Solomon Islands

Another powerful quake struck near Kirakira this morning - a 6.7 magnitude quake at a depth of 33km.

The undersea quake hit 71km west of the city of Kirakira, which is on the country's biggest island, Makira.

Director of the National Disaster Management Office Loti Yates said there was no tsunami threat from this morning's quake but he was expecting more reports of damage.

Mr Yates said multiple quakes of magnitude 5 and above have hampered relief operations still underway in the Makira area.

No tsunami warning has been issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii following the quake.

Photo: USGS Earthquake of magnitude 6.7 strikes west of Solomon Islands at depth 33 kilometres. 

The chairperson of government caucus, Central Kwara'ae MP Jackson Fiulaua, earlier this week defended the decision, which was made towards the end of last year, saying there was nothing wrong with government providing incentives to encourage foreign investment.

But a statement from the opposition is calling on the Solomon Islands public to hold Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and his cabinet responsible for giving away millions of dollars of public revenue to a foreign company.

Local health authorities confirmed this to online news service, Solomon Fresh-Beat, following returned test results from blood samples sent to Australia on Wednesday afternoon.

A doctor at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara, Gregory Jilini said similar cases had occurred in Makira in 2014 and Malaita in 2016.

Dr Jilini wanted to reassure the public that the disease was not new to Solomon Islands and that it was treatable.

Apart from the three deaths no further cases have been reported so far.

A statement from the National Referral Hospital published by Solomon Fresh-Beat onlinequotes the medical superintendent, Jagilly Rooney, as saying the cause of death for all three victims appears to be septicaemia.

Dr Rooney said blood samples have been sent overseas to try and determine what kind of toxins or bacteria caused the blood poisoning.

He said no outbreak has been declared given the low number of cases and the ten-day gap between the second and the third case.

Deputy Prime Minister Manasseh Maelanga who is also the Minister for Home Affairs says the stadium venue is expected to cost more than $US28 million.

Mr Maelanga said the country's official preparations will kick off next month once the 2023 Pacific Games Bill is passed by parliament.

But he said a Taiwanese team has already been to look at the proposed sites for the games venues and have returned to Taipei to work out the full details of the project.

The Solomon Islands Maritime and Safety Administration said to this end it would get tough this year on the types of ships that will be brought into the country.

A spokesman for the agency Derek Saru said shipping companies had converted old fishing vessels into cargo and passenger vessels, but many of them were not seaworthy.

Last year, a shipping company bought a 50-year old boat in Tonga but it failed to make it to Solomon Islands after it ran aground in Fiji.

Edmond Sikua's arrest came after police accused him of awarding Government tenders worth over 630,000 Solomon Islands dollars ($630,436.50) or $US80,000, to Beeds Investment, a company registered and owned by his two daughters.

Mr Sikua appeared in the Honiara Magistrate's Court this week on seven counts of official corruption and was released on a bail of 2,000 Solomon Islands dollars or $US 256, with strict conditions.

Solomon Star reports Mr Sikua was first appointed permanent secretary in 2012.

The match is declared to be forfeited and awarded 3-0 in favour of Tahiti, with the SIFF also receiving a fine of CHF 6,000 after the FIFA Disciplinary Committee considered the SIFF liable for having breached art. 55 par. 1 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC) and art. 8 of the Regulations for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™.

The sanction relates to the player Henry Luito’o Samuel Fa’arodo failing to serve the automatic one-match suspension imposed on him following two cautions received in two different matches (art. 17 par. 3 of the FDC).

RNZ reports disaster authorities said around 200 buildings had been destroyed or damaged in the provinces of Makira & Ulawa, Malaita and Guadalcanal.

Among them were 11 schools and a medical clinic.

Some dwellings were also hit by waves generated by Friday's 7-point-8 magnitude quake and Saturday's 6-point-9 aftershock.

The country director for World Vision Solomon Islands Janes Ginting said the tremors had left communities very nervous.