Post Courier, Thursday January 22, 2015

Our gold medal winners to pocket a cool K20,000 at K20,000 at upcoming Pacific Games Games

BY MIRIAM ZARRIGA

GOLD medallists at the Pacific Games in July will receive K20,000 bonuses from the Government.

Sports and Pacific Games Minister Justin Tkatchenko said yesterday the bonuses

were part of K5.7 million set aside for gold winning performances as a morale booster for Team PNG.

The government incentive was approved last week.

Individual gold medal winners will receive K20,000.

Players in gold-winning

team sports will also receive K20,000 each. Team PNG gold prospects include Commonwealth gold weightlifters Steven Kari and Dika Toua and sprinter Toea Wisil.

CONTINUED PAGE 2

PACIFIC sprint queen Toea Wisil is one of our gold medal prospects at the upcoming Games in July.

Health partnerships the way of the future

THANK you Minister Micheal Malabag for taking time to write to the newspaper giving the position of the Ministry of Health & HIV/AIDS and the Department of Health on the health challenges that continues to face this nation.

We appreciate you acknowledging the various challenges that our public health institutions have faced in the last four months as reported by this newspaper.

These included nine nurses at the Daru General Hospital contracting multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and the death of a mother and her unborn child at the Nonga General Hospital in the East New Britain Province over the festive period.

As you have eloquently highlighted in your letter, it is a major challenge for the department trying to tackle communicable diseases while keeping non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, coronary infections and cancer at bay. Throw in the demands of trying to improve services for our people at the rural and primary care level in the country and the challenges increase.

It is pleasing to note that the department has taken a “back to basics” approach as part of its implementation of the National Health Plan, in order to maximise the benefits of health care services to the four corners of the country. It is the best chance that we have got to set things straight and right the wrongs from past years.

We acknowledge that there will be times when the department has to make a call on where public funding will be better utilised and get the most beneficial results in favour of Papua New Guineans. It will be tough but a decision will ultimately need to be made for the benefit of Papua New Guineans.

Entering into a public-private partnership with private healthcare providers is not a bad idea as the Government strives to achieve its own policies whilst ensuring ordinary Papua New Guineans in both urban and rural communities continue to have access to health services. However, we believe such a partnership can only be effective if the cost of specialised treatment is subsidised by the Government as the rates that some private healthcare providers currently charge are not affordable for ordinary Papua New Guineans.

Mr Malabag has indicated that the Government acknowledges its moral obligation to consider subsidising cost for specialist treatment and that the department continues to explore its options. The proposal to “outsource the provision of certain specialist services” in which capacity could be sourced from the private sector should be looked into as a matter of priority, though in consultation with the relevant stakeholders.

PNG has in recent years being on the radar of foreign investors keen on building private hospitals to cater for the increasing size of the country’s foreign workforce, while addressing the health needs of Papua New Guineans who can afford the service. Getting the investors to commit to subsidising cost for specialist treatment as part of their community service obligations is not a bad idea and could work in favour of the country. They are after all coming to PNG to help us address some of our health challenges.

Asia news ........................31-33

Bougainville Today ..............18

Business ..........................19-21

Classifieds .......................38-42

Comics..................................37

Highlands Post

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Enga-Sepik border hit by measles outbreak

By JOHNNY POIYA

THE Nete region along the Enga-Sepik border is being hit by measles outbreak with six reported deaths of children under the age of three over the last fortnight.

The reported deaths were as of Friday last week and were from two villages close to the region’s only airstrip in Malaumanda while deaths in the sparsely populated villages inhabited by over 7000 people are unknown with a local landowner group claiming it could be alarmingly high.

The area is only accessible by air from Mt Hagen and

the number of deaths since Friday is not known due to lack of communication into the area.

The only communication is through radio by the New Tribes Mission via Wewak. With no government services or public servants in the area, the only health centre in Malaumnda has no worker and the Malaunmanda Landowner’s Association Chairman Moses Mondowa yesterday said: “It’s a disaster and the urgency of the matter is that people are dying as we speak.”

Nete includes the villages of Malaumanda, Anamanda, Lodon, Onge, Kasakali, Takop, Hulipa, Yaipo, Bake,

Nai, Onon, Limbia and Menagus.

The six deaths were reported from only two villages closed to the airstrip while the fate of the other villages is unknown. The death toll could be triple or quadruple.

Sadly, the Landowner Group’s attempt to meet the expenses and fly in a medical team from Wabag to inspect and attend to the outbreak was rejected by senior health officials in Wabag adding they would go in at their own timing.

The desperate landowner group than hired a new graduate from the Four Square Health Community

Health Training Centre in Wapanamanda Roslyn Pakil who is attached with the Christian Apostolic Fellowship Health Services in Mt Hagen and flew her with drugs into Malaumanda on Tuesday.

The outbreak is believed to have passed on from Hewa-Paiala further up the border into Enga and Sepik which were also hit by an epidemic and are undergoing immunisation by the Porgera Gold mine.

Mr Mondowa said the East Sepik Provincial Government has also ignored to response the call for help when approached by the NewTribes Mission.

Gold medalists to walk away with K20,000

FROM PAGE 1

TEAM PNG Chef de Mission Richard Kassman said yesterday: “Our goal at the Pacific Games is for each athlete to walk away with Gold.

“The incentive from the Government is rare and we hope the announcement will help athletes focus on their performance at the

Games.” PNG Olympic Committee president Sir John Dawinincura shared the same sentiments, saying funding received would push each athlete individually regardless of sport to focus their energy in their individual sport.

“Each athlete must focus on that Gold medal that is our primary goal at the games.” Mr Tkatchenko

said he hoped the money would be put to good use by the athletes.

“The incentive is a sign that our Government is looking at revolutionising sport in the country. Do not get the money and spend it all away, develop your skills and talent in your sport to continue to lift the profile of the country.”

“Your Government will

recognise you for your efforts in the Games and we hope each athlete walks away with the Gold medal around their necks,” Mr Tkatchenko said.

All bonuses would be paid individually through the PNG Olympic Committee after the Games.

The Pacific Games will be held in Port Moresby from July 4 to 18.

There are approximately 4,740 species of frogs around the entire world.

The bottom line

THE BALIMO GOGDALA TRIBE’S LONGHOUSE

GOGODALA is the name of an ethnic/language group. The Gogodala are a tribe of approximately 25,000 people, located in 33 villages in the Middle Fly District of Western Province. Their territory extends from the Aramia River to the lower Fly River, and is the most populous local level government area in the province. Their territory is divided up into west, east and fly areas and the Gogodala occupy mostly the flat terrain and the floodplain areas. Pictured is the Balimo Gogodala tribe’s Longhouse. Picture: KENNEDY BANI

Lae cop charged over Pisimi shooting

BY FRANKIY KAPIN

LAE policeman Jack Baria has been charged with willful murder of Moanna Pisimi during a high-speed car chase through the streets of Lae on January 1.

Baria, 45, of Bogia, Madang Province, appeared in the Lae Committal Court yesterday. His case was adjourned to March 2.

Baria, who is attached with the beat unit based in Eriku, has been remanded in custody pending his bail application.

Police Commissioner Geoffrey Vaki had tasked detectives from Port Moresby to investigate the high-profile case.

The case concluded with the charging of the policeman

The bottom line

At a glance

SUSPECT: Lae policeman Jack Baria, 45, from Bogia in Madang Province, has been charged with willful murder of Moanna Pisimi.

CHARGE SHEET: Baria did unlawfully and willfully murder

Moanna Pisimi contravening section 299 (1)(a) of the Criminal Code Act Chapter 262.

earlier in the day followed soon after with his court appearance.

The charge sheet read stated that: “Baria did unlawfully and willfully murder

Moanna Pisimi contravening section 299 (1)(a) of the Criminal Code Act Chapter 262”.

Lae police operations chief Timothy Pomoso, standing in for Metropolitan Superintendent Iven Lakatani who is on leave, said Baria would be

suspended from duty pending the outcome of the case.

Chief Inspector Pomoso said police remained committed in their duty to protect Lae residents and uphold order despite severe criticisms in recent weeks from the Lae public over the initial police handling of the Pisimi killing.

He said the policeman charged was on duty at the time of the incident.

The investigation by detec-

tives showed that warning shots which were fired during the car chase came from the police vehicle and were traced back to the defendant.

Chief Inspector Pomoso said prior to the chase, Lae had recorded exceptionally high number of motor vehicles reported stolen.

Between September and December, 20 vehicles were reported stolen in the city. He said the police operations put in place during the festive season involved extra patrols on roads to prevent motor vehicle thefts and drink driving.

Initial reports by Lae police said Moanna Pisimi died after a high-speed car chase with a security firm and police vehicles.

Honolulu is the only place in the United States that has a royal palace!

TWO MILE

ENOUGH is enough. City residents travelling on PMVs to work in town have had enough of the mugging, the theft and the violence by cowards who run off with their bags and take refuge in the obscurity of Two Mile Hill.

DON’T STOP

TIME for NCDC to make a call on the viability of having bus stops at the Two-Mile Hill. Stopping has become a security risk for those who travel by PMV to and from town, especially women, children and the elderly.

GOURMET

CREATIVITY taken to the next level? A vendor at Six Mile sells what some customers have described as “gourmet” lamb flaps. The dish includes vegetables such as tomato and lettuce as well as red wine or vinegar to flavour the meat!

PARKING

CAN the NCD physical planning board make it compulsory for property developers to include ample parking space in their building plans? It is already embarrassing seeing vehicles parking on pedestrian footpaths.

DANGER

DISJOINTED

LOOKING at Port Moresby’s architectural landscape in recent times, it is obvious the board either went to sleep or turned a blind eye to that requirement. Consequently, the national capital looks somewhat disjointed in terms of physical planning.

KINA SIGNS

OUR athletes will have Kina signs in their eyes when they see today’s front page story. Why not? Cash incentives have always worked miracles when it comes to sporting excellence. Who do you think will be the first sports star to bag his or her K20,000? Let us know.

NO VIP

WHAT is happening Papua New Guinea? A crooked MP gets jailed for misusing K300,000 in public funds –your money – and he gets a VIP farewell by well-wishers and supporters on his way to the Bomana prison! SHAMEFUL TIME for PNG to call a spade a spade. Misappropriating public funds is wrong and should always be condemned. Perpetrators should be shamed and shunned by the public.

PENGEE: thedrum@spp.com.pg

WHERE are the traffic coppers when you need them? This picture of two boys sitting on the side rail of an open-back truck in Port Moresby yesterday was an accident waiting to happen.

Oro ready for Provincial Health Authority

ORO Province is ready to take on the Provincial Health Authority status, says Popondetta General Hospital head Dr Gunzee Gawee.

Dr Gawi, who is the acting chief executive officer for the hospital, said the management last year publicly announced it will take on the new role so this year, the hospital is preparing for that.

The Provincial Health Authority arrangement under the Provincial Health Authority Act 2007 brings together two health services management system, the provincial health and the hospital services, into a single management system.

PICTURE-PERFECT

Health Dept working on cardiac services

BY MAUREEN GERAWA

HEALTH Minister Michael Malabag has agreed with the call by Deputy Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika for Papua New Guinea to have its own cardiac services.

Mr Malabag said the Health Department was working on an enabling policy to make this specialist service available in Port Moresby.

He said he had directed the department in 2014 to work on the policy which was almost complete and then he would make a submission

to the National Executive Council for funding support for the service.

“I am making it my business to set the momentum for cardiac services to be available in the country in the

near future to be installed at the Port Moresby General Hospital.’’

“As part of the preparatory work we have already trained two of our doctors in Singapore in cardiovascular imaging and intervention surgery.’’

“As much as I want cardiac service in the country sooner the complexity of this field of medicine require greater preparation at the ground level.’’

Mr Malabag said tertiary cardiac service is highly technical, specialised and

complicated and required wide range of expertise, equipment, qualified manpower and a range of other complementary medicines and so on.

He said PNG did not have the capacity locally but have been building linkages with experts from Singapore Health which accepts PNG doctors for training as well as patients who could afford to go there for medical help.

He said the Operation Open Heart has also been upskilling PNG medical team on cardiovascular dis-

eases management while Sir Buri Kidu Heart Institute is providing non-invasive services through the help of non-government organisations.

The chief justice had made the plea for Government help when noting that Komo-Margarima MP Francis Potape, who he had jailed for two-and-ahalf years for conspiracy and misappropriation, had sought overseas treatment for a coronary ailment after his conviction last month by the national court.

With the authority, duplication of services will be avoided, as all services in the provinces including those run by the churches will come under the PHA, and its board, with one chief executive with management team for the running of health services right down to the districts.

In order to bring on the new status, the management has aligned its plans for the year and that means it is ready for the construction of a K12.8 million operating theatre which will begin next month. While the construction is in place, the management will be purchasing new equipment for the operating theatre.

The management will also see an increase of hospital staff ceiling from the current 265 to 320.

“We also will create a good training package for traineers,” Dr Gawee said.

He said the hospital has plans to engage international volunteer doctors and nurses in a program for the province this year.

This will include midwives with hands on training with hospital staff. He said the health department wants hospital to make their packages attractive in order to attract workers to the provinces and Oro is doing that.

Private hospital installs lab, heart surgery centre

BY MAUREEN GERAWA

A PRIVATE hospital has installed Papua New Guinea’s first catheterisation laboratory and a cardiac surgery centre.

The first patient to undergo a CT coronary aniogram at the cardiac or heart centre was conducted successfully last week.

Pacific International Hospital chief executive officer Dr Amyna Sultan said this in response to Deputy Chief Justice Sir Gibbs Salika who had called on the

Government to ensure services like an angiogram was available for heart patients.

She said the PIH had installed PNG’S first MRI scanner and a cardiac catheterisation laboratory at the new PIH facility at ThreeMile, which Prime Minister Peter O’Neill would open next month.

Dr Sultan said PIH aimed to inspire hope and contribute to the health and wellbeing of the people and this service was one of many pioneer health care technologies it had introduced since

it opened 17 years ago.

“From PNG’s first CT scan in 1997 to, a hemodialysis unit, mammography service, Phaco ‘keyhole’ cataract surgery, retinal angiography, PIH has now installed PNG’S first MRI scanner and a cardiac catheterisation laboratory,’’ said Dr Sultan.

Dr Sultan said when Papua New Guineans go abroad, they spend about K25,000 for just an angiogram. At the new PIH, angiogram package will be offered for only K10,000.

“The angioplasty package

with one stent will be possible at home for about K25,000. Where patients are scrambling to raise K100,000 to go overseas for an open heart by-pass or valve replacement surgery treatment, at PIH it will possible to have an operation starting at K50,000.

“That’s considerable savings for heart patients of PNG, and, moreover, it will decrease the delay in seeking overseas treatment and make it easy for their families to be around them when they are confined,” the hospital’s CEO stated. PIH CEO Dr Amyna Sultan

FEMALE employees of the Central Province Transport Authority taking time off work and tempted our photographer to start clicking away with their radiant smiles. Picture: KENNEDY BANI

As part of preparation we have already trained two of our doctors...

MICHAEL MALABAG Port Moresby

Working without pay for two years

BY MAUREEN GERAWA

ABOUT 520 village court officers in Port Moresby claim they have not been paid their allowances for about two years.

The National Capital District Commission law and order division could not be contacted yesterday to verify the claim but the 20 officers from Waigani and Ensisi areas of Moresby Northwest electorate said it was difficult to work without money in the city.

The village court officials include magistrates, peace officers and clerks who, in the provinces, are paid by the provincial governments.

The 20 in Northwest said they needed money for bus fares and other basic needs.

One officer said she used to get K45 a month but the Government had increased the allowance to about K300 a month last year.

These officers are attending a two-week workshop on family sexual violence and abuse this week, conducted by Medecins Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders). They said although they had been dealing with many issues relating to sexual abuse this was the first time for them to attend any form of training to help them deal better with these issues.

Provincial hospital to get stateof-the-art theatre

BY NELLIE SETEPANO

POPONDETTA General Hospital in Northern Province is getting a stateof-the-art operating theatre, thanks to a better hospital management.

At a glance

UNPAID: About 520 village court officials are claiming they have not been paid any allowances for the last two yeas.

NO COMMENT: However NCDC law and order division could not be contacted to verify the claim.

TRAINING: The village court officials are attending a twoweek workshop on family sexual violence and abuse, conducted by a NGO.

Under the Village Court Act, these court officers can meet anywhere to mediate and resolve conflicts in the community.

They often meet under trees and also travel long distance to meet with disputing parties to resolve issues.

Chairperson of the village court officers in Waigani and Ensisi, Linda Tule and her deputy Peter Kam, said it was not easy being village court officers because they deal with people from different ethnic groups.

Ms Tule also said reports show that 80 per cent of the conflicts in the community are heard by the village court officers.

FOUR-YEAR-OLD Kelson Peraki was oblivious to everything around him, including all his playmates. He was totally engrossed in following his game on his mobile phone. Today more younger children are mobile phone-savvy and why not? It is the age of high-tech! Picture: ALFRED KANINIBA

Kuman: E-learning to come later on

E-LEARNING or electronic learning will be introduced when better facilities are in place at schools, say Education Minister Nick Kuman.

Last year there was much talk about e-learning by the education ministry but that can happen if all schools in

The bottom line

the government system are well equipped with appropriate learning infrastructure.

This week Mr Kuman said e-learning may not happen right away, “we need to fix our infrastructure first”.

This year schools will see more infrastructure develop-

ments such as classrooms and teachers’ house.

The Government through PSIP will fund at least two double classrooms and one teacher’s houses for each school starting this year. This should be complemented by elearning at a later date.

Antarctica was once as warm as California coast.

The theatre, which would boast two operating rooms, would cost K12.8 million to build starting next month.

The hospital serves a population of almost 200,000 people.

“This is good news for the people of Oro Province, as this basic service has been neglected for 22 years,” says acting chief executive officer Dr Gunzee Gawee.

Dr Gawee, an obstetrician and gynaecologist, said the operating theatre was designed on Australian standards “because if we need to improve on our health indicators, we need to have the best facility available with increased staffing capacity”.

He said the hospital treats up to 15 surgery cases and three emergency cases daily.

Dr Gawee said the hospital reports to 10 to 15 maternal deaths a year for the 600 to 700 deliveries.

He said the new operating theatre should cut back on maternal deaths.

The operating theatre should be completed by the end of the year.

“With the construction going ahead, we are increasing staff to meet a ceiling of 320 and 18 doctors of which four are specialists.”

NBL responds to Tkatchenko claims

THE contractor of a classroom at Kilakila Secondary School in Moresby South says he has not completed the project because he has not been paid by the Education Department.

National Builders Limited (NBL) general manager Paul

Oavita said this when countering claims made against his company by Moresby

South MP Justin Tkatchenko regarding the incomplete double classroom.

Mr Oavita said his company abandoned the project because the Education De-

partment failed to pay his company a single toea in construction stages as specified in the job description.

NBL was engaged by the Education Department to build school infrastructure in several NCD schools including Kilakila.

Watchdog refers leader

BY GORETHY KENNETH

ANOTHER MP has been referred to the Public Prosecutor by the Ombudsman Commission for his failure to submit financial returns.

Chief Ombudsman Rigo

Lua said yesterday that the Ombudsman Commission referred Kagua-Erave MP James Lagea to the Public Prosecutor for alleged misconduct in office.

Mr Lua said that the Commission investigated the alleged misconduct in office by

Mr Lagea, which arose from his failure to submit financial returns as required under Section 89 of the Organic Law on the Integrity of Political Parties and Candidates. He was also referred for his failure in upholding his duties and responsibilities of office as required under Section 27 of the Constitution and the Organic Law on the Duties and Responsibilities of Leaders.

Mr Lua said the Commission had notified Mr Lagea in a January 14 of its intention to refer the matter to Public Prosecutor. He added the Commission had decided on the referral after satisfying itself that there was a prima facie case against the MP. The referral was now in the hands of the Public Prosecutor who has the discretion to bring or decline to bring proceedings under the Lead-

ership Code for alleged misconduct in office, the Chief Ombudsman said.

Section 27 of the Organic Law on the Duties and Responsibilities of Leadership

1975 states:

(1) If the Ombudsman Commission is satisfied that a person to whom this Law applies is guilty of misconduct in office, it shall refer the matter, together with a statement of its reasons for its opinion.

Kapi slams politics in state entities

CHAIRMAN of the PNG Rehabilitation Centre Brown Kapi is concerned that there seems to be much political interference with the management levels of state-owned enterprises (SoE).

“PNG Power limited should be run the way any other SoE are run and political involvement should be discouraged,” Mr Kapi said.

He said what is happening now with PNG Power speaks for itself and is an indication of poor management over the years and political intrusion. He said that politics should not work with business as it will always be to the detriment of the business.

“Other state enterprises could be in the similar boat but have not come out yet because of the same meddling politicians involving in issues they should not be in.

“Appointments and removals of managers, hiring and sacking of officers and such decisions should be left to a separate body with no political affiliations,” he said.

The case of unpaid bills with PNG Power customers is a management issue and should be left up to the management of the company to exercise their powers in deal with its customers.

Refugees on way to resettle

TWO asylum seekers have been transferred from the Manus Island regional processing centre to a transit facility on the outskirts of Lorengau, the provincial capital, ABC News reports.

A Government spokesman said the first men to be transferred as part of the resettlement process were an Iranian engineer and a Pakistani human resources manager.

The transfer came a day earlier than scheduled.

Widower laments ‘heavy’ police invovement

A WIDOWER has accused East New Britain police for their heavy involvement in the struggle between him and his in-laws over the bodies of his late wife and child.

