MCNA - Jan 2023; Vol 1 Issue 5

Aus state launches 1st multicultural mental health hotline

first multicultural mental health phone line has been launched in the state, which will provide services in 30 different languages and benefit multiple communities.

According to the state government, the service is staffed by registered bilingual mental health professionals, covering languages such as Arabic, Chinese and Greek, reports Xinhua news agency.

Line is expected to improve access to mental health care and support for diverse communities.

“While there is a wide range of mental health services available to all NSW residents, language and different cultural understandings of mental health can act as a barrier for people when accessing services,” said NSW Minister for Mental Health Bronnie Taylor.

Australian partnership helping PNG’s health workers and institutions

MCNA desk

Available from Monday to Friday, the Transcultural Mental Health

“This new phone line will support people to get the help they

continued on pg. 13

For Sister Junelyn Norman and Dr Steven James and teams at ANGAU Memorial Provincial Hospital, the Covid-19 pandemic brought many challenges. The virus stretched health systems globally, and more so in resource-challenged countries such as Papua New Guinea (PNG). But the pandemic also presented the opportunity to adapt and learn. Collaborative partnerships

between health workers and

Sydney, Jan 5 (IANS) The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) on Thursday announced that the country’s continued on pg. 4

British-Indian doctor saves man’s life twice on flight to India

Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, was flying from the UK to Bengaluru with his mother when a 43-year-old man suffered a cardiac arrest.

Vemala attempted to resuscitate the passenger, who at the time did not have a pulse and was not breathing.

London, Jan 6 (IANS) A BritishIndian doctor battled for five hours to save a fellow passenger, who almost died twice during a 10-hour Air India flight.

“It took about an hour of resuscitation before I was able to get him back. Luckily, they (the cabin crew) had an emergency kit, which included resuscitative medication to enable life support,” Vemala said while sharing his experience.

Apart from oxygen and an automated external defibrillator, Vemala, with the help of other passengers, managed to get

hold of a heart-rate monitor, blood pressure machine, pulse oximeter and glucose meter to keep an eye on the patient’s vital signs.

The passenger then went into cardiac arrest for a second time, and this time it took longer to resuscitate him.

“In total, he was without a good pulse or decent blood pressure for nearly two hours of the flight, alongside the cabin crew, we were trying to keep him alive for five hours in total,”

Vemala said in a statement released by University Hospitals Birmingham.

Concerned for the passenger’s chance for survival, Vemala and the pilot tried to get permission

to land at the nearest airfield in Pakistan, but their request was denied.

Instead, they were able to arrange for landing at the Mumbai airport, where an emergency crew was waiting for them on the ground.

By the time the flight landed, the passenger was resuscitated and was able to speak.

“I don’t think I have ever treated a cardiac arrest during my job... Obviously during my medical training, it was something I had experience dealing with, but never 40,000 feet in the air!”

Vemala said.

He said that it was the first time in his seven years as a consultant that his mother saw him ‘in

action’. “She was crying a lot.”

Vemala was able to leave the patient safe and stable with the emergency team at Mumbai Airport, with very detailed notes and observations he’d shown cabin crew how to take.

“This was indeed a moment that I will remember for rest of my life,” he said.

Vemala graduated from Bangalore University in 1999, and completed post-graduate training in Bangalore in 2002. He completed basic specialist training in London (2006) at St George’s University Hospital. Later, he undertook a period of research in the Dame Sheila Sherlock Liver Unit at the Royal Free, London (2009).

central to Australia’s diplomatic, economic, development, and regional security efforts.

As Australia’s Ambassador for gender equality, CopusCampbell will deepen Australia’s international engagement on gender equality with her expertise in community development, gender equality and health. She will advocate the importance of women’s human rights, ending gender-based violence, women’s economic empowerment, and the leadership of women and girls.

Most recently, she was appointed by the Government of PNG as Chair of the Southern Highlands Provincial Health Authority and has served as Executive Director of the Oil Search Foundation.

She has previously served overseas for AusAID in Port Moresby and Suva.

1.3 million.

The projects were funded under Australia’s Direct Aid Program which aims to support community-led solutions to improve standards of living.

The delegation handed over a Solar power bank Atoifi Adventist

Australian team visits Malaita Province in Solomon Islands

MCNA desk

Adelegation from the Australian High Commission visited Malaita Province in Solomon Islands recently to handover and evaluate a combined total of eight community projects collectively worth SBD

Vishwaraj Vemala, a consultant hepatologist at University

Stephanie Copus-Campbell is Australia’s next Ambassador for gender equality

MCNA desk

Stephanie Copus-Campbell, who has had a distinguished career in international relations and development in Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific region, has been appointed as Australia’s next Ambassador for gender equality. Promoting gender equality is a priority for Australia and

FNU’s CMNHS to provide online learning

MCNA desk

The COVID19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of online education and the demand for high-quality learning and teaching resources on online platforms.

Following that experience, the College of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences - FNU (CMNHS) at Fiji National University (FNU) will now be able to provide students access to online learning using the facility’s

new recording studio for the upcoming academic year.

The project is part of the College’s COVID-19 Response Strategy, supported by the Australian Government.

Australia supports the training and development of the region’s health workforce, strengthens innovative teaching approaches, and provides better opportunities for distance-learning students.

Fiji’s Deputy PM discusses close trade ties with Australia

MCNA desk

The Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for External Trade, Co-operatives and SMEs and Communications Manoa 454 Kamikamica received a courtesy visit recently from the Chargé d’affaires of the Australian High Commission in Fiji, John Williams.

During the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister expressed Fiji Government’s intention of continuing to work closely with Australia on trade and investment front, especially in areas such as Information and Communications Technology

(ICT) and Business Process Outsourcing, manufacturing and commercial agriculture.

The Deputy Prime Minister highlighted other critical areas such as improving the business environment in Fiji, digitalisation, economic diversification, market access and tackling non-tariff barriers are some of the immediate priorities.

The Deputy Prime Minister also expressed Fiji’s commitment to coordinate and amplify the Pacific region’s voice in the multilateral forums on issues critical to Fiji and the region.

MCNA desk

Australian High Commissioner to BangladeshJeremy Bruer invited a gathering of influential business leaders to encourage opportunities to deepen and broaden trade and investment between the two countries.

“The High Commission is helping to connect Australian businesses and industry groups with counterparts in Bangladesh so they can explore new partnerships” , said the

High Commissioner. “Two-way trade between Australia and Bangladesh grew to an impressive $3.1 billion in 2021-22, but there is great potential for that to increase,” he added.

Speaking at a discussion hosted by the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, on New Destinations/Opportunities for Bangladesh’s Export Products, the High Commissioner said, “Increasingly, Australian businesses are looking for trade

opportunities in Bangladesh as industries grow in depth and sophistication.”

General Manager for Global Supply Chain and Sourcing at Country Road Group Rachid Maliki, who was a guest speaker at the same event, said that Bangladesh increasingly had an advantage over other markets due to the emphasis companies here placed on worker safety, supply chain transparency and green transition.

Young pacific islander voices Fijian initiatives at COP27

MCNA desk

The climate negotiations and discussions at the recent United Nations (UN) Climate Summit - COP27 in Egypt saw at the forefront passionate and impressive young pacific islanders. Among them was Australia Awards Alumnus Vinay

Singh who graduated top of his class with a Master of Urban and Environmental Planning from Griffith University in 2021.

Vinay is the Director of Policy & Research at the Ministry of Waterways and Environment and a leading expert on nature-based solutions (NbS) for climate

change mitigation for the Pacific region.

At COP27, he was co-lead for the Adaptation Stream, presenting at six side events and showcasing Fiji’s adaptation projects and NbS efforts. Vinay also supported the UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji to launch the Fijian Sustainable Bond Framework to help Fiji better communicate its sustainable development finance priorities with investors.

Over the past five years, Vinay has written multi-award-winning proposal grants to support climate adaptation projects in Fiji and is proud that his academic achievements can contribute to Fiji’s climate change mitigation.

Australia is pleased to support their Pacific partners to build connections, develop leadership skills and advocate on issues important to young people in the Blue Pacific.

Veer Bal Diwas organized

MCNA desk

organized an exhibition commemorating Veer Bal Diwas, remembering the bravery and sacrifice of Sahibzade Baba

Ways to deepen trade & investment between Australia & Bangladesh discussed

As part of AKAM celebrations, the High Commission Of India, Canberra

Zorawar Singh Ji and Sahibzade Baba Fateh Singh Ji.

Australian partnership helping PNG’s health workers and institutions

Jamhuri Day hosted

institutions were created.

Australian midwives have been supporting their PNG peers as part of the Covid Clinical Support project, an initiative of the PNGAusPartnership.

Midwives conducted training

sessions on the management of COVID positive women in the Labour Ward and post-natal area.

Clinical Supervisor - Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Sister Junelyn Norman and her team attended

various CCS training, and incorporated Covid-safe practices into daily work. They allocated rooms for Covid-positive patients, and a space for staff to decontaminate at the end of shifts.

31 Mauritius women get RESET certificates

Chargé d’Affaires of the Australian High Commission in Mauritius Keara Shaw was thrilled to join in at the Certificate Giving Ceremony for 31 women who completed

the Renewable Energy Skill and Education Training (RESET) course on Solar PV, entrepreneurship and communication skills. Shaw took the chance to meet some of the inspiring women who will play a role in

promoting the adaptation of Solar PV in Mauritius.

This project was funded by Australia under the Direct Aid Program, delivered by UNDPMauritius and University of Mauritius.

Of Germans in Australia and their grapes and wines

from Silesia, Brandenburg, Prussia and Posen settled here looking for a new life amidst eucalyptus trees, kookaburras and kangaroos.

The Barossa of today is a combination of old tradition with modern creativity and technological prowess.

MCNA desk

It may be asked as to what is the connection of Germans with Australia? This connection will become apparent when in a few weeks time grape harvesting will begin in an area of Australia that has not changed at all since it was inhabited by German immigrants in the early 19th

century.

The place is the Barossa Valley which is replete with its Lutheran church spires, old stone cottages, vines which were first planted when the settlers arrived here with cuttings from home.

It was in the interest of religious freedom that dissident Lutherans

In fact Barossa has been for several years the spiritual and physical habitat of the Peramangk, Ngadjuri and Kaurna people. These inhabitants are the traditional custodians of the Barossa and Adelaide Hills region.

The wine industry which is prospering in Southern Australia is due to the contribution of the German settlers here and most of the wineries are owned by descendants of those original settlers.

Australian MP visits APTC in Suva

builds the capabilities and skills

Since 2007, 355 Fijians have

MCNA desk

of participants in the aged care sector through a collaboration between APTC, Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme, and the Fiji Ministry of Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations

completed the course.

the Diplomatic Corps and the Kenyan Diaspora, to the 59th Jamhuri Day Celebrations in Canberra.

MCNA desk

Australian Member of Parliament Josh Wilson MP visited the Australia Pacific Training Coalition (APTC) in Suva recently.

The visit gave him an opportunity to hear about the Individual Support (Ageing, Home & Community) programme, which

MCNA desk Kenya High Commission in Canberra, led by High Commissioner John Tipis hosted

Christmas cheer for kids

A blend of modern and traditional to boost Fijian markets

MCNA desk

Traditional obligations in Fiji are important but can be costly, placing strain on family budgets. In this respect friends Eleazar O’Connor and Ronetava Ronaivakulua have come up with an innovative business concept that combines modern market forces with traditional Fijian practices.

According to this concept, Fijians can invest in livestock from the Bulumakau (cow) Bank operated by Naisevu Organic Farm in Naitasiri. After purchasing a cow, investors are charged a small monthly fee to raise the cow until they require it for a magiti (traditional feast). If the investor likes to sell the cow instead, the business will connect the owner with buyers, helping them invest in their future.

networking

Fijian police officers conclude their secondment with PICP

MCNA desk

Fiji police force Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Jonati Daucakacaka and Inspector (IP) Jekope Latu completed their offshore Pacific Community for Law Enforcement Cooperation (PCLEC) secondment with the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police (PICP) recently.

The two are members of the Fijian cohort of officers selected as Pacific Police Officers seconded to the PCLEC.

PCLEC is a regional delivery mechanism that supports capability development in law enforcement priority areas as directed by the PICP, working with a goal to become the coordination and capability development

Australian government’s initiative to the

MCNA desk

After losing her job due to the COVID19 pandemic in 2020, hotel worker and sole breadwinner Litia Muavesi turned to selling home baked pies and cakes to make ends meet.

While she was later able to secure a small stall at the Nadi Municipal Market, she was barely making enough to cover operational costs like transport. Baking was time consuming, because her old faulty gas oven could only bake one pie at a time. Today her small business is thriving thanks to a small grant from the Foundation for Rural Integrated Enterprises & Development Innovation Fund, supported by the Australian Government.

The Fund was created to help tourism workers get back on their feet by opening microenterprises. Litia was able to purchase a new four-burner gas stove, stand mixer and baking

utensils to help her double her baking output.

With her extra earnings, she has been able to fix her car, cutting

her transport costs. Close to 90 Fijians were supported under the

MCNA desk

In a wonderful gesture an Australian High Commission team in Suva brought Christmas cheer recently to WOWS Kids Fiji

and the children’s ward at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital. Many families donated presents and food hampers to the Vuvale Christmas Tree project.

Australia’s Market Development Facility supports MSMEs like the Bulumakau Bank through programs like Fiji Enterprise Engine (FEE). The FEE connects business owners with mentoring and

opportunities with industry leaders and other MSMEs to support entrepreneurs to develop stronger business models and access new opportunities.

rescue of jobless Fijians

mechanism of choice for Pacific Police Organisations and their external partners. From the 28th of November to the 1st December 2022, ASP Daucakacaka and IP Latu

participated in the PCLEC National Coordinators and the Pacific Police Training Advisory Group (PPTAG) in Brisbane, Australia.

Innovation Fund.

PNG clinicians complete APLS instructor training course

10 Malaysians get Australia4ASEAN Masters scholarships

MCNA desk

Eight Papua New Guinean clinicians have successfully completed the Advanced Paediatric Life Support (APLS) instructor training course in Port Moresby recently. The three-day instructor training course provided interactive and hands-on learning on the emergency management of ill and injured children.

Participants included Paediatric

and

With these eight new instructors, PNG now has a total of 16 APLS instructors who have the knowledge and skills to train other clinicians and health care

professionals to provide high quality care to children with life threatening emergencies.

This instructor training course was delivered by APLS Faculty members from Australia and PNG through the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, funded through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).

New accommodation facility for PNG defence force

MCNA desk

The PNG defence force’s newly built 100-person accommodation facility at Igam Barracks, Lae was officially

The

With the Australian assistance a more effective design and construction capability is being built within the PNGDF, with 13 tradesmen receiving nationally recognised certifications on the project.

It demonstrates the deep and enduring partnership between Australian and PNG militaries, as well as the dedicated and talented professionals from PNG’s local industry.

MCNA desk

Acting High Commissioner to Malaysia Hannah Birdsey held a reception to congratulate the 10 Malaysian recipients of

the Australia4ASEAN Masters scholarships recently. These outstanding leaders will get a world-class degree and contribute to Malaysia’s advancement.

Joanne Lota wins clinical excellence award

MCNA desk

PNG’s Joanne Lota received the PNGAusPartnership prize award for clinical excellence recently. Joanne was among the 51 graduating nurses and midwives at the St Mary’s School of Nursing who graduated on 7 December 2022.

Representatives from the Australian High Commission joined in congratulating the graduates on their journey to

becoming certified nurses and midwives.

“If

Nakin said.

Of the 18 Bachelor of Midwifery graduates, 17 completed their studies through an Australia Awards PNG scholarship and two of these awardees were sponsored by Newcrest.

