Marina operator Port Denarau Marina Ltd (PDM) has reported an operating net profit of $3.3million for the 2024 financial year ending July 31. The company had recorded $6.6m in the previous fiscal year. According to its audited financial statements released by the South Pacific Stock Exchange (SPX), total comprehensive income stood at $6.2m, down from $8.2m the previous year. “Despite the overall decline in profits, largely due to a decrease in the fair value of investment properties, the company achieved an operating profit of $4.4m, marginally lower than last year’s $4.5m,” the company stated. “This slight decrease is mainly attributed to rising operating expenses, including higher infrastructure maintenance costs, increased levies, and labour-related challenges. However, we are pleased to report a 7 percent increase in revenue compared to the prior year.” The company said amid global economic uncertainty and heightened risks, “we remain optimistic about improving trading performance in the...

THE ruling People’s Alliance party is facing an internal turmoil. Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka yesterday confirmed that some PA Cabinet ministers want to leave and form their own party for the 2026 General Election. He said he did not know exactly who these ministers were but that “I have been told”. “They are free (to do it),” he said. “They may be disenchanted about how things are going. “I do not know who they are. “They will have to come up and tell me who has been thinking of this. Either they lead the party now or form the party later. “At the moment we are together and we are one party.” He said he was not aware who in Cabinet were planning to leave his party. “No. I have been told and they are free to do that.” The PA Ministers in government include Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica,...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s government has turned to industry to bolster the military’s ability to intercept aerial drones launched by Iran or the Lebanese Hezbollah militia. The Defence Ministry said on Tuesday it had launched a competition among eight large and small companies. “After analysing the trial results, the Defence Ministry will select several technologies to enter an accelerated development and production process. This aims to deploy new operational capabilities within months,” it said. In addition to missiles, Iran, Hezbollah and others have used drones in attacks on Israel. On Sunday, Hezbollah said it had attacked the Israeli military’s Golani Brigade in Binyamina in northern Israel with a “swarm of drones”. It said some of the drones, which included models it had not used before, had eluded Israeli air defence radar. Israel’s military said four of its soldiers had been killed and seven severely injured. “The UAV threat is a...

Tapping into the digital market has borne multiple benefits for the modern age. However, shady, and unlawful dealings have also cropped up as connectivity has grown, giving rise to a new form of crime that the Pacific often struggles to catch up to. A report on transnational crime, titled Transnational Organised Crime in the Pacific: Expansion, Challenges and Impact, was compiled by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and released last week. One of the worrying aspects of the report stated various cyber-related crimes, from child sex tourism, to romance scams perpetuated using social media. “While not at the same rate as the rest of the world, smartphone adoption, internet availability and affordability is well documented to be increasing within the Pacific,” the report read. The increasing complexity of these crimes means they fall out of the breadth of experience carried by our law enforcement agencies, which means...