Tony Namur lost his wife and unborn child in December last year at the Nonga General Hospital.

He had filed a complaint with Rabaul police citing negligence by hospital staff and Health Minister Michael Malabag has also directed an investigation into their deaths.

However, the matter took a

new twist when the woman’s relatives took out a court order stopping the husband from taking the bodies of his wife and child to his village in Namatanai for burial.

The case went before the district court which released the body of the late Carol Namur to her mother Antonia Mare few weeks ago.

The struggle between the two parties went on for a number of weeks.

The body of the late Carol and her child were to be flown on Air Niugini flight PX 809 from Tokua to Hoskins on last Thursday afternoon.

He said his wife’s relatives went to the hospital on Thursday with around five police vehicles, including the police mobile and task force units, and removed the bodies at the morgue. He claimed that the morgue man was forced at gun point to open the door.

He said the district court order had clearly stated that the body of his wife be handed over to her mother Antonia Mare to be buried wherever she desired and that both parties were to assist (where possible) to repatriate late Carol’s body to the destination Mrs Antonia Mare elects.

However, he said the mother was not present when armed police officers and relatives of the woman removed the bodies from the morgue and threatened hospital staff and questioned why police were heavily involved in the case. Mr Namur arrived at the hospital with his children and tried to stop them but was arrested following his warrant of arrest that was issued along with his son and put in the back of a police vehicle. He said the bodies were not sealed and that the coffin that contained the bodies of his wife and child was too small

and had to be covered with a canvas.

The woman’s relatives and police departed and the distressed husband and father had to stop the police vehicle he was in to pick up his 15year-old daughter who was running and crying along the side of the road as the bodies of her mother and brother were taken away.

The father and his son were taken to the Kokopo police station and locked up while the bodies of the woman and child were taken to Lungalunga under heavy police escort and ferried to her village.

“We’re not going to let the protests undermine the process that is taking place to enable these people to start a new life and make a contribution to the economy and community of Papua New Guinea,” the spokesman told ABC Plans to move some of the 50 men granted refugee status by PNG to the transit centre were believed to be the main reason for recent protests and hunger strikes.

The standoff ended on Tuesday, when security moved into the processing centre and removed the instigators.

At the Australian-funded transit facility, refugees will receive language and cultural training while they wait for an employment opportunity elsewhere in PNG.

short film by legendary director D.

THE truck that overturned along Poreporena Freeway on Tuesday was helped turn onto its wheels to be towed away. The accident resulted in along queue of vehicles on Burns Peak on Tuesday afternoon. Picture: TARAMI LEGEI

BACK ON WHEELS

MR Lagea was notified of his intended referral ...

RIGO LUA Port MORESBY

Kandep election trial continues

BY ADRIAN MATHIAS

ELECTION petitioner

Alfred Manase completed his evidence yesterday during the second day of trial in challenging Kandep Open seat winner Don Polye, who is Opposition Leader.

Mr Manase, who is also a senior lawyer, appeared in the National Court at Waigani before Justice Joseph Yagi.

He said five ballot boxes were not counted when respondent and incumbent Don Polye was declared winner to retain his seat in Enga Province.

Mr Manase said the returning officer refused to count those five boxes without any reason, except to say the boxes were “disputed”.

He said according to his scrutineers who were at the counting centre, the returning officer Naipat Keai announced the that the boxes in dispute would be counted later but they were

At a glance

EVIDENCE: Mr. Manase completed his evidence yesterday during the second day trial in challenging Kandep Open.

WINNER: Mr Don Polye.

never counted. Mr Manase told the court that another discrepancy was that the counting for Kandep began a day earlier and without the presence of his and other candidates’ scrutineers.

“All the counting for Enga Province was scheduled to begin on July 4, 2012 but for reasons unknown, Kandep began counting on July 3 without the presence of his scrutineers,” he added.

He said the progressive results on both manual and electronic data had discrepancies because the figures did not match from the start.

Narcotics bureau fights drug abuse

BY JACOB POK

ABUSE of illicit drugs is tearing apart the fabrics of this society, says a public servant.

National Narcotics Bureau’s (NNB) education and awareness officer, Lawrence Tau said the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse is the main cause of major social problems in the country.

He told about 1,000 youths and adults at Afore, Ijivitari district in Oro who attended the three day youth convention program on alcohol and drugs held last week.

“The objective of the awareness was to educate people on dangers of drug abuse and how they can protect themselves and their family from the abuse of harmful drugs including marijuana and home-brew,” Mr Tau said.

Mr Tau said the convention focused on changing the mindsets of young people by integrating the importance of cleanliness (staying away from drug) and maintain Godly principles.

“The abuse of home-brew and marijuana is rampant

and is causing health problems and has topped the list of crime. Young people are becoming unproductive when their lives are influenced by drugs.

“The rate of crime is also increasing and these are becoming impediments to government service delivery and community development,” Mr Tau said.

Mr Tau also revealed that the psychiatric hospitals in PNG have increasing number of patients admitted from marijuana and home-brew abuses

“Marijuana and home-brew are killing the nation. The Government needs to amend the existing drug laws at a quicker pace”.

PNG has a big drug prob-

lem, with a better national drug policy, we can curb and eradicate this life threatening substance,” he said.

He added; “I call up on the government, NGO and church groups, women and youth groups to work together with NNB to combat drug and alcohol problem in PNG. Your life is important, say no to drugs.”

Churches to help sell national ID project

A MEMORANDUM of understanding aimed at establishing relationship between the PNG churches and National Statics Office was signed yesterday. Representatives mostly lead-

ers from six different churches in PNG were present to witness and sign the agreement with the Minister for National Planning Charles Abel. Under the agreement, various churches will be assisting

the officers from the National Statics Office to carry out awareness to the mass population of the country on the National Identification Project.

Mr Abel said the National ID project is a new concept that

needs more awareness before the public can understand what the project is all about.

He said the National Identification project is a simple, secure and unified system of registration for all citizens.

The

Another witness and candidate Peter Yaki, who gave evidence yesterday, said the counting began secretly.

“I only realised after watching EMTV news that the counting has already began the previous day for the Kandep when the entire Enga Province was scheduled to begin counting on July 4,” he added.

Kandep MP Don Polye was in court since the trial began on Tuesday.

Witnesses from both parties are expected to continue giving evidence this week.

TENDER SALE

Anyone interested in purchasing the vehicles is advised to inspect the same prior to writing to the address below stating their purchase price with evidence of finance to complete and advise their contact telephone and or fax numbers. (Offers by email or fax will not be considered)

The successful bidder must provide evidence of finance available and will be required to:

1. Pay the 10% deposit within twenty four (24) hours notification of the acceptance of the tender.

2. Pay the balance of the purchase price in cash or by Bank Cheque within seven (7) working days notification of the acceptance of the tender.

Tenders Close 31 January 2015

The Regional Manager Northern Kina Finance Limited P O Box 682 LAE Morobe Province Tender Ref: KFL # 26508

Tenders can also be hand delivered to the office of Kina Finance Limited, Ground Floor, Nambawan Haus, Lae. For enquiries contact Terry Hall on telephone 472 8175 or 71978526

The company is not obliged to accept the highest or the lowest offer nor respond to all offers received.

THIS outfit is a classic sample of how a Japanese woman would dress up. The colours used on this outfit and style of wearing it, often give some hints about the lady’s marital and social status, as well as their age.

JAPANESE FASHION

KANDEP MP Don Polye

LAWRENCE Tau (third from left) with the participants and organisers of the youth convention in Afore, Ijivitari, Oro Province. Picture courtesy of NNB public relations

Japan to rebuild highway bridges

THE Japanese Government will fund a K70 million bridge program on the New Britain Highway in West New Britain Province.

Japanese Ambassador Morio Matsumoto and Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Rimbink Pato will sign papers tomorrow to formalise the bridge program.

The project for reconstruction of bridges on New Britain Highway would see the rebuilding of Aum Bridge and Kapiura Bridge to increase load bearing capacity to cater for heavy vehicles, enhance improvement in bridge performance and safety.

The improvement of conditions on both bridges was an urgent issue for Papua New Guinea and thus the project has a high degree of urgency.

The New Britain Highway will benefit about 180,000 residents living along the 229km highway, and in future, it will provide link to East New Brit-

ain Province. This would also benefit the residents along Rabaul road.

There are also widespread of oil palm plantations in West New Britain, mainly located around the New Britain Highway – which produces 70 per cent of the palm oil in PNG and the sixth largest producer in the world.

The oil palm and forestry industries depend on the highway as the sole transportation lifeline for marketing and services to support the livelihoods of people.

The government of Japan was happy to continue to contribute to the infrastructure sector targeted by Papua New Guinea’s Vision 2050, in accordance to Japan’s country assistance policy for PNG, the Japanese embassy said in a statement.

It said Tokyo hoped tomorrow’s signing would further contribute to PNG’s social and economic development and strengthen existing ties between the two countries.

B’ville womens group to get new centre

BY DONALD WILLIE

LEITANA Nehan Women’s Development Agency in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville will soon have a new human resource development centre, thanks to the Japanese Government.

This is part of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s initiative to create “a society where women shine”.

The women’s advocate group has been facilitating training workshops on gender and human rights awareness activities, peace building and good governance capacity, as well as providing counselling services

for the past 21 years.

It has been operating with very few resources since 2010 when the building it was working out of was destroyed by fire.

Morio Matsumoto, Ambassador of Japan, and the director of Leitana Nehan Women’s Development Agency, Helen Hakena, signed the grant contracts for the construction of human resource development centre yesterday at the ambassador’s residence.

“That means providing incentives for corporations that work hard for women’s success, support women in accordance with their life

stage and create an environment where men and women can balance work and family,” Mr Matsumoto said.

Present to witness the ceremony was United States Ambassador Walter North, who through the USAID in 2014 also awarded a grant of K455,000 to Leitana Nehan Women’s Development Agency.

Mr North said Leitana is a key partner in USAID’s women peace building initiative.

“They are effectively addressing both the legacy of trauma from the crisis and domestic violence among individuals and families,”

Mr North said. He said the two countries stand ready to help them empower women, eliminate violence and foster peace.

The construction of the new human resource development centre will cost K202,318 which will be funded through the grant assistance for grass-roots human security projects of the Government of Japan.

Ms Hekana was grateful and said the new building will house operations of the 38 counsellors.

She said the building will not only help the women and children of Bougainville bt the whole community.

Supermarket plan disputed

NEWS about part of Wewak market being sub-leased to an Asian company to build a modern supermarket has sparked strong reactions among the East Sepik people.

Among them is former managing director of National Fisheries Authority, Sylvester Pokajam, pictured, the man behind the K25 million deal between the Japanese Government aid agency JICA and the Papua New Guinea Government that constructed the new Wewak market in 2008.

The huge vacant lot between the Wewak town police station and the Wewak town market has been designated and used as a public car park.

However, this area had been sub-leased by the Wewak Town Commission to an Asian com-

pany to build a modern supermarket.

Mr Pokajam said he was unhappy about the idea of “another China” in Wewak and the idea of a Chinese supermarket

was never the intention of the project financiers and developers. Mr Pokajam, who is from Wewak Island, said when he was a small boy, he used to come by canoe and stay overnight at the area near the old Wewak town.

He said it was a coincidence that he later became the managing director the National Fisheries Authority and saw it as an opportunity to push for the development of a new Wewak town market, the ice making and jetty facility and the new Wewak town police station, a package funded under JICA at the cost of K25 million. He urged Wewak mayor Charles Malenki and his commissioners to “come to their senses” and re-think the idea of building a supermarket at an undesignated area.

Transport Authority opens business year

BY DENYSE KALAU

THE Central Province Transport Authority has officially opened its 2015 business year with the aim of improving its services to the public.

About 45 employees from the authority joined in the small but significant celebration yesterday to officially open the year to the public for business. CPTA has four main divisions which

includes finance, PMV licensing, security and heavy vehicle licensing.

“Today is the beginning of the many new and good things to happen to the board, management, staff and people of Central Province,” said CPTA acting managing director Jehu Ore.

“CPTA is a business arm of Central Provincial Government and its main function is the enforcement of traffic regulations,

registration and licensing.”

Mr Ore commended his staff for their commitment and hard work in the past 12 months which has seen them set a good standards for the office.

He said despite some issues faced by the authority such as management issues, the officers have managed to put their differences aside by working together to deliver the best service in terms of traffic to the people.

DIRECTOR of Leitana Nehan Women’s Development Agency Helen Hakena, Japan Ambassador Morio Matsumoto and US Ambassador Walter North signing the deal yeserday. Picture: TARAMI LEGEI

Budget session ends in chaos

THE 2015 Gulf provincial budget meeting on Monday had to be cut short when some members of the provincial assembly walked out in protest.

Kerema mayor Jack Narrie said he was in the group which walked out because Governor Havila Kavo did not present the 2015 budget as expected.

“The governor was looking for strength, looking for numbers. The governor wanted to swear in four new members,” he said.

Mr Narrie also said there was a conflict of interest issue in that a member of the assembly had nominated his own wife as one of the four people to be sworn in.

Gulf leaders want Kavo out

BY LEONNIE WAYANG

PRESSURE is mounting on Gulf Governor Havila Kavo to step down while waiting for the court appeal against his conviction for misappropriation.

The court granted him bail last month saying he could remain governor pending the outcome of his appeal but

Gulf politicians do not want him at the top post.

At a media conference yesterday, some members of the Gulf provincial assembly, including Kikori MP Mark Maipakai, Kerema MP Richard Mendani, Kerema mayor Jack Narrie and local level government (LLG) presidents presented a united front and called for Kavo to step down.

They said they wanted clarification on whether Kavo was the governor of Gulf or not, as he was already a jailed MP.

“That’s an area of concern and what we want is normalcy,” Mr Maipakai said.

“Gulf is an important province, we have all these resources. We host two very important national assets, you’ve got ElkAntelope now Government is

considering bringing it to development stage.”

He said a stable government was needed to fight for the people’s share in the project.

Mr Maipakai called on the Deputy Prime Minister Leo Dion as the Minister for InterGovernment relations to clarify whether Mr Kavo would remain the governor.

Mr Mendani said that as

soon as Kavo was convicted he was disqualified as an MP and various sections of the Organic Law on provinces and LLG and the Leadership Code were clear on that. He said it was time for a change of leadership and someone neutral be appointed as acting governor. However, Kavo is saying he is still the governor.

“I don’t know if the law allows for it but for me it is a very serious offence.

“For me as mayor, for the sake of the people of Gulf Province and people of Kerema town, we wanted to see the 2015 budget passed properly,” Mr Narrie said.

He and the other two Gulf MPs have called on the Deputy Prime Minister, Leo Dion, who is the minister responsible for provincial affairs, and the Ombudsman Commission to look into the matter.

“Our interest now is to get the 2015 Gulf provincial budget out of the way.”

KIKORI MP Mark Maipakai (right), Kerema MP Richard Mendani (centre) and Kerema Town Mayor Jack Narrie (left) at the press conference yesterday.

EDUCATION STANDOFF

THEIR have been numerous discussions on the education system and standards in PNG. No matter which system the Government or Educat ion Department introduces, will still not work. I would like the O'NeillDion Government and Dr Tapo to know this fact. If we want the education standards to improve than simply improve teachers welfare and salaries. Then everything will automatically fall in line. Even today many teachers are still waiting for their BDA, leave fares and other entitlements. This is adding more fuel to the fi re. As a result the quality of education will improve at snail's pace. It’s now or never.

Kata

WNB HEALTH WOES

AS the provincial project coordinator for the United Church in West New Britain Province, I want the Health Minister Michael Malabag to explain to the United Church followers in the region and the country the reasons w hy the Health Secretary removed the School of Nursing from the United Church in one area to another. It is now con fi rmed that it will be est ablished in Malalia United Church in Kimbe. We deserve a proper explanation and the same time we do not agree with the decision. Please explain clearly.

David Kura. WNB

NO K20 NOTES IN ATM

ON Wednesday (21/01/15) I went to the BSP ATM at PNG Power head offi ce at Hohola to get K20 cash but there was no K20 note, only K50 and K100. And it was very frustrating w hen you want to take out only K20. It’s been happening since last year. Can BSP explain to the public what is happening?

Frustrated Customer

Enga remembers Justin Kili

I AM looking for some friends from Milne Bay Province. They are exPNGEI, 2014 graduates, who are serving as teachers. Their names are Josephine Michael and Pauline Waigise. If anyone knows their whereabouts, please tell them to call me on 738 22262, Kira Bakowa.

IT WAS in the late 1970s when I fi rst heard the voice of the late Justin Kili reading the 7 pm main news bulletin on NBC radio. I was not in school then. However, the striking voice appeared to be that of a cultured whiteman. Curious, I asked my uncle Paul Paguk, then a community school teacher who owned a transistor (radio/sky blue in colour that we were tuning in to) to know a little bit more about the rousing voice and he replied: Nogat, em man Buka yah. Sampla Buka oli save tok tu olsem waitman tu. A few years later, I heard another startling name with a similar voice and that was the tone of the grand (late) John Billy Tokome in the school radio programs. I confi rmed later that the

personality was also from Bougainville. That was not the end: After another 10 years (this time I had passed two levels of education and was a fi rst year student at UPNG), I came across (amusingly) an elegant lady broadcasting live at the popular Port Moresby Show on a fi ne Saturday morning from the events venue at Moitaka. It was non other than the dazzling entertainer Francisca Semeso. I learned that she too was also from Bougainville. Three years later, I created history when I met Francisca and Justin Kili, my two idols of the broadcast media industry at the Five-Mile White Haus (NBC headquarters) in 1993. That was when I had gone there to undertake my news practice training. Later I

completed the job of meeting them all (my three radio heroes) when I fi nally met (the late) John Billy Tokome in Rabaul months before the volcanic eruption. He was then the chief umpire of softball in the Gazelle Peninsula based at the Queen Elizabeth Park. I liked the way he made the calls with extra-ordinary fashion. The three Bougainvilleans (that had a big influence in my career choice to be a journo) were models in the media industry. Not forgetting their excellent contribution to the new nation in its infant stage of development. Known widely as JK, you deserve a big thank you from us all. May your soul rest in peace.

Philip Kepson - Wabag, Enga

Theo

via email

WRITE TO US Text us on 208

In defence of land rights

Letter of the day

THERE has been an increasing number of customary landowners aware of their birth right for recognition and due respect.

Their birth right is their land that they customarily occupy and manage.

I have done my research in the Pacific, only two countries where the first settlers ceded their land rights to subsequent settlers of the Pacific.

The first is Aotearoa where the chiefs of the first settlers (Maoris) and the subsequent settlers (AngloSaxons) entered what was called the Treaty of Waitangi in which there was a way forward for the older settlers and the new settlers to live together as human societies.

Aotearoa as we now know are New Zealand people both Maoris and Pakehas have pretty much given respect to. This does not mean that the Maoris and Pakehas have had no conflicts. But at least one can be civil

about this…Aotearoa Pakehas and Maoris deserve credit.

The other country at which the Chiefs ceded their rights was in the Republic of Fiji where the traditional chiefs ceded their rights to Britain — Levuka Agreement.

The British, however, were very upright in that the Levuka Agreement was implemented within Fiji Native Lands Registrations within the Fiji Mataqali System.

Hence the Fiji Land Board does all the land management including the leases, sales and Mataqali welfare.

Give credit to the British for the system. Other than those two countries, from my research, no Melanesian country ceded its land rights to the colonisers: the Netherlands (West Papua), the Germans (German New Guinea), the French (New Caledonia and Vanuatu) and the British (Papua and the Solomon Islands).

This includes Iguana Land (Australia) the vast continent, Tasmania and the Islands of Torres Strait.

No collective chiefs, tribes, clans

Text us on 208

or families ceded the land rights to the colonial powers.

This raises a serious debate why all modern governments in all those countries passed laws contrary to customary laws and land laws? Australia’s classical Mabo land case is, and should be sufficient to remind all modern leaders.

In the case of Papua New Guinea, elected representatives and the bureaucracy have been pulled onto the English Common Law to manage Customary Law and Land Law ... Is it not injustice?

On land disputes the English Common Law Trained Lawyers are used to contest cases and are judged by English Common Law judges.

I hope that all traditional landowners are treated with due respect by our leaders, who are being pursued by the wealthy and rich foreigner to access our wealth in the land that we own.

Food for thought!

Let’s work for common good of all in EHP

THE people of Eastern Highlands are now at ease after a prolonged delay in the appointment of a provincial administrator.

Opportunities have been given to several qualified and experience members of the provincial administration as caretakers pending the decision of the official appointment.

The National Executive Council through the Department of Personnel Management finalised its decision for the highest post in Eastern Highlands. This appointment is understandably valid, official and legal. Many right minded people and elites of

10 years ago

Eastern Highlands could not see the reason why the governor is so tense and uneasy to appreciate the official appointment of Solomon Tato as the new provincial administrator.

MPs may make recommendations, but public service positions as such are not politically appointed. The Incumbents apply for the position to the responsible department. Applications go through a formal process of screening and selection is made on merit and credence.

These officers have wealth of experience and expertise in the public service, which the gover-

ROAD LINKS NEEDED

Mali

nor can work with them in a transparent manner to bring tangible change to the province.

We are beginning the New Year, so for the benefit of the people of Eastern Highlands, all differences should be left aside while we work for the common good of all.

Surely, let us not doubt the appointment of Mr Solomon Tato and the current officers because they were in the very administration that once made Eastern Highlands ranked one of the best provinces in the country.

GOVERNMENT

Should concentrate on basics of development rather than spend on other areas. The sad state of our road infrastructure around the country tells the world exactly where our priorities are. It’s really sad that politicians cant open their eyes and wake up to see the truth that for this country to progress and services to be delivered to the people, we need a reliable road network that links all provinces. Even rural areas.