Air Niugin to start weekly flights to Palau from Feb 28

MCNA desk

Air Niugini will commence weekly services connecting Australia, Papua New Guinea and Palau from 28th February 2023.

Air Niugini, in partnership with the Australian government, will service this route under the Australian government’s Pacific Flight Programme. The programme has supported over 450 flights in the Pacific since December 2020 and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic across 14 routes and 11 countries. This

has helped keep Pacific communities connected, maintain supply chains and deliver critical medicines. The programme removes airlines’ commercial risk operating an agreed flight, assuring regular and scheduled flights for passengers and cargo. Palau remains one of the world’s most pristine environments and a world topping dive destination. With affordable fares and weekly flights, Air Niugini is sure this new route connecting Australia, PNG and Palau will be a winner.

Emergency physicians, Anesthetists as well as one General Practitioner from hospitals across PNG including Port Moresby General Hospital, Goroka, ANGAU Memorial Provincial Hospital and Nonga.

opened by Australian High Commissioner Jon Philp and PNG Chief of Defence Force Major General Mark Goina and key staff.

Takuru Building, named after the late PNGDF Chief Warrant Officer, Ezekia Takuru, was designed and built by PNGDF Director of Engineer and Engineering Battalion personnel in partnership with the Defence Cooperation Program and Hornibrooks NGI.

not us then who, if not now, then when?” The Student Representative Council President Adrilda

Refurbished Kokoda Memorial Hospital in PNG’s Northern Province

northern Kokoda region.

The project, co-funded by the Australian Government and the Oro Provincial Government under the Papua New Guinea ̵ Australia Partnership and Kokoda Initiative, was officially opened on the 80th Anniversary of the Kokoda Campaign in November 2022.

MCNA desk

A ustralian High Commissioner to PNG Jon Philp along with the Governor for Oro Province, Gary Juffa launched the refurbished

Kokoda Memorial Hospital in Northern Province.

The refurbishment supports people’s access to high quality and equitable health care for 25,000 people living in the

The project will give access to high quality health care for communities in the northern regions of the Kokoda Track including persons with disabilities, extensive repairs to maternity and pediatric wards, antenatal clinics and the hospital ablutions and the provision of vaccine fridges.

PNG lawyers participate in advocacy workshop

TSSP transforming lives in PNG’s Bougainville

MCNA desk

M ore than 80 aspiring lawyers took part in the annual advocacy workshop hosted by the Legal Training Institute where they learned advocacy skills from expert practitioners from Victoria Bar Association and PNG Law

Society. This is an initiative of the PNGAusPartnership.

The course was officially opened by PNG’s Supreme and National Court Justice Ellenas Batari and focused on civil and criminal advocacy.

Representing the Australian High Commission was Minister

Lehmann praised the PNG legal fraternity for its increased involvement in the training.

PNG expands family and sexual violence units

MCNA desk

Australia’s transport infrastructure projects are committed to providing economic and employment opportunities for locals in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville through the PNG-Australia Transport Sector Support Program (TSSP) Community Work Arrangements. Through the Community Work Arrangements, Australia works with community leaders to engage local labour so that they undertake road maintenance works in the region.

Since 2018, more than 63,000 community members have been involved in our Community Work Arrangements in Bougainville. 44 per cent are women

Supported by Australia, the Bougainville roads program has generated employment for local construction businesses and communities, with local companies benefitting from close to K40 million in funding available for new business opportunities over the past three and half years.

How modern astronomy connects with folklore

MCNA desk

T he PNGAusPartnership has been contributing to the expansion of family and sexual violence units (FSVUs) since 2009. The partnership has helped to establish 27 of the current 47 FSVUs around PNG.

Recently, more than 60 frontline police officers from PNG’s FSVUs and Criminal Investigation Division (CID) gathered in Port Moresby for a week-long workshop to learn from each other’s experiences and discuss recent amendments to the Family Protection Act (FPA).

Tougher penalties for offenders were a key change to the FPA. Those found guilty of aggravated domestic violence will face up

to 5 years prison and up to 2 years for breaches of family protection orders.

MCNA desk

The people of Bilbil in Madang Province believe that a person from the stars taught them how to make clay pots. Students from Kerevat National School of Excellence in East New Britain shared their interpretation of this story after participating in the Astronomi belong ol Native Pipol program run by Emerging Sciences Victoria at John Monash Science School .

With the support of PNGAusPartnership Secondary Schools (PASS) initiative, the program is an engaging way for students to learn science,

technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects by exploring traditional stories across PNG and Australia that relate to the stars.

Year 9 and 10 students in PNG and in Australia learned how Australia’s First Nations People’s oral traditions apply to astronomy and were encouraged to connect to their own traditions to tell a local story in their own way.

This unique activity continues to encourage innovative STEM learning and inspire students to engage in this field.

Counsellor Paul Lehmann who was pleased that the long-running event had enhanced the advocacy skills of hundreds of lawyers currently practicing in PNG.

Australian High Commission representative Casey Senome praised the attendees.

Anniversary of Dr Jose Rizal’s martyrdom commemorated

of

The

MCNA desk

Philippine Honorary Consul General in Vanuatu Florentino “Bong” Serrano and Marilyn Serrano graced the 2022 Vanuatu Pinoy Basketball Association Tournament which was held in Korman Stadium, Port Vila on18 December 2022. The Black Team was declared this year’s champion out of the four teams that participated in the tournament.

The Philippine Consulate

General in Port Vila has been a constant supporter of the annual basketball tournament for 11 years now. Aside from promoting camaraderie and sportsmanship among members of the Filipino Community,

The annual basketball tournament also promotes the love for sports in Vanuatu and becomes a venue for Filipinos and NiVanuatus to gather and celebrate friendship and the spirit of community.

Paraguayan embassy celebrates traditional Solemn Mass Vanuatu’s Filipino community holds annual basketball tournament

Caacupé at the Catholic Church of the Holy Spirit in North Ryde, New South Wales.

Paraguayan compatriots and

MCNA desk

The Embassy of Paraguay celebrated the traditional Solemn Mass by The Virgin of

friends of Paraguay residents in the city of Sydney and surroundings were present on the occasion.

led by Ambassador Ma. Hellen De La Vega and Consul General Aian Caringal. The activity was also participated by the Knights of Rizal - Sydney Chapter headed by the Deputy Regional Commander of the Australia,

MCNA desk

The Philippine Embassy in Canberra led the commemoration of the 126th Anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal’s martyrdom on 30 December 2022 at the recently inaugurated bust of Dr. Rizal at the Embassy grounds. The theme

New Zealand and Oceania (ANZO) Region, Sir Tom Baena, Knights of Rizal - Canberra Chapter headed by Sir Norman Kalagayan, the Kababaihang Rizalista Inc.Canberra Chapter headed by the Vice President Ms. Cecilia Flores

the 126th year commemoration is Rizal: Alaalang Iningatan, Yaman Ngayon ng Bayan (Rizal: Preserved Memories Treasured today by the Nation).

program began with the flag raising ceremony followed by a wreath laying ceremony

and Thomas Da Jose, a FilipinoAustralian postgraduate student of University of Sydney and an advocate of water, sanitation and hygiene education (WashEd) in the Philippines.

Graduation of DRTC students celebrated

Australia reaffirms support to SAFENET initiative in Solomon Islands

MCNA desk

The recent graduates of Divit Rural Training Centre (DRTC) celebrated the graduation of 9 young women and 3 men in the New Directions for Young Women and Girls pathways program supported through Australia Pacific Training Coalition. The achievements of the graduates are particularly noteworthy given the fact that they had to face COVID-19 disruptions during their training. The graduation was celebrated at the Divit RTC in Visale, West Guadalcanal on Friday 16 December 2022. Empowering young women and men through skills training is a priority for Australia’s development initiatives and it will

continue to

of

MCNA desk

The Australian High Commission in Solomon Islands recently reaffirmed its ongoing commitment to support for SAFENET and victims and survivors of domestic and gender-based violence. Counsellor Human Development, Mika Kontiainen, handed over a new HiLux to the Director, Women Development Division of the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs (MWYCFA), Vaela Ngai. The vehicle will enable SAFENET to better respond to calls for assistance from survivors of domestic and gender-based violence.

SAFENET is the Solomon Islands’ government referral pathway for gender-based violence.

It links a network of first responders including government ministries, police, and faith-based and non-government organizations like Christian Care Centre at Tenaru, the Family Support Centre at White River and Seif Ples at the RSIPF Headquarter compound at Rove. Until now, without this vehicle, it has been very difficult for frontline service providers to assist survivors to access the care, support and services they need. The lack of appropriate transport can be one of many barriers to people accessing SAFENET’s support.

With this new vehicle, SAFENET will be better equipped to assist the community to access the important services they provide.

PNGAAA New Ireland Chapter launched

Australian

support the efforts

national TVET providers to build a strong skilled workforce across the Pacific through its flagship

TVET investment in the region, the Australia Pacific Training Coalition.

MCNA desk

The Papua New Guinea Australia Alumni Association’s (PNGAAA) New Ireland Chapter is instrumental in growing the network, maintaining alumni relationships and connections with Australian institutions.

High Commission Minister Counsellor, Paul Lehmann, joined New Ireland

Deputy Governor Honourable Sammy Missen, Acting Provincial Administrator Moses Taram and PNGAAA colleges to officially launch the Chapter. The Chapter has grown since 2018 with over 100 members and aims to build strategic partnerships that contribute to achieving the priorities of the provincial government.

Gilbert Camp Christmas Games organized in East Honiara

MCNA desk

The annual Gilbert Camp Christmas Games was organized on 28 December in East Honiara. Members of the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Australian Defence Force and New Zealand Defence Force with the Solomons’ International Assistance Force (SIAF) together took part in the event.

Gilbert Camp Community Leaders invited members to play a range of sports alongside the community, including Tug o’ War, Volleyball and Soccer. Organizer of the Gilbert Camp

Christmas Games Clement said that the event gives the community something to look forward to as it keeps their young people out of trouble, and everyone loves sports’.

Clement greatly appreciated SIAF’s involvement and said it was great to have Australians and New Zealanders join the long running event.

AFP Protective Service Officer Nick Rayner said that being involved in community events like this are important and help build stronger relationships with community members.

Nauru Airlines adds Honiara to its route

across the Pacific through its Pacific Flights Program.

Nauru Airlines has now added Honiara to the “Island Hopper” route, which will connect Solomon Islands to Australia and its northern Pacific neighbors.

260 Solomon Islands teachers get certificate in primary teaching

MCNA desk

A ustralia is supporting increased connectivity

This route, operating every Thursday, commences from Brisbane to Honiara, Nauru, Tarawa, Majuro and Pohnpei with return flights on Fridays.

As many as 260 Solomon Islands teachers from across Malaita, Isabel, Central Islands and Rennell and Bellona provinces graduated with a certificate in primary teaching recently.

The graduates received the University of the South Pacific qualification through the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development Primary Teacher in Training initiative.

This is funded by the Education

Sector Support Program and works in partnership with the Solomon Islands National University and the University of South Pacific. It supports primary school teachers who have been working without a formal qualification, enabling them with the necessary knowledge and skills to improve the quality of education they provide Solomon Islands’ children.

The Education Sector Support Program is SBD$385 million over four years (2020-2023) and

includes direct budget support for the Solomon Islands Ministry for Education and Human Resources Development to deliver activities aligned with the National Education Action Plan 2022-26, including the Teacher in Training Program.

This partnership between the governments of Solomon Islands, Australia and New Zealand improves access to quality basic education for all children in Solomon Islands.

Solomon Islands’ RSIPF EOD works to begin this year

MCNA desk

Following the 2021 Australia and Solomon Islands jointly announced AUD 15 million package to enhance the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal (RSIPF EOD) section’s capability

across infrastructure, training and equipment, preparation for the works will commence this year.

The infrastructure upgrades at Hells Point will include a new perimeter fence and disposal facilities to improve the safety

and security of activities performed at the site.

This work builds on Australia’s strong commitment to the RSIPF EOD section through the Defence Cooperation Program.

MCNA newsdesk

The Australian High Commission Solomon Islands is instrumental in providing ongoing support to Solomon Islands’ justice agencies, including police and corrections, with new video conferencing equipment (VCE) and upgraded internet connections in Auki and Gizo.

This investment has had a major impact on the way justice is delivered in Solomon Islands.

On a routine basis, courts are now connecting with witnesses both in Solomon Islands and internationally that are unable to attend hearings in person.

This includes vulnerable witnesses whose presence in courts may be traumatising or difficult due to mobility issues.

The equipment has been used to allow Solomon Islands’ judicial officers to virtually attend international conferences. And it allowed the Court of Appeal

relations and development in Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific region, has been appointed as Australia’s next Ambassador for gender equality.

Promoting gender equality is a priority for Australia and central to Australia’s diplomatic, economic, development, and regional security efforts.

As Australia’s Ambassador for gender equality, CopusCampbell will deepen Australia’s international engagement on gender equality with her expertise in community development,

sitting to convene during international border closers.

Installation of VCE in Auki and Rove Correctional Centres gives the option of virtual court hearings on certain matters for inmates who may not be able to attend court in person.

Australia is committed to assisting Solomon Islands deliver a credible justice system that supports the rule of law and strengthens access to justice for all Solomon Islanders.

equality

gender equality and health. She will advocate the importance of women’s human rights, ending gender-based violence, women’s economic empowerment, and the leadership of women and girls.

Most recently, she was appointed by the Government of PNG as Chair of the Southern Highlands Provincial Health Authority and has served as Executive Director of the Oil Search Foundation.

She has previously served overseas for AusAID in Port Moresby and Suva.

MCNA desk

After a year in Solomon Islands, the Republic of Fiji Military Forces’ (RFMF) first rotation of troops to the Solomons International Assistance Force departed for Fiji.

Defence Australia provided their transport back home and flew the new rotation of troops to

Honiara.

The Australian Defence Force, RFMF and NZ Defence Force are in Solomon Islands at the request of the Solomon Islands Government.

They form part of the Solomons International Assistance Force and support the Australian Federal Police and RSIPF.

Australia to continue supporting Solomon Islands’ justice agencies First rotation troops of RFMF return to Fiji

Stephanie Copus-Campbell is Australia’s next Ambassador for gender

MCNA desk

MCNA desk

Stephanie Copus-Campbell, who has had a distinguished career in international

Wantok

Musik Singing Competition winners announced

Maimarosia

Famed

He

Elizaberth and John will travel to Honiara in January 2023 to work alongside Australian music label Wantok Musik, internationally recognised artists Charles Maimorosia, David Bridie, Tjupurru, Kaumaakonga, Natty D

and Poppy.

The Wantok Musik Singing Competition 2022 was sponsored by ANZ, Hatanga, BYGroup and the Australian High Commission Honiara.

“They are the reason why the award was given… my happiness is not just for myself,” he told ABC Radio Australia’s Pacific Beat. continued from pg. 1

Australian team visits Malaita Province in Solomon Islands

Hospital,

such as a classroom at Imbo, East Kwaio, a health centre in Arao, Lau Mbaelelea, a school extension in Buma, West Kwara’ae and a classroom at Busufo’osae, Central Kwara’ae.

The Direct Aid Program is a small, flexible grants scheme

Aus state launches 1st multicultural mental health hotline

need, with a specialist team of health care professionals ready to provide care and connect people with the appropriate services,” she added.

A national study of mental health and wellbeing, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in July last year, indicated that over two in five citiznes aged 16-85 years, or 8.6 million people, had experienced a mental disorder at some time in their life.

One in five, or 4.2 million people, had a 12-month mental disorder,

while anxiety was the most prevalent disorder, according to the study.

