BY GEORGINA KEKEA A collective voice is better in bringing important issues in the pacific to light, senior lecturer in the University of the South Pacific (USP), Dr. Stuart Kininmonth says. Recently the United Nations has made a proclamation on the ‘Decade of Ocean for sustainable development’ in which member countries will be obliged to fulfill the objectives of this initiative. From this, the Pacific Community (SPC) held a workshop that brought leaders, champions and key stakeholders to discuss issues on the UN Decade of Ocean Science from the 23rd to 25th July 2019. Dr. Kinonmonth, a marine scientist who was at the workshop says though the Decade might not mean anything to some people, it is a very important platform to gather voices from different stakeholders in the Pacific region.  He says people from the Pacific are united through the one ocean thus this collective voice is important to address and identify ocean issues faced by the pacific people. 

THE Solomon Islands Chess Federation is hosting its inaugural National Chess Championship on Saturday 6 th and Sunday 7 th July 2019.   A total of thirty players have registered to compete in the tournament. Each player shall have 25 minutes with the addition of 10 seconds per move starting from the first move.     The tournament will consist of seven rounds and every player will play seven rounds regardless if they win, lose or draw. There will be no default time for the event.   Pairings for the tournament will be made using Swiss Manager program and shall be announced straight after each round finishes.   The first five winners will win cash prizes with the overall winner getting their hands on the Sir Peter Kenilorea Chess Cup.   As a bonus, the winner will earn the right to play in the New Caledonia’s Open Chess International from October 12 to 19.   The following players will take part in the national championship;   1.       Scarden Tesua 1733

BY GEORGINA KEKEA Health Minister, Dickson Mua has called for the strengthening of surveillance in Western and Choiseul provinces as part of the ongoing joint multisectoral approach in which the Health Ministry is engaged in with other partner ministries. When in Western province, Minister Mua says the easy mobility and movement between Choiseul, Western and Bouganville also bring cross border health issues including outbreaks of disease. Mua says there is an urgency to strengthen the country’s preparedness plans and surveillance systems in Western and Choiseul provinces. The Health Minister also reemphasized the issues of Drugs and Medical supplies and strongly mentioned the Government would not want to go through the experience of 2018 again. ENDS///