,
we just have to switch
on, even in the last two,
three minutes of the game.
In football, anything can
happen. One small mistake,
we can suffer.”
“Hopetully ww can learn
from our mistakes and
coach can teach us how to
correcr the problems we had
for this game.” Bahadoran
added.
The Azkals now shift
their focus to the all-
important AFC Asian Cup
Qualifiers match against
Tajikistan on Thursday,
also at the Rizal Memorial
Football Stadium.
Kickoff will be at 7:30
PM