Charles Maimarosia wins Music Victoria Awards

MCNA desk

Solomon Islands musician Charles Maimarosia has scored a win at the annual Music Victoria Awards recently.

won the Multicultural Arts Victoria Diasporas Award, which celebrates culturally and linguistically diverse creatives.

praised his wantoks for helping him along his musical journey.

directly administered by the Australian High Commission. In the last three years alone, DAP has funded thirty-five projects to support communities across all nine provinces of Solomon Islands.

East Kwaio Water tanks at Aio Island, East Are’, a classroom at Fo’ondo, North Malaita, and an ablution block at Arnon Atomea School, North Malaita The delegation conducted evaluation of ongoing projects

MCNA desk

Elizabeth Takamama Fangata and John Houkarawa won the best female and male vocalists, respectively at Wantok Musik Singing Competition in Solomon Islands recently.

2023 Women’s Developmental Leadership Program participants announced

Tuesday, 3 January 2023

Australia Awards Women Leading and Influencing (WLI) welcomes 29 emerging Pacific women leaders to join the prestigious

Women’s Developmental Leadership Program in 2023. The successful applicants from seven Pacific Island countries (Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New

Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu) are Australia Awards scholars who demonstrate outstanding leadership potential.

Our Women’s Developmental Leadership Program participants for 2023 are:

Fiji

Asenaca (Ruci) Barauvula

Bachelor of Psychological Science, The University of South Australia

Alomeci Medamaiciba Master of Midwifery, Charles Darwin University

Melaia Waisale

Melissa Kwan

Kritika Kumar

Master of Governance and Public Policy, The University of Queensland

Master of Public Policy, The Australian National University

Master of Nursing Science, The University of Adelaide

Sereima Dibula Koli Master of Environmental Engineering, Griffith University

Siteri Kamikamica

Master of Laws, The University of Melbourne

Taina Waqaliva Master of Food Science, The University of Melbourne

Vasenai Sakalai Master of Midwifery Studies, The University of Newcastle

Kiribati

Victoria Hnanguie Master of Environmental Management, The University of Queensland

Nauru

ConstantinaDepaune

Papua New Guinea

Beautlyn Eliab

Cecilia Watmelik

Bachelor of Public Health, Queensland University of Technology

Master of International Community Development, Victoria University

Master of Information Systems, Central Queensland University

Cherolyn Pokawin Polomon PhD, Health Nursing and Midwifery, University of Technology Sydney

Erita Yawi

Kurande Kupeng

Maria John

Maryanne Maga

Melinda Matanu

Through the program, each participant will be supported to develop their own leadership style, build key leadership skills and behaviours, and develop

regional and country-based networks to help drive positive development change in the Pacific.

PhD, Education, Victoria University

Master of Public Health; Master of Business Administration, James Cook University

Master of Disability Policy and Practice, Flinders University

Master of Midwifery, The University of Newcastle

Master of Global Health; Master of Health Leadership and Management, The University of New South Wales

Ruth Javati

Sophie Tuna

Susan Aipit

Teisi Kalamo

Solomon Islands

Koisau Sade

Lanique Pitasua

Vanuatu

Daisy Rose Sipiti

Debbie Fred

Melissa Velvel Fare

Tuvalu

Teresa Lifuka-Drecala

Bachelor of Human Services, Queensland University of Technology

Bachelor of Sport Management, Victoria University

Master of Public Health, James Cook University

Master of Applied Anthropology and Development, The Australian National University

Bachelors of Arts and Social Science, The University of Queensland

Master of Public Health, The Australian National University

Bachelor of Business, Victora University

Master of Public Health; Master of Business Administration, James Cook University

Bachelor of International Relations and Political Science; Bachelor of Business Management (International Business), Flinders University

Master of Law and Development, The University of Melbourne

Educational Series Highlighting Female Travellers’ Health & Security

International SOS, the world’s leading security and health services company, is putting a focus on female travellers’ health, safety and security, as travel ramps up again following the pandemic. As part of this initiative, International SOS will be organising a series of live streams that address the growing issues and challenges that women face when travelling and help female travellers make informed decisions about their destination and how to stay safe while travelling abroad.

According to a recent survey[1], 88 percent of women say they were somewhat threatened or felt unsafe while travelling; and 12 percent of women have been physically attacked or threatened. Female traveller concerns are once again coming to the forefront as worldwide business and leisure travel bounces back.

The first episode – “Holiday Special: Health and Safety Tips for Women” took place on 13 December 2022 featuring International SOS experts, including Dr Chan Yanjun, Medical Director, Singapore and Malaysia, International SOS; Pei-Lynn Foo, Certified Clinical Psychologist, International

SOS; and Noriko Takasaki, Security Director Assistance, Asia, International SOS. The panel provided advice and guidance that is essential for any traveller but specifically tailored for female travellers and their employers. There will be 10 live streams in the series and they will be available to view on the International SOS LinkedIn page and Facebook page.

Dr Chan Yanjun, Medical Director, Singapore and Malaysia, International SOS, shared, “Travel, either domestic or international, poses risks for anyone, but particularly women. All travellers should plan carefully to ensure their health and safety while away, but this is especially important for women, particularly those travelling solo.

It is important that travellers are well informed when making decisions on where and when to journey. In addition, employers need to assume a greater responsibility under their duty of care for female employees who are undertaking business-related travel.”

Another survey from the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA)[2] highlighted that for women business travellers’ safety

is a widespread concern. The survey of 503 female business travellers discovered that 83% of respondents have experienced a safety-related concern or incident and that 90% indicated that safety concerns influenced how they spent their free time on business trips. Similarly, an SAP Concur survey[3] of 7,850 business travellers in 19 markets revealed similar findings, with 75% of female business travellers suffering harassment while travelling and 58% changing their plans because of safety concerns. Dr Chan continued, “We recognise that in addition to the safety, medical and security needs of all travellers, women may also have a few extra concerns they need to be mindful of, which is why we have developed this empowering series in a bite-sized and easily digestible format. Through our series, we hope to raise awareness of women’s health, safety and security issues while travelling to help ensure their trips are safe and successful. Make sure to bookmark our LinkedIn and Facebook pages so you don’t miss any of the upcoming live streams.”

Topics that will be covered during the series will include how to stay safe as a female traveller; how to deal with extreme weather conditions or natural disasters; what to do if you get sick or injured while travelling; how to research a destination before travelling; tips for reducing risks of violence, harassment and accidents during international travel; mental well-being; pregnancy and unforeseen risks; self-defence tips; hotel safety tips; holiday shopping safety tips and more. Pei-Lynn, added, “Moreover,

the challenges and stressors experienced by women travellers can contribute to a decline in their mental health. Hence, awareness, preparation and proactive management go a long way not only in ensuring safety and security but in sustaining women’s mental wellbeing.” “Security environment is evolving dynamically. Although female travellers can face unique security risks when abroad, it is about mitigating those risks prior to departure as much as possible that is key. It is important to properly research travel destinations and become familiar with local laws and customs to help avoid adverse situations. You should also be aware of the current geopolitical situation, weather conditions, ongoing crisis, etc., as well as potential increased risks during the holiday period, such as petty crime, online/Christmas scams and crowd safety, to be fully prepared. We hope following the information and tips shared will help women travel more confidently and keep safe,” Noriko concluded.

International SOS has provided some travel tips to help minimise risks and assist women to make their journey safe and enjoyable including:

Be aware of cultural norms and laws – Researching all travel destinations prior to arrival is crucial, even if it is just for a night or a quick layover. The most important information to know about a location is what the cultural norms are, this is often shaped by the religious majority in the country.

Be culturally sensitive to dress codes – Many countries have different ideas about how women

should dress and behave. People will make assumptions about you based on what you are wearing. Even if you don’t agree with particular customs, it will make your trip more enjoyable if you respect local expectations.

General safety advice – There are some general safety suggestions that travellers can employ including, travelling during daylight hours; don’t wear expensive jewellery on obvious display; remembering that handbags, clutch purses and bum bags can be easily stolen; and last but not least, if you are feeling particularly nervous in an unfamiliar city, make sure to maintain contact with a friend or relative who can keep an eye on you is crucial when travelling alone. Keep that individual informed of your location and give them a broad rundown of your plan.

Health concerns when travelling – Take enough regular medication, feminine hygiene products and contraceptives to last the entire trip.

Trust your gut instinct – One of the most important tools we all have is our instincts. Your gut instinct is the one thing, when travelling, is your most useful tool. If something feels not quite right, listen to that little voice and remove yourself from the situation.

[1] Source – JourneyWoman: Women’s personal safety is an issue at home and abroad

[2] Source – Global Business Travel Association: 83 Percent of Female Business Travelers Report Safety Concerns or Incidents in Past Year

[3] Source – SAP Concur: New Research Reveals Top Concerns Among Business Travelers

A local language is important when choosing international travel destination

The “Most 2022 Phrase” is “Please don’t cancel my plans”. Duolingo a leading online learning platform, selected this phrase, found in its English for Spanish speakers course, to reflect the tone and overall feeling of the year which saw record number of flight cancellations, natural disasters in vacation spots, and soaring travel costs.

Alongside the “Most 2022 Phrase”, the platform also launched the company’s third global Language Report, which examines the latest language trends based on data from millions of learners. The 2022 Language Report provides thoughtful analysis and unique insights into what learners want to study and why.

This year’s global data shows how reopened borders and eased travel restrictions impacted learners’ study choices. Key findings reveal:

Ukrainian language learning surged. More than 1.3 million

people around the world began studying Ukrainian in a show of solidarity following Russia’s invasion in February, making it the fastest-growing course this year.

English remains the most popular language to learn globally and ranks #2 even in the U.S. The top ten languages studied around the world are (in order): English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Italian, Korean, Chinese, Russian, and Hindi.

Duolingo predicts 2023 will be the ‘Year of the Confident Traveler’. There is reason to believe that 2023 will see big changes in learners studying for travel. For one, 45 percent of Americans plan or hope to learn a language ahead of traveling in the future, according to a recent survey by Duolingo. Not only that, but more than a third (38 percent ) of Americans say that to feel comfortable while traveling they would need to

know enough of their travel destination’s language to have a simple conversation at the very minimum After 2 years of pandemic-induced hiatus, the world is up and running again – this time with extraordinary zeal and passion! Embracing YOLO in its truest sense, Indian travelers are once again ready to put on their globetrotting shoes to tick experiences off their bucket lists. They no longer seek just touristy experiences and want to travel like a local. Language and culture are interlinked, and you cannot learn one of these without having a clear understanding of the other. Knowing the local language of your destination results in a more personal and richer experience with the native culture!

Commenting on the 2022 edition of the Duolingo Language Report, Country Marketing Manager in India, Karandeep Singh Kapany said, “To help Indian travelers seeking authentic local experiences, wanting to connect with locals in their native, Duolingo has travel specific easy and basic modules. Duolingo enables a smooth and fun language learning process across several languages, and it is encouraging to see Indians willing to invest time and energy in delving deeper and mastering the art of language learning when planning their next trip. We look at promoting language learning

as a culture which opens a whole new door of experiences for all our uses.”

Language is an important requisite for making travel plans The cultural essence of any place is significantly coded in its language. Indian travelers understand this and are becoming more conscious and mindful of their travel choices – of the impact that they leave on the destination and its people.

During the survey, about 50 percent of respondents agreed that the primary language of the destination is an important consideration factor for them while making travel decisions. The majority of the respondents (76 percent) said that relaxation and exploring new cultures act as the primary motivators for international travel in 2023. What can be a better way to experience the cultural diversity of a place than in its local language?

Say Bon Voyage! French tops the charts as the most preferred language for Indian travelers Being spoken in more than 40 different countries across the globe, it is no surprise that the majority of the respondents (23 percent) plan to practice and brush up their French speaking skills followed by German, Arabic, and Spanish before they venture out to an international travel destination. Most of these respondents (46 percent) are Gen Z and millennials.

French is the fifth most spoken

language in the world after English, Mandarin, Hindi, and Spanish. It holds the official language status in about 30 countries. Popularly known as the language of culture, knowledge of French enables you to access great works in global art and literature. A little research on the culture of the destination before the trip helps one to be more respectful towards local communities and people.

Shotgun! Language takes a front seat to authentic travel experiences

Indicating that travelers are ready to put in that extra effort at the travel planning stage – 62 percent of the respondents said that they have practiced at least one foreign language ahead of their traveling plans.

It is interesting to note that for their future international trips, travelers don’t want to stop at learning just a few basic words and greetings in the destination’s language but have an appetite for learning enough to have a simple conversation in the destination’s primary language! This contrasts with their past behavior where they were satisfied with knowing a few keywords and phrases to get around the destination. This change indicates that Indian travelers are leaning towards conscious travel. They want to indulge in the socio-cultural experiences of a place in the most authentic way possible.

European nations report record high temperatures in Jan

Celsius, more than 10 degrees above average and equivalent to the temperature in July.

Parts of Catalonia, including Barcelona, were subjected to restrictions on water use.

New Year riots in Germany prompts calls for firecracker ban

London, Jan 4 (IANS) European nations have reported record high temperatures for the month of January leading to balmy weather in many places at the start of this year.

Temperatures in the Netherlands, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Latvia, Czech Republic, Poland, Denmark and Belarus broke national records, the BBC reported.

Meanwhile, station records were

broken in Germany, France and Ukraine.

The temperature recorded in Poland’s capital Warsaw on January 1 was 18.9 degrees Celsius, 4 degrees higher than the previous record for the month, and Belarus’ record high was 16.4 degrees, some 4.5 degrees above the previous record.

On the same day, Spain’s Bilbao city recorded 25.1 degrees

In Switzerland, temperatures hit 20 degrees Celsius, and the warm weather has affected ski resorts across the Alps which have seen a snow shortage, reports the BBC.

However, colder weather and snow have been predicted in parts of Scandinavia and Moscow this weekend with the temperatures expected to drop to -20 degrees Celsius.

This development comes just days after the UK, Ireland, France and Spain declared 2022 as their hottest year on record.

Italy’s inflation reaches 37-yr high in 2022

the introduction of the euro currency in 1999.

The seven highest monthly inflation rates recorded in Italy since 1999 have all been in the last seven months, according to the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT).

High energy prices have been responsible for the bulk of those increases, pushed higher by the energy supply challenges caused by the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war.

Berlin, Jan 5 (IANS) New Year riots that took place in Berlin and in other major German cities have prompted calls from across the country to impose a ban on firecrackers, the media reported.

Berlin, Hamburg, Bonn, Dortmund and Essen witnessed violence on December 31, 2022, with reports of rockets, firecrackers and even a starting pistol being fired at emergency vehicles, the BBC reported.

According to the police, 145 arrests made in Berlin riots, including 45 Germans, 27 Afghans and 21 Syrians.

At least 41 police officers were injured in the capital alone, while there were also dozens of attacks on firefighters.

Berlin’s Neukolln district was worst-hit by the violence and local mayor Martin Hikel spoke of conditions similar to a civil war, with rescue workers being lured into ambushes, reports the BBC.

Neukolln’s integration commissioner G�ner Balci said those who took part in the attacks came from a small group of “absolute losers”.

In some inner city areas facing major social issues, she said children and young people were growing up witnessing domestic violence as part of their daily lives.

Meanwhile, the involvement of many youths in the violence with migrant backgrounds have also become a matter of debate.

While Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey has called for a youth summit and condemned the violence as “absolutely unacceptable”, leading conservative figure Jens Spahn blamed the incident on “unregulated migration, failed integration”.

Rome, Jan 6 (IANS) Prices in Italy rose 8.1 per cent year-on-year in 2022, the highest since a 9.2 per cent annual increase in 1985 when the country still used the lira currency, the government’s statistics office said

In December, prices were 11.6 per cent higher than in the same month in 2021, and down from 11.8 per cent in November, reports Xinhua news agency.

