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Fiji's Cancer Society says the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the supply of medicine for local cancer patients. A billboard raising cancer awareness in the CBD of Fiji's capital, Suva. Photo: RNZ / Jamie Tahana According to the World Health Organisation's 2017 world health ranking, Fiji is eighth in the world for breast cancer deaths and 28th for cervical cancer. The society said it had received reports from cancer patients who indicated they were unable to get their medication because of the lack of flights to the country due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. Speaking at a recent Pinktober event in Nadi, the society's Margie Erbsleben said while the medicine was slow in coming into Fiji, the freight charges incurred had also increased. Erbsleben said not only cancer patients were being impacted, with those in health centres and hospitals also feeling the effects. She said while the care for cancer patients across the country had been impacted by the global pandemic, the society was pleased with the ongoing support from local businesses. More women dying: FWRM According to the Health Ministry, from January 2019 to August 2020, there were 187 breast cancer cases recorded in Fiji. The country's Women's Rights Movement (FWRM) said more young women in Fiji were suffering from reproductive cancer. Its director, Nalini Singh, said research conducted by the FWRM had revealed the common types of cancer affecting Fijian women included cervical, breast, ovarian, uterine, vaginal and vulvar cancers. The survey Breaking the Barriers: Understanding Cancer Services, Screening Treatment Available for Women in Fiji showed there was unequal cancer services available in the country. Nalini Singh is Director of the Fiji Women's Rights Movement. Photo: Supplied/FWRM According to the survey, 50 percent of women in the country would not seek medical help they need. It said compared to other countries, Fiji had higher rates of cancer and based on their research, iTaukei women were more likely to have cancer. "More women are dying young with reproductive cancer. For some it's the basic fear of the outcome of cancer and being unsure of where to seek help," she said. "Most women diagnosed with reproductive cancers are generally between the ages of 30 and 50 category. "The iTaukei women have the worst health-seeking behaviour than others and are not enthusiastic about seeking services, care and treatment and have higher chances of dying than Fijian women of Indian descent." Singh said their research also showed the capital Suva had a higher level of services provided compared to other areas. She said cancer did not discriminate because women from the interior parts of Fiji and maritime areas could suffer from cancer too, and it was a concern that these women could not be able to access services. "Women across the country, especially in rural remote areas such as maritime areas, need to also be able to seek timely services," she said. "The second is the accessibility of cancer services itself, this month is dedicated to cancer yet there is not much awareness. "There is still lack of awareness on cancer and very rarely will women visit a health facility and demand a HPV (human papillomavirus) test or other preferred screening method." Singh said the report found 329 cases of breast cancer and 278 cases of cervical cancer had been reported.

US whistleblower Edward Snowden and his wife are applying for Russian citizenship in order not to be separated from their future son in an era of pandemics and closed borders, he says. Photo: AFP Snowden's wife, Lindsay, is expecting a child in late December, the RIA news agency cited Anatoly Kucherena, his Russian lawyer, as saying. Snowden, 37, fled the United States and was given asylum in Russia after leaking secret files in 2013 that revealed vast domestic and international surveillance operations carried out by the US National Security Agency, where he was a contractor. US authorities have for years wanted Snowden returned to the United States to face a criminal trial on espionage charges brought in 2013. "After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our son. That's why, in this era of pandemics and closed borders, we're applying for dual US-Russian citizenship," Snowden wrote on Twitter. "Lindsay and I will remain Americans, raising our son with all the values of the America we love - including the freedom to speak his mind. And I look forward to the day I can return to the States, so the whole family can be reunited. Our greatest wish is that, wherever our son lives, he feels at home." Russia has already granted Snowden permanent residency rights, his lawyer said last month, a vital step towards Russian citizenship. US President Donald Trump said in August he was considering a pardon for Snowden. Trump is running for a second presidential term against Democratic challenger Joe Biden at elections on Tuesday. Snowden keeps a low profile in Russia. He has praised the country's natural beauty and the warmth of its people, while using social media to criticise government policy from time to time. - Reuters