Once every village, town and city is linked in this way by a robust road network, development will flow like water. It’s been 40 years now and the people of this country deserve better!

Ben Waigani

CHECK WHP DEALS

IN RESPONSE to Joseph Tengen’s comments about ‘Dubious land deals’ in Western Highlands, (PC January 16, 2014) I would like to further clarify some facts about how it works.

It is true this matter was brought to the attention of the minister responsible by governor for Western Highlands in 2014. However to date, no claim had been referred back to the province for verifi cation and confirmation of the (LIR) land investigation report and the provincial administrators confirmation and approval of the LIR.

All claims lodged are done directly at the head offi ce, gets approved and passes through under the nose of the Director Customary Land Services.

The fact is, there’s a particular Western Highlander who claims that he was appointed chairman of Customary Land Dealings. (if there’s a position as such under the land departments structure),

he says that he can get all claims approved faster and therefore he is operating as a consultant for land claims at the same time. He goes around the province and collects from land owners huge amounts of money and pigs. (Many land owners who are currently waiting for their payments at the Lands Department will confirm this).

Consultants are rather persons with good educational backgrounds and are very knowledgeable, but for this particular person who cannot even read these documents claims he is a consultant. Since so much money floats from the department to the so-called land owners and from the people’s pocket to him, the relevant authorities should check his consultancy firm if it’s registered and his operations are legal.

He has access to customary lands offi cers and how the documents get approved is done behind the curtain and is now a matter of concern.

The Lands Secretary needs to elaborate further from this end.

Joseph Tengen was once a respected Leader in Western Highlands in the 80s and his concern is very genuine. Most communities are having conflicts because of these dubious deals.

The Lands Secretary should reconsider all claims beginning 2014 and back, especially Western Highlands and have them put on hold and have all documents rechecked through the provincial lands offi cers and correctly identify the genuine landowners claim. Save the millions of kina and save the communities that they may have the feeling of being recognised and better still have peace and harmony.

Concerned Observer

A FOUR-year study in Australia has claimed that mobile phone radiation can break DNA strands and damage human cells. PC Jan 5, 2005

Voi, Gerehu.

There are no Tenoforvir and Lamivudine drug supplies left in the country. We have been waiting for two months. We are lucky because we ordered extra.

Jotely Nogone Hope Worldwide’s HIV case officer at the Lawes Road Clinic in Port Moresby on the status of drugs.

Luwi James EHP

Pari sets up checkpoint

BY MAUREEN GERAWA

PARI villagers will not allow betelnut smugglers to use the village in Moresby South as their entry point into the city.

The village councillors and other leaders made this known in a meeting with the National Capital District Commission (NCDC) on betelnut ban.

NCDC director for urban safety Paul Komboi said dur-

ing the meeting, the leaders, boat operators and the rest of the village people decided that they would not allow

betelnut smugglers to hire village dinghies and even use the village as an entry point into the city.

The villagers have also announced that they would be setting up a checkpoint in the village to monitor vehicles and people moving in and out of the village.

“This is because of unnecessary people moving in and out of the village and causing too many problems. There is also an increase in illegal

PUBLIC NOTICE

activities in the village,” Mr Komboi said. He said he acknowledged the concerns of the village being a Motu-Koitabu village within the city boundary with respect to their traditional customary obligations and told them that they themselves were allowing people into the village to trade and commit these illegal activities.

However, he said the NCDC could help get the village back

Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th January, 2015

The general public is advised that water will be rationed throughout the National Capital District on above dates. This is due to urgent repair and maintenance work on one of the raw water mains feeding the Mt Eriama Water Treatment Plant.

Attached is the water rationing schedule for two days;

CITYWIDE RATIONING SCHEDULE

Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 January, 2015

AREA 1 AREA 2 AREA 3 AREA 4 AREA 5

Gerehu Stage 1 – 7, Tokarara, North Waigani, Hohola, Morata, 8 Mile, Gordons 5, Erima, Gabutu, Kaugere, Badili, Rainbow, POM Nats, NRI, Ensisi Valley, June Valley, 9 Mile, Moitaka, 6 & 7 Mile, Koki, Hanuabada, UPNG, Admin College, Waigani Heights, Savana Heights, McGregor Barracks, Old and New Terminals, Konedobu, Aviat Club, Baruni, Curtain Brothers, Waigani village, Forth Banner, NASFUND, Bomana, Waigani Industrial, Port Rd, Habour Water Front, Koukou, East West Transport, Vision City, Dream Inn, Laguna Hotel, Malolo Estate, ATS. Holiday Inn,Gate Way Hotel, Post Courier, Pari,Hose Camp Red Sea Housing, Porebada, Roku Waigani Games Village.

Air Ways Hotel, East Boroko, Vabukori, 2 Mile, Taurama Garden Hills, 4 Mile, 2 mile, Baracks, Boroko Angau Dr, Korobosea Dr, Pruth Street East Boroko Bava Dr.

in order and one way would be to stop transporting betelnut smugglers in their dinghies and to disallow smugglers from conducting illegal business in the village.

“We will recruit villagers to be rangers in the village and man the checkpoint,” he said. He said NCDC would also allow permits to be issued upon written requests to Pari villagers to bring into the village via the Laloki checkpoint

Motorists and residents along the Sogeri Road between Bomana and 17mile are warned to take extra precautions while driving as there may be excess water on or near the road.

Residents in the area are reminded that use of raw or untreated water is not only illegal but dangerous to one’s health and refrain from this activity.

Once water is restored, for health reasons please boil all water before consumption.

EDA RANU sincerely apologizes for any inconvenience caused, thank you for the understanding. For further information, contact Public Relations on 312 2133, hotline 312 2100 or 703 11573 / 703 11574.

Authorized by Management

EDA RANU

50 bags of betelnuts for sale in the village only.

“By doing this we can bring business to the villagers, city residents can go to Pari village and buy enough betelnuts for personal consumption and also buy fresh fish and other garden produce,” he said.

Mr Komboi said the same arrangement could be made with Taurama Valley, Vabukori, Hanuabada, Tatana and Baruni villages.

KEEPING WARM Finschhafen enjoying constant electricity supply

Picture: TARAMI LEGEI

BY TONY SII

ALTHOUGH continuous power blackouts have been a source of ongoing frustration for electricity users throughout the country, one remote district in Morobe Province begs to differ.

Finschhafen district hardly encounters electricity failures, says local MP and Speaker Theo Zurenuoc.

Mr Zurenuoc said schools, hospital and aid posts and the town continue to enjoy full electricity supply for every 24 hours, thus limiting potential disruption of services and damage of electrical equipment as is normally the case in the urban centre which faces continuous power blackouts.

“Most districts don’t have electricity supplies because they are not viable for PNG Power to operate but we are thankful to PNG Power for its service in Finschhafen,” he said.

He said PNG Power’s continuation of electricity services in remote areas such as Finschhafen should count as a feat for the State-owned entity which had been continuously criticised for substandard service and blackouts.

Mr Zurenuoc, who was recently acting GovernorGeneral, signed the instruments to effect the current electricity state of emergency to recoup outstanding power bills owed PNG Power, also came out in support of the emergency measures.

LUCY Daure and Avia Kari shielding themselves from the recent rainy and cold weather in Port Moresby.

By doing this we can bring business to them

PAUL KOMBOI

NCDC Director for urban safety

“WATER TREATMENT PLANT REDUCED PRODUCTION & CITY-WIDE WATER RATIONING”

Pastor

with new bike

EVANGELICAL Lutheran

Church pastor Tahake

Siniwin was blessed to receive a motor bike bought by Nawaeb MP Gisuwat Siniwin at the Farmset Limited in Mt Hagen, Western Highlands Province, yesterday.

Pr Tahake Siniwin, who was serving the church of Alkena Seket in Tambul district, happily received the bike key from the MP. The bike was worth K4390.

“I am using one tenth of my money to give back to God and this bike is purposely to do church work, like visiting the congregation and parishes in the district,” he said.

He saidwhile he was the principal of Bumayong Secondary school in Lae, he contributed to the church in Alkena Seket when they asked him to cut the ribbon and in addition bought the church a new bike.

The MP had been assisting church work since 1980.

Culture to feature in Korean ties

THE Republic of South Korea

Ambassador to PNG Seong-Choon

Kim yesterday visited Tourism Arts and Culture Minister Boka Kondra to strength ties between the two states.

The two countries have enjoyed friendly, co-operative, constructive and expanding relations for the past 38 years.

“High level visits at political and senior officials’ level should be encouraged to foster common understanding and appreciation of issues of mutual concern and interest to both countries and to further develop bilateral ties,” Mr Kondra said.

Prime Minister Peter O’Neill had, in 2011, had highly successful inaugural bilateral talks with then South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak at the margins of the APEC Leaders Summit in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Areas of bilateral cooperation that were discussed included energy cooperation, Trate and investment, development assistance and technical cooperation and climate change technical assistance.

“I wish to build on the efforts of Prime Minister O’Neill and include tourism, arts and culture as another area of bilateral cooperation between the two countries,” the tourism minister told the Korean Ambassador.

PNG and the Republic of Korea were represented at the 8th APEC

Malaysians help disability centre

BY MEROLYN TEN

THE Malaysian Association of Papua New Guinea has presented a cheque for K50,000 cto the PNG Cheshire Disability Service yesterday.

The donation was made to support the organisation in carrying out its good works of providing comprehensive community based rehabilitation services to people living with disability throughout the Country.

“The PNG Malaysian Association has been very supportive to the Cheshire disability service PNG since 2001, and through its assistance, the organisation has improved and managed to establish about 400 centres in and around NCD,” said Benard Ayieke, the general manager for PNG Cheshire disability service.

Mr Ayieke said Cheshire has focused to move to other provinces in the Country starting with Southern Highlands and Hela provinces as of this year.

“Cheshire’s expansion into other provinces was reinforced through the Public Private Partnership, and one of them is the Malaysian association PNG,” he said.

Mr Ayieke thanked

and acknowledged the Malaysian association PNG (MAPNG) for their constant support towards PNG Cheshire services.

The Rimbunan Hijau executive director and MAPNG committee member, Ivan Lu agreed with Ayieke’s senteiments.

“It is true that the association has been assisting the Cheshire for 14 years, however years do not matter because we want to give back to the community and it is our greatest desire,” Mr Lu said.

He said through observations, there was transparency and accountability existed and monies were put into good use which gives confidence to the association to continue making donations to the disability centre. Along with the cheque presented, MAPNG also donated 30 curtains of tinned fish to the disability centre.

At a glance

BILATERAL TIES: Ties between the two countries existed for 38 years NEW GROUND: Arts and culture are now being promoted to be part of that long-lasting relationship

Tourism Ministerial Meeting in Macao, China late last year.

Sixteen resolutions were adopted in what is now known as the Macao Declaration.

Part of resolution five of the Macao Declaration was to “encourage member economies to increase cultural exchange and integration to create a better enabling environment for the integration of the AsiaPacific tourism market.”

For this, the minister has invited the the ambassador and his counsellors to attend an awareness workshop for the tourism, art and culture sector plan framework 20152018, scheduled for March 10.

Already talks are in the air for an air services agreement between PNG and South Korea which Mr Kondra sees as essential to facilitate tourism, trade and investment between the two countries. Annually, more than 10 million South Korean tourists travel abroad, but only a few visit PNG while most travel to South East Asia.

MR Siniwin presents the motorcycle key ELCPNG pastor Tahake Siniwin.

We want to give back to the community and it’s our desire...

IVAN LU

Malaysian Association of PNG

If you have a story to tell, call us on 309 1042, or email

Park builds yam house

A TRADITIONAL Trobriand Island yam house is currently being constructed at Port Moresby Nature Park.

This is part of the park’s commitment to showcase PNG’s culture, thanks to the funding support of silver sponsor PNG Tourism Promotion Authority.

Expected to be completed within the next two weeks, the structure has been a big hit with visitors, locals and tourists alike, who have had the opportunity to watch its construction and speak with those building the yam house.

Morgan Kaniyosisi, heading the construction of the yam house said, “We are really happy to have the opportunity to build a yam house in the Nature Park to showcase our culture to visitors to the park, particularly children.”

“For me, also having also the chance share this experience with my children and be able to pass on these traditional skills and culture with them is really what the construction of the yam house is all about,” Mr Kaniyosisi further added.

Trobriand Yam houses are an important part of tradi-

tional Trobriand culture, particularly relating to the giving of yams which are considered a sign or wealth or power.

Port Moresby Nature Park’s General Manager, Michelle McGeorge said “the Park is committed to showcasing PNG’s culture, particularly as many of Port Moresby’s children could not get the opportunity to return to their parent’s home provinces and see and learn their traditional culture.”

“And similarly, many people visiting PNG from overseas do not have the opportunity to visit all of PNG so this is a fantastic opportunity for them to see a yam house,” Ms McGeorge said.

Ms McGeorge further added that she encouraged people to visit the Nature Park over the next two weeks whilst the finishing touches and paintings were being made to the traditional Trobriand Island yam house.

This week the Nature Park is also running the final week of the ‘Kids for Conservation’ School Holiday Program for ages 8 – 16 years, and is set to officially open a new bird of paradise exhibit within the next two weeks.

District helps churches

A TOTAL of 1500 roofing irons were given to three churches in Boregaina village at Rigo district of Central Province.

Basil Vere, the first secretary to Rigo MP and Justice and Attorney General Minister Ano Pala, visited Boregaina village to deliver the materials to church leaders of the Catholic, Salvation Army and CRC churches.

Mr Pala’s message, which was delivered by Mr Vere, was that churches play an important role in the rural communities to deliver health, education and other essential services to the people.

He said government now sees fit to partner with the churches because they are the key agents to deliver services which are for communal benefit instead of individuals benefiting from public purse.

He said the O’Neill-Dion Govern-

GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIP

WITH CHURCHES: The government now sees fit to partner with the churches because they are the key agents to deliver services which are for communal benefit instead of individuals benefiting from public purse.

ment is committed to providing the best healthcare to the people, ensure every child goes to school, major road infrastructures are fixed and the living standards of the people is improved.

Mr Vere said the Rigo MP is one of the senior ministers of the current government and whatever the benefits are there for the government of the day, the Rigo people will always benefit from these

government services.

Boregaina councillor Niuna Borana commended Mr Pala for coming up with such initiative to just purchase materials and deliver to churches rather than having the traditional mentality of cash handouts system which is so riddled with corrupt practices.

Mr Borana said such cash handout mentality has tarnished the reputations of leaders around the country and only individuals were benefitting from public funds to build their own empires.

The village councillor thanked and commended Mr Pala for blessing the churches in his village and they now see services are being delivered to grassroots.

The Rigo MP will also continue to rollout the solar lighting program to Rigo inland villages, his first secretary said.

THE Trobriand Island yam house taking shape at the Port Moresby Nature Park.

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Churches make lasting changes

BY PEARSON KOLO

COUNCILLORS and leaders in a district in the Western Highlands Province have praised the work of churches in their area especially in maintaining peace.

Several leaders of Baiyer District in the WHP said during the opening of a new church building last week, that the work of the churches in their area has a great impact in their lives Baiyer local level government president Paraka Nii, who opened the new Enteman SDA Church building, said they are enjoying lasting peace because of the great work of the Christian churches in their area.

Hela landowners condemn activist’s media statement

BY JEFFREY ELAPA

OIL and gas landowners in Hela and Southern Highlands have condemned a newspaper report criticising career public servants as incompetent by a landowner and resource activist.

Early last week, Tugupa chief and resource activist Simon Ekanda criticised the chief secretary Sir Manasupe Zurenouc and the secretary for department of Petroleum and Energy Rendal Rimua as incompetent.

Spokesman for the landowners and chairman of

Tugupa gas resource Richard Takima Hirua said the news article on this paper dated January 14 by the so-called Tuguba tribal chairman and Hides challenger Simon Ekanda was unacceptable.

Mr Hirua said Mr Ekanda should understand Sir Zurenouc is a knight who earned recognition for his work in the public service and therefore he should have the courtesy for such high profile people as there are processes and procedures in place in the public service and not just sack people. He said if Mr Ekanda does

not under the public service system in the country then he should not attack career public servants who have come from the rank and files of the public service system and who are doing a good job for the country’s progress.

Mr Hirua also called on Mr Ekanda to retract his comments and apologise to the chief secretary and the secretary for department of petroleum and energy for branding them as incompetent at their jobs.

“It is a shame for a typical landowner to label top public servants as incompe-

tent, lacking the ability to perform their jobs. These are trained people who have been given the powers by the Government to lead and hold such positions based on their knowledge, their experiences and qualifications and the ability to management and deliver policies.

“We landowners who lack vision and knowledge should refrain from destroying their reputation and character as it would amount to defamation.” Mr Hirua said.

“We landowners should have respect for these career public servants as these men

Electoral Commission drowning in debt

HUNDREDS of individuals and local entrepreneurs in Chimbu who rendered services to the Electoral Commission during the 2012 general elections, are still waiting in suspense for payment.

The services they provided ranged from meals and accommodation, vehicle hire, provision of stationary products, security services and borrowing of hard cash to offset emergency election expenses.

Electoral commission sources in the provincial capital, Kundiawa, said the 2012 outstanding bills stands at a staggering K2 million. The service providers had fronted up at the provincial elections office in Kundiawa many times over the past two years only to be told to “wait patiently.”

Many of the service providers complained that “waiting for two years is quite a long time

and has affected their businesses.” Spokesman Tonare Sine said, “the delay tactics employed by the electoral commission has devastating effects on the lives of the service providers.

“We are now calling on the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill to intervene and sort out the mess.

“We, service providers, are simple and hardworking people, who sweated our guts out to establish businesses like guest

houses, vehicle hire, stationary shops and micro financial services. We are now appealing to the National Government to allocate funding for the Electoral Commission so that we can be paid.” One of these businesses still awaiting payment is the Warasimbu Stone Inn Kundiawa which is due K83,000. During the election season the Inn (guest house) provided food and accommodation for the Chuave election coordination team for 33 nights between the months of June and July, 2012.

Gumine man Vitus Olimi told the Post Courier he also has yet to collect K46,000 for the hire of his vehicle. Warasimbu fuel seller Steven Kuri said he was also waiting for the Electoral Commission to pay him K22,000.

Repeated attempts to call the provincial elections manager Steven Gore Kaupa were unsuccessful.

are the brains behind the progress of the country and are people who were instrumental in the success of the first ever PNG LNG gas project in the country.

“Ekanda should reserve commendation for Mr Zurenuoc and Rimua for putting this country on the world map as one of the LNG producing countries.

“If he has problems with them then he should go to them straight instead of using the media. We, the landowners are in support of the good work of Sir Manasupe and Mr Rimua.”

Mr Nii said the churches have taught the people to love their enemies and to forgive their wrongs and to love one another and this can be seen being practiced by the people.

“The teachings of peace and how to live peaceful lives is taught by the churches when sharing the gospel of Jesus,” Mr Nii said.

The leaders of the area which included Sanapun, Kekin, Singin and other neighbouring tribes said people need to go to churches to get the teaching of a peaceful and blessed life on earth.

Councillors Sanapun Kerowa and James Jeremiah urged other people to grow up in a church with Christian principal. Community leader Jonah Paraka said the Enteman SDA church was planted in the area in the early 1990s and has since grown to establishe six branches in the area.

We are simple hardworking people, who sweated our guts out to establish (these) businesses

TONARE SINE Simbu Province

NOT Huli Wigmen but Huli wigboys caught the crowd’s attention of those who gathered for the opening of a raod project in Jiwaka Province recently.

Picture: OGIA MIAMEL

HULI WIGBOYS

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Former newshound to fishing

FORMER newspaper journolist Big Pat is finding life after the newsroom a lot more fun by living a fisherman’s dream.

The former scribe, who is now based in Lae as a staffer for Morobe Governor Kasiga Kelly Naru, the Isapea from Gulf Province is finding the Morobe coastline an easy pickings for fishing.

Now the owner of a new 23 foot dinghy powered by a 75 horsepower Yamaha engine, Big Pat was testing his new boat with some amazing fishing results last Friday off the Bukawa coast.

Big Pat said he normally drives down to the DCA beach in Lae to buy tuna from local Labu fishermen but now with his new boat and an itch for fishing, he will be up by the break of dawn for the Morobe coastline with his best mate Jalom from Sipaia in search of the “big one that got away”.

The giant trevally is also known as the giant kingfish, lowly trevally, barrier trevally, ulua, or GT.

Morobe keen for top 10

BY ABRAHAM AVEDIBA

GRADES 12 students in Morobe Province have to perform well to make the top 10 list of best performance in terms of the grade 12 national examination this year, the Morobe Provincial Education Office says.

Morobe Provincial Education Minister, Andrew Gena, told PostCourier the province ranked 12th in the 2013 grade 12 examinations, however, their performance for 2014 has yet to be confirmed.

“We are currently working at trying to maintain the standard of education and teaching in the prov-

ANDREW GENA: He is the Morobe Provincial Education Minister. 2013 RANK: Morobe Province ranked 12th in the 2013 grade 12 examinations, their performance for 2014 has yet to be confirmed. SCHOOL STARTS: The 2015 academic year will commence in February.

ONE ISSUE: School fights and bullying – the environment becomes unpleasant for learning and as such, children tend to perform poorly.

ince. “We’ve considered the 12th position as a fair performance but we’d rather prefer to be amongst the top 10 instead.

“There are a number of issues that have contributed to our grade 12 student’s overall performance.

“When the provincial ranking for 2014 are released in March this year, we’ll be in a better position to iron out the issues that we’ve identified,” Mr Gena said.