It was still the third highest one-month rate recorded since

The 8.1 per cent annual inflation rate includes data from the early part of the year when inflation was still low.

In contrast, prices rose just 1.9 per cent in 2021 compared to the previous year.

He told German newspaper Die Welt that the violence was less about migration issues and more to do with socially disadvantaged areas.

He warned of the risk of moving towards a situation similar to that in suburban areas of France.

But government integration commissioner Reem AlabaliRadovan called for perpetrators to be judged on their actions and “not according to their presumed origins, as some are now doing” and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that while a debate had to take place on the background to the riots, it should not be used to stir up “racist resentment”.

Who is spoiling peaceful power transition in Fiji after recent elections?

new government in Fiji.

Bainimarama’s supporters are unhappy with the election results despite its peaceful conduct and observers ruling out any irregularities.

New Delhi, Jan 2 (IANS) As last week’s elections resulted in a hung parliament, ethnic tensions threw law and order in Fiji in disarray.

Supporters of Frank Bainimarama, a former military Chief who seized power in a 2006 coup and held the post of the Prime Minister for the last 16 years, are out to disturb any peaceful transition to power in case the opposition parties cobble a coalition to form a new government.

The ethnic tensions started in Fiji as Bainimarama’s Fiji First Party lost its majority in the election winning only 42.5 per cent of vote while a new coalition was formed by the main political rival Sitiveni Rabuka who called for him to concede.

Rabuka’s People Alliance Party won 36 per cent of vote, its coalition partners in the hung parliament the National Federation party won 9 per cent and the Social Democratic Party (SODELPA) won 5 per cent.

On December 20, 2022, the People Alliance Party secured the support of SODELPA, forming the winning coalition with 50 per cent vote to form the

Fiji’s election was watched by a Multinational Observer Group -- an organisation made up of 16 countries, including Australia, the largest donor to the South Pacific -- as well as Pacific Islands Forum and the Melanesian Spearhead Group.

The observer group found the elections free.

Bainimarama’s denial to concede and step down to allow a peaceful transition of power to a new government on the pretext of ethnic tension does not hold water.

Instead of allowing a transfer of power to the winning coalition, the sitting Prime Minister has deployed military citing ethnic tensions and violence.

But others dispute saying that ethnic tensions have not been manifested in this election.

Fiji’s transition to a new government through a democratic election would mark the first time in more than two decades that the country has changed its leadership by people’s verdict in election.

Although the leader of the coalition Rabuka has been able to form a winning coalition, Fiji First General Secretary and the government’s caretaker Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum called into question the validity of the coalition on December 21, pointing out disagreements

in SODELPA over its decision to join the coalition.

The election of next Prime Minister of Fiji through a democratic process would be a historic opportunity for the country to come out of the past eras of military dictatorship.

This is first time that the observers have pointed the elections as free. In the past, it was not so even if elections were conducted.

Despite Fiji’s democratic elections in 2014 and 2018, Freedom House classified the country in 2022 as “party free”. It noted that while freedoms have improved since 2014, Bainimarama government “frequently interferes with opposition activities, the judiciary is subject to political influence, and military and political brutality is a significant problem”.

This is a historic opportunity for Fiji to set in a democratic era which it should not miss. The country is a regional leader in the pacific due to its central location, relative size and international role ranging from peace keeping to climatic change action. It is a hub of regional diplomacy. The stability and balance in the Indo-Pacific region would much depend on Fiji’s strength or vulnerability as well as response to the increasing competition between China and the US for strategic leverage. A dictator would be easy to handle for the competing parties, especially China for geo-political leverage at the cost of people of Fiji and development of the

nation. This is why setting up a democratic government in the country is necessary as it would be accountable to people. Today, one of the main concerns about Fiji among global powers is China’s increasing footprints in the country to enhance its strategic outreach. China got ample time to build its strategic presence in the country since 2006. After Bainimarama’s coup in 2006, Australia, New Zealand and the US imposed travel bans on Fijian government officials and suspended security assistance and direct financial assistance to the country. Fiji was also expelled from the Commonwealth and the PIF. China got a free space to expand its footprints till 2014 when Bainimarama was democratically elected and Fiji’s relations with the Commonwealth, Australia, New Zealand, the US and the PIF were normalised.

Now, it is being surmised by many that China had interest in keeping Bainimarama in control. In fact some coverages of the 2022 election have framed Bainimarama as a pro-China candidate and Rabuka as the opposition. In August, Rabuka ruled out signing a bilateral security pact with Beijing if elected, probably seeking to reassure regional partners concerned about China’s engagement. Beijing has been persuading Fiji through covert and overt channels for such an agreement.

As a sovereign nation Fiji has every right to engage with any

country for development, peace and prosperity. During 2005 and 2007, Beijing increased aid to Fiji from $1 million to $167 million and today Fiji has become the largest recipient of Chinese assistance among all the countries of the Pacific region. China has become the second largest donor to Pacific region after Australia. If the promise of $4 billion of assistance to the pacific region in 2017 is realised, Beijing will replace Australia as the largest donor.

Nobody bothers about economic cooperation with Pacific countries as they need it for development. However, no government in Fiji would risk its relationship with the regional partners including one led by Bainimarama in case it happens so, by signing a security pact with China. Analysts point out that China is ramping up its presence in Indo-Pacific countries as part of its aspiration to be a global power. It resorts to cheque book diplomacy to win the trust of the recipient countries but eventually ends up in exploiting natural resources and extracting strategic benefits at the cost of people, environment and stability.

The dictators anywhere lack accountability to people whereas democratically elected governments do have. For this reason, the democratic process must throw an accountable leadership in Fiji for the good of country and its people. Fiji should not slip again into dictatorship or its proxy.

Taiwan sees highest annual average inflation growth in 14 years

The statistics agency said the CPI growth was largely affected by fruit prices, which increased by around 10 per cent due to climate change.

House rent and fuel price variations also influenced the consumer inflation rate, reports Xinhua news agency.

hotel accommodation, and petrol and diesel products.

Food prices grew by 4.93 per cent year on year in December, faster than other major consumption sectors, with egg prices rising 19.92 per cent and vegetable prices up 11.98 per cent.

Domestic flight makes emergency landing in Japan airport after bomb threat

Tokyo, Jan 7 (IANS) A domestic flight operated by low-cost carrier Jetstar Japan Co. made an emergency landing on Saturday at an airport in the central Aichi prefecture following a bomb threat, local media reported.

Taipei, Jan 7 (IANS) Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) rose by 2.95 per cent last year, the largest increase since 2009, according to data released by the island’s statistics agency.

The CPI for December 2022 increased by 0.16 per cent month on month and by 2.71 per cent year on year, the statistics agency said.

It attributed the CPI growth to price changes for vegetables,

The statistics agency predicted that the pressure of imported inflation has not been fully eased, and that the island’s CPI growth rate might fall below 2 per cent after the second quarter of the year.

spending’ by Chinese tourists could boost global economy

abroad, searches for international flights and accommodations immediately hit a three-year high on Trip.com.

Bookings for overseas travel during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, which falls between January 21-27 this year, have soared by 540 per cent from a year ago, according to data from the Chinese travel site.

Average spending per booking jumped 32 per cent.

According to police and airport officials, the aircraft made an emergency landing in Chubu Centrair International Airport at around 7.40 a.m., Xinhua news agency quoted Japanese public broadcaster NHK as saying in a report.

There were reports of injuries upon escape from the aircraft

following its emergency landing, it added.

Investigators said an international phone call was received around 6 a.m., with a man’s voice claiming to have put a bomb on the aircraft.

China’s new supercarrier to soon undergo first sea trials

Seoul, Jan 4 (IANS) The Chinese Navy’s massive new aircraft carrier, the CNS Fujian, is expected to head to sea for the first time this year, the ship’s executive officer said in an interview with state media, the media reported.

Hong Kong, Jan 7 (IANS) In the years before the Covid-19 pandemic, China was the worlds most important source of international travelers -- its 155 million tourists spent more than a quarter of a trillion dollars beyond its borders in 2019, the media reported.

That largesse fell precipitously over the past three years as the country essentially closed its borders. But, as China prepares to reopen on Sunday, millions of tourists are poised to return to the world stage, raising hopes of a rebound for the global hospitality industry, CNN reported. Although international travel may not return immediately to pre-pandemic levels, companies,

industries and countries that rely on Chinese tourists will get a boost in 2023, according to analysts.

China averaged about 12 million outbound air passengers per month in 2019, but those numbers fell 95% during the Covid years, according to Steve Saxon, a partner in McKinsey’s Shenzhen office.

He predicts that figure will recover to about 6 million per month by the summer, CNN reported.

As China announced last month it would no longer subject inbound travelers to quarantine starting January 8, including residents returning from trips

The top destinations are in the Asia Pacific region, including Australia, Thailand, Japan and Hong Kong. The US and the UK also ranked among the top 10, CNN reported.

“The rapid buildup in ... (bank) deposits over the past year suggests that households in China have accumulated significant cash holdings,” said Alex Loo, a macro strategist for TD Securities, adding that frequent lockdowns have likely led to restraints on household spending.

There could be “revenge spending” by Chinese consumers, mirroring what happened in many developed markets when they reopened early last year, he said.

Yoon’s approval rating falls for 1st time in 3 weeks: Poll

December 26-30, 2022, 40 per cent positively assessed Yoon’s job performance, down 1.2 percentage points from the previous week, reports Yonhap News Agency.

Yoon’s disapproval rating was 57.2 per cent, up 0.6 percentage point.

posture.

Bae added that Yoon’s remarks on Pyongyang’s actions, such as “firm retaliation” and the need to “overwhelmingly prepare for superior war”, increased the sense of public insecurity.

In a report on the interview published by state-run China Daily, Senior Capt. Qian Shumin did not give an exact date for when the aircraft carrier will undergo its first sea excursions, saying only that “the trials will contribute to the realization of the centenary goals of the People’s Liberation Army”, CNN reported.

That centenary, which comes in 2027, was referenced by Chinese leader Xi Jinping in October as a deadline for the PLA to meet its Modernization goals, CNN reported.

The Fujian is the largest warship China has ever built and bringing it into operation is a key component in the PLA Navy’s objectives.

The ship was launched with great fanfare on June 17 and has been in the final stages of construction at a Shanghai shipyard.

Hawaii-based analyst Carl Schuster, a former US Navy captain, said he expects the Fujian’s first trials to come in the spring.

Displacing around 80,000 metric tons of water, according to the China Daily report, the Fujian is 50 per cent larger than China’s two current in-service carriers and puts the PLA Navy in the league of supercarriers, like the 100,000-ton US Nimitz-class ships, CNN reported.

It also shows China matching US carrier technology.

China’s other two carriers, the Liaoning and the Shandong, are based on outdated Soviet technology.

Those two carriers used the ski-jump launching system, in which where planes simply take off from a slight ramp, while US carriers use a more advanced catapult system to launch their aircraft.

And the Fujian uses an electromagnetic catapult system, something the US has only on its newest operational carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, CNN reported.

Seoul, Jan 2 (IANS) South

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s approval rating fell for the first time in three weeks following the intrusion of North Korean drones into the country’s airspace last week, a poll showed on Monday.

In the poll of 2,511 voters conducted by Realmeter from

The fall could be attributable to North Korea’s drone infiltration last week and public criticism that the government did not respond properly to the provocation, Bae Cheol-ho, a senior analyst at Realmeter, said.

On December 26, the North sent five unmanned aerial vehicles into the South, with one of them having flown all the way to northern Seoul.

The South Korean military failed to shoot them down, raising questions over its readiness

On the favourability rating of political parties, the ruling People Power Party garnered 39.2 per cent support, down 1.8 percentage points from the previous week, while the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) registered 45.5 per cent, up 2.6 percentage points.

The DP’s favourability rating seems to have increased as the party’s supporters gathered against the prosecution’s investigation into bribery cases allegedly connected to party leader Lee Jae-myung

Bird flu cases in Japan reach record high this season

Fukuoka prefectures, the government said on Tuesday.

As of Tuesday, the number of outbreaks of avian influenza reached 54 across 23 prefectures in Japan this season, topping the previous record of 52 logged in the 2020-2021 season, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Meanwhile, at a poultry farm in Chiba, an avian flu case was also confirmed the same day, resulting in the culling of around 10,000 chickens at the location. This season’s first case of bird flu was confirmed in October 2022, with the highly deadly H5N1 strain detected from samples of the infected chickens.

Seoul, Jan 5 (IANS) A North Korean drone was found to have briefly entered a 3.7-km radius no-fly zone around the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol in Seoul in December 2022, a military official belatedly confirmed to a news agency on Thursday, reversing the defence authorities’ announcement that there was no such grave airspace security failure.

The drone was among the five unmanned aerial vehicles that the North sent across the Military Demarcation Line separating the two Koreas on December 26. The South Korean military failed to shoot them down, raising questions over its air defence posture, Yonhap news agency reported.

during Wednesday’s briefing on counter-drone measures, such as plans to secure radar-evading drones and “drone-killer” systems.

Tokyo, Jan 3 (IANS) Bird flu cases in Japan hit 54 this season, a record high after new infections were confirmed in Chiba and

On the day, an emu farm in Fukuoka reported a bird flu outbreak, with about 430 of the birds being culled, reports Xinhua news agency.

The total number of birds destroyed due to this season’s outbreaks is expected to reach roughly 7.75 million.

“It briefly flew into the northern edge of the zone, but it did not come close to key security facilities,” the official told the news agency on condition of anonymity, referring to the security area called “P-73”.

Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup reported the drone’s entry into a part of the zone to Yoon

Earlier, the Joint Chiefs of Staff rejected media reports raising speculation that the drone penetrated the zone. Its spokesperson, Col. Lee Sungjun, even expressed “strong regrets,” dismissing the reports as “untrue and groundless.”

Drone incursions have laid bare the South’s insufficient readiness to detect, track and shoot down such small drones. The North’s drones, in particular, flew on aberrant trajectories, changing flight speed and altitudes in unexpected ways, according to the defense ministry.

‘N.Korean drone penetrated no-fly zone in Seoul’

‘Revenge

Controversy in Nepal over China’s BRI project

BRI cooperation. Warmly congratulations to Nepali Gov and Nepali people!”

On the day of the inauguration, the Charge d’Affaires Wang Xin said: “ 2023 is the 10th anniversary of President Xi Jinping’s proposal of BRI Initiative.

Kathmandu, Jan 5 (IANS) A controversy has erupted in Nepal over Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) after the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu unilaterally declared that the Pokhara International Airport is a “flagship project of ChinaNepal BRI cooperation”.

At a time when Nepali and Chinese officials themselves admitted that not a single project under the BRI, the multi-billion dollar flagship project of Chinese President Xi Jinping, has been signed in Nepal under the BRI framework, a recent announcement made by the Chinese side in Kathmandu has courted a huge controversy. The airport was constructed upon a Chinese loan which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ on Sunday but a sudden announcement made by the Embassy on the day of inauguration has created spirals of controversy in Kathmandu. A day ahead of the inauguration, the Embassy said: “This is the flagship project of China-Nepal

Under the guidance of the two heads of state, we will jointly build the trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network, and let the BRI cooperation bear fruitful results.”

According to Nepali media reports, Prime Minister Dahal on Wednesday also expressed concern over why and how this issue surfaced now.

Dahal had expressed concerns about whether the Pokhara airport does belong with BRI or not and was also surprised over the statement made by the Embassy, according to Pradip Adhikari, Director General at Nepal Civil Aviation Authority.

The Prime Minister also did not mention the construction of the project under the BRI during his inaugural speech on the first of the opening of the project in Nepal’s lake city.

