Video of the alleged assault caused a national uproar and points to deeper problem with violence in Pacific nation, say experts

A horrific video of high school students beating a classmate that went viral in Fiji last week has prompted calls for a national inquiry into what is being dubbed a “crisis” of bullying in schools in the Pacific nation.

Opposition MPs, civil society organisations and experts are calling for an inquiry into what they claim is a “phenomenal” level of violence in schools, which some claim reflects a broader problem of violence in the country including high rates of domestic violence, police abuse and a “coup culture” in politics.

From trendy bars in New York, to anti-anxiety pills sold in Australia and New Zealand, the powdered root is taking off

On a Friday night in Suva, the capital of Fiji, the Kava Bure is filling up. Groups of people have started arriving to meet friends for a post-work basin or three of kava, a drink made from the root of the piper methysticum tree.

The bar, which is out in the open air with wooden tables surrounded by bamboo fencing, sells $5 or $10 bags of powdered kava. These are mixed in a plastic basin by an elderly Fijian man, who asks patrons if they would like the mix “sosoko” – strong – or “just right”, before giving them the basin and coconut shell bowls for drinking.

Cyclone Tino bore down on Fiji’s second-largest island on Friday, causing warnings of flooding and heavy rain

The Fijian government has called for strong action on the climate crisis as the country is hit by its second cyclone in three weeks.

Fiji opened evacuation centres, closed schools and urged businesses to close early as cyclone Tino barrelled towards Fiji’s second-largest island, Vanua Levu, on Friday.