He explained that with the 2015 academic year

commencing in February, his office is keen on resolving administration issues as well as those from individual secondary schools in the province.

“One of the contributing factors to the average performance of the province is due to lawlessness in schools.

“Because of school fights and bullying, the environment becomes unpleasant fro learning and as such, the children tend to perform poorly.

“The other issue, which is of great concern, is to do with the appointment of teachers to various positions in the schools,” Mr

Gena said. He said some schools appointed teachers into positions despite their lack of qualification and experience in performing the appropriate or specific duties.

“Because of such, the officers do not cooperate well with school boards and even school funds often go missing,” he added.

Mr Gena described nepotism as a factor that has also contributed to the poor quality of teaching in schools as well as the poor performance displayed in yearly exam results.

“Our provincial budget will soon be passed and we are looking into divert-

ing funds into several key areas where there is a great need for improvement,” he said.

It was also mentioned that the major portion of funding goes towards purchasing stationary supplies for the various schools in the province.

Mr Gena further stated that the provincial education office is looking at building a large public library this year.

“We also want to create advance training for secondary school teachers so that they are better qualified to provide quality education to students,” he said.

Church leaders address law, order issues

BY MELISHA YAFOI

CHURCH leaders from various denominations in the Wampar LLG of the Huon Gulf District in Morobe Province, held a one-day forum yesterday discussing strategies to address law and order problems in the area.

The gathering of the interdenomination pastors was to come up with strategies

that invoke the doctrinal and civil norms of society to curb lawlessness in their remote setting.

Wampar president Michael Poane said: “Our vision is to minimise crime rate in the community by identifying what is lacking so that we can help the people to change for the better.

“In all societies there is some bad behaviour that cannot be tolerated or con-

trolled in a short period of time because it takes a very long time for the people to change and that we know is human nature,” he said.

“One way to solve this problem is the involvement of the church leaders to bring together all pastors and business partners of the LLG so we can talk about how to tackle these issues of rape, murder and drug and alcohol abuse without

any cost,” Mr Poane said. He said one effective strategy the group have identified is to spread the word of God, because His word has the power to change hearts and their minds eventually.

Nations Transformation Ministry Pastor Naphtaly Maven told the church leaders that people have a big problem with reasoning things. Therefore, in

order for an individual to change their bad habits, that individual has to have the desire to change.

“We as pastors have come to an understanding and we will unite and work together to drive Christ into the hearts of men so that He can change this LLG, province and eventually the nation,” Pr Maven said. Moreover, he said: “The challenge is in the hands of

the leaders of the people.

“Those with higher authority needs to see what these young people need and help them he said.

“Our aim is to set Wampar LLG as an example for the Huon Gulf District and Morobe Province so that people can see what the powerful word of God can do to transform lives and communities,” Pr Maven said.

BIG Pat is pictured here displaying his first catch on his new boat – two mouth watering trevally caught on a 50 pound line.

Local copra producers gets access to market

BY NICOLE JOANNES

BALI and Witu Islanders in West New Britain can now have easier access to sell their copra produce.

The West New Britain Provincial Government has presented K30,000 each to two corporative societies, Tsinegaburuma from Bali and Kuravu from Witu, to buy copra from the people.

Presenting the checks, John Litom the second Secretary of Governor’s office said the Provincial Government will also assist with freight subsidy to transport the copra bags.

Spokesman of the two corporative societies, Charles Inni has praised Governor Sasindran Muthuvel for his initiative that will enable the people to sell their copra.

He said for too long the people could not sell their copra due to the high cost of transportation.

The main cash crop on the two Islands is copra and the islanders produce 40,000 bags monthly.

Mr Inni said most of the time these copra bags are left to waste because it’s too costly to arrange for ships for pick up and if they find their way to bring them to Kimbe the growers go back with very little.

The provincial government is giving K90,000 to various corporative societies in the province this year assistance for their copra buying and fishing projects.

Governor Muthuvel has also allocated K30,000 to be shared by corporative societies in Hoskins, Central Nakanai, Kandrian Coastal and Kaliai-Kove to assist them in their fishing projects. He said the provincial government will assist corporative societies who are properly registered and who are actively engaged with their local communities.

Rural health centres will help if they perform well

BY FRANKLIN KOLMA

THE staff of the West New Britain Provincial Health Authority (WNBPHA) say the institution can help more people if rural health centres treat minor health issues at their respective level freeing up the main hospital for urgent cases. During the opening of the new Adult Outpatient Department (AOPD) at the WNBPHA on Tuesday, Director for Curative Health Dr Moi Seneka said that the Health Authority’s current secondary status simply meant that rural health centres were its main area of exacting treatment to patients.

He said that reaching the

ISSUE: The general hospitals can help more people if rural health centres treat minor health issues at their respective level freeing up the main hospital for urgent cases.

NEW SYSTEM: The AOPD will improve this burdensome system by introducing a new method in the hospital to attend to patients.

REASON: Most times the doctors and nurses are dragged behind schedule because they deal with minor health cases which should have been dealt with at the primary level.

tertiary level could only happen if rural health centres around West New Britain did their duties correctly without burdening the general hospital with health cases that could be dealt with at their level.

Dr Seneka said that the general hospital should be a place where only referral

cases from rural or urban aid posts are treated stating that this notion if done would ease unnecessary congestion that is often caused by patients with minor illnesses taking up the time of doctors who could otherwise be treating patients with much severe health cases.

“Most times the doctors and nurses are dragged behind schedule because they deal with minor health cases which should have been dealt with at the primary level.

“The AOPD will try to improve this burdensome system this year with the opening of the new outpatient ward will immensely aid in that regard,” Dr Seneka added.

He said the new outpatient facility would allow for proper screening of cases where cases can be triage to decide where best they can be treated in terms of urgency of the health condition.

This method will not be like the one in the past

New Ireland chiefs in Kokopo

where doctors or nurses on duty double cases or treat minor cases because it will allow for the patients needing urgent attention to be seen by the respective experts.

Meanwhile Acting Chief Executive Officer Dr Joseph Nale said patients with minor health cases like, headaches and flu that come to the AOPD will be advised to return to their respective urban or rural areas to get treatment.

Dr Nale said the opening of AOPD is just the first phase of improving health methods in WNBPHA adding that a new nursing college was the next health project that would soon be unveiled.

Clubs operating hours worry police chief

EAST New Britain police boss

Superintendent Anthony Wagambie

Junior has expressed concerns over Kokopo night clubs operating hours following a recent incident at a night club in the town area.

Police had to arrest and charge a club owner over the weekend for unlawfully discharging his licensed pistol following a commotion at the club.

line

Mr Wagambie said he was quite concerned over clubs operating hours as it only encourages drunken brawls causing unfortunate incidents such as the recent scene involving the club owner who is an elder and respected businessman in Kokopo as well as a leader in his community in Rabaul. He said the recent incident occurred over the weekend. A com-

motion erupted inside the Vavagil Club and the rowdy group had to be forced out of the club and in the process, the club owner was injured after a beer bottle was thrown at his face.

The Provincial Police Commander said the club owner later shot the tyres of a taxi cab to stop the vehicle getting away with people he suspected of throwing the bottle at

his face.

Mr Wagambie said a police unit arrived at the scene and had to quell the situation and arrested the club owner. Police also confiscated his pistol.

He said it was now up to the club owner to prove to the court if it was warranted to fire his weapon at the time of the incident.

It is estimated that there are around 1,800 thunderstorms that occur around our planet every day .

TWENTY-TWO chiefs from the Topaiyo clan in the Konoagil area of Namatanai District in New Ireland province are in Kokopo to meet with representatives of 22 registered sub clan groups in the Gazelle Peninsula.

Vice Chairman of the Topaiyo Inco-operated Land Group Lennie Darius said the purpose of coming across to East New Britain was basically to set up dialogue with the various subclans especially in regards to the progress of their timber company Topaiyo Holdings Limited. Other issues will also be discussed.

He said it will be a mile stone event after 21 years.

The landowner association started in 1993 and it will be the first time ever for the chiefs of West Coast Namatanai to meet with all 22 sub clans associated with the Topaiyo Landowner Association.

He said they will be meeting this Saturday at the Kabakada Resource Centre at 1pm to further elaborate on the functions and responsibilities of their major landowner company. Apart from the meeting this weekend, the 22 chiefs along with their board of directors will visit the University of Natural Resources and Environment as well as oil palm project sites in the province.

JOHN Litom from Governor Sasindran Muthuvel’s office presenting the checks to the Charles Inni from Kuravu and Bruno Babala from Tsinegaburuma cooporative societies.

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Aropa security to step up

WITH the recent re-opening of the Aropa Airport last at Kieta in Central Bougainville, the two local security firms contracted to provide security services were given more training to meet those National Airport Corporation requirements.

Last Friday, Lucy Travertz, representing the ABG government, opened a one-week security training course facilitated by the NAC under the management of Villimoni Caucau, a senior security and safety manager at the NAC based in Port Moresby, and Henry Makee, an aviation security training manager.

YOUNG MILLER

Bougainvilleans owes apology by Australia

BY SEBASTIAN HAKALITS

A BOUGAINVILLEAN

critic has raised issues concerning the black birding of Bougainvilleans in mid 19th and early 20th century to work as slaves in the Queensland sugar cane plantation in Australia.

Blackbird was a slang term for the local indigenous people and the labourers or slaves were called kanakas who were taken to work as cotton and sugar plantation labourers.

Mr Patrick Heromate said Australia has a lot to do for Bougainville and is request-

ed to take necessary steps to redress the treatment she inflicted to our ancestors and said any unfair and unbalanced provision of services is a treatment seen as a continuation of their attitudes of the black birding days in Bougainville.

He said if Australia can apologise and ask for forgiveness from the Australian indigenous people or the Aborigines for the stolen generation by the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on February 13, 2008 then it must do the same and apologise to Bougainville for taking their men against their will for forced work in Queensland.

“Our ancestors were captured and treated as animals loaded on ships as human cargo and were separated from their families and worked under harsh conditions to build the economy

of Australia and many of the relatives of these people want Australia to start preparing negotiations to redress the ill she has done to their people,” said Mr Heromate. He said the black birding operations conducted by slave traders in Bougainville will not be left to rest without any apology or form of compensation by those nations that unlawfully captured their ancestors and forced them to work under their orders to perform duties that served them and their economic interests in Australia.

Queensland has celebrated 150-year anniversary remembrance of the 62,000 native non-European labourers who were recruited by way of black birding from Bougainville, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Loyalty Islands of New Caledonia and Niue who worked in the plantations.

Mr Heromate said there are now more than 40,000 descendants of those people who have permanently settled in Australian states and the government responsible must now deal with our request for an apology and a form of compensation.

The training, hosted at the Tunania village of former BRA commander Sam Kauona, was aimed at improving the knowledge of the local security personnel to provide a standard NAC level security service and also to make aware of the requirements of the National Airport Corporation.

“This is a first of its kind in Bougainville,” said Mr Makee.

“Security services in Aropa after this course will go up to the level required by NAC and more training will follow after this.”

Two companies provide security at the airport.

Sea dumping poses threats

RUBBISH dumping in the sea causes environmental damage to our shorelines and it can harm or kill our fish.

The National Agriculture and Quarantine and Inspection Authority (NAQIA) officer in Buka, Moses Hilu, said foreign and local food products dumped in the sea have always found their resting place on the shorelines.

He raised this concern after visiting one of the atoll areas in Bougainville and saw a huge amount of rubbish which he said was thrown overboard by foreign vessels that illegally fish in and around Bougainvillean waters.

Local landowners shows interest in mining

BY STEPHANIE ELIZAH

THE Bougainville Mining Act expected to be passed in March this year by the Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) is already generating interests for mining activities in other parts of Bougainville. One such group is the Taonita/Tinputz landown-

ers who met with the Acting President of Bougainville Patrick Nisira recently to express their interest to do mining in the area.

Representatives of the Motaha, Nakaripa, Amara, Nakas and Mopiopio clans informed the ABG that because of their interest to boost the economy of Bougainville and fast track

Thursday, January 22, 2015

development in the region, they were willing to work with the Autonomous government to allow for mining in the area.

A resolution signed yesterday by the Clans and the ABG resolved that:

The Expression of Interests (EOIs) expressed by the five major clan of Motaha, Nakaripa, Amara,

Nakas and Mopiopio in support of ABG through mining be endorsed by the ABG.

After the passing of the Bougainville Mining Act, the ABG to provide necessary required support to clans within the Tinputs and Wakunai interest areas for the purpose of creating a conducive environment for progressing the EOIs and

The represented five major clans request that the ABG lift the current moratorium within the Tinputz, Wakunai, Kunua and Suir areas.

Bougainville Acting President Patrick Nisira said he is very pleased with the interest shown by the Tinputz/ Taonita landowners. He said their expression

of interest gives the ABG options to look at alternative mines to gather revenue for developing the region while continuing negotiations on resolving the issues of Panguna Mine.

“We are spending so much money in dealing with the issues of Panguna Mine, it is time we start considering other options,” he said.

A SMALL boys up in the mountains of South Nasioi took time out from his school holidays to help out his parents to mill rice at their local farm in Marai, Kieta District of Central Bougainville. Words & Picture: ROMULUS MASIU.

Why cannot Australia do the same and apologise to PATRICK HEROMATE Bougainville

Cocoa growers seek help from local MP

BY ABRAHAM AVEDIBA

COCOA farming is thriving in Yuen village in Morobe Province but there is still need for a fermentary machine in the area, a cocoa grower says.

Yuen Cocoa Society chairman Luke Girem Betoi thanked Markham MP Paul Isikiel for supplying villagers with cocoa beans last year but he is also appealing to the MP to assist in funding a new fermenting machine.

“We currently have 603 cocoa growers in the village and each of them have between 200 to 500 coca trees in their farms.

“But the issue here is that we sell the raw beans to other farmers that have the fermenting machine because we don’t have our own machine,” Mr Betoi said.

Mr Betoi described the exercise of selling the raw beans to be quite disappointing as each farmer sells around 20 bags of the raw cocoa beans at a cost K1.75 per kilo.

However, it was mentioned that buyers purchase these raw beans and do their own mark-ups after fermenting them.

“So you can imagine the huge difference between the incomes earned from selling dried beans and raw beans.

“Those that sell raw beans do not get much whilst those that sell dried or fermented beans tend to get so much from their sales,” Mr Betoi said. He also said local farmers have yet to identify good clients who can buy their beans at a better price as trying to find markets in the country and abroad is a problem for them.

“That is why we are looking at seeking funds from Mr Isikiel through his joint development budget program to purchase a fermentary machine and extra seedling to extend our farms.

Remote coffee farmers get boost

WALKING with coffee bags for 3-4 days to the nearest jetty to be transported by sea to Alotau will be a thing of the past for the people of Agaun in Milne Bay Province. This comes after a coffee purchase and freight program which was launched last week Friday by the Milne Bay Administration in partnership with the Coffee Industry Corporation.

The chief executive officer of CIC Mr Anton Benjamin was in the province to meet with the provincial administration earlier on in the week to look at a way forward for coffee production in Milne Bay.

“CIC is committed to support the districts’ coffee development plans so that this can empower farmers to improve their standard of living by making sure they get the maximum benefit from their produce”, said Mr Benjamin.

He further stated that PNG has about 10-20 different coffee flavours mostly used to blend with other coffees in the world and is highly sought after.

Mr Benjamin said that the corporation’s focus for the New Year will look at working in partnership with districts on their coffee development plans, continue with its Freight Surety Program, District by District rehabilitation program and connecting farmers to markets through its various marketing and promotion activities.

Milne Bay Governor Titus Philemon was present to witness the launching of the freight program in Agaun and also see the air freighting of the first 32 coffee bags out of 260 bags to be flown to Gurney.

Mr Philemon urged farmers not to take the coffee trainings for granted but must utilise the information provided to them by extension officers for the benefit of their cooperative groups. “In the past we have not seen such working partnerships and this is the way forward to partner with CIC to help our people,” said Mr Philemon at the Coffee Freight Launching.

Mr James Duks, provincial advisor for DAL in the province reiterated

by saying that collaboration is the way forward towards service delivery since no one person or organisation has all the skills and resources needed to service our people.

The provincial administration’s activity plans for the last three years expanded over K700,000 on coffee programs alone.

“Through this partnership with CIC, our farmers have received tools and equipment support as well as hybrid Omuru 1 coffee seedlings from CIC’s Research station in Aiyura,” said Mr Duks.

He said that the coffee training conducted in the province in 2014 was able to cover coffee production, processing and marketing. A total of 236 farmers were trained and 86 coffee training manuals were distributed. These manuals are written in English and are hands on essential information for farmers in

some of the remote locations in the province.

The tools distributed included 22 secateurs, 202 pruning saws, 90 coffee pulpers, 23 coffee drying canvas, 10 grass knives, 1 roll shade cloth and 21 rolls of pallet wrappers for solar dryers among 18 coffee cooperatives.

To date, the program has distributed 4,720 Omuru 1 coffee seedlings to Bubuleta Resource Centre whilst 36,000 Robusta seedlings were raised and distributed in West Fergussion area of the Esa’ala District.

The provincial government has also committed a budget of K300,000 on the coffee program for the year.

A Memorandum of Understanding will be signed at a later date between the Milne Bay Provincial Administration and CIC to work with the coffee growing districts in the province.

Market Snapshot

$A bounces on Bank of Japan decision

dollar has bounced back above 82 US cents after the Bank of Japan avoided any new easing measures. At 1700 AEDT on Wednesday, the local currency was trading at

US cents, up from 81.83 cents on Tuesday. Japanese policymakers on Wednesday held off fresh easing measures after a two-day meeting, helping the yen to strengthen against the US dollar, Scutt Partners market strategist David Scutt said.

Expert: Domestic use of LNG economical

BY TUMBE SAM JNR UPNG Journalism Student

AN EXPERT from the Petroleum sector has expressed satisfaction over the recent agreement between the Government and ExxonMobile PNG to supply gas for electricity in the country.

“Exporting all future PNG gas extract for income may not be the best use of this remarkable resource. LNG should also be used for domestic power consumption and petrochemical feedstock to boost industry and pro-

vide much-needed jobs,” argues petroleum operations advisor to the World Bank, Michael McWalter in his recent article on the Latest Edition of Profile.

He said, “The PNG LNG Project is a great achievement, the project leaders have turned remote, distressed and valueless gas resources into commercially viable and producing gas reserves aimed at the energy deficient markets of East Asia where customers are prepared to pay a premium for LNG delivered to their

shores.

Those lessons are reflected in the pragmatism and patience exercised throughout the gestation of the project by political figures, landowners, ExxonMobil executives and customers, like the Japanese. Thus if is important to engaging first-class local staff and learning so much about our society, ExxonMobil has become part of PNG.

He further stressed that with more LNG projects in the pipeline, it is timely to consider how to develop those fields, and get the best

value from their output.

He estimated that the country’s first LNG Project will produce about 9.5 trillion standard cubic feet of gas over its life.

He said there may probably be another 30 trillion standard cubic feet to develop and proven reserves amount to about 20 trillion standard cubic feet. “So firstly, we need a new stocktake of the petroleum resources and reserves to be undertaken by the Government, preferably with the help of the various licensees and experienced assessors.

We can then make better assessment of what do to with the gas.

“Future gas production need not necessarily be solely for export and cash revenues. While we can obtain an excellent premium value for gas sold as LNG to energy hungry markets, we might also be able to accumulate just as much value if the gas is used as petrochemical feedstock for petrochemical projects at home and feeding that output into much needed industrial activity.

PETROLEUM adviser Michael McWalter

The first female self-made millionaire in America was a black woman.

The bottom line

MILNE Bay Governor Titus Philemon having a light moment with the villagers in Agaun after the Coffee Produce Marketing Launching last Friday. Pictures courtesy of Coffee Industry Corporation

INFLATION LOW

INFLATION in New Zealand is expected to remain very low this year thanks to the plunge in fuel prices. But while that will help household budgets stretch further, Finance Minister Bill English is warning workers not to expect hefty pay rises. The Consumers Price Index fell 0.2 percent in the three months to December. Statistics New Zealand said the largest contribution to the decline came from petrol prices, which fell 5.7 percent in the quarter. Excluding petrol, inflation rose 0.1 percent. On an annual basis, inflation slowed to 0.8 percent, which was the smallest rise in almost 12 years and below the Reserve Bank’s 1 to 3 percent target band.

SEASONAL WORK

BHP Biliton cuts oil rigs in United States

The world’s biggest diversified resources company is cutting the number of drilling rigs in operation in the United States because of the falling price of oil.

BHP Billiton said it will reduce the number of rigs at its shale drilling operations by approximately 40 per cent by the middle of the year.

The price of oil has fallen by half over the past six months to a six-year low below $US47 a barrel because of oversupply and slowing global growth.

BHP Billiton chief executive, Andrew Mackenzie, said the move was in response to those lower oil prices.

“The revised drilling program will benefit from significant improvements in drilling and completions efficiency,” he said.

BHP Billiton will cut the numbers of rigs in use at its onshore US shale fields from

26 to 16 by the end of June.

In its latest operational review, the big miner said total petroleum production rose by 9 per cent in the six months to the end of December to a record 131 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Other US energy producers have shut down drilling with the number of oil rigs in operation at a six-year low.

The average oil rig count is expected to fall by 15 per cent in the first few months of the year from the last few months of last year according to US oil services firm, Baker Hughes. It plans to lay off around 7,000 workers.

Gavin Wendt, senior resourc-

es analyst with MineLife, said he was not surprised by BHP’s plans to reduce oil drilling.