Johnny Depp has lost his libel case against The Sun newspaper over an article that called him a "wife beater". US actress Amber Heard makes a statement to members of the media outside the High Court, following the final day of the libel trial by ex-husband US actor Johnny Depp against News Group Newspapers in London, on July 28, 2020. Photo: Niklas Halle'n / AFP Depp, 57, sued the paper after it claimed he assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard, which he denies. The Sun said the article was accurate. Justice Nicol said The Sun had proved what was in the article to be "substantially true". He found 12 of the 14 alleged incidents of domestic violence had occurred. Depp's lawyer called the ruling "perverse" and said the Hollywood actor intends to appeal. A spokesperson for The Sun said it had stood up for domestic abuse victims for decades, and thanked Heard for "her courage in giving evidence to the court". The trial was heard over 16 days in July at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Heard's lawyer in the US, Elaine Charlson Bredehoft, said the judgement was "not a surprise". "Very soon, we will be presenting even more voluminous evidence in the US," she said. Depp is suing Heard, 34, in the US in a separate case, over an opinion piece she wrote in the Washington Post. Depp says the article implied he was violent towards her. 'Depp made Heard fear for life' The allegations of violence spanned the period between 2013 and 2016, when the couple split. The judge highlighted three incidents where he said Depp had put Heard in "fear for her life". In one of those incidents, in Australia in 2015, Depp was allegedly physically and verbally abusive towards her while drinking heavily and taking drugs. Depp accused Heard of severing his finger, but the judge said he did not accept Heard was responsible. US actor Johnny Depp gestures as he leaves the High Court after the final day of his libel trial against News Group Newspapers (NGN), in London, on July 28, 2020. Photo: Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP "Taking all the evidence together, I accept that she was the victim of sustained and multiple assaults by Mr Depp in Australia," Justice Nicol said. "It is a sign of the depth of his rage that he admitted scrawling graffiti in blood from his injured finger and then, when that was insufficient, dipping his badly injured finger in paint and continuing to write messages and other things," the judge said. "I accept her evidence of the nature of the assaults he committed against her. They must have been terrifying." Heard 'not a gold-digger' Of the 14 alleged incidents of domestic violence, there were two the judge did not rule as having occurred. They were an alleged incident in December 2014, which the judge said he was "not persuaded... constituted a physical assault", and another in November 2015, which the judge said could not be proven because it was not put to Depp in cross-examination. Justice Nicol said that "a recurring theme in Mr Depp's evidence was that Ms Heard had constructed a hoax and that she had done this as an 'insurance policy'," and that Heard was a "gold-digger". But he added: "I do not accept this characterisation of Ms Heard." Speaking outside court on the last day of the trial in July, Heard said the case had been "incredibly painful" and she just wants to "move on her with her life". Jenny Afia of Schillings law firm, who represented Depp, said: "This decision is as perverse as it is bewildering. "Most troubling is the judge's reliance on the testimony of Amber Heard, and corresponding disregard of the mountain of counter-evidence from police officers, medical practitioners, her own former assistant, other unchallenged witnesses and an array of documentary evidence which completely undermined the allegations, point by point. "The judgement is so flawed that it would be ridiculous for Mr Depp not to appeal this decision," she added. A spokesperson for The Sun said: "Domestic abuse victims must never be silenced and we thank the judge for his careful consideration and thank Amber Heard for her courage in giving evidence to the court." Charity Women's Aid said everyone who experiences domestic abuse "deserves to be listened to and believed". "This also applies to survivors who do not fit the image of the 'perfect' victim - and regardless of the high profile of the alleged abuser. There is no excuse for domestic abuse." Depp's case was brought against News Group Newspapers (NGN) - publisher of The Sun - and executive editor Dan Wootton over an article published on The Sun's website on 27 April 2018. The article had the headline: "Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be 'genuinely happy' casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film?" Evidence was heard from both Depp and actress Heard along with friends and relatives of the ex-couple, and several former and current employees. Depp's lawyer David Sherborne said his client's case was about "clearing his name". The Sun's publisher said Depp was "controlling and verbally and physically abusive towards Heard, particularly when he was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs". And The Sun's lawyer argued there is "no doubt that Mr Depp regularly and systematically abused his wife". - BBC