Political party leaders also expressed concerns over China’s abrupt and sudden statement about the Pokhara airport and unnecessarily linking it with the BRI.

The government of Nepal signed a $215.96 million soft loan agreement with China in March 2016 for the construction of the

new airport in Pokhara. After Nepal and China signed the framework agreement on BRI in 2017, Nepal initially selected 35 projects to be undertaken under President Xi’s flagship connectivity project. Later, upon Beijing’s request, the total number of projects had whittled down to nine with the Pokhara airport off the list.

“I have a question on what basis the Chinese Embassy CDA said that Pokhara airport is built under the framework of BRI,” former Foreign Minister and UML’s deputy general secretary, Pradeep Gyawali told an online news portal.

He added that negotiation of the Pokhara airport with Chinese begun from 2010 before China launched the BRI so how it comes under the framework of the BRI.

Nepal and China signed the BRI framework agreement in 2017 while the loan agreement between China’s EXIM Bank and the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) was signed in 2016.

“I could not understand on what basis the Chinese CDA issued the statement on BRI and Pokhara airport,” said Gyawali.

China’s Exim Bank had agreed to provide 25 per cent of the loan free of interest and set the interest rate at 2 per cent per annum for the rest of the amount, with a payback period of 20 years.

Pak banks on Saudi Arabia to avoid default

concrete commitment from any foreign nation to avoid the crisis.

Latern, he told The Express Tribune that Pakistan would receive $3 billion from the kingdom.

Islamabad, Jan 5 (IANS) In what appears to be an alternative to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar expressed hope to receive a $3 billion second bailout from Saudi Arabia within days, vowing to raise money through sale of assets to beef up the critically-low foreign exchange reserves.

“In matters of days, Saudi Arabia will beef up reserves,” said Dar, while responding to a question whether there was any

Twice in the past three months, Dar had said that Saudi Arabia would give $3 billion cash -- the second bailout in the past one year. It is stated that the matter is now pending before the Saudi King for his final consent.

Due to the gravity of the situation, the civil-military leadership has discussed the economic situation more than twice in the past one week, including at the highest level -- the NSC.

“The National Security Committee was satisfied and there is nothing to worry about,” The Express Tribune quoted the Minister as saying while responding to a question that the NSC’s handout was vague on the IMF question and it talked more

The PTI chairman was injured by gunfire aimed at his open-top container truck as he led a convoy through thick crowds in Wazirabad on November 3, 2022, reports The Express Tribune.

One person died while several members of Khan’s close circle were injured in the incident.

The forensic report of the attack, has now revealed that the former premier was hit by three bullet fragments and a metal fragment.

about long-term plans.

The Finance Minister did not say categorically that the NSC backed the plan to go to the IMF, but stressed that there was consensus that everyone would work together to come out of the present crisis.

Dar said that the rollovers of the loans “is not an unusual thing”, as all the nations opt for borrowing new money to pay old liabilities or they opt for rollover.

“We are opting for rolling over deposits,” he said, adding that China would reimburse $1.2 billion shortly but did not say whether Beijing would also give fresh loans, The Express Tribune reported.

By June 30, the foreign exchange reserves position would be “exceptionally good compared to where Pakistan is standing today”, Dar claimed.

were fired from the left side of the truck in Wazirabad when the march was heading towards Islamabad, reports The Express Tribune.

Ten bullet shells fired at Khan’s truck were found at the crime scene and had also been sent for investigation.

The report had been sent for forensics by the medico-legal of Jinnah Hospital.

Lahore, Jan 5 (IANS) The lawyer of the alleged lone shooter arrested for opening fire on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in Wazirabad in November last year, on Thursday accused the PTI of choreographing the shooting to give their dying ‘long march’ a new lease on life, media reports said.

“The JIT (joint investigation team) was changed on Imran Khan’s wish,” claimed advocate Mian Dawood, the counsel of the accused, Mohammad Naveed, while addressing a press conference here, Geo News reported.

“The JIT is not considering substantial evidence a part of the investigation; the JIT and Imran Khan conspired to spoil the case and are trying to tamper with the details of the case in the police diary,” he added, Geo News reported.

Dawood also said that there is no need to extend the accused’s remand.

“Authorities are trying to force the accused to make a statement of their choice by making his mother sit in front of him in extremely cold weather,” Dawood said.

Dawood also alleged that PTI is refraining from going to court because they staged the incident.

“They do not accept that Imran Khan has suffered any injury in the Wazirabad attack as these people (PTI) are quick to tell lies,” he said and added, “PTI staged the Wazirabad incident to add life to the long march,”

Geo News reported.

Dawood said they are considering prosecuting Imran Khan and his guard for PTI worker Moazzam Gondal’s ‘murder’.

The PTI delayed the FIR for 30 days, said Dawood, adding that Moazzam’s murder could not be pinned on Naveed.

Moazzam was the sole fatality in the alleged assassination attempt on Khan in Wazirabad.

“They (PTI) have been talking about the second and third shooters since yesterday, but Imran Khan’s guard’s weapon killed Moazzam. However, they did not give the guard’s weapon for forensics,” Dawood claimed.

The Vice President of PTI, Fawad Chaudhry, had claimed on Wednesday the investigation has proved that three assailants were involved in the assassination attempt on Khan.

Chaudhry added that Khan’s guards fired no shots, and three types of weapons were used in the attack, i.e., three attackers. The plan was to kill Khan and spread chaos, he added, Geo News reported.

Islamabad, Jan 4 (IANS)

“One sealed parcel containing four plastic containers, two deformed bullets (items B8 and B11), one small metallic piece (item B9), and one bullet jacket (item B10) were recovered from the body of Imran Khan,” stated the report, issued by the Punjab Forensic Science Agency.

According to the report, shots

A total of 33 pieces of evidence were sent in a parcel to the Forensic Science Laboratory.

The report states that evidences were submitted by the Capital City Police Office (CCPO) Lahore, the District Police Office (DPO) Wazirabad, and members of the joint investigation team (JIT) conducting the inquiry.

Geneva, Jan 6 (IANS) Some 8 million people remain “acutely displaced” after last summer’s floods in Pakistan, since waters still have not receded in some areas, the country’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva has said.

Khalil Hashmi told a press conference on Thursday that there was an urgent need for housing, and that flood damage had impacted agriculture, and people’s livelihoods, Xinhua news agency reported.

Hashmi was speaking ahead of a high-level conference on Climate-Resilient Pakistan next week to be attended by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Knut Ostby, Resident Representative in Pakistan of the UN development agency UNDP, told Thursday’s press conference that more than 1,700 had been killed in the monsoon flooding disaster.

Meanwhile, at least 2 million homes were destroyed or

damaged, along with around 13,000 km of road, 3,000 km of railway track, 439 bridges, and 4.4 million acres of agricultural land.

Since there is still standing water in several areas, “many people cannot get back to their regular livelihoods” and therefore remain reliant on humanitarian assistance, he added.

He also warned that although the Pakistan flooding was “unprecedented”, it could happen in other countries.

The International Conference on Climate-Resilient Pakistan, co-hosted by the Government of Pakistan and the United Nations, will take place at the UN Office in Geneva next Monday.

The aim of the conference is to bring together public and private sector leaders to generate international financial support for communities impacted by the floods in Pakistan, as well as to rebuild damaged infrastructure.

PTI staged Wazirabad shooting to revive long march, says accused shooter’s lawyer

Nearly 8 mn Pakistanis still displaced after summer floods: Diplomat

Forensic report reveals Imran was hit by ‘fragments, not bullets’

A forensic report has revealed that former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was hit by three bullet fragments and a metal piece during an assassination attempt last year when he was leading a PTI rally to the federal capital.

Singapore, Jan 4 (IANS) An 38 year-old Indian-origin woman in Singapore has been convicted of three counts of assault for abusing her domestic help and covering the victim’s bruises with make-up.

Deepakala Chandra Secharana’s offences came to light when police officers arrived at her home following an alert by another domestic help, The Straits Times reported.

Deputy Public Prosecutors told the court that Eni Agustin started working at Deepakala’s flat on December 9, 2019, and

faced her first abuse 16 days later after she mixed up some cutlery while placing the items in a kitchen drawer.

In response, Deepakala repeatedly poked Eni’s forehead with her index finger, causing a scratch.

In 2020, she used a wooden clothes hanger to hit Eni until it broke and on another occasion, she slapped the victim’s cheeks multiple times, the paper reported.

One of the domestic helps noticed Eni’s bruises and called the Centre for Domestic Employees, which alerted the police.

When Deepakala realised the police have arrived, she got an “ice pack for the victim and instructed her to lie to the police about the injuries,” the Deputy Public Prosecutors told the court.

She asked Eni to tell the police the injuries were sustained

when latter underwent a “traditional body-scratching treatment.”

Deepakala then applied thick make-up on Eni’s face to cover up the bruises, which were noticed by the police, who asked Eni to wipe it off.

A policeman later noticed the victim had thick foundation on her face. The bruises resurfaced when Eni wiped away the makeup. She then told the officers about her ordeal.

Deepakala denied hitting Eni, and alleged that the maid’s injuries were self-inflicted, according to court documents. “She alleged that the victim was upset with her for wanting to send the victim back to her home country, and that the victim was trying to garner sympathy for herself,” the prosecutors told the court.

Deepakala’s mitigation and sentencing will take place next month.

However, the current number was still low if compared to the pre-pandemic era, which recorded up to 9,000 international visitors to the Angkor a day, Sopheak said.

“We believe that more foreign tourists will come to Cambodia, especially to the Angkor, in coming years as many airlines have resumed their flights to the kingdom,” he said.

Philippine inflation rate rose to 8.1% in Dec

Manila, Jan 5 (IANS) Year-onyear inflation in the Philippines accelerated to 8.1 per cent in December 2022 from 8 per cent the previous month, the highest since November 2008, authorities said on Thursday.

In a news conference, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) head Dennis Mapa said the the country’s average inflation rate for 2022 stood at 5.8 per cent, higher than the 2021 average at 3.9 per cent, reports Xinhua news agency.

Mapa attributed the faster December inflation rate to the growth rate in food and non-alcoholic beverages at 10.2 per cent, followed by restaurants and accommodation services, 7.0 per cent; the housing, water,

electricity, gas and other fuels, 7.0 per cent.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said faster food inflation is driven by higher prices of vegetables (32.4 per cent) and sugar (38.8 per cent) amid higher input costs and lower production.

“Weather disturbances in the previous months disrupted farmers’ planting calendar,” Balisacan said, adding the higher demand due to the holiday season also pushed inflation up for restaurant and accommodation services.

Meanwhile, the PSA said the core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy items in the headline inflation, rose to 6.9 per cent in December.

Int’l arrivals to Vietnam hiked in 2022

Hanoi, Jan 2 (IANS) Vietnam saw approximately 3.7 million international arrivals in 2022, surging 23.3 times from the previous year, but still much lower than the pre-Covid period in 2019, the country’s General Statistics Office said on Monday. The number fell short of the target which was set at 5 million, reports Xinhua news agency.

From January to December 2022, visitors entering the country by air amounted to nearly 3.3 million, accounting for 89.5 per cent of the total.

Phnom Penh, Jan 4 (IANS)

Cambodia’s famed Angkor Archaeological Park attracted 287,454 foreign tourists in 2022, earning $11.5 million from ticket sales, the state-owned Angkor Enterprise said in a statement on Wednesday.

Ministry of Tourism’s Secretary of State and Spokesman Top Sopheak said the number of international tourists to the

Angkor has gradually recovered after the country has successfully controlled the Covid-19 pandemic and fully reopened its borders.

“Currently, the Angkor attracts between 1,800 and 2,000 foreign visitors per day, a significant rise from only 70 a day during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021,” he told Xinhua new agency.

Wednesday.

The disasters caused economic losses of some 19.5 trillion dong ($825 million) last year, Xinhua news agency quoted Vietnam News as saying.

The human and economic losses were 1.6 times and 3.4 times the figures in 2021, respectively.

Located in northwest Siem Reap province, the 401-squarekm Angkor Archaeological Park, inscribed on the World Heritage List of the UNESCO in 1992, is the most popular tourist destination in the Southeast Asian nation.

During the pre-pandemic era, the Angkor received up to 2.2 million international visitors in 2019, generating $99 million in revenue from ticket sales, according to the Angkor Enterprise.

In 2022, roughly 2.6 million foreign visitors to Vietnam were from Asia, hiking 19.5 times compared to 2021.

The number of tourists from Europe, the Americas and Oceania also saw surges of 31.8 times, 67.6 times and 125.2 times, respectively, from the previous

year.

Vietnam received a record number of over 18 million international arrivals in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic broke out.

In 2020 and 2021, the number of international arrivals to Vietnam plunged 78.7 per cent and 95.9 per cent year on year respectively.

The country targeted serving over 8 million overseas tourists in 2023, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

RCEP takes effect for Indonesia, new trade regulations in place

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan said to reduce risks and damage, authorities should develop appropriate strategies and warning maps, perform forest protection, and control investment in construction projects for climate change.

Hanoi, Jan 4 (IANS) A total of 1,057 natural disasters hit Vietnam in 2022, leaving 175 dead and missing, local media cited the disaster management authorities as saying on

The country was forecast to have fewer storms and tropical depressions in 2023 than in previous years, according to the Vietnam Meteorological and Hydrological Administration.

To improve forecasting, the hydro-meteorological sector has extended the time limit for weather forecasting and warning for natural disasters to 10 days, he said.

Singapore’s GDP growth slows down to 3.8%

largely from data in the first two months of the quarter, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Ministry said that based on advance estimates, Singapore’s GDP grew by 2.2 per cent year on year in the fourth quarter of 2022, moderating from the 4.2 per cent growth in the previous quarter.

whole year.

The construction sector grew by 10.4 per cent year on year in the fourth quarter and 6.5 per cent in the year.

The services producing industries expanded by 4.1 per cent year on year in the quarter and 5 per cent in the year.

Jakarta, Jan 3 (IANS) The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement has come into effect for Indonesia, with the country putting new regulations in place for its trade with other members of the world’s largest free trade deal in terms of population and the size of economy and trade.

So far, the free trade pact has taken effect for 14 of the 15 members of the RCEP, which comprises 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and their five trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, reports Xinhua news agency.

The RCEP entered into force on January 1, 2022.

Singapore, Jan 3 (IANS)

Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry announced on Tuesday that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 3.8 per cent in 2022, compared to the 7.6 per cent growth in 2021. This annual growth rate was calculated with advance GDP estimates for the fourth quarter of 2022, which are computed

On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted basis, the economy expanded by 0.2 per cent, extending the 1.1 per cent expansion in the third quarter.

In a breakdown, Singapore’s manufacturing sector shrank by 3 per cent year on year in the fourth quarter of 2022 and expanded by 2.6 per cent in the

The Ministry said that the advance GDP estimates are intended as an early indication of the GDP growth in the fourth quarter, and are subject to revision when more comprehensive data become available.

It added that it will release the preliminary GDP estimates for the fourth quarter and whole of 2022 in February.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Indonesia’s new regulations on origin of goods and issuing documents of origin for goods exported from it have been in place starting from Monday, as part of implementing the RCEP agreement.

Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan said that the new regulations

specify the procedure of obtaining certificates of origin for goods exported from the Southeast Asian country.

The business sectors in Indonesia can also choose between the two types of document, a certificate of origin and a declaration of origin to claim “preferential rates.”

Both documents can be issued independently.

“This new rule is in line with a trade commitment facilitated by the RCEP,” Hasan said. “Business sectors will be benefited by this measure as the RCEP scheme will make the flow of exported goods in the region become smoother.”