“This just reflects what’s happening in the broader US shale industry at the present time,” he told the ABC in an interview for The World Today.

“We always knew that US shale oil production was a high cost endeavour, and was sustained and made commercially viable by the higher oil price environment that we’ve seen over the last four to five years.”

Oil producing cartel, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, has refused to cut production so it

can maintain market share at the same time that other countries like the US have increased output.

In a statement posted on the Iranian oil ministry’s website, Iran’s Oil Minister, Bijan Zanganeh, said he saw no sign of OPEC cutting production.

“Even if the oil price goes down to $US25 a barrel, the oil industry will not be threatened,” he was quoted as saying by Iran’s Fars news agency.

Mr Wendt said he expected oil prices to track sideways for the next six months unless conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine worsened.

- ABC

FIJIAN Cabinet has approved the selection criteria for the 30 pilot workers including other Fijian workers to be recruited under the New Zealand Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) work scheme through the Foreign Employment Service of the National Employment Centre. The New Zealand RSE Work Policy facilitates the temporary entry of additional workers from overseas to fill labour shortages in the horticulture and viticulture industries in New Zealand. Cabinet based its decision on a submission by the Minister for Employment, Productivity and Industrial Relations, Jioji Konrote.

TUNA DEAL

Nambawan Seafoods Tuna, a joint venture between Filipino and Taiwanese firms, expect to bring online a tuna processing plant in Papua New Guinea in September this year. The “state-of-the-art” tuna loining and canning plant, which is being built to process 150 tons to 200 tons of tuna daily, is owned by Taiwan’s FCF Fishery Co. Ltd. and the Philippines’ Trans Pacific Journey Fishing Corp. and TSP Mariner Industries. Nambawan has an exclusive off-take agreement with FCF, which is based in Kaoshiung and is distributing tuna products globally. The tuna processing plant, which is located in Lae City, would be the second such facility in which Filipino firms have a stake. Another plant which is already operating, also in Lae City, is being run by Majestic Seafood Ltd. — a partnership between Thai Union of Thailand and Philippine firms Century Canning and Frabelle Foods.

Western world must invest in vaccine research, says expert

THE Western world is “vulnerable” to epidemics such as Ebola, and must invest more in researching vaccines, a leading scientist has warned.

Professor Peter Piot told the BBC that developed nations would be in “deep trouble” if they failed to adequately prepare for another outbreak.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum, in Davos, he urged global leaders to take a “long-term view”.

Public health policies must “transcend politics and borders”, he said.

Prof Piot co-discovered the

Ebola virus in 1976, and is now in charge of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. He said the UK was relatively well prepared for an outbreak, and praised NHS staff who travelled to West Africa to combat the recent Ebola epidemic.

The threat of Ebola, and other infectious diseases such as influenza and SARS, are set to be discussed in Switzerland this week, as politicians and business leaders from around the globe gather for the annual WEF.

Prof Piot, who will address the WEF alongside leaders of

pharmaceutical companies and West African leaders, said he wanted audiences to understand that “we weren’t prepared enough” for the Ebola outbreak that spread across Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia last year.

Sitting in the heart of Davos’ main conference centre, the affable Belgian, who previously helped lead the World Health Organisation’s fight against AIDS, said: “I bet everything I have that there will be other outbreaks”.

“Our world is getting more vulnerable to big epidemics, because of population expan-

Egypt.

sion, huge mobility and more intense contact between animals and people.

“My concern,” he said, “is that when [the Ebola outbreak] is over we will just forget about it. We need to be better prepared and we need to invest in vaccines and treatment.

Prof Piot praised the work done institutions such as the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention., but he said that Europe needed a force that can be deployed to countries beyond its borders when infectious diseases spread.

- BBC

A TRIAL of an Ebola vaccine started in the US this month.

This just reflects what’s happening in the broader US shale industry at present ...

GAVIN WENDT Senior resurces analyst

THE world’s biggest diversified resources company is cutting the number of drilling rigs in operation in the United States because of the falling price of oil. - ABC

safe & secure

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Be aware of online internet theft

THE advent of the Internet has opened up a wide range of opportunities for businesses, and banks have joined the online bandwagon. Today, Internet banking has become a popular method of conducting banking transactions. Convenience is the main reason individuals, and small businesses in particular, prefer to do their banking online. Online banking is available 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. Yet customers should be aware that there are risks inherent in conducting financial transactions online.

Online Identity Theft

Hacking and identity theft is a real risk with Internet banking. When banking online, a large amount of personal and account information has to be made available, and it is the bank’s responsibility to ensure the security of this data.

Once the offender gets hold of the customer’s account information that includes user name and password, the information is used to fraudulently move the customer’s money out of the account and into the offender’s account. At times, rather than moving

the money, it is withdrawn to make purchases.

Phishing

The term “phishing” was coined from the words password and fishing. The offender sends scam emails and mail that purports to come from the customer’s bank. This is done to obtain the customer’s personal information, user name, password and social security number.

To get the password, a fake logon page is created by the offender and unsuspecting customers actually enter

BANK OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA

their password without stopping to check for the padlock symbol. Specific technology to protect against phishing has been created, and new Internet browsers come with anti-phishing software already installed.

Trojan Horse Scheme

The Trojan Horse Scheme is based on malicious or malware software being embedded in the consumer’s computer without the consumer being aware of it.

Emails from unknown senders with links or attachments

PUBLIC NOTICE

often bring the Trojans into the consumer’s computer.

Once the software is installed in the computer, it is capable of detecting when the person accesses online banking sites and records the user name and password.

This is transmitted to the offender who then uses the information for fraudulent purposes.

Pharming

Pharming is a lesser-known form of Internet banking risk.

This is a type of identity

BEWARE OF MONEY SCHEMES & SCAMSUSE YOUR MONEY WISELY, DURING 2015. DON’T LOSE IT TO FRAUDULENT MONEY SCAMS.

The Bank of Papua New Guinea (the Bank or Bank of PNG) continues to warn the public to be cautious and avoid placing their hard earned cash with promoters or agents of fast money schemes and scams. These fast money schemes/scams are illegal and fraudulent. People who place their money with promoters or agents of these money schemes/scams risk losing their hard earned cash. Be smarter than them, and use your money wisely during the festive season.

The Bank is aware of certain individual(s), agents or groups operating in many parts of PNG who ask innocent individuals to invest their cash in their operation with a promise for a hefty return of 100-2000% on their investment. They also claim that a huge sum of their money, gold or investments in Treasury bills and bonds (often in billions/trillions) is held by the Bank of PNG and is awaiting clearance for immediate payment.

The Bank is also aware of recent scams using mobile phone text and email messages, fraudulent documents with the signatures of Governor of the Bank of PNG, name of the prime Minister, Government Ministers and politicians, winning of lotteries and prizes, request for upfront fees for facilitating access to funds held in offshore accounts and other fraudulent means. These are all different types of scams which are illegal and fraudulent.

Be advised that the Bank of PNG does not deal with financial transactions for any individuals or private groups. The Bank only deals with financial transactions for the Government and licensed financial institutions in

theft that occurs at the Internet Service Provider (ISP) level. When a user enters the URL of the Internet banking site, the DNS tables are hijacked and redirected to a fraudulent site set up by the offender to capture the user’s personal information.

Users are at great risk because, regardless of the security and firewalls in place, they are still vulnerable to this type of fraud.

The padlock symbol is the only way to determine that the site is secure and encrypted.

PNG. Do not send money for upfront fees to any nominated accounts locally or overseas, and avoid giving money to individuals and groups that promise to pay high returns.

If you have given your money to these schemers, you should report those individual(s) to the Police, or demand your money back from them.

REMEMBER: DO NOT PLACE YOUR MONEY WITH ILLEGAL FAST MONEY SCHEMES AND SCAMS. YOU SHOULD USE THE SERVICES OF LICENSED FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ONLY. BE SMART,USE YOUR MONEY WISELY DURING 2015.

WISHING ALL THE PEOPLE OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA A PROPEROUS HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015

GOD BLESS PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Authorised by:

Loi M. Bakani Governor

Has harbour views

Fully serviced apartments

CONVENIENT and secure for private or business getaway, Citi Apartments and Hotels are the best place to stay in.

Located in a quiet residential area in Port Moresby with spacious car park and friendly staff who are ready to assist you make your stay memorable.

Citi Serviced Apartments and Hotels offers 32 spacious luxury apartments consisting of 12 executive suites and seven modern studio apartments. All these are fully furnished for convenient stay with exterior and interior designs of elegant touch to make you feel comfortable and at home.

The Executive suits are constructed like a modern stylist 1 Bedroom Apartment set to give the guests a relaxing environment to unwind after a long day. Built

with a modern kitchen and furnished with all cooking appliances and dining table to suit ones desire.

The studio Apartment is also complete with a modern stylish kitchen and cooking appliances with a dining table and a lounge.

Normal business hours are from 7am to 10pm Monday to Sunday with queen size beds and ADSL dial-up internet, car park and laundry area. Room service include DVD, microwave, telephone, TVand washing machine for guest to use.

Rates are daily depending with payments through cash; bank, cheques, EFTPOS, master or visa card.

For further queries or reservation call 3230543/ 3234561 mobile# 70706545

Email: info@moresbyapartments.com

Website: www.moresbyapartments.com

CAIRNS

Create wealth with AFR

CAIRNS safe and secure offers with a prosperous and blessed New Year starts with educating yourself to create money while you sleep. This is aassured by Robert Smith, Australian First Realty Founder who wants to build your ‘Dream Home’ in Cairns. Start with a four bedroom home with air-conditioned bedrooms, master bedroom with ensuite and walk-in wardrobe, media/theatre room plus fully landscaped - Built in less than four months by the AFR builder. House packages stages 1, 2 and 3 have all sold out. Now the final stages 4 and 5 are selling fast! Do yourself a favour for for your family and create wealth for future education. Buy your house and land package today with AFR. Close to schools, hospitals, James Cook University and only seven minutes to Cairns City Centre. ‘One Stop Shop’ - Call or email Robert Smith for an information pack. Be very quick, wantoks to build your dreams.

A$1,000 deposit and you choose your land and house plan, we then open up an Australian bank account. You are in control, always 100 percent transparent and confidential. Our very successful ‘New House & Land Package Plans’ are available with a total input of K250,000

That is all you need to Invest in Cairns. Remember that the market is on its way up.

AFR is a ‘One-Stop-Shop’ be it Wealth Creation for the future and the education of your children or ‘New House & Land Package’. Either FIRB approved commercial properties or acreage subdivisions, we do it all with our network of builders, lawyers, bankers, immigration agents and opening up an Australian bank account. You can even enrol your children in school in Cairns. Cairns is Port Moresby’s and PNG’s closest trading partner.

Cairns has hit the jackpot with future the A$8.5 billion Aquis Resort planning to go ahead in the region. Robert Smith says get ready to make money in Cairns but be quick, very quick. Build your dream home in Cairns at Redlynch Gateway Central, across the road from shopping centre, sports centre, public transport and minutes away from public and private schools, beaches and thw Cairns CBD.

66 new houses are being built, half already SOLD and another 10 taken with deposits. Start with K250,000 to make your dream come true. Redlynch land now selling stage 2: A$1,000 deposit. With 30 years practice, check and see. Your agent has experience!

With AFR, you will be the winner. Our AFR clients who are PNG nationals have testimonials to back up our AFR history which spans 30 years. The Guru of Real Estate Donald Trump USA told Robert “Money while you sleep”. AFR will get you on the right track as Robert Smith has been travelling to PNG centres for over many years helping wantoks. Create wealth for future generations – Most of all, education.

Contact AFR now for more information on gathering ‘Tools for your Success’. Contact Robert Smith direct: Email: admin@australianfirstrealty.com.au

Office: +617 4031-1770

Mobile: +614 1877 2221

AFR headquarters is located at 171 Bunda St, Cairns - opposite the railway. Next time you are in Cairns, call in and discuss your wealth creation deal over PNG coffee with Robert himself or call him direct on: 72173866 –The Founder says: ‘Money While You Sleep’.

NOW available for your immediate occupancy is a 2 bedroom unit for lease in Boroko. This property is close to school, shops, churches and public transport. The unit come fully furnished.

Asking: K 1,000.00 per week.

Contact: Mutien Mays of Strickland Real Estate on Phone: 320 0944, Mobile: 7005 3289 or Email: mmays@sre.com.pg.

KOKI POINT

View from the top

ENJOY sea views of Manubada Island, Koki Point and its surrounds right from the comforts of your dining room. This cosy two bedroom/ one bathroom unit is the perfect retreat for a couple or energetic single. High ceilings, skylights that let in natural light and beautifully varnished floors add to a sense of space. A newly tiled kitchen adds convenience and low care

Budget Real Estate

PORTLOCK STREET, TOWN

maintenance. There are nifty storage areas and more. With easy access to Downtown and most amenities, you’d be mad to look past this.

For Rent: K2, 000 per week

Please contact the sales team at Strickland Real Estate on Ph: 3200944 or Email: salesdesk@sre.com.pg for inspections.

2 x tri- level executive apartment consisting of 3 spacious bedrooms/ 3 toilets, fully furnished, air conditioning thru out, cable

backup power & water, 24/7 security. Close to Boroko CBD and schools etc.

K2, 500.00 per week plus GST

3bedroomhousewithensuite,fullyfurnished with white and brown foods, air conditioning throughout, TV and cable connection, recently renovated, swimming pool, backup power & water, 24/7 community and gated security.

K4, 000.00 per week plus GST

Commercial Lease

LAWES ROAD, KONEDOBU

1x3 bedroom unit, fully furnished, backup power & water, 24/7 security. Close to St Joseph’s International School, Boroko market, Port Moresby Medical clinic and bus stops.

K3, 000.00 per week plus GST

ISLANDER VILLAGE (STAGE 1)

1 x 270m2 warehouse space with smaller office in built, toilet & kitchen facilities, 24/7 security, close proximity to the main wharf and Poreporena Freeway.

K25, 000.00 per month plus GST

GEREHU (STAGE 1)

Warehouse space covering a total area of 1300m2, with ample parking spaces, access to main Gerehu suburb drive and near bus stops, police station etc. Ideal for company’s seeking extra storage spaces. POA

4 MILE

Warehouse space with 3,022 m2 floor area, securely fenced and within 4mile/Boroko CBD, accessible to main freeway and Hubert Murray Highway. Ideal for container and or bulk storage POA

HOHOLA

Duplex for rent

RECENTLY listed on the market is this three (3) bedroom low set duplex with separate yard. It is ideally located close to all amenities (Market, shopping centers, bus stop, schools, sporting field, etc..) The unit is neatly furnished with white & brown goods. Now leasing at K1,500 per week. For inspections & for full listings, call Homeland Realty and ask for Elijah on 7233 5703 or Dickson Dobo on 7094 7109

GORDONS

Corporate office space

WE have 734sqm available office space in level 2 of CHM Corporate Park one building, centrally located in the industrial & commercial area in Gordons. The space is ready for occupancy, includes executive offices, general workstation, reception area, conference rooms, dedicated server rooms, archive rooms, kitchens, executive toilets & shower rooms. The building has corporate and peaceful environment.

Other facilities of the building are as follows:

24 hours security

Power back up with a reserve tank for 10,000 liters of diesel Reliable water back-up.

Lift service up to level 2.

Stress-free, relaxing view and surrounded with well maintained garden. For inquiries, please contact Joselito on 3010500 (mobile 72493404) or Ham (mobile 70903033) or email: Joselito@chm.com.pg or chi@chm.com.pg

death do us part

Media fraternity pays tribute to a great journalist

THE PNG Media Workers Association is deeply saddened at the untimely death of Justin Kili after a short illness at Vunapope, East New Britain on Saturday, January 17.

In a statement by the association this week, his death is a huge loss to the media fraternity.

JK, as he was affectionately known to all within the Media Fraternity and to the many thousands who listened to his radio programs and shows, held various senior positions within the media industry until his untimely passing.

PNG Media Workers Association understands that at the time of his death, JK was awaiting finalization of his contract of employment with Radio East New Britain. Himself, being a journalist, Mr Kili was also actively involved with media organizations that promoted and protected journalists interests such as the PNG Media Council.

“Mr. Kili’s death has left a void within the media industry that will never be filled.

PAYING WAR HEROES RESPECT

RELATIVES at the grave sites of their lost family members who lost their lives in battle during the war. A dawn service in honour of these heroes is held every year at the Bomana War Cemetary on April 25 (ANZAC Day). The same is held in other main centres of PNG as well as in Australia and New Zealand.

“The wealth of knowledge that he took with him will never be replaced. For what he contributed to the development of the media industry, we can only express our deepest and sincere gratitude.

“On behalf of all those employed in the Media Industry, those whose work is associated with media in one way or another and the many tens and hundreds of thousands

whose lives you have been a part of in your beloved vocation on radio and in media generally, the PNG Media Workers Association would

About an inevitable part of life

THERE is some truth to the old saying, “There are only two things you can count on in life: death and taxes.” Everyone experiences death. Death and dying are an inevitable part of human life.

Some people know ahead of time when their death will occur. Terminal illnesses, when diagnosed ahead of time, allow a person to set his or her affairs in order, make relationships right, and say goodbye to loved ones. In these cases, every person involved has a chance to gradually adjust and make peace with death, as much as possible. However, not everyone has this chance. Many deaths occur suddenly. Death can, and often does, strike without warning.

No one is promised tomorrow. The only thing we can count on is today.

Many people around the world turn to religion to answer questions about death and the afterlife, especially when someone is facing his or her own mortality. Strangely, even a brief glance at many of the world’s religions reveals that many theologies glamorize death, promising rewards in the afterlife, including increased understanding of God and the universe and even, in some cases, supernatural powers that were

unavailable during the mortal life. Death often seems more attractive than being alive.

But the reality of death is that it should be avoided at all costs. Death is the worst thing to ever happen in all of existence.

Life is a precious gift we are unable to recreate once it’s gone. The truth about death lays plain the harshness of the grave … but also the true beauty of the life we already have. We invite you to learn more about this topic, and hope you better appreciate your life as a result.

The mystery of death

Any study of the nature of death begs an important foundational question: Why must things die in the first place?

Indeed, death is a grand mystery. Throughout time, every major religion, philosophy, and spiritual train of thought has sought to explain this mystery. It is a subject that touches the life of every man and woman, uniting the entire human race under a cloud of inevitable mortality. The rich and the poor alike meet the same end; the black and the white both go to the grave; the powerful and the humble all leave this planet eventually.

Interestingly, scientific research into single-celled organisms reveals that the nature of life, on a cellular level, does not automatically include a self-destruct mechanism for death. In other words, it appears that death is an unnatural part of life. Yet despite this, everything on earth eventually dies.

Many lines of religious thought simply accept the inevitability of death and instead try to offer better alternatives that await the faithful in the afterlife. These ideas bring comfort to many people who have lost loved ones or are facing death themselves, but they leave others wondering, “Why must death exist? Wouldn’t an allpowerful God eradicate death? Shouldn’t all life inherently live forever?”

So the question of the nature of death also brings profound implications about the nature of God. Maybe, some reason, God is not as powerful as He says, since the problem of death remains. Maybe God numbs our sensibilities after death, if we are promised happiness in paradise despite the horrors unfolding on our loved ones who are still alive.

www.truthaboutdeath.com

like to extend its heartfelt condolences to Mrs Kili, the children and grandchildren,” the statement read.

CONDOLENCE MESSAGE

Transparency International PNG Inc. (TIPNG) is saddened by the passing of Justin Hansu Kili, a member of its Board of Directors. Mr Kili joined the Board in June 2014 after many years associated with TIPNG and its work. Living in retirement in Kokopo he agreed to join us and add his vast media experience to our work

It is only a few weeks since the late Justin Kili spent a week working with a local group in Kokopo as they considered options for combatting corruption in East New Britain Province. Justin was very committed to this work.

Transparency International PNG offers its condolences to Justin Kili’s family and friends, taking this opportunity to express gratitude for his enthusiastic efforts in assisting to reduce corruption in PNG.

May his soul rest in peace.

The Board and Staff of Transparency International PNG Inc.

Late Justin Hansu Kili, MBE, OL

Aussie police ramp up anti-terror measures

POLICE across the country have ramped up security measures amid growing concerns they may be targeted by terrorists.

The threat level specific to police was on Tuesday raised to “high” following recent attacks in France, Australia and Canada, and threats elsewhere, bringing it in line with the national alert level which was changed in September last year, indicating an

attack is likely.

However, authorities said on Tuesday there was no specific threat.

Police have been warned to remain vigilant at all times.

Officers in some states will be permitted to take weapons and body armour home, while others are being urged not to openly display their uniforms while travelling to and from work.

NSW police have been told to carry their weapons at all times when in uniform.

The Australian Federal Police said the order to raise the alert level had been prompted by intelligence and an “increasingly complex and challenging” security environment.

It was also prompted by the increasing influence in Australia of extremist groups such as Islamic

State.

“While relatively small, there are increasing numbers of Australians who are connected with or inspired by overseas terrorist groups such as ISIL, with the intent and capability to conduct an attack against police,” the AFP said.

Authorities have so far cancelled the passports of about 80 Australians suspected of planning to

FRESH BID

commit a terrorist act or engage in politically motivated violence overseas.

Terrorism expert Clive Williams said raising the threat level for police was a reasonable precaution.

“Islamic State has been calling for its people to attack police,” Professor Williams told AAP.

“So, it rather surprises me that they haven’t done this before now.”

-AAP

BUILDING CATCHES FIRE

EMERGENCY crews have been called to a fire in Brisbane’s Central Business District. It was known yet if there were any fatalities. The blaze broke out in a cooling tower on the roof of the Broadway building in Adelaide Street this afternoon. Multiple fire brigade units were quickly on the scene.

