Global Daily Info

Published on Fiji Times by ARIETA VAKASUKAWAQA, 26 January, 2022, 9:36 am. After losing his parents and three siblings to non-communicable illnesses, former police officer Jone Nuku Marau is live proof of a silent murderer in our midst (NCDs). Mr Marau, 57, and his brother Rupeni Temo, 66, are the only living members of his family who have lost their legs to diabetes. Mr Marau explained that the norm used to be drinking grog with pals after work until 4 a.m. and sleeping on an empty stomach. "Eating junk food during grog sessions was another factor that led to my illness." That was the standard; it's known as chaser." "Our three brothers, including one of our nephews who was also afflicted with diabetes, died of NCDs," Mr Temo added. "Please get medical tests every month since, in my situation, I didn't realize I had diabetes until I had a hurting leg and went to the doctor." The illness had spread all over my legs by that point....

Opposition leader Matthew Wale has called on the Solomon Islands Government to re-direct resources, including funds for the 2023 Pacific Games, toward health facilities to ease COVID-19 pressure. "It's crazy that the government budgeted SBD100 million (£9.2 million/$12.3 million/€11.1 million) for Pacific Games 2023 preparations while our healthcare system is on the verge of collapsing due to COVID pressure," Wale told the Solomon Times. "It's sad that stadium construction has taken precedence over hospital facilities." Wale further accused Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare of contradicting himself on COVID-19, contradicting the Health Minister's remark last year that the NRH was prepared and equipped to deal with the epidemic. "We are in the midst of a health crisis that necessitates a more holistic strategy," he says. Solomon Island Opposition Leader, 2022. Pic.Source:solomonstarnews.com Wale advocated for greater funding for the National Refe...

The Tiangong 1 launched in 2011.AFP China is set to launch a second experimental space station, as it looks to have a manned station by 2022, state media said. The Tiangong 2 is scheduled to launch just after 22:00 local time on Thursday from the Gobi desert. Next month two astronauts will go to the station to conduct research. Beijing has made space exploration a national priority and is the third country, after the Soviet Union and the US, to put astronauts into space. The mission follows the launch of the Tiangong 1 prototype in 2011, a smaller but also operational model. Is it a proper space station? Depends on what you mean by "proper". It is an experimental space laboratory which is part of the preparation for a permanently manned station that Beijing wants to have circling around the globe sometime around 2020. But make no mistake, the Tiangong 2 is still an operational space station, even if it is still only a prototype ahead of the real thing. Tran...

At least 15 people have been killed and more than 70 people injured in a huge fire that broke out at a packaging factory in Bangladesh. Police said around 100 people were working in the four-storey building in the town of Tongi, just north of the capital Dhaka, at the time. The blast was caused by a boiler explosion, and flames quickly spread throughout the building, officials say. The fire is not yet under control, the emergency services say. "The death toll has risen to 15 and at least 70 people have been injured," Parvez Mia, a doctor at the town's hospital, told the AFP news agency. "Most of them had burn injuries. We sent the critically injured victims to the hospitals in Dhaka." Factory fires are common in Bangladesh, where safety conditions are often poor. Bangladesh factories: 'About 40% have major safety issues' Can Bangladesh safety accord bring change? At least 13 people died in a fire at a plastics factory Dhaka last year....