Over the past year, the free trade agreement has helped lower the cost of trade, facilitated the integration of industrial chains, and benefited consumers in the region.

“The agreement is also expected to boost competitiveness and global production networks, promote regional supply chains by increasing export market access for goods and services, reduce or remove trade barriers, and increase technology transfer in the region,” Hasan said.

Indian-origin woman convicted of abusing domestic help in Singapore

1,057 natural disasters leave 175 dead, missing in Vietnam in 2022

Cambodia’s famed Angkor welcomes 287,454 int’l tourists in 2022

Israeli minister’s visit to Jerusalem holy site triggers furious backlash

Israel immediately stop all such violations.

“Storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by an Israeli minister and violating the mosque’s sacredness is a condemned and provocative action and represents a stark violation of international law, as well as of the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its holy sites,” Jordan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Sinan Majali said in a statement.

international principles and norms regarding respecting religious sanctities”.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) also strongly condemned Ben-Gvir’s “storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque,” urging Israel to “halt serious and provocative violations” at the holy site, said the UAE foreign ministry in a statement. The UAE signed a normalization deal with Israel in 2020.

Cairo/Jerusalem, Jan 4 (IANS)

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir made a ‘controversial’ visit to the flashpoint holy site of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem, triggering a furious backlash from the Muslim world in the Middle East.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesman of the Palestinian presidency, slammed Ben-Gvir’s visit to Al-Aqsa on Tuesday, the first by an Israeli minister in nearly five years, as “a challenge to the Palestinian people, the Arab nation, and the international community”, Xinhua news agency reported.

“The Israeli authorities’ attempts to change the existing historical and legal reality in Al-Aqsa by perpetuating its temporal division by dividing it spatially are rejected and doomed to failure,”

he said, warning that Jerusalem and its holy sites are “a red line that cannot be crossed”.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye told the weekly cabinet of the Palestinian Authority that Ben-Gvir’s storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the third holiest site in Islam, constitutes a “serious challenge to the feelings of the Palestinian people”.

Hazem Qassem, a spokesman of the Gaza Strip’s ruling faction Hamas, condemned in a statement the Israeli minister’s visit as “a continuation of the Zionist’s occupation aggression,” vowing that the Palestinian people “will continue defending their holy places and Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

Jordan summoned the Israeli ambassador in Amman and delivered a strongly worded protest message demanding

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry expressed its regret over Ben-Gvir’s visit to the Al-Aqsa compound, stressing its total rejection of “any unilateral measures that violate the legal and historical status quo in Jerusalem”.

In Lebanon, the foreign ministry condemned Ben-Gvir’s visit as a “serious violation of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque”, which “indicates the direction of the extremist policies the Israeli government has adopted toward the Palestinian people and their rights and sanctities”.

Voices of strong condemnation were also heard from the Gulf states against the new Israeli minister’s visit to the holy site in Jerusalem.

Condemning the “provocative action” by Ben-Gvir, the Saudi foreign ministry said the Israeli practices “undermine the international peace efforts and

Israel builds 4.6-km wall around Gaza Strip

constructed as part of the project, according to the Ministry.

“The project will enable the residents to live a normal life during a security escalation,” Elad Cohen, the project manager at Netivei Israel, a government-owned roads company that builds parts of the wall, was quoted as saying in the statement.

Qatar and Oman both denounced the far-right Israeli minister’s visit as a violation of international laws and all Muslims, according to separate statements issued by the foreign ministries of the two Gulf countries.

Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Ministry blasted Ben-Gvir’s visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound as “sacrilege” of the holy site and a violation of international law.

Such “sacrilegious acts” amount to an affront to the values and sanctities of the world’s Muslims, the ministry’s spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in a statement published on the ministry’s website, warning against the “adventurist and provocative” actions of the new hardline Israeli government.

Turkey, which restored its full diplomatic ties with Israel in 2022 after years of tensions, also denounced Ben-Gvir’s

in Mideast

“provocative visit”, said the Turkish Foreign Ministry. It urged Israel to “act responsibly to prevent such provocations that will violate the status and sanctity of holy places in Jerusalem and escalate the tension in the region”.

Responding to the outcry, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the longest-serving Israeli leader that just returned to power after winning the November parliamentary election last year, affirmed in a statement issued by his office his commitment to “strictly maintaining the status quo” at the Al-Aqsa compound, adding that visits by ministers to the site are not considered “a change in the status quo”.

Ben-Gvir, known as an ultra-nationalist, was sworn in as Israel’s national security minister last week, as Netanyahu’s new extreme-right coalition government took office.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Jews as the most sacred site, is regarded by Muslims as their third holiest site.

The holy site has been administered by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, a Jordanian body, since 1948. Under a 1967 agreement between Israel and Jordan, non-Muslim worshippers can visit the compound but are prohibited from praying there.

Turkey raises salaries of civil servants, pensions by 25%

Ankara, Jan 4 (IANS) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the government will introduce a 25-per cent rise in the salaries of civil servants and pensions to ease the burden of rising living costs.

Tel Aviv, Jan 6 (IANS) Israel has started building a 4.6-km-long wall around the Gaza Strip to protect Israeli communities in its vicinity from fire from the coastal Palestinian enclave, the Defence Ministry here said.

“Work has begun on a security corridor project adjacent to the Gaza Strip, with the aim

of concealing roads to allow residents to drive around safely in times of emergency without fear of counterfire from the Gaza Strip,” Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry as saying in a statement on Thursday.

The wall is being built along two highways near Gaza.

Bicycle lanes will also be

The Ministry estimates that the wall will be completed by the summer of 2023.

Israel has already built on-ground and underground barriers to prevent Palestinians in Gaza from entering the Jewish state.

However, during clashes, militants in Gaza often fire rockets and gunfire at Israel’s southern communities.

The wage and pension increase was in line with the year-end inflation rate, said Erdogan, emphasising that the inflation will continue to fall in 2023, reports Xinhua news agency.

Inflation in Turkey hit nearly 85.5 per cent, a 24-year high, in October 2022 after rising for 17 months, before dropping slightly in November to 84.39.

The government recently hiked the minimum wage and eliminated a retirement age requirement that would allow more than 2 million Turkish

workers to retire immediately. The moves came as Erdogan prepares to run for the presidential and parliament elections in less than six months.

The government aims to win the support of Turkish citizens who are struggling with high inflation, stagnant wages, and declining purchasing power.

Libyan PM vows to preserve unity, avoid war

Tripoli, Jan 4 (IANS) Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamed Dbeibah has vowed that his government will strive to preserve the country’s unity and avoid war or armed conflict.

Dbeibah made his remarks during a graduation ceremony for 306 police officers from the police academy in the western town of Aziziya, which is located some 46 km south of the capital Tripoli, reports Xinhua news agency.

“We work together to protect Libya, its unity and we reject any return to war,” Dbeibah said in a speech during the celebration.

Acting Interior Minister Emad al-Tarabelsi vowed to make more efforts to develop the interior ministry and impose security in all of Libya.

“I would like to assure all the Libyans that the Interior Ministry, under the instructions from the Prime Minister, will be subject to great development in

all of Libya,” al-Tarabelsi said in a speech at the celebration. He also said the Ministry would secure all the development projects the government will implement this year in Libya.

Because of the state of political division and chaos in Libya since the fall of late dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011, authorities have been struggling to impose security in the country, as many armed groups operate independently.

Damascus, Jan 3 (IANS) Amid a worsening economic situation, the Central Bank of Syria has lowered the official Syrian pound’s exchange rate against the US dollar for the second time since September 2022, reflecting a loss of about 50 per cent. According to the bank’s bulletin on Monday, the official exchange

rate dropped to 4,522 Syrian pounds against 1 USD from the previous 3,015, reports Xinhua news agency.

Analysts believe the central bank’s move aims at controlling the transactions from abroad and keeping the exchange process within banks instead of the black market.

Monday’s devaluation was the second in less than four months after the Central Bank weakened the national currency from 2,814 pounds to 3,015 pounds against the dollar in September.

The latest decision came as the Syrian currency has continued to crash in the war-torn country, plunging more Syrians into poverty.

Syria has been wracked by civil war since early 2011 when Bashar Assad’s regime cracked down on pro-democracy demonstrators.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and over 10 million displaced, according to estimates from the UN.

Meanwhile, the currency has been hit hard by war, corruption, Western sanctions and financial and economic collapse in neighbouring Lebanon.

Aden, Jan 4 (IANS) Intense armed confrontation renewed between Yemeni government forces and the Houthi rebels in the southwestern province of Taiz, a military official has confirmed.

“The Houthis launched a large attack against the government-controlled sites in the eastern part of Taiz, sparking heavy fighting in the area,” the official told Xinhua news agency on Tuesday.

However, the government forces backed by local tribal fighters managed to repulse the Houthi attack following hours of heavy fighting, he added.

Medical sources confirmed to Xinhua that the fresh fighting left at least five people killed and several others injured from both warring sides in Taiz.

During the past days, local officials said Yemen’s warring

parties are gearing up for new waves of conflict in 2023 amid lack of decisive steps toward sustainable peace.

Various regions in Yemen have witnessed sporadic armed confrontations between the local warring factions, after a ceasefire brokered by the UN in April 2022 expired in October.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Houthi militia stormed several northern cities and forced the government out of the capital Sanaa.

Erdogan says he may meet Syrian President for peace

Ankara, Jan 6 (IANS) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he might meet his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad as part of the new normalisation process between the two nations.

“We will bring our Foreign Ministers together and then, depending on developments, we will come together as leaders,” Erdogan said at a party meeting on Thursday.

“Our objective is to ensure peace and tranquility in the region, and to let peace prevail in the region,” he added.

On December 28, 2022, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar and Head of the National Intelligence Organization Hakan Fidan met their Syrian counterparts Ali Mahmoud Abbas and Ali Mamlouk, respectively, in Moscow.

This was the first high-level contact between Ankara and Damascus since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011.

The leaders of the two countries have not met each other since the outbreak of the war.

The Syrian conflict, which has been going on for almost 12 years, has killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions and drawn in regional and world powers.

Turkey has backed and hosted Syria’s opposition in the country since the beginning of the conflict, while Russia has politically and militarily supported the Syrian government.

Yemen’s govt forces repulse Houthi attack in Taiz: Official

By Vishnu Makhijani

New Delhi, Jan 5 (IANS) As a child, Kanav Agnihotri, who has a penchant for inventing various fictional characters in a unique style, was always attracted to the magical world of nature and strongly believed if you take care of nature, nature will take care of you.

“I kept reading books on environment, climate change, marine pollution, but I felt that if I can create a super powerful hero who talks about this subject in the most creative way then it might attract children and in the process they might start reading more on our environment and try to be the future climate leaders of our planet,” Agnihotri, the author of graphic novel “The Adventures of Super Sharkaru -- The Shark That Flies” told IANS in an interview.

Covid-19 made everyone sit at home and his previous business just went down the drain, so while sitting at home created a super powerful marine hero, a shark, and named it ‘Super Sharkaru -- The Shark that Flies’, did the voiceover’s, direction etc. and posted the video on his YouTube channel Kantell Stories.

“I am not a professional moviemaker or voiceover artist, but my work started getting views and subscribers and today my channel has approximately 10,400 subscribers mainly from India. The videos on the channel helped me indirectly in writing the story for the graphic novel,” Agnihotri said.

He always wanted to be in a purposeful driven business so he formed Kantell Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. on May 23, 2022, a company which will creatively talk on climate change, marine pollution to start with. He launched his plush hand puppet sharks as well on www.kantell. com, all made in India.

The novel is about a young shark prince who gets unimaginable

powers to fight against marine pollution. The villains are polluting the oceans with plastic and chemical waste that harms marine life. They are also unraveling the secrets of the oceans and exploiting all their resources for their selfish needs.

Welcome to Sharkaru Island, a magical place where the Sharkaru race lives. God-fearing, peaceful and brave, they are the protectors of the island. King Sharkaru rules it and his clan includes his beloved wife, Queen Light Sharkaru, and two adorable children, Prince Sharkaru, his alter ego Super Sharkaru who gets transformed after receiving the magical energy from the Sharkaru Lake, and Princess Sharkaru.

The novel is about Super Sharkaru and his allies stopping the negative forces from destroying the oceans.

Speaking about the novel’s journey from conception to completion, Agnihotri added once his channel picked up, it gave him more confidence to launch the book budget was a big issue.

“So I smartly used my surroundings for backgrounds to get the book ready and used services of a designer to get my vision executed. The journey was very difficult as when you enter a business where you have zero knowledge, you end up trusting any one, which I did, and burnt my fingers, made mistakes and suffered loss of time and money.”

“At one stage the project reached ground zero, but I did not give up as I knew that my vision of creating these super powerful heroes and villains along with the storyline on marine pollution will get its due recognition and I started again this year from scratch and finally launched my graphic novel ,” Agnihotri said.

“A friend of mine supported as he had his own design studio, as they say god helps those,

who help themselves,” he said, adding: “Reading now is not a social reel, so I deliberately went for a graphic novel as I felt that children will try to read a book with pictures, and that was the first feedback I received from a parent that his daughter is trying to read along with colourful photographs.”

“Super Sharkaru is cute yet powerful shark and children have connected with him, his mother is a powerful leader, he also has a human friend. There are many other exciting fictional characters, along with dangerous villains in the graphic novel,” Agnihotri elaborated.

“I have formed these brands from my room, with no professional studio, no team, done everything alone from ideation to execution filled with passion, practical ambition and self belief.

Marine pollution is the current subject where all the fictional characters have been introduced. I have all the IP, trademarks and respective copyrights,” he said. Speaking about his company, Kantell Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, Agnihotri said its vision “is to educate through creative entertainment, children on problems faced by our planet, by creating a fictional fantasy world of super powerful heroes and villains. Also positioning India in this process as a strong content creator of fictional fantasy heroes and villains thought and Made in India”.

“We will reach schools, teachers, parents, educational institutes to educate them on the planet crisis through creative storytelling so that the message is passed in the most creative way without compromising on the problem/ main issue.”

“I always say change is good, but not for the climate,” Agnihotri concluded.

(Vishnu Makhijani can be reached at vishnu.makhijani@ ians.in)

2 out of 3 glaciers could be lost by 2100: Study

San Francisco, Jan 6 (IANS) By 2100, two out of three glaciers could be lost, that is, the world could lose 41 per cent of its total glacier mass this century -- or as little as 26 per cent -- based on today’s climate change mitigation efforts, a new study has shown.

David Rounce, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the US-based Carnegie Mellon University, led an international effort to produce new projections of glacier mass loss through the century under different emissions scenarios.

According to a study by Carnegie Mellon University, Rounce and his team found that in a future scenario with continued investment in fossil fuels, over 40 per cent of the glacial mass will be gone within the century, and over 80 per cent of glaciers by number could well disappear. These glaciers are usually small (less than one km) by glacial standards, but their loss can negatively affect the hydrology in local areas, tourism, glacier hazards, and cultural values. A temperature rise of more than 2 degrees Celcius will

disproportionately affect glaciers in smaller glacier regions such as Central Europe, Western Canada, and the US, and at a rise of 3 degrees Celcius, glaciers in these regions will almost disappear completely, said the study.

Rounce noted that the way in which glaciers respond to changes in climate takes a long time. He further describes the glaciers as extremely slow-moving rivers. Changing emissions in the present won’t eliminate previously emitted greenhouse gases, nor will it stop inertia that contributes to climate change, so even if emissions are completely stopped today, glacier mass loss is still expected to take between 30 and 100 years to reverse, the study added.