The damage has been confined to the immediate area. Picture: ABC

El Nino not likely in Aust

AUSTRALIA is likely to avoid a drought-inducing El Nino following a cooling of Pacific Ocean surface temperatures since Christmas.

The Bureau of Meteorology says there is about a 25 per cent chance an El Nino will develop by the end of February, which is down from its pre-Christmas estimate of 70 per cent.

BOM has also reduced its fortnightly El Nino Southern Oscillation Tracker from “alert” to “neutral”, skipping the “watch” level.

Climate prediction service manager Dr Andrew Watkins said before Christmas that sea surface temperatures in the central Pacific Ocean were at El Nino thresholdsabout 1.1C above normal.

“We came extremely close to having an El Nino in late October to early December,” Dr Watkins told AAP.

The bottom line

Ice detections increase at borders

ICE is streaming into Australia at an alarming rate with border detections of the destructive drug increasing almost 10 fold.

Between 2011 and 2014, detections of amphetaminetype substances - including ice - on a commercial scale skyrocketed from 44 to 415.

A single importation of 849kg of ice was seized in a $1.5 billion haul in Sydney last year. However, a commercial quantity can be any amount more than a kilogram.

Over the past three years, the total number of crystal meth busts made by customs officers has jumped from 171 to 1379, according to the service’s annual report.

Police are under no illusion about the destruction caused by the drugs that slip through undetected and end up in the hands of addicts.

Ed Daley was one of them.

The father-of-two became hooked after using ice with mates in 2005.

For the next near-decade

Mr Daley battled crippling drug abuse and a damaging gambling addiction.

“It has destroyed me, it’s had me in depression for so long,” he told AAP.

It was never difficult to buy a hit, Mr Daley said, and on some days he would blow up to $600.

Mr Daley has spent the past 15 weeks at The Glen Drug and Alcohol Centre on the NSW Central Coast working on kicking his addiction.

The turning point was losing his father to liver disease from alcoholism.

“I promised him that if he got out of the hospital I would straighten myself out,” he said.

“I’ve got my missus and my boys, I am doing it for

ICE being sampled by Australian law enforcement agents. Picture:AFP/dailymail

myself and for them.”

Before ice reaches people like Mr Daley, it passes

THE French high commissioner in New Caledonia, Vincent Bouvier, is convening a government meeting today in a fresh bid to get it to elect a president. The territory has been without a president for five weeks after one of the three anti-independence parties quit the collegial government and triggered its collapse, RNZI reports. The government represented three anti-independence parties, which jointly had six of the 11 ministries. On New Year’s Eve, the Congress re-elected the same government, which then however failed to agree on a president. Cynthia Ligeard has continued as caretaker president, saying the territory’s administration remains assured.

CLIMATE FOCUS

KIRIBATI has told a United Nations review of its human rights that the basic right of its people to survive climate change is a high priority, RNZI reports. A Kiribati delegation headed by the minister of women, youth and social affairs, told the Human Rights Council in Geneva that he couldnt report on human rights without addressing the challenges from climate change to low lying nations.’Kiribati says climate change has the potential to affect the very basic human right for its people as a distinct culture to survive, the right and access to clean drinking water, to food and the right to have islands they call home. The government says the UN Human Rights review process will amount to nothing if other major challenges are not addressed.

HYDRO READY

through dirty backyard labs and the hands of multiple crooks.

“They are dens of filth that crooks set up as clandestine laboratories to do what they need to do to manufacture whatever they can,” NSW Drug Squad Superintendent Tony Cooke said.

“Ice, we know it’s horribly addictive.

“We have seen kids use it that say `I used this once and I would’ve hurt my mother to get money to buy it’.”

The drug squad is particularly focused on the diversion of chemical precursors to make drugs in these backyard dens.

In December police uncovered more than 30kg of ice and thousands of litres of chemicals in Kenthurst, which were allegedly linked to Comancheros bikies.

-APP

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.

A MAJOR Solomon Islands hydro project is in the final phase of preparation, with construction set to start in March next year. The manager of the US$120 million (K318m) Tina hydro project on Guadalcanal, Mark France, says two consortia have been shortlisted to develop their bids for the project in June. The prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, has expressed his support after meeting project executives, pledging contributions to the multi-lateral donor funding for the project. Mr France says the new government’s commitment is key to having the power plant completed in 2018, RNZI reports.

TIES STRAINED

THE Joint Region Marianas commander Rear Admiral Bette Bolivar says it is no secret the CNMI is a vital asset and of significant value to the United States’ national security, RNZI reports. She says everything in the Joint Marianas, which includes Guam, is important to the military and contributes to national security. Rear Admiral Bolivar attended the inauguration of the CNMI’s Governor Eloy Inos and Lieutenant Governor Ralph Torres last week and held a meeting with the pair along with senior US military officials involved in the Pacific. She says no decision has been made on the use of the territory as a divert airfield in case the Andersen Air Force Base on Guam is rendered inoperable due to attack or natural calamity.

Delay hope for Aussies’ executions

THERE is still a chance two Australians on death row for their involvement in the Bali Nine drug ring could have their executions postponed and the decision reviewed, an Indonesian government spokesman has said.

Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran are on death row for their organising role in attempting to traffic heroin to Australia. The ring leaders of the socalled Bali Nine group have run out of legal avenues of

appeal and had hoped for a presidential pardon but Indonesian president Joko Widodo has vowed not to grant clemency for drugrelated offences.

The country resumed executions for drug offences on Sunday, but a spokesman for the attorney-general said there was a chance the two Australians could have their cases postponed and reviewed. In an interview on the Berita Satu News Network, the attorneygeneral’s spokesman, Tony

Woman approached hitman to kill hubby

AN Adelaide woman tried for years to find ways to have her estranged husband murdered, a court has been told.

Doris Ann Brunditt, 44, of Glanville in the city’s northwest, was due to stand trial in February on a count of soliciting to murder in 2010.

She previously admitted to another count of solicit to murder in 2014.

Brunditt appeared in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, when prosecutor Elizabeth Griffith said the matter had been resolved and the first charge would be dropped.

But she said the parties had agreed the evidence that was to be used at the trial could be taken into account in the sentencing on the admitted charge.

Ms Griffith said the material showed a course of conduct spanning 2010 to 2014 that “amounted to trying to find ways to have her husband killed”, including approaching a potential hitman.

“He asserted some money changed hands but it will be accepted no money ever changed hands,” she said.

However, she said Brunditt discussed costs and money on multiple occasions.

The prosecution also accepted that Brunditt did not offer to perform sexual favours in partpayment, as asserted by the potential hitman.

Ms Griffith said the evidence relating to the uncharged criminal conduct could be used to show the conduct was not spontaneous, but “calculated and targeted”.

The case was adjourned to April 8 to enable the defence to obtain a psychological report on Brunditt, who is in custody on remand. -APP

Nurses lose 80 jobs

STAFF at Victoria’s Royal District Nursing Service are distraught after hearing that about 80 jobs will be cut, the nursing union says.

The service’s 14 offices will be cut to four regional hubs and some client care replaced by video conferencing.

A letter from RDNS to staff said at least 65 jobs would be advertised internally and the 149 affected staff would be able to apply.

Victorian general manager Fiona Hearn says the job losses are unavoidable, but promised services would remain unaffected.

“There are no front line nurses affected by these changes,” Ms Hearn told AAP on Wednesday.

But the nursing union’s Paul Gilbert said there will be a significant decrease in the number of Grade 4 registered nurse jobs. He said staff were distraught at the changes.

Young deaths probe

A TASMANIAN coroner is investigating the suicides of six young people to try to prevent further deaths.

Aged between 14 and 17 years old, the girls and boys died between 2010 and 2014.

Some were known to each other and attended the same school, coroner Olivia McTaggart was told during Wednesday’s opening of the six-day inquest in Hobart.

For legal reasons the names and specific ages of the teenagers cannot be made public.

There are common factors in the lives of each of the young people, counsel assisting the inquest Garth Stevens said.

Spontana, said executions should take place as soon as possible but he also revealed there was a chance for them to be delayed. Mr Spotana was asked about considerations such as the political situation in Australia and conceded there were technical ways the execution could be postponed.

“But with regards to death penalty, we have the mechanism to review the decision,” Mr Spontana said.

“Starting from the decision made by the District Court

all the way to decision in Judicial Review, including the clemency decision.”

He did not say how a review was conducted or who granted it. It was also unclear how long the execution might be postponed for.

But if Chan and Sukumaran could get a review of their case even if it did not find an error in judgement along the way, at the very least it might help buy them time.

Sukumaran has already been denied what was

thought to be the last avenue of appeal, a presidential pardon, and Chan is still waiting for an answer on his clemency bid.

The president said he would not grant clemency for drug offences. Mr Spontana said there were other “technicalities” that could lead to the execution of the two Australians being postponed, such as the health of the inmates and their right to religious support.

“For example [one of]

the female inmates that we executed in Boyolali, in the beginning she was a Buddhist then we found out she converted to Catholicism. So we need to provide the right clerics for the present faith.

“We also receive requests that they need to speak to the families via telephone. We schedule the time for that as well. We also need to make sure that the inmate is in a good health condition during the execution,” Mr Spontana said.

SP SPORTS AWARDS 2015 NOMINATION FORM P NOMINAMINATIONFORM M SPORTS AWARDS NOMINATION FORM

Conditions of the SP Sports Awards 2015

Nominations will only be accepted on this Official Nomination Form in respect to performance and achievements during the period January 1st to December 31st, 2014.

There are twelve categories in the SP Sports Awards 2015, of which the following eleven can be nominated for:

1. Male Athlete of the Year – Best International Performance by a male athlete in 2014

2. Female Athlete of the Year – Best International Performance by a female athlete in 2014

3. Team of the Year – Best International Performance by a team in 2014

4. National Performance of the Year – Best National Performance by a male athlete, female athlete, or team in 2014

5. Community Sports Initiative – Best use of sport to help address social issues at a community level in 2014

6. Junior Male Athlete of the Year – Best Performance by a male athlete who was 18 years and younger in 2014

7. Junior Female Athlete of the Year - Best Performance by a female athlete who was 18 years and younger in 2014

8. Best Sportsperson with a Disability – For athletes with a physical or intellectual disability who have performed outstandingly in 2014

9. Sports Official of the Year – For individuals who have excelled as a Coach, Referee/Umpire or Administrator in 2014

10. Sports Photo of the Year – For best photo taken in 2014 capturing a sporting moment at any level of sport

11. Sports Media Award – For media coverage of sport or a sporting event in 2014 by an individual, programme, organisation or online site

*People’s Choice of the Year - Public to be given opportunity to vote on which finalist from the first four categories they feel deserves to win this award Nominations can be submitted by anyone including national sporting associations, individual sportsmen and women, coaches, administrators, clubs, sports officials, the media and the public for any of the above awards.

The SP Sports Awards are for all sporting persons and bodies. The decision of the Awards Selection Committee is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Closing date for nominations in all categories of the SP Sports Awards 2015 is Wednesday 25th February, 2015.

Additional information on terms and conditions or criteria can be obtained from the:

PNG Olympic Committee Inc. on:

Telephone: (675) 323 0114 323 0108 or 71001063

Facsimile: (675) 325 1851 Email: alepani@pngoc.org.pg

Location: Telikom 4-Mile Compound, Boroko NCD

NOMINATION DETAILS

I would like to nominate________________________________________ (name) Of _________________________________In the category of_____________________________________________________ (eg Male Athlete of the Year)

IMPORTANT

Nominations MUST include supporting documentation describing major achievements in 2014 to enhance your nomination and forward to:

PNG OLYMPIC COMMITTEE INC.

PO BOX 467, BOROKO, NCD. 111, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Location: Telikom 4-Mile Compound, Boroko. NCD

DETAILS OF PERSON NOMINATING ARE AS FOLLOWS:

Minister puts new uni deal on the table

FEDERAL Education Minister

Christopher Pyne remains open to striking a fresh deal with Senate crossbenchers to pass his university funding changes.

Mr Pyne has put on the table a deal to scale back the coalition’s proposed $1.9 billion cut in university funding, at a potential similar cost to the budget.

The government has already sacrificed $3.5 billion in savings by changing its original bill to keep the interest rate for student loans in line with inflation, bolster regional scholarships and bring in the consumer watchdog to monitor fee hikes.

In doing so, the coalition won over four crossbenchers but fell short of two extra votes it needed to pass the legislation in December.

Measles scare on flight bound for Perth

Mr Pyne said trimming back the size of the funding cut was “part of the negotiation” with the crossbenchers ahead of parliament resuming on February 9, but nothing had been settled.

“What that final negotiation looks like is not something that I’m going to parade ... but it’ll become quite apparent of course when we return to parliament,” he told ABC radio on Wednesday.

He said the government remained committed to the changes.

“It’s very important that we get more revenue to universities,” he said.

“It’s very important that more students get the opportunity to go to university and that our universities are as high quality as they can be.”

One of the two crossbench senators who voted against the bill, Nick Xenophon, said his position has not changed since December.

But he has asked Mr Pyne to commission an independent expert review into the higher education system.

In the interim, Senator Xenophon says he would support allowing universities to increase their student fees to a cap set by the independent panel of experts.

The Independent South Australia senator is due to meet Mr Pyne next week to discuss his plan.

His review has the support of fellow independent senators Ricky Muir and Jacqui Lambie, who also hold crucial votes.

“There is merit for universities to be able to have a capped modest

Quick news

VANUATU PETITIONS CUT

increase while this is being worked through,” Senator Xenophon said.

“But deregulation by itself could be a dangerous path to go down.”

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten described the latest talks as “another round of dysfunction, chaos and kite-flying”.

“The Abbott government needs to work with the opposition, work with students and parents and higher education,” Mr Shorten said.

Asked about Senator Xenophon’s proposed review, Mr Shorten said: “We are happy to look at the future of higher education.”

Universities Australia backs the proposal to reduce the $1.9 billion cut to university funding, saying it would make tertiary education more affordable.

THE Vanuatu government says it will introduce legislation to reduce the number of what it deems to be superficial election disputes, Radio New Zealand International reports. The internal affairs minister Charlot Salwai has proposed key amendments to the People’s Representations Act that would increase petition fees from the current US$200 (K530) to almost $10,000 (K26,500). The government says the new policy attempts to set limits so the courts strictly deal with serious election issues instead of frivolous cases with little chance of succeeding. According to the government, funds from the fees could be held in a trust account for when costs are awarded by the courts in petition outcomes. Some recent petitions have taken two years to reach final determination.

SI APPOINTEES SHOCKING

THE Solomon Islands opposition says the governments list of 39 political appointees leaked on social media late last week is shocking and unjustifiable. The Solomon Star newspaper reports that the unofficial list which included the government salary scales for each appointee would cost the country US$1.6 million (K4.24m) a year. The opposition leader, Jeremy Manele, says the number represents a 200 per cent increase from the 14 appointees employed by the previous government. Mr Manele says if the list is made official it will contradict prime minister Manasseh Sogavare’s promise on the floor of parliament to run a cost-effective office. According to the Solomon Star, if the leaked list of 39 appointees is made official it will be the highest number of political appointees ever hired by any Solomon Islands government.

SAMOA TEACHERS PAY UP

PASSENGERS on a flight from Singapore to Perth may have been exposed to measles, with a passenger diagnosed after returning home.

The passenger arrived in Perth around 6:00pm on Sunday January 11, on Scoot flight TZ 8 from Singapore.

The WA Department of Health has warned people on that flight, particularly those sitting near row 43, that they were potentially exposed. Other areas where people may have been exposed included the arrival area at Perth International airport on January 11 between 6:15pm and 7:00pm and the children’s play area adjacent the Vale Shopping Centre in Canning Vale between 6:30pm to 7:30pm on January 13.

People at the Forest Lakes Medical Centre in Thornlie around 8:45am to 10:15am on January 14, and the emergency department at Armadale Kelmscott Memorial Hospital around 10:30am to 11:00am on January 17 may also be at risk.

In a statement, WA Health Medical epidemiologist Dr Gary Dowse said public health staff had been contacting potentially exposed people where they were known. –ABC

Study: Crocs don’t grab all attack opportunities

CROCODILES do not attack people every time an opportunity presents itself, especially when they have other things on their mind, new research suggests.

Queensland scientists used underwater technology to track about 130 Crocodylus porosus crocs, in the Wenlock River and the Ducie River in the state’s far north over a three-year period.

The researchers from the University of New England (UNE), the University of Queensland and Australia Zoo were surprised to find despite the crocs being metres away from humans between the months of

September and December, they did not attack anyone.

UNE’s Dr Hamish Campbell said he did not believe that was because the crocodiles were not interested in people but was probably because they had other priorities, including searching for mates and nesting sites, in that period of the year.

“Earlier in the year they remained reasonably sedentary, but come September crocodiles became highly mobile and they would travel through these shallow water areas where people were undertaking water based activities,” he said.

“There was no instance of attacks, perhaps that’s because these crocodiles are highly mobile, perhaps their minds are on other matters.

“The boys are looking for the girls, and the girls are looking for nests, and they really just want to access these areas to travel through.”

Dr Campbell said some of the males travelled up to 50 kilometres a day. “They would do that repeatedly over one or two weeks, so their movement potential was up to thousands of kilometres in only a couple of weeks, which was quite remarkable,” he said

The scientists were also surprised to find that the tide had a large influence on crocodiles’ movements.

“The crocodiles would actually move up into these areas with the tide,” Dr Campbell said.

“So around periods of high tide, during September to December, shallow watered areas around far north Queensland have a really high probability - it was almost 100 per cent - of a large crocodile being present.

“We also found that the crocodiles moved up in those areas on sunset, and were present throughout the night. –ABC

HUNDREDS of teachers of Samoa’s public schools have been told by the prime minister at the opening of their annual conference that government will continue to increase their salaries. The prime minister, Tuila’epa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi’s, comments comes after the opposition described the timing of the 21 percent increase to be paid out in three years, starting in 2015, as part of a political campaign ahead of next year’s general election, RNZI reports. Tuila’epa says statesmen and wise government leaders have long-term visions to benefit the people. But referring to the opposition, he says politicians have a short-term vision only to get support for an election. The government teachers will get their first seven per cent salary increase this week.

MEDIA CHAIR CHARGED

REPORTS from Fiji say the chairman of Fiji’s media regulator Ashwin Raj is to appear in court on a charge of annoyance. This has been confirmed by the police commissioner Ben Groenewald following reports Mr Raj had been detained and charged. Mr Raj, who heads Fiji’s Media Industry Development Authority, earlier described reports of the charge as malicious allegations. The Fiji Times reports neither Mr Raj nor Mr Groenewald would give details of what led to the charge. The commissioner said Mr Raj had also made an official complaint against him and he says that matter has been referred to the internal affairs department for investigation.

NEW RAPA NUI THEORY

NEWLY-published research into ancient land use on Rapa Nui or Easter Island shows the collapse of society there wasn’t as dramatic as first thought, RNZI reports. A multi-national team of scientists and archaeologists has come up with the first empirical evidence of changes in land use on the island which reveals how the slowly changing environment influenced people’s living and farming patterns. Theories up until now have centred around people starving to death due to slashing and burning the land for agriculture and the introduction of disease after contact with Europeans. An archaeologist who helped in the latest research, Thegn Ladefoged, says the new findings don’t support the orthodox archaeological story of dramatic collapse, anarchy and cannabalism on Rapa Nui.

Stall caused AirAsia crash, says minister

AN AirAsia plane that crashed into the Java Sea last month with 162 people on board had climbed at a speed that was higher than normal and then stalled, Indonesia’s transport minister says.

Flight QZ8501 went down on December 28 in stormy weather, during what was supposed to be a short trip from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.

Indonesia’s meteorological agency has said bad weather may have caused the crash, and investigators are analysing the data from the jet’s black boxes before releasing a preliminary report.

Just moments before the

Aussie’s visas put on hold

AUSSIE holidaymakers heading to Bali look set to continue paying for visas on arrival until Indonesia can get fees waived for its citizens visiting Australia.

In November, Indonesia’s tourism minister announced the government may scrap the $US35 fee for citizens of Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia from this month. But so far, the ruling only applies to Japan. Agus Barnas, spokesman for Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Politics, Law and Security, says Indonesia wants to pursue a reciprocal arrangement with Australia. “For Australia, there’s still obstacles on political and security issues,” he told AAP. “Other than that, free visas should be given reciprocally.” Japan has waived visa fees for Indonesians visiting for up to 15 days. A tourism expert from Bali’s Udayana University, Nyoman Sukma Arida, says it’s wise to delay the plan.

Malaysian detained in Australia

A FORMER bodyguard of the Malaysian prime minister has been detained in Queensland after being sentenced to death for the murder of a model in his home country.

plane disappeared off the radar, the pilot had asked to climb to avoid the storm. He was not immediately granted permission due to heavy air traffic.

“In the final minutes, the plane climbed at a speed which was beyond normal,” transport minister Ignasius Jonan told reporters, citing radar data.

“The plane suddenly went up at a speed above the normal limit that it was able to climb to. Then it stalled.”

Earlier at a parliamentary hearing, he said radar data showed the Airbus A320-200 appeared at one point to be climbing at a rate of 6,000 feet [1,800 metres] a minute

before the crash.

“I think it is rare even for a fighter jet to be able to climb 6,000 feet per minute,”

Mr Jonan said. “For a commercial flight, climbing around 1,000 to 2,000 [feet] is maybe already considered extraordinary, because it is not meant to climb that fast.”

There were several other planes in the area at the time. The minister’s comments came after Indonesian investigators said they were focusing on the possibility of human error or problems with the plane having caused the crash, following an initial analysis of the cockpit voice recorder.

“We didn’t hear any other person, no explosion,” investigator Nurcahyo Utomo told reporters, explaining why terrorism had been ruled out. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Committee were now looking at the “possibility of plane damage and human factors”, he said, without giving further details.

As well as the cockpit voice recorder, the committee is also examining a wealth of information in the flight data recorder, which monitors every major part of the plane. A preliminary report will be released on January 28.

There was a huge interna-

tional hunt for the crashed plane, involving ships from several countries including the US and China.

Indonesian search and rescue teams have so far recovered just 53 bodies from the sea. But last week a Singapore navy ship located the jet’s main body, with the AirAsia motto “Now Everyone Can Fly” painted on the side. Rescue teams hope they will be able to find many more of the passengers and crew inside.

Despite several attempts, divers have so far not succeeded in reaching the fuselage due to bad weather, high waves and strong underwater currents. – AFP/ABC

Sirul Azhar Umar was taken into custody by immigration officials in Brisbane overnight after an Interpol red notice was issued. The 43-year-old has been sentenced to death in Malaysia over the murder of 28-year-old Mongolian model and interpreter Altantuya Shaariibuu. During the original trial it was revealed Ms Altantuya told Sirul Azhar she was pregnant before she was shot in the head near Kuala Lumpur. The 28-year-old’s body was blown up with military-grade explosives in a jungle clearing, leaving only shattered bone fragments as evidence. –ABC

Indonesia executes six convicted on drug offences

INDONESIA has executed six people convicted on drug offences in the first executions carried out under new president Joko Widodo.

The two women and four men killed by firing squad included five foreigners from Brazil, the Netherlands, Vietnam, Malawi and Nigeria.

Two Australians – Myuran Sukamaran and Andrew Chan – remain on death row for their roles in the so-called Bali Nine’s attempt to traffic heroin into Australia.

Sukamaran has already been denied a presidential pardon. Prime Minister

Tony Abbott has appealed directly to Mr Widodo to show mercy on the two Australians.

Brazil and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors in Indonesia after Jakarta ignored their pleas for clemency and executed their nationals.

Indonesia has tough antidrugs laws and Mr Widodo, who took office in October, has disappointed rights activists by voicing strong support for capital punishment despite his image as a reformist. A spokesman for the attorney-general’s office, Tony Spontana, said all the

prisoners were executed around the same time, shortly after midnight.

They were sentenced to death between 2000 and 2011.

Vietnamese woman Tran Thi Bich Hanh was executed in Boyolali district in central Java, while five others were put to death on Nusakambangan Island, home to a high-security prison, off the south coast of the archipelago’s main island of Java.

They included an Indonesian woman, Rani Andriani, along with 53-year-old Brazilian Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira and

62-year-old Dutchman Ang Kiem Soei.

A Nigerian, Daniel Enemuo, and Namaona Denis, from Malawi, were also executed.

Brazil’s president and the Dutch foreign minister led an international outcry against the executions. A spokesman for Brazilian president Dilma Roussef said she was “distressed and outraged”.

“Using the death penalty, which is increasingly rejected by the international community, seriously affects relations between our countries,” the spokesman said in a statement. – ABC

DEWI Retno Atik and her lawyer leave prison in Central Java the day before her husband Namaona Denis, from Malawi, was executed for drug smuggling.Picture:AFP/ ABC

A PAKISTANI health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child, near the Afghan border in Chaman. Pakistan is one of only thr ee countries where polio remains endemic. Attempts to eradicate it have been made much harder by militants who continually attack immunisation teams. Picture: EPA/ BBC

HEALTH WORKER TREATS BABY

Mastermind arrested after months in hiding

A MAN who allegedly organised the murder of an Australian businessman in Bali, and profited most from it, has been shot and arrested after months in hiding.

Martin Ngongo Bili was found in a cupboard in the house of a villager in Sumba, an island east of Bali, in the early hours of Tuesday, police say.

He was the last of eight suspects wanted for the murder of Robert Ellis, 60, a successful businessman whose corpse was found in a Bali rice field in October.

Bali detective Pande Sugiarta says when Bili was found a chase ensued until he was finally shot in the leg after trying to fight officers with a sharp weapon.

“He had fled into the jungle,” he said.

“The terrain where we chased him was very difficult, lots of cliffs.

“He has spent the past ... months moving from house to house, in hiding.”

Pope serves open-air mass for millions

POPE Francis has said a huge open-air mass for a record-size rain-drenched crowd in the Philippine capital, after appealing to the world to “learn how to cry” over the plight of poor, homeless and abused children.

A city official said 6 million people turned out to see the Pope in Manila’s Rizal Park and surrounding areas on Sunday to witness the event that capped Francis’s week-long trip to Asia.

“We have it at 6 million,” Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Francis Tolentino said, when asked for the crowd size. The gathering makes it a world record crowd for a papal gathering.

The 78-year-old Pope, wearing a transparent yellow poncho over his white cassock, was driven through the ecstatic crowd in a “popemobile” modified from a jeepney, the most popular mode of transport in the Philippines.

He stopped often along the route to kiss children and bless religious statues on the day the Philippines celebrates the feast of the infant Jesus.

The faithful, also wearing ponchos, held up rosaries as he passed by.

Some people in the capital of Asia’s only predominantly Catholic country had waited during the night for gates to open at dawn.

The gates opened nine

hours before the start of the mass. In his homily, the Pope urged Filipinos to shun “social structures which perpetuate poverty, ignorance and corruption”, a theme he stressed when he held talks with president Benigno Aquino on Friday. Mr Aquino attended the mass.

Francis also took another swipe at the government’s population control efforts. He said the family was under threat from “insidious attacks and programs contrary to all that we hold true and sacred”.

Organisers had said they had expected 6 million people, 1 million more than the number that flocked to a mass there by Pope John

Paul 20 years ago.

Before the mass an emotional Francis, moved by the tears of an abandoned child, said the world needed to “learn how to cry” over the plight of the millions of poor, hungry, homeless and abused children.

“Why do children suffer?” the Argentine Pope said, speaking in his native Spanish.

An aide translated his words from his native Spanish into English for the crowd of about 30,000 young people on the grounds of a Church-run university.

“I invite each one of you to ask yourselves, ‘Have I learned how to weep, how to cry when I see a hungry child, a child on the street

who uses drugs, a homeless child, an abandoned child, an abused child, a child that society uses as a slave’?” he said.

The Pope’s five-day visit to the Philippines, which began on Thursday, followed two days in Sri Lanka.

It is his second trip to Asia in five months, in a nod to the growing importance of the region to the Catholic Church as it faces declining support in Europe and the United States.

Rapturous receptions for the Pope throughout his Philippine journey, including millions crowding his motorcade routes in Manila, have cemented the nation’s status as the Church’s Asian role model. – ABC

Police allege Bili arranged the hit on Mr Ellis as ordered by his Indonesian wife Noor Ellis, “starting from the strategy, finance and recruiting the killers”.

He also profited the most, pocketing Rp 80 million ($7764).

Police on Saturday arrested another accomplice in Sumba, Adolf Malo Rangga, by surrounding him while he was drunk.

Rangga was allegedly paid Rp 15 million ($1455) for his role, which included holding Mr Ellis down while another man slit his throat in the kitchen of his Bali villa.

Rangga and Bili have been transferred to Bali.

The other six suspects are preparing to face trial next month for charges carrying the death penalty.

They include Ms Noor, who paid Rp 150 million ($14,220) to “solve her problems”, the Ellis’s two maids, and the boyfriend of one of the maids.

Two other men – one of them accused of slashing Mr Ellis’s throat – were arrested in November, also in Sumba. –AAP

‘Camp 14’ survivor admits parts of story not true

A NORTH Korean gulag survivor whose torture and daring escape was detailed in a bestselling book admitted he lied about details in his story, and said he may end his campaign against human rights abuses.

Shin Dong-Hyuk, believed to be the only person born in a North Korean prison camp ever to have escaped, apologised on his Facebook page, saying he had “forever wanted to conceal and hide part of my past”.

Mr Shin was born and spent the first 23 years of his life in a prison camp where, he recounted in the harrowing Escape

The bottom line

from Camp 14, he was tortured and subjected to forced labour before escaping in 2005.

Ever since Mr Shin, now 32, has campaigned prominently to highlight rights abuses in the isolated North, testifying before a UN commission last year.

But Mr Shin recently changed some of the details in his story, Blaine Harden, the book’s author, said on his website.

“On Friday Jan. 16, I learned that Shin... had told friends an account of his life that differed substantially from my book,” said Harden.

“I contacted Shin, pressing

him to detail the changes and explain why he had misled me.”

Mr Shin told Harden that that some of the ordeals had been “too painful” for him to revisit and he had “altered some details” that he had thought would not matter, the Washington Post reported Sunday. Mr Shin said he was “very sorry” in his Facebook posting.

“I... forever wanted to conceal and hide part of my past. We tell ourselves that it’s okay to not reveal every little detail, and that it might not matter if certain parts aren’t clarified,”

he said. “To those who have supported me, trusted me and believed in me all this time, I am so very grateful and at the same time so very sorry to each and every single one of you.”

Mr Shin did not elaborate in the post on which part of his past had been fabricated.

In Harden’s book, Mr Shin says he was brutally burned and tortured when aged 13, after a failed attempt to escape the camp. But, according to the Washington Post, Mr Shin now admits the event took place when he was 20, the article said. – AFP/ABC

Definition of stupid: Knowing the truth, seeing the truth but still believing the lies.

AN aerial photo shows six million faithful attending a mass by Pope Francis during his visit to Manila. Picture: AFP/ABC

SHIN Dong-Hyuk, pictured here in 2013 Picture: AFP/ABC

Autonomy for Sri Lanka Tamils

SRI Lanka’s new government has pledged to devolve power to the country’s Tamil minority, in a step towards national reconciliation six years after a controversial military offensive crushed a separatist rebellion.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his first address to parliament since taking office, said on Tuesday that politicians needed to bring a political conclusion to the conflict between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels that ended in 2009.

Critics say the previous regime failed to deal with the ethnic divisions that led to conflict on the island, whose Sinhalese majority has traditionally dominated positions of power.

Wickremesinghe said his government would revive a 1987 constitutional amendment that promised a de facto federal arrangement for the island’s Tamildominated northern and eastern regions.

India-Pakistan ties on edge over airline row

INDIAN authorities have ordered the Pakistani airline which operates the only air link between the two countries to dispose of its offices in New Delhi.

It is the latest move in the deteriorating relationship between the South Asian neighbours.

Currently, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) runs three direct flights each week between the countries.

Authorities in New Delhi reportedly issued a notice to PIA, telling it to sell several properties it owns in the capital.

The airline’s Delhi operations manager has also

not been able to renew his Indian visa.

A spokesman for India’s ministry for external affairs, Syed Akbaruddin, described the issue as a “storm in a teacup”.

However, Indo-Pakistan observers fear this latest development - along with an increasing number of border skirmishes in the disputed Kashmir region - are worrying signs of a deteriorating relationship between the two nuclear armed nations.

“The situation is bad and it’s going to be increasingly bad,” said Kamal Mitra Chenoy, a politics professor in the school of internation-

al studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi.

“It’s certainly not a friendly act, it’s not a normal act.”

Relations between India and Pakistan deteriorated significantly in 2008, when militants from Pakistan crossed the border and attacked hotels, a café, and a railway station in Mumbai, killing 164 people.

Many had hoped things would improve following the election of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi last May.

India called off talks over Kashmir between the two countries’ foreign ministers last year, after Pakistan

authorities met with a separatist group in the days leading up to the meeting.

However, Professor Chenoy said it was not unusual for representatives from Islamabad to meet with the separatist group.

Narendra Modi won last year’s election with the support of Hindu nationalist groups, some of which do not want to see India make any concessions when it comes to Pakistan.

Professor Chenoy said that, and Nawaz Sharif’s lack of control over the Pakistani military, are the two reasons resolution between the two nuclear armed states is a long way off.

“Everyone will try and push Modi into a tougher position, and accuse him of anti-national compromise if he actually makes concessions,” he said.

“So the situation is very bad.”

He added that India will not get much support from neighbouring states or the international community for its effort to frustrate the operations of Pakistan International Airlines.

“This is a time to make peace, and this PIA thing, I mean, what kind of a stunt is that? You don’t want people to go to Pakistan? Is Pakistan a pariah state?” he said. – ABC

“We will implement the 13th amendment within a unitary state,” said Wickremesinghe.

Successive governments failed to implement the controversial 13th amendment due to pressure from the Sinhalese population, who saw it as a sell-out to the minority community.

The country’s main Tamil political party, the Tamil National Alliance, has distanced itself from demands for a separate homeland and said it accepts power-sharing. Sri Lanka’s former president, Mahinda Rajapakse, was a hard-line Sinhala nationalist who came to power in 2005 promising an “honourable peace” with Tamil rebels, but ended up fighting against them.

Rajapakse ordered a noholds-barred military offensive that ended the 37-yearold separatist war, but his forces were subsequently accused of killing up to 40,000 Tamil civilians - a charge he has denied.

Wickremesinghe said he hoped to push through several pieces of legislation to make key institutions independent. -APP

Delhi leaders file election nomination papers

THE head of India’s anticorruption Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Arvind Kejriwal, is due to file his nomination for the upcoming Delhi elections.

Mr Kejriwal was to file his papers on Tuesday, but could not reach the election office in time after thousands of supporters came out to greet him.

The candidate for the ruling BJP, Kiran Bedi, will also file her documents on Wednesday, the last day for submitting nominations.

The capital will vote on 7 February.

Counting for the 70-member state assembly is due on 10 February.

Delhi has been without a government since Mr Kejriwal, the former chief minister, resigned last February when his anti-corruption bill was blocked.

Since then the state has been governed directly by the federal authorities.

Both Mr Kejriwal and Ms Bedi have been campaigning in the city, holding rallies and road shows.

Mr Kejriwal will be contesting from the New Delhi constituency while Ms Bedi

is filing her papers from the Krishna Nagar constituency in east Delhi.

Ms Bedi and Mr Kejriwal worked together during the anti-corruption campaign, led by social activist Anna Hazare, but the two have had a falling out in recent months.

The AAP did not do well in last summer’s general election, but in recent weeks Mr Kejriwal has once again emerged as the major challenge to the BJP’s electoral hopes in Delhi.

In the previous Delhi election, the BJP won the most

is not being afraid to fail.

seats but fell short of a majority, leaving the AAP - which came second - to form a coalition with the Congress party.

AAP leader Mr Kejriwal resigned on 14 February after 49 days in office, however, after opposition politicians blocked his bill, which would have created an independent body with the power to investigate politicians and civil servants suspected of corruption.

Ms Bedi, 65, who was named as the BJP’s candidate earlier this week, has promised good governance and to make Delhi safer for women.– BBC

INDIA has asked Pakistani International Airlines (PIA) to sell several of its properties, including an of fi ce in New Delhi. Picture:AFP/ABC

THOUSANDS of supporters meant Arvind Kejriwal could not reach the election of fi ce in time on Tuesday.

Picture: AFP/BBC

Militia defy UN over Yemen

SANAA: Defiant Shi’ite militiamen have seized control of Yemen’s presidential palace and attacked President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi’s residence in an apparent bid to overthrow the embattled government, drawing condemnation from the UN Security Council.

The council backed Hadi as “the legitimate authority” and called on all parties and political actors in Yemen to stand with the government “to keep the country on track to stability and security”.

Abdul Malik al-Huthi, leader of the militia which overran the capital Sanaa in September, was defiant, warning that “all options” were open against Hadi, whom he accused of supporting the “fragmentation” of the country.

Peacekeepers brace for retaliation from Hezbollah

THOUSANDS turned out on

the streets of southern Beirut to mourn the death of a young Hezbollah fighter – one of at least six killed in a suspected Israeli air strike on a convoy in the Syrian border area of Quneitra.

As the son of former Hezbollah military leader Imad Mughniyeh, whose assassination in Damascus in 2008 was also attributed to Israel – Jihad Mughniyeh – was being farewelled, Iran confirmed a senior commander of its Revolutionary Guard, General Mohammad Ali Allahdadi, was killed in the air strike. Bracing for retaliation, United Nations peacekeepers increased their patrols along the mountainous border between Lebanon and Israel fol-

lowing the attack, local media reported, while the Lebanese Army fortified its positions.

But Hezbollah is desperately over-stretched, analysts say, with thousands of its members fighting in Syria to back up the army of President Bashar al-Assad as well as trying to fend off Islamic militant attacks in Lebanon’s north.

It cannot, they warn, afford to open up a third front against Israel in response to the air strike.

The attack came just days after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened to retaliate against Israel for its repeated strikes on targets in Syria. He boasted the movement had strengthened its military arsenal, includ-

ing Iranian Fateh-110 missiles that, with a range of 200 kilometres, are able to reach inside Israel.

A key question, says Sami Nader, a professor in international relations at St Joseph’s University in Beirut, is what Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard were doing in the Quneitra area on Sunday.

The region, which borders Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, is a Jabhat al-Nusra stronghold and a long way from Hezbollah’s operations to support the Syrian regime’s army in Homs, Damascus and al-Qasyr.

Both Hezbollah and Iran described the group as carrying out an “inspection and intelligence operation” in Syria.

“They may have been trying

to engage Israel from there,” Professor Nader says, or they may have been examining the vulnerability of Lebanon’s southern borders.

“I will not be surprised at all if Nusra or the Islamic State attack Lebanon via Quneitra or Shebaa Farms,” he warned. “Everyone is expecting Nusra and IS to attack Hezbollah from the north in the Bekaa but the south is also vulnerable.”

Professor Nader pointed to last week’s devastating twin suicide bombings in a café in the Alawite area of the Lebanese city of Tripoli in which nine people died – an attack claimed by the al-Qaeda affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra – as a grim marker of worse violence to come. “This really

puts Lebanon in the eye of the storm and shows that Lebanese are being radicalised.”

Hezbollah has good reason to be worried about attacks from the south, he says.

“I don’t think Hezbollah is suicidal enough to engage Israel today and open a third front – they have two fronts already open, two fronts that are exhausting all their resources and energy.”

Israel has struck Syria several times since the start of its four-year war, mostly targeting weapons convoys it says were destined for Hezbollah – just last month Syria says Israeli jets bombed targets near Damascus airport and the town of Dimas, near the Lebanon-Syria border.

-STUFF news.com

After a lull in violence overnight, Huthi gunmen seized the palace and attacked Hadi’s Sanaa residence, with the president reportedly inside, shattering a brief ceasefire.

Escalating violence in the capital in recent days has raised fears that Hadi, a key US ally in its fight against alQaeda, will fall and the country descend into chaos.

Tensions have been running high since Saturday, when the Huthis abducted Hadi’s chief of staff, Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, in an apparent move to extract changes to a draft constitution opposed by the militia.

Information Minister Nadia Sakkaf said the militia had attacked Hadi’s residence in western Sanaa on Tuesday, after witnesses reported clashes in the area.

Hadi was earlier reported to have been in the building meeting with advisers and security officials.

“The Yemeni president is under attack by militiamen who want to overthrow the regime,” Sakkaf said on Twitter.

Witnesses said the fighting outside the residence appeared to have subsided after two soldiers were killed.

-AAP news

IS metes out cruel and inhuman punishments

THE Islamic State (IS) terrorist group has established unlawful sharia courts in areas under its control and is carrying out “cruel and inhuman” punishments against men, women and children, the United Nations human rights agency says.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said those who faced punishments had been accused of violating the group’s extremist interpretations of Islamic law.

“The ruthless murder of two men, who were thrown off the top of a building after

The bottom line

having been accused of homosexual acts by a so-called court in Mosul, is another terrible example of the kind of monstrous disregard for human life that characterised ISIL’s reign of terror over areas of Iraq that were under the group’s control,” OHCHR spokeswoman Ravina Shamsandani said.

The United Nations said an IS website also posted photos of two men being crucified after they were accused of banditry.

The men were hung up by their arms and then shot dead. Photos were also posted

of a woman being stoned to death, allegedly for adultery.

Four doctors were recently killed in central Mosul, allegedly after refusing to treat IS fighters, the UN said.

The OHCHR also received numerous other reports of women who had been executed by IS in Mosul, Iraq, and other areas under the group’s control, often immediately following sentences passed by its sharia courts.

“Educated, professional women, particularly women who had run as candidates in elections for public office, seem to be particularly at

risk,” Ms Shamdasani said.

“In just the first two weeks of the year, reports indicated that three female lawyers were executed.”

She said the group also reportedly executed 15 civilians in front of a large crowd in Fallujah in January on suspicion they had cooperated with Iraqi security forces, and 14 more in a public square in Dour, north of Tikrit, for refusing to pledge allegiance to IS. Ms Shamsandani said the OHCHR would continue to document human rights abuses and violations taking place in Iraq. -ABC news

It is the right to all, including prisoners, to freedom from cruelty and inhuman treatment in any form.

A PHOTOGRAPH released by Islamic State purportedly shows a man accused of homosexuality thrown to his death from a building in Iraq. Picture: ABC

A MAN addresses a protest rally against the radical Islamist group Boko Haram at the Trocadero square in Paris, France. Boko Haram has seized control of towns and villages in north-east Nigeria, and begun threatening neighbouring nations, kidnapping dozens of people in raids in Cameroon.