Surge in respiratory illness: No restrictive measures needed for passengers to Seychelles

ictoria, Jan 8 (IANS) The Seychelles has decided not to introduce restrictive measures or requirements for incoming passengers from any country, including China, in spite of a surge in respiratory illnesses globally, especially in the northern hemisphere.

The decision is based on an analysis of a series of factors including the Seychelles’s vaccination status, community immunity and rate of infection, Public Health Commissioner Jude Gedeon told a press

conference on Friday, Xinhua News Agency reported.

However, Gedeon noted, the government will be monitoring the global situation including the variants and sub-variants currently circulating in the country.

He urged the public to remain vigilant and to continue taking personal responsibility so as to prevent respiratory infection, suggesting that people still wear a face mask especially in enclosed spaces even though face masks are not mandatory.

Bangladesh declared free from toxic DDT pesticide

Dhaka, Jan 9 (IANS)

Bangladesh has been declared free from dangerous Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane pesticide, commonly known as DDT pesticide.

Bangladeshi Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister, Md. Shahab Uddin made the announcement at a press conference on Sunday.

The press briefing came after Bangladesh’s successful removal of 500 tons of DDT from a medical sub-depot in Chattogram city, nearly 242 km southeast of the capital Dhaka, in December 2022.

According to the World Health Organisation, DDT is a persistent organic pollutant (POP), a chemical that can have significant negative effects on both human

health and the environment, Xinhua news agency reported.

Bangladesh imported 500 metric tons (500,000 kg) of the pesticide in 1985 to control malaria-carrying mosquitos. Upon arrival, it was put into a government compound in the Agrabad district in Chattogram city. Over the years, many of the boxes and bags have disintegrated, leaving exposed piles of the white DDT powder.

In 1991, Bangladesh imposed a DDT ban, but the huge consignment remained.

Under a project titled “Pesticide Risk Reduction in Bangladesh,” the toxic substance was completely exported to France for incineration, according to the Ministry.

‘If you take care of nature, nature will take care of you’

Adelaide International 1: Djokovic downs Shapovalov, sets semis showdown with Medvedev

break point of his own to move 5-3 ahead before serving out for the set.

The top seed’s combination of tireless defence and penetrating attack appeared to have ground Shapovalov down after he broke for 2-1 in the second, but the Canadian hit back with some sharp returning to level at 3-3.

The World No. 18 could not hold off Djokovic in a marathon ninth game, however, and the Serbian’s third break of the match proved a decisive one.

ILT20 franchises squads locked-in, prepared for inaugural edition

Adelaide, Jan 6 (IANS) Topseeded Novak Djokovic overcame the staunch resistance from Denis Shapovalov to reach the semi-final of the Adelaide International 1 with a 6-3, 6-4 quarter-final victory, here on Friday.

An entertaining one-hour, 55-minute matchup provided rich entertainment for a vocal Adelaide crowd, which was treated to some ferocious baseline exchanges as Shapovalov went toe-to-toe with the 91-time tour-level titleist Djokovic. However, the Serbian was more clinical at key moments and three breaks of serve across the two sets were enough for him to complete his 21st victory in his past 22 tour-level matches and set a blockbuster semi-final clash with third seed Daniil Medvedev. “I actually think that the scoreline maybe doesn’t speak enough today about the matchup. It was very close. One break of serve

in the first set, which went very long in terms of time. He had break points, he had chances,” said Djokovic in his post-match press conference.

“Early on he was a better player. He was dictating. Then, you know, I started finding my serve and my groove on the court� I just made him play. Just made him play. I felt maybe he’s a bit nervous. That’s what happens, the change of momentum happens very quickly on this level,” he added.

Djokovic entered the quarter-final clash with a 7-0 ATP Head to Head record against the 23-year-old Shapovalov, but the Serbian faced three break points in an intriguing first set during which the Canadian’s big groundstrokes kept him under pressure.

Shapovalov was left to rue not converting those chances, however, as the top-seeded Serbian made no mistake with a

It represented another impressive win for Djokovic in a city where he lifted the title at a previously held ATP Tour event in 2007. The 35-year-old will be feeling confident as he prepares to take on Medvedev in a heavyweight early-season clash. The Serbian leads 8-4 lead in his ATP Head to Head series with the World No. 7, with his tally including victory in a marathon three-set battle at November’s ATP Finals.

“Hopefully it will be another long night. I don’t think there’s going to be too many short points tomorrow unless we both serve well. Normally when you play Daniil, you have to be ready to go the distance, physically, mentally, game-wise,” said Djokovic of his clash with Medvedev.

“He’s definitely one of the best players in the world for the past five years. He’s established himself as a Grand Slam winner and a No. 1 in the world, so he’s someone I respect a lot. We had some amazing battles over the years and I’m hoping for another good battle tomorrow,” he added.

25th Arabian Gulf football championship kicks off in Iraq

Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Oman, while the second group includes the soccer teams of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Qatar hosted the 24th edition of the tournament in 2019, which was suspended thereafter due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tournament, founded in 1970, returned to Iraq for the first time after the Iraqi capital Baghdad hosted its 5th edition in 1979.

Dubai, Jan 7 (IANS) The cricket festival is all set to hit the United Arab Emirates in just six days’ time as the DP World International League T20 will kick off on January 13 at the Dubai International Stadium.

The power hitter Andre Russell, the wily leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, the dashing Dwayne Bravo, the seasoned Robin Uthappa, the fearsome striker Chris Lynn, and the experienced Moeen Ali are in readiness to mesmerise the cricket fans during the month-long competition.

A total of six franchises which include Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, Desert Vipers, Dubai Capitals, Gulf Giants, MI Emirates and Sharjah Warriors will be battling it out, to lift the magnificent competition trophy, from January 13 to February 12 across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.

And all six franchises have now finalised their squads for one of the most exciting cricket leagues in the world.

The Abu Dhabi Knight Riders squad includes Sunil Narine (captain), Andre Russell, Connor Esterhuizen, Lahiru Kumara, Charith Asalanka, Colin Ingram, Akeal Hosein, Paul Stirling, Zawar Fareed, Kennar Lewis, Sabir Ali, Ali Khan, Brandon Glover, Ravi Rampaul, Raymon Reifer, Fahad Nawaz, Mathi Ulla, Dananjaya De Silva, Marchant De Lange and Traveen Mathew.

Jash Gianyani, Niroshan Dickwella, Fred Klaassen, George Munsey, Hazrat Khan, Raja Akif Ullah Khan, Joe Root, Robin Uthappa, Ravi Bopara, Yusuf Pathan and Ollie White are part of the Dubai Capitals set-up. Gulf Giants includes Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Jordan, James Vince (captain), Chris Lynn, Dominic Drakes, Jamie Overton, Liam Andrew Dawson, Ollie Pope, Ashwant Valthapa, CP Rizwan, Sanchit Sharma, Ayan Khan, Qais Ahmed, Richard Gleeson, David Wiese, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Banton, Tom Helm and Gerhard Erasmus.

Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard (captain), Trent Boult, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Nicholas Pooran, Imran Tahir, Will Smeed, Jordan Thompson, Zahir Khan Pakten, Muhammad Waseem, Samit Patel, Zahoor Khan, Bradley Wheal, Bas de Leede, Andre Fletcher, Najibullah Zadran, Vriitya Aravind, Basil Hameed, Craig Overton, Tom Lamonby, Lorcan Tucker, Daniel Mouseley and McKenny Clarke form MI Emirates squad.

Baghdad, Jan 7 (IANS) The 25th Arabian Gulf Cup 2023 kicked off in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Friday announced at the opening ceremony the start of the Gulf championship, saying the

ceremony bears connotations of “fraternity between the Gulf Arab brothers”, reports Xinhua news agency.

The opening match between Iraq and Oman ended in a draw without goals after the opening ceremony. The Iraqi national team is in Group A alongside

Iraq hopes the ongoing Gulf Cup will be an opportunity to show the country’s return to regional activities.

Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, FIFA President Gianni Infantino and heads of football federations in the Gulf countries participated in the ceremony.

While the Desert Vipers squad includes Wanindu Hasaranga, Alex Hales, Tom Curran, Sam Billings, Colin Munro (captain), Tymal Mills, Matheesh Pathirana, Sherfane Rutherford, Rohan Mustafa, Shiraz Ahmed, Sheldon Cottrell, Ali Naseer, Adam Lyth, Dinesh Chandimal, Benny Howell, Mark Watt, Ruben Trumpelmann, Ronak Panoly, Jake Lintott and Gus Atkinson. Meanwhile, Rovman Powell (captain), Dasun Shanaka, Fabian Allen, Mujeeb Rahman, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Chamika Karunaratne, Isuru Udana, Sikandar Raza, Hazratullah Zazai, Chirag Suri, Daniel Lawrence,

While the Sharjah Warriors’ squad includes Moeen Ali (captain), Evin Lewis, Chris Woakes, Mohammed Nabi, Dawid Malan, Marcus Stoinis, Chris Benjamin, Joe Denly, Rahmanullah Gurbaaz, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Karthik Meiyyappan, Naveen-ul-Haq Murid, Muhammad Junaid, Noor Ahmed, Khan Bilal, Mark Deyal, Alishan Sharafu, Muhammad Jawad Ullah and Jamal Todd.

Dubai Capitals will take on Abu Dhabi Knight Riders in what is anticipated to be a mouth-watering opening match, launching the inaugural edition of the DP World ILT20, following a glitzy opening ceremony which will see superstar Badshah and megastar Jason Derulo wow the fans at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday, 13 January 2023.

The league will be played in a 34-match format across the UAE’s exemplary, world-class cricket facilities in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

Adelaide International 1: Medvedev downs Khachanov to soar into semifinal

“It’s been a long time.We haven’t played since 2019, that’s pretty long. Hopefully, we can play more matches at later stages of tournaments. It’s never easy, I’m happy that I managed to really raise my level, especially at the end of both sets, and I’m really happy to be through to the semis,” said Medvedev in his on-court interview.

Medvedev and Khachanov last met in Montreal three-and-ahalf years ago.

Adelaide, Jan 6 (IANS) After making an impressive start to the 2023 season, Daniil Medvedev continued his fine form as he recorded a commanding victory over the World No. 7 Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-3 on Friday to reach the semifinals of the Adelaide International 1, here. Medvedev will face either Serbian Djokovic or seventh-seed Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the semifinals.

After saving two break points from 15/40 in his opening service game, Medvedev reeled off four games in a row from 2-3 to claim

the first set and did not panic when broken early in the second. He took five straight games to clinch a comfortable 78-minute victory over his compatriot. Medvedev is yet to drop a set this week in Adelaide, where he moved past Lorenzo Sonego and Miomir Kecmanovic in his opening two rounds. Fourteen of his 15 tour-level titles have come on hard courts, and he will hope to move one step closer to lifting another trophy on the surface when he takes on top seed Novak Djokovic or seventh seed Denis Shapovalov in the semifinals.

When asked about his potential semi final opponents -- Djokovic or Shapovalov -- he said: “I think one of them has a lot of titles and quite likes to play in Australia! I think he didn’t lose for a long time here, but I’m going to watch their match.

You never know what is going to happen. Denis is such a strong player, and even if he didn’t manage to beat Novak yet, this moment is going to come one day, because he is such a strong player.”

Carlos Alcaraz withdraws from 2023 Australian Open

last year became the youngest player to finish year-end No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, would have held the top seed at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career.

Alcaraz tweeted: “When I was at my best in preseason, I picked up an injury through a chance, unnatural movement in training. This time it’s the semimembranosus muscle in my right leg.”

“I’d worked so hard to get to my best level for Australia but unfortunately I won’t be able to play the Care A2+ Kooyong or the Australian Open. It’s tough, but I have to be optimistic, recover and look forward. See you in 2024 @AustralianOpen.”

having an opportunity to rise to top spot the Monday after the Australian Open.

Despite his breakout season, Alcaraz had a frustrating end to 2022, being forced to withdraw from the quarter-finals of the Rolex Paris Masters with an internal oblique muscle tear that also sidelined him at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

Sydney, Jan 5 (IANS) After the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) unveiled Belinda Clarks sculpture, the first of its kind for a womens cricketer in the world, the former Australian skipper said she wants the statue to be a reminder of one achieving anything if they can put their mind to a particular task.

Belinda’s sculpture has been installed at the entrance to the SCG’s Walk of Honour and was revealed for the first time ahead of Day Two of the third Test between Australia and South Africa on Thursday.

“I’m excited to have the sculpture in place and for people to now look at it and perhaps wonder what that is, who that is and to be able to tell a bit of a story is really important. The sculpture encapsulates being able to have a go-to be courageous, to take on those challenges and break convention.”

Belinda Clark

Madrid, Spain, Jan 7 (IANS)

World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz has withdrawn from the Australian Open due to a right leg injury.

The 19-year-old Spaniard, who

The withdrawal imperils Alcaraz’s hold on World No. 1, with Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic all

On September 12, Alcaraz became the youngest World No. 1 in the history of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. He finished 2022 with a 57-13 record and five tour-level titles, including his first two ATP Masters 1000 victories (Miami and Madrid) and his first Grand Slam trophy at the US Open.

Last year Alcaraz lost 7-6 in the fifth set to Matteo Berrettini in the third round of the Open.

“I want people to take away that you can do anything you want if you put your mind to it and you have good people around you, and I think I’ve been very fortunate to have had great support and have a bit of an imagination to take my game where I wanted to take it, and hopefully the sport is in a better place for it,” she said after the unveiling of her sculpture.

Belinda compiled a formidable record for Australia as a captain

and batter. She scored 919 Test runs at an average of 45.95 including two centuries in 15 Tests. She also amassed 4844 ODI runs from 118 matches, averaging 47.49.

She holds the record to smash the first double century in Women’s ODI cricket, by hitting a scintillating 229 runs off 155 balls against Denmark at Mumbai in 1997.

Belinda captained Australia for 12 years and in 101 games; taking them to victories in the 1997 and 2005 ODI World Cups. After her playing days ended, she was inducted into the Australian and the ICC Cricket Halls of Fame. Former Australia cricketer Rachael Haynes remarked on SEN Test Cricket show that seeing Belinda’s statue could inspire countless girls and women to take up the sport.

“It’s really special as a player to walk into the ground like this, or even a fan� and the first thing when you walk through gate A of the members is Belinda. And that’s pretty special, that wasn’t the case as a young girl growing up.”

Belinda’s statue is the 15th of its kind at the SCG and joins fellow women athletes Betty Cuthbert and Marlene Matthews, the former sprinting duo who are at the front of Allianz Stadium next door.

You can do anything you want if you put your mind to it:

‘Stranger Things’ star Noah Schnapp comes out

participation.”

as gay

In his July interview with Variety, Schnapp said that he wasn’t entirely sure what ‘Stranger Things’ creators Matt and Ross Duffer had in mind for Will, and once he did, he didn’t want to spoil the way the show revealed the character’s journey in Season 4.

“I think it is done so beautifully, because it’s so easy to make a character just like all of a sudden be gay,” Schnapp said.

“People have come up to me - I was just in Paris and this, like, 40-year-old man came up to me and he was like, ‘Wow, this Will character made me feel so good. And I related to it so much. That is exactly who I was when I was a kid - That just made me so happy to hear. They are writing this real character and this real journey and real struggle and they’re doing it so well.”

Actor Noah Schnapp, who plays the closeted gay teenager Will Byers on Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’, has come out as gay.

In a video posted to his TikTok account on Thursday, the 18-year-old actor wrote: “When I finally told my friends and family I was gay after being scared in the closet for 18 years and all they said was ‘we know’”.

Over Schnapp lip-syncing to an audio clip from a different TikTok of someone saying, “You know what it never was? That serious. It was never that serious. Quite frankly, will never be that serious,” reports Variety.

In the caption to his TikTok video, Schnapp wrote: “I guess I’m more similar to Will than I thought.”

In July, following the debut of the final two episodes of the fourth season of ‘Stranger Things’, Schnapp confirmed to Variety for the first time that Will Byers is gay and in love with his best friend Mike.

“It was always kind of there, but you never really knew, is it just him growing up slower than his friends?” Schnapp said.

“Now that he’s gotten older, they made it a very real, obvious thing. Now it’s 100 per cent clear that he is gay and he does love Mike.”

Will’s sexuality had been an open question since the first episode of ‘Stranger Things’, but Schnapp had always deflected questions about the character’s identity, noting instead that the character was still “up to the audience’s

When Variety asked Schnapp about how he navigated the attention on Will’s sexuality while he was also still figuring himself out, the actor pointed to all the tribulations the character has faced over the course of the series.

“I think it’s all just part of the challenge of acting,” he said.

“This isn’t just a single layer thing of he’s struggling with coming out. It’s this multifaceted trauma that goes years back, because he was taken by the Demogorgon and then his friends, they never acknowledged him, and now he’s scared to come out and doesn’t know if they’ll accept him.”

Netflix and the Duffers have announced that Season 5 of ‘Stranger Things’ will conclude the show, but there is no confirmation yet when production will begin on the season, let alone when it would debut.

The cast also includes Zoe Saldana, Jill Wagner, Dave Annable, LaMonica Garrett, James Jordan, Austin Hebert, Hannah Love Lanier, Stephanie Nur, and Jonah Wharton. Kidman will play Kaitlyn Meade, described as “the CIA’s Senior Supervisor who has had a long career of playing the politics game. She must juggle the trappings of being a woman in the high-ranking intelligence community, a wife that longs for the attention she herself can’t even give and a mentor to someone veering suspiciously close to the same rocky road she’s found herself on.”

While Kidman is primarily known for her critically-acclaimed film roles, she has become increasingly active and in-demand in the television space in recent years. Most famously, she starred in and executive produced the hit drama ‘Big Little Lies’, for which she won both the Emmy and Golden Globe for best actress in a limited series.

is sharing

After a couple of fashion mishaps turned into a moment of realisation on Sunday, the pregnant mother of three, 35, posted an image of herself wearing an open dress to reveal her baby bump underneath in a long skirt, reports People.

“When the back of your skirt won’t zip and the front of your dress won’t button, wear both,” Lively wrote. “Who says two wrongs don’t make a right??”

In the photo, Lively rocked a black dress with white polka dots, layered over a black skirt, each serving a necessary

function. With a smile on her face and a necklace of pearls to complete the ensemble, Lively seems to be making her own style rules for baby No. 4 with Ryan Reynolds.

The actress revealed in September that she and Reynolds, 46, are expecting their fourth child when she debuted her baby bump at the 10th Annual Forbes Power Women’s Summit. The couple, who tied the knot in 2012, also share daughters James, 8, Inez, 6, and Betty, 3.

In November, Reynolds said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that their daughters are “ready” for having a new sibling.

The move brings Kidman in front of the camera on the show, as she has been attached as an executive producer since ‘Lioness’ was originally announced, reports Variety.

‘Lioness’ is based on a real-life CIA programme. As per the official series description, it follows that “Cruz Manuelos, a rough-around-the-edges but passionate young Marine recruited to join the CIA’s Lioness Engagement Team to help bring down a terrorist organisation from within.”

She has since starred in shows like ‘The Undoing’ at HBO and ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ at Hulu. She also received an Emmy nod in 2012 for her role in the HBO film ‘Hemingway & Gellhorn’. In film, Kidman won the Oscar, BAFTA, and Golden Globe for her work in ‘The Hours’. She has been nominated for Oscars for films like ‘Moulin Rouge’, ‘Rabbit Hole’, ‘Lion’, and ‘Being the Ricardos’.

With 32 critics’ and industry prizes handed out thus far, and Oscar nomination voting now less than 10 days away, ‘RRR’ is definitely in the reckoning on a slate of hopefuls where Steven Spielberg is one of the leading contenders with his semi-autobiographical ‘The Fabelmans’ and Cate Blanchett is locked in a riveting battle of nerves with Michelle Yeoh.

And the awards season is very much around, with the Palm Springs Film Festival kicking off later this week and the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards on their way to marking their first televised ceremonies of the season.

To find out who stands where, we turned to ‘Variety’, which has been tracking where the awards have gone so far. S.S. Rajamouli’s ‘RRR’, starring Ram Charan and Jr NTR, has won the most awards for Best International Feature (nine, compared with seven for the Korean ‘Decision to Leave’, which won for Park Chan-wook the Cannes 2022 Best Director award) and Best Original Score (by M.M. Keeravani, a.k.a. M.M. Kreem to Hindi cinema watchers) -- four nods, behind the five won by ‘The Batman’ and ‘Babylon’ and above the three of ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’.

The irony, though, is that ‘RRR’ is not India’s official entry -- it is Pan Nalin’s Gujarati film, ‘Chhello Show’ (Last Show) -but the Tollywood blockbuster’s American promoters, Variance

Films, has included it in all award categories.

The leaders in the other main categories are:

Best Picture: ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ - 16

Best Director: The Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) for ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ - 16

Best Actor: Colin Farrell (‘The Banshees of Inisherin’) - 16; Brendan Fraser (‘The Whale’) - nine

Best Actress: Michelle Yeoh (‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’) - 15; Cate Blanchett (‘Tar’) - 11

Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan (‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’) - 24

Best Supporting Actress: Kerry Condon (‘The Banshees of Inisherin’) - nine

Original Screenplay: ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ - 15; ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ - 10

Animated Feature: ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio’ - 14; ‘Marcel the Shell with Shoes On’ - eight Cinematography: ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ - 15

Film Editing: ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ - 10 The Oscars throw up real surprises every season and this year is not going to be any different. But this list of the leaders is indicative of how the people whose votes will determine who all will go home with the prized statuette, are thinking today.

Actress Nicole Kidman has joined the cast of Taylor Sheridan’s upcoming Paramount+ series ‘Lioness’.

Nicole Kidman cast in Taylor Sheridan’s CIA drama series ‘Lioness’

‘Who says two wrongs don’t make a right?’ Blake Lively’s maternity wardrobe!

‘RRR’ is the most-favoured international film on the US awards circuit today

Actress Blake Lively

some ingenious maternity style tips on Instagram.

Prince Harry on Monday pulled back no punches as he launched another attack on Britain’s Queen Consort Camilla, branding her “dangerous” and a “villain”, as he continued promoting his explosive memoir, ‘Spare’, which is scheduled to hit the stores on Tuesday.

Speaking with CBS News’ 60

Minutes host Anderson Cooper, the Duke of Sussex took aim at Camilla after he was questioned about the several very damaging allegations he made about her in the book’s pages, reports ‘Daily Mail’.

Referring back to a 1995 interview in which his mother, Princess Diana, famously referred to Camilla as the “third person in her marriage”, Harry says that this admission turned the now-Queen Consort into a “villain”, adding: “She needed to rehabilitate her image.”

According to Harry -- who also reveals in his book that he and Prince William “begged” their father not to marry Camilla -- this desire to transform her public image made her “dangerous”, notes ‘Daily Mail’.

The 38-year-old Duke accuses his stepmother of “trading information” with the press in an attempt to get more positive

stories written about herself, before sensationally suggesting that her “connections” with the media would end up with “people or bodies left in the street”.

Harry also said that what he saw as Camilla’s desire to “be on the front page [and] have positive stories written about [her]” came from his family’s belief that positive media coverage would “improve your reputation or increase the chances of you being accepted as monarch by the British public”.

“If you are led to believe, as a member of the family, that being on the front page, having positive headlines, positive stories written about you, is going to improve your reputation or increase the chances of you being accepted as monarch by the British public, then that’s what you’re gonna do,” Harry added.

Battle Royale: Harry recounts how William assaulted him, called Meghan ‘rude’

as the main reason for them to move out of Buckingham Palace and then go to America.

The extraordinary scene recounted in ‘Spare’, which Harry says resulted in a visible injury to his back, is one of many in the autobiography, which will be published worldwide next week and is likely to spark a serious furore for the British royal family, according to ‘The Guardian’.

Los Angeles, Jan 6 (IANS) Actor Dwayne Johnson, in a reflective post, spoke about “having the guts to fail” after the ‘Black Adam’ box office bomb.

On early Thursday, the 50-yearold wrestler-turned-actor posted on his Instagram page a video of him retreating to the woods while sharing an empowering message about embracing failure.

“Tapping in with you with a quick thought that’s anchored my success (and failures) over the years that may anchor and help you too on your journey. Having the guts to fail is far more powerful than having the desire to succeed. Having the desire to succeed is very attractive. It’s sexy,” he wrote in the caption. “While having the guts to fail is extremely uncomfortable. And sometimes it’s scary,” he admitted, reports aceshowbiz. com.

at Warner Bros with his big demands, only to see Black Adam’s underwhelming performance at box office.

According to the outlet, not long after the Warner Bros Discovery merger closed in April, the ‘Jungle Cruise’ star directly pitched CEO David Zaslav on a multiyear plan for Black Adam and a Henry Cavill-led Superman in which the two properties would interweave, setting up a Superman-versus-Black Adam showdown.

Sources said that ‘Black Adam’ producers Hiram Garcia, who is Johnson’s former brother-in-law, and Beau Flynn were also in this plan to take DC down a new path. While new Warner Bros film co-heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy eventually approved a Cavill cameo in ‘Black Adam’, Johnson’s direct approach to the studio’s execs reportedly ruffled feathers internally.

London, Jan 5 (IANS) In revelations that could rock Britain’s royal family, Prince Harry, in his highly anticipated autobiography, ‘Spare’, says he was physically attacked by his brother, William, now Prince of Wales, as their relationship fell apart over the younger prince’s marriage to the American actor, Meghan Markle, reports ‘The Guardian’ newspaper, after seeing excerpts from an advance copy of the book.

Describing a confrontation at his London home in 2019, Harry, the Duke of Sussex, says William called Meghan “difficult”, “rude” and “abrasive”, which Harry

calls a “parrot[ing of] the press narrative” about his American wife, ‘The Guardian’ notes.

The confrontation escalated, in Harry’s words, until William “grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and ... knocked me to the floor”. Harry and Meghan now live in California, and have been constantly embarrassing the royal family, first with their interview with Oprah Winfrey and then in their Netflix series.

In both instances, they suggested that the royal family was not only racist, but also orchestrated the barrage of negative media stories on Meghan, which they cited

Harry, ‘The Guardian’ adds, writes that William wanted to talk about “the whole rolling catastrophe” of their relationship and struggles with the press. But when William arrived at Nottingham Cottage -- where Harry was then living, in the grounds of Kensington Palace -- he was, according to Harry, already “piping hot”.

After William complained about Meghan, Harry writes, Harry told him he was repeating the press narrative and that he expected better. But William, Harry says, was not being rational, leading to the two men shouting over each other.

Harry, ‘The Guardian’ adds, then accused his brother of acting like an heir, unable to understand why his younger brother was not content to be a spare.

Jeremy Renner jokes about not having shower for a week, gets ICU spa moment

in hospital bed and breathing out of an oxygen mask, with his swollen eyes barely open. He appeared to be in good spirits as his sister can be seen massaging his head.

“He’s so sexy, yeah. Literally, look at all that blood,” Jeremy’s sister was heard saying to make him laugh.

“First shower in definitely a week or so,” the 51-year-old actor then admitted, before adding, “Gross!”

snowplow while helping a family member free their stuck car near his home in Reno, Nevada. He suffered blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries, and remains in the intensive care unit in critical but stable condition after undergoing a surgery on Tuesday.

“But guts over desire has served me all throughout my careerand when we put ourselves in positions to be uncomfortable - to have the guts to fail - we actually set ourselves up in a much more powerful way to WIN. It’s 2023. It’s our year. Guts over desire.”

In the video, Johnson further elaborated on the advice that he got from his “good friend” named Inky Johnson. “He’s always got great perspective, grounding perspective. He keeps it raw. He keeps it real. He said something that was really profound that I feel ties into this whole thing: he talked about having the guts to fail,” he gushed.

“And the reason why I bring that back around to you guys is having the guts to fail compared to having the desire to be famous, having the desire to succeed.”

“But I have found in life, that the desire to become famous, the desire to succeed will never be as powerful as having the guts to fail. And I love that, because I look back at my own life, and around every corner, and still today,” he explained.

“Dwayne went around everyone, which didn’t sit well,” one of the sources claimed.

It didn’t help that the JohnsonWarners relationship already was wearing thin after he pushed for a producing credit on the animated film “DC League of Super-Pets”, which opened in July, but did little to promote it. The actor also insisted on a tequila bar at the New York premiere of ‘Black Adam’ featuring his Teremana brand, despite the film being rated PG-13.

Eventually, ‘Black Adam’ flopped at the box office, with a $391 million worldwide haul against a $195 budget plus $40 million in reshoots. “His demands increased and the returns just weren’t there,” another insider remarked.

Thus, after James Gunn and Peter Safran took over as the heads of the TV and film divisions at Warner Bros, they made a no-brainier decision to scuttle any plans for a sequel to the lightning bolt-wielding antihero-centric film.

Los Angeles, Jan 6 (IANS)

Hollywood star Jeremy Renner is getting a spa treatment in ICU after a snow plough accident, thanks to his sister and mother. Sharing an update from his hospitalisation, the actor took to his Instagram Story on Thursday, January 5 to show him enjoying “ICU spa moment” after not having a shower for around a week, reports aceshowbiz.com.

In the clip, Renner was seen lying

In the caption, he wrote: “’A not (so) great’ ICU DAY, turned to amazing spa day with my sister and mama. Thank you sooooo much.”

He has since apparently reposted the video with an edited caption as it now read: “ICU spa moment to lift my spirits. Thank you mama. Thank you sister. Thank you all.”

Renner was airlifted to a hospital on Sunday, January 1 after he was run over by a 14,300 pound

According to a 911 call log, the two-time Oscar nominee was “completely crushed.” He was heard moaning as he was having “extreme difficulty” breathing due to his chest collapsing and his upper torso getting crushed. He also suffered a lot of heavy bleeding. In his first Instagram post since the accident, Jeremy shared his first picture from the hospital and wrote: “Thank you all for your kind words. [a praying hands emoji]. Im too messed up now to type. But I send love to you all.”

Joking about his age and comparing himself to a T-Rex, he continued: “Look, I’m a Tyrannosaurus Rex, I’m 58,000 years old, but I still have that. And that’s my lead foot. I’m just having the guts to fail, around every corner. And that leads my decisions. That allows me to take big swings. Get my ass kicked on some of them. Fail at some of them. But then, also succeed at some of them. So, I will always take guts over desire. Have a great week and let’s get after it. This is our year. 2023. Guts over desire.”

While Johnson was being vague about the failure that he embraced in 2022, his post arrives after Variety reported that he pissed a bunch of people

Addressing the uncertain future of the franchise, Johnson said in a statement in December 2022: “My passionate friends, I wanted to give you a long-awaited Black Adam update regarding the character’s future in the new DC Universe. James Gunn and I connected, and Black Adam will not be in their first chapter of storytelling.”

Hinting that it’s an amicable decision, he continued: “However, DC and Seven Bucks have agreed to continue exploring the most valuable ways Black Adam can be utilised in future DC multiverse chapters.” He added: “James and I have known each other for years and have always rooted for each other to succeed. It’s no different now, and I will always root for DC (and Marvel) to win and WIN BIG.”

Royal Rumble: Harry says Camilla is ‘dangerous’, calls her a ‘villain’ in TV interview

Dwayne Johnson retreats to the woods, embraces failure of ‘Black Adam’