Picture: BBC

ANTI-BOKO HARAM PROTEST

Airport ruin a deadly legend

DONETSK Airport has become a dystopian ruin, with its runways so cratered, only a helicopter could land. Yet both sides in the fight over it keep claiming to control it. Ukrainians consider it a symbol of their military resurgence since last summer’s painful defeats. Instead, it is coming to embody the senselessness of seeking any military solution to the conflict.

The airport’s career as a symbol began under ousted President Viktor Yanukovych. As Ukraine prepared to host the 2012 European soccer championship, it was expanded to serve 10 million passengers a year. At a cost of 6.5 billion hryvnias (more than NZ$1 billion), the airport’s upgrade was the most expensive item on the Euro-2012 budget. In 2013, however, only about 1.1 million passengers came though. The imposing new terminal-named after composer Sergei Prokofiev, a native of eastern Ukraine - was a monument to corruption.

Boris Kolesnikov, the Donetsk businessman who was in charge of infrastructure projects in Yanukovych’s government, predicted in 2013 that the airport would become one of the biggest air- travel hubs in the former Soviet Union. Two years later, it is the region’s most dangerous no-man’s land.

Last September, Ukraine and the Russian-backed rebels signed the Minsk ceasefire, which called on the sides to respect the territorial status quo, established after the Ukrainian army’s onslaught

Ukraine accuses Russia of attack

THE Ukrainian military has accused Russia of attacking its forces as fighting in eastern Ukraine spreads towards the Russian border.

Military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said regular Russian units had attacked in the Luhansk region, much of which is under pro-Russian rebel control.

was crushed by Russian military units that Moscow had sent to the rescue. The Minsk documents didn’t specifically mention the airport; at the time they were written, it was held by the Ukrainian army but contested by the rebels. So even after the ceasefire was signed, the fighting continued, and Ukrainians, badly in need of a morale-boosting model of heroism, seized on the fighting men who defended the airport.

These soldiers have come to be known as “cyborgs,” though it’s hard to track down the first mention of it.

Ukrainian websites - including an online dictionary that named it “word of the year” for 2014 - attribute it to overawed separatists who had come to respect their formidable rivals. I have never seen or heard the rebels refer to their government adversaries that way - “ukrop” and “dill” are the common terms - but Ukrainian propaganda has picked up the cyborg legend and run with it. President Petro Poroshenko’s press service reported in December that he had met with the “cyborgs.”

“The words ‘cyborg’ and ‘ukrop’ have today become symbols of the indomitable Ukrainian spirit, of how Ukrainians can fight, an example that will serve generations of Ukrainian warriors,” Poroshenko told the soldiers.

He also said if they gave up the Donetsk airport, the enemy would soon be in Kiev and even in Lviv, not far from the Polish border. -STUFF news

Satire a global tradition

MORE than a million people - including a camera-friendly rack of world leaderstook to the streets of Paris last weekend to march in support of free expression in the wake of the killing of cartoonists and others at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo by Islamist gunmen. But the nature of the paper’s cartoons, along with its new cover, which features a depiction of the prophet Muhammad bearing the sign “Je Suis Charlie,” has put the art of satire in the cultural crosshairs.

A range of thinkers including novelist Salman Rushdie and comics artist Art Spiegelman have defended the rights of the cartoonists, with some

promptly adopting the “Je Suis Charlie” meme.

Many others have condemned the violence but remain critical of the magazine’s gleefully crude depictions of the prophet Mohammed. (Among some Muslims, it is considered blasphemous to render images of the prophet.)

And there is the question of the countless other sensationalistic drawings, one of which showed a black justice minister as a monkey and another that depicted girls kidnapped by Boko Haram militants in Nigeria as wailing welfare recipients.

“I see nothing heroic about a bunch of elite white writers and artists picking on

the identities and beliefs of minorities,” Beirut-based culture writer Yazan AlSaadi wrote in OpenDemocracy. “Satire is supposed to be an act that punches up to power, and not down to the weak.”

In some of the discussion surrounding the case, there has been an implication that Muslims (and other non-Westerners, for that matter) don’t have the rich satirical tradition found in places like France. That’s not quite true. Satirical traditions may not be the same in France as they are in Iraq or Venezuela. But the mocking of rulers, politicians and pretensions has long had a place in every culture. -STUFF news.com

Heavy fighting was under way near the town of Slovyanoserbsk, he said. Russia denies sending troops into Ukraine but acknowledges “volunteers” are fighting for the rebels.

There has been no independent confirmation of the latest Ukrainian allegation.

Meanwhile Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko cut short his visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to return home in view of the “worsening situation” in the east, his spokesman said.

The Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which has monitors deployed in Ukraine, has called for an immediate ceasefire.

More than 4,800 people have been killed and some 1.2 million have fled since the rebels took control of parts of Luhansk and Donetsk in April.

Fighting flared up again last week as the rebels fought the Ukrainian government for control of the ruined airport at Donetsk.

Two civilians were killed in the rebel-held city on Tuesday when a shell exploded at a bus stop.

Speaking at a specially convened news conference, Mr Lysenko said: “Ukrainian military units were attacked in the north of the anti-terrorist operational zone by regular military formations of the armed forces of Russia.

“Heavy fighting is continuing near [Ukrainian army] checkpoints 29 and 31,” he said, referring to the area around Slovyanoserbsk, 32km (20m) north-west of Luhansk.

-BBC news

French citizenship passport for Mali-born hero

A MALIAN-BORN Muslim employee who hid customers from an Islamist gunman at a Paris kosher supermarket this month has been granted French nationality.

Lassana Bathily, 24, was in a stockroom when gunman Amedy Coulibaly burst in, killing four people.

At a ceremony attended by top French ministers, Mr Bathily said he was “proud and moved” to become a citizen. The attacks in Paris killed 17 people, most of them at the offices of the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine.

Mr Bathily’s efforts came to light when he sneaked out and told his story after hiding people in a cold store room during the assault by Coulibaly.

“People say I’m a hero but I’m not a hero. I’m Lassana,” he said at the ceremony.

“I’ll stay the same. I would do the same again, because I was following my heart.”

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls and Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve spoke at the citizenship event, thanking him for his bravery.

Mr Bathily has lived in

France for the past nine years and applied for citizenship last year.

Meanwhile, Paris officials say they plan to sue US channel Fox News for a broadcast saying there were “no-go zones” in the French capital for non-Muslims.

Fox News has apologised for the reports but the Paris Mayor, Anne Hidalgo, told CNN her city had been “insulted”.

In other developments, four men appeared in a Paris court suspected of providing Coulibaly with weapons and vehicles.

They are the first to face charges over the attacks.

Prosecutors have asked for the men to be detained longer and charged on terrorism charges. Their exact role in the attacks is unclear.

Earlier on Tuesday, five Chechens were arrested in southern France on suspicion of possessing explosives.

The men were not known to terrorism officers and a prosecutor warned not to “jump to conclusions”.

Prime Minister Valls said the attacks highlighted deep divisions in French society, a “territorial, social and ethnic

apartheid that has imposed itself on our country”.

Three days of violence began in Paris on 7 January when brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi burst into the offices of Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people.

Coulibaly killed four Jewish hostages on 9 January before being shot dead by police. He is also believed to have shot dead a policewoman the day before.

Almost 15,000 extra police and troops have been mobilised to boost security across France since the attacks.

-BBC news

A COVER of Charlie Hebdo featuring French President Francois Hollande holding a blue tablet labelled “laughter”. The cover says, “Hollande, make us come!” while he is saying, “I’ll spank your butt!” (or something thereabouts). Picture: STUFF NEWS

MR Bathily was handed a letter from the president, a passport and a medal at a ceremony. Picture: BBC

DNA tests on Mexican bodies fail

FORENSIC scientists in Austria have failed to match burnt human remains with DNA samples in a Mexican inquiry into missing students, officials say.

Mexican prosecutors said scientists at Innsbruck University were unable to find sufficient DNA in the remains believed to belong to the 43 students.

The laboratory is now offering to carry out a more advanced test on samples not rendered unusable by excessive heat.

The students disappeared in the south-western city of Iguala on 26 September.

The new test would take about three months and it is uncertain whether the examination of the last remaining samples will offer any clues.

It is alleged that the group of trainee teachers was seized by local police before being handed to a drug gang. -BBC news

Obama commits to cementing liberal legacy

A YEAR ago, after a difficult start to his second term, the president articulated a narrower set of goals and vowed to pursue them on his own.

Now, despite serious losses in the midterms that gave Republicans full control of Congress, the president called for the kind of political bridgebuilding that propelled his first presidential bid and the inaugural that began his second term.

Brimming with confidence, the president struck a colloquial tone as he rattled off a series of positive statistics about the country’s recent economic rebound. “This is good news, people,” he reminded hundreds of lawmakers and dignitaries gathered on the House floor.

He also laid claim to the iconic civil rights legacy of the past - tying together the

historic march on Selma, Alabama, with the recent protests in Ferguson, Missouri - arguing Americans could find common ground on issues of voting rights and criminal justice.

The question facing Obama is whether his final two years in the White House can come close to repeating the record of his first two. He has neither the Democratic majority that ushered through major bills revamping the nation’s fiscal and health-care systems, nor the sky-high poll ratings he had shortly after taking office.

The president is still counting on being able to strike a handful of deals with congressional Republicans, who are now firmly in the majority, and he identified trade as one of the most promising areas where they could find

common ground. But Obama emphasised that any efforts to roll back his most significant achievements - including on health care, Wall Street reform, immigration and climate change - would meet fierce resistance.

Obama’s policy victories have come in two distinct periods. In his first two years, he forged landmark legislation with a Congress led by his Democratic Party. For the past year, he has courted confrontation with congressional Republicans, defying them with go-it-alone initiatives on climate change, immigration and foreign policy.

Tuesday’s address reflected the latter approach. Rather than striking a tone of compromise, he proposed US$320 billion (NZ$414b) over the next decade in new taxes targeting wealthy individuals

and big financial institutions to fund community-college tuition and paid leave for working parents - an idea that has prompted derision from the Republican majority.

“We will not be limited by what will pass this Congress, because that would be a very boring two years,” White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said in an interview before the speech.

But the president is not writing off the GOP-controlled House and Senate, aides say. He will need their support if he wants to expand significantly on a domestic policy record that already includes the economic recovery, the Affordable Care Act, the first carbon limits on power plants, regulatory changes for financial institutions and the deferral of possible deportation for millions of illegal

Lawyer’s death sparks protest

immigrants. “For the policy of trade, he’s going to have a different coalition than with the policy of immigration or than with surface transportation,” said James Thurber, a professor who directs American University’s Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies.

It remains unclear, however, how easy it will be to muster any of those alliances, which would depend in part on Republican leaders’ willingness to edge aside conservatives as the 2016 presidential contest gets underway.

Another factor beyond the White House’s control is the much-anticipated Supreme Court ruling later this year that could undercut the federal subsidies that help millions of Americans buy plans under the Affordable Care Act. -STUFF news.com

American Sniper shoots US box office

AMERICAN Sniper has topped the US box office with takings of $90m (£59m) - a record for a January opening - following the film’s six Oscar nominations last week.

The war drama, directed by Clint Eastwood, is up for best picture and best actor for star Bradley Cooper, who plays real life Navy Seal Chris Kyle.

Action comedy The Wedding Ringer opened in second

Risking

place with $21m (£14m).

British family film Paddington came third with $19.3m (£12.8m).

American Sniper jumped from 21st place at last weekend’s US box office, after a limited release in just a few screens.

It is now Eastwood’s most successful film opening as director, beating Gran Torino’s 2008 opening of $29.5m (£19.5m), and performed twice

as well as studio estimates according to Reuters.

The Wedding Ringer, which stars Kevin Hart as a best man for hire, achieved its successful opening weekend despite being panned by critics.

Last week’s number one, Liam Neeson’s action sequel Taken 3, fell to fourth place. US cinemas were especially busy during the three-day Martin Luther King Day holiday weekend.

Martin Luther King drama Selma, which was nominated for two Oscars including best picture, was in fifth place.

The Imitation Game - which landed eight Oscar nominations - also made the top 10, along with Disney musical Into the Woods, the final Hobbit film and Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken.

New cyber-terrorism film Blackhat was in 10th place.

-BBC news

THOUSANDS of Argentines took to the streets in protest on Monday following the death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman.

Mr Nisman was found shot dead in his apartment in Buenos Aires on Sunday.

He had been investigating the 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires in which 85 people died.

Officials said there was no evidence that anyone else was involved in his death, but demonstrators shouted “No more lies!” and demanded a thorough investigation.

Mr Nisman’s body was discovered just hours before he was due to give evidence to a congressional committee outlining his accusations against Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

He had accused the president and Foreign Minister Hector Timerman of involvement in a plot to cover up Iran’s alleged role in the 1994 attack on the seven-storey Amia community centre.

The government has dismissed the allegations as ridiculous.

Investigating prosecutor Viviana Fein said that a preliminary autopsy suggested there was “no intervention” by others in Mr Nisman’s death.

Mr Nisman’s body was found by his mother and one of his bodyguards in the bathroom of his apartment in Buenos Aires.

-BBC news

MEXICAN newspaper appealing to readers to help locate the missing students.Picture: BBC

BRADLEY Cooper has been nominated for best actor at the Oscars for his role in American Sniper .

Complete the grid so that every row, column and 2x3 box contains every digit from 1 to 6 inclusive

Solution to puzzle SL0835

stars

ARIES

March 20 - April 19

As a quick thinking and fast acting Aries, you don’t mind changes, even at the last minute. But others do, and the objections of certain individuals are taking up way too much of your time. Actually, it’s best to back off. They’ll soon realise they must deal with any problems themselves.

TAURUS

April 20 - May 19

Life may be easier when everybody agrees on plans. But, ironically, the objections posed by certain individuals will lead to a profitable exchange of ideas and, quite possibly, a serious rethink of both arrangements and your long term objectives. If this causes delays, they’ll be more than justified by the improvements made.

GEMINI

May 21 - June 20

Being ruled by Mercury, you can usually tell when it’s gone retrograde, as is now the case. While you’ll be dealing with the same minor errors everybody else is, because ideas and communication are so important to you, this can be especially frustrating. While you can’t ignore these, you can laugh at them.

CANCER

LEO

June 21 - July 21

Watching arrangements you worked hard to organise come undone is no fun. Yet your instincts have already told you these were unstable and might not last. Tempting as it is to keep these going, you’re better off looking elsewhere. What you observe will make it clear it’s time to move on.

July 22 - August 22

As a Leo, you’ve an instinctive understanding of the importance of a little drama in life, and so are always up for a grand gesture. Still, with the communication planet Mercury just having gone retrograde, your actions could easily be misunderstood. Think carefully about this before you do a thing.

August 23 - September 22

Somebody seems determined to get you to try out a new exercise or health regime. While you’re very interested in such matters, you’re also very selective. And what’s being suggested seems way too far out. Still, it’s worth investigating. At minimum, you’ll learn something. But you might even find that you’re intrigued.

LIBRA

September 23 - October 22

Usually minor disagreements are exactly that, differences that everybody can live with. At the moment, however, it’s worth going into any such matters in greater depth. These seem unimportant, but they could soon be crucial. Work out a compromise you can live with now, while you’ve time to talk things through.

October 23 - November 22

Only days ago, you’d have rebuffed anybody who suggested making changes in elements of your work or lifestyle. Since then, however, both circumstances and your perspective on these matters have changed, and dramatically. Now that you’re considering the future, instead of opting for the minimum, make a radical break from the past.

November 23 - December 22

A recent clash with one particular individual was so aggravating you swore off dealing with them. Yet now events are bringing you together in matters involving the future, which means tackling those past issues. This is no bad thing. The more swiftly you clear them up, the better.

December 21 - January 19

When you make a commitment, you mean it. Ordinarily that’s no problem. But with so much in transition, including your ruler Saturn’s move into a new sign recently, even simple arrangements are likely to need to change and change again. Knowing that, expect exactly that. That way, these won’t worry you.

January 20 - February 17

Living or working with contentious situations is never easy. Ordinarily, you’d talk things through. But you’ll soon realise that, because issues are the result of confusion, discussions would be a waste of time. Once order is restored, as it will be gradually, things will fall into place and, inevitably, the mood will improve.

February 18 - March 19

Sooner or later you’ll have to confront one particular individual about their increasingly careless attitude towards timekeeping in general, and their commitments to you in particular. They may pretend surprise, but they know perfectly well this is irritating, to you and to others. And, worse, they really rather enjoy it.

Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary Selected Applicants for Constable Training 2015

Selected names of candidates from 2014 Nationwide Recruitment Drive considered successful for Basic Constable Training at Bomana Police College

The Training will commence on Monday 2nd February, 2015

Highlands Region

10 Pricilla Songopa F 11 Winterford Koke M

SIMBU PROVINCE

1 Philemon Nawia M

2 Peter Tolpare M

3 Jr David Koila M

4 Kennan Rim M

5 David Ulka

Momase Region

Islands Region

Southern Region

b) That the association will apply its profits ( if any) or other income in promoting its objects; and c) That the association will prohibit the payment of any dividend or payment in the nature of a dividend to its members. Dated: 12 January 2015 This Notice has been approved by the Registrar of Companies

POSITION VACANTS

PNG’S leading Superannuation fund, Nambawan Super Limited is offering you this opportunity to be part of its dynamic team. We are currently seeking to recruit suitably qualified, experienced and highly motivated individuals for the following vacancies:

24/01: IT OFFICER - Systems Analysis and Implementation

Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer Key Responsibilities are:

• Identify and Review Existing Application Systems within NSL to evaluate where renewal of systems is required

• Develop System Specification requirements including mapping of operating processes

• Conduct Evaluation and Testing on third party systems and software, applications analysis and design

• Provide appropriate and relevant systems information to appropriate service providers and Divisions or departments in NSL

• Assist with implementation and managing of IT and other NSL projects

• Assist in maintaining IT inventory and all legal software licenses offsite and onsite

Qualification and Experience

• Degree in Computing Majoring Systems Analysis, Design and programming

• Minimum of 4 years successful experience in Systems Analysis and Design

• Able to communicate and coordinate effectively with Manager

• Knowledgeable in computer hardware and software

• Ability to work in a team (team player) and having the ability to encourage and involve members of the team

24/04: IT OFFICER - Infrastructure Support

Reporting to the Senior IT Officer, Key Responsibilities are to:

• Carry out repairs, configurations and maintenance to computer hardware and computer peripheral

• Ensure computer systems requirements are adequate, compatible and operational

• Ensure the records of all IT equipment are maintained and updated

• Provide daily support and maintenance

• Ensure periodic maintenance of OS, Network & Application Software as well as recommendation as per the IT trend requirement

• Ensure other duties as directed by IT Team Leader must be well performed with no delays and errors.

Qualification and Experience

• Degree in Computer Science/Information Technology

• Minimum 3 years experience in similar role

• Knowledgeable in computer hardware and software

• Knowledgeable and experienced in computer networking

53/05: RISK OFFICER

Reporting to the Manager Internal Audit, Key Responsibilities are to:

• Assist the manager facilitate support to the Fund through the provision of advice, assistance and education in specific and general risk management principles and processes

• Ensure that the Fund is complying with BPNG (Regulator) Prudential standards

• Maintain NSL's corporate risk register and support the development and implementation for corrective action and continuous improvement programs

• Evaluate risk which involves comparing estimated risks with criteria established by the Fund such as costs, legal requirements and environmental factors, and evaluating the organisation’s previous handling of risks.

• Ensure corporate governance involving external risk reporting to stakeholders

• Purchasing insurance, implementing health and safety measures and ensuring that the Fund continually plans to limit risks and prepare for if things go wrong

• Assist in undertaking risk assessments across all business units and the identified and development of internal process to control and manage identified risks.

Qualifications and Experience:

• Tertiary qualification on Risk Management, Law and/or Business Management from a recognised tertiary institution

• Minimum of 3 years of risk management experience from a reputable private or corporate organisation.

• Ability to manage multiple tasks competently, meeting deadlines and building

• Must have reasoning and analytical skills in determining cause and effects of risks

• Possess strong communication skills with the ability to identify potential issues and solutions

• Demonstrate experience in risk management and practical knowledge of current global risk management practises, standards and develop and conduct detailed risk assessment.

53/06: INTERNAL AUDIT OFFICER

Reporting the Manage Internal Audit, Key Responsibilities are:

• Develop internal audit scope, performing internal audit procedures and preparing draft internal audit reports reflecting the results of the work performed.

• The Internal Auditor will also assist Manager Internal Audit with periodic reporting to the Audit and Risk Committee

• Develop the annual internal audit plan, and championing internal control and corporate governance concepts throughout the Fund on behalf of the Audit and Risk Committee.

• Direct and review the work performed by other internal audit personnel

Qualification and Experience

• Bachelors Degree in Accounting / Finance / Business Studies

• 3 - 5 years in similar role or position

• Must possess knowledge in Accounting/Finance, Banking, Internal audit Standards, Computing, Evaluation of business process / areas / functions, Superannuation

• Computer Literate, Communication, Intrapersonal Skills, Management, Organisation, Budgeting, Reporting

• Understanding of internal control concepts and experience in applying them to plan, perform, manage and report on the evaluation of various business processes/areas/functions

*****************************************************************************************************************************************

Nambawan Super Limited is an equal employment opportunity organisation and offers an attractive salary package commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Please include names and contact details of at least three reliable referees. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for an interview.

If you wish to apply for this position, forward your application with an updated resume to:

The Manager-Human Resources

Nambawan Super Ltd

PO Box 483, Port Moresby, NCD.

Fax: 321-4474 | Email: recruitment@nambawansuper.com.pg

Applications Close Friday 30th January, 2015

POSITION VACANTS

Swire Shipping is looking for a suitable candidate to manage the Collections team of 6 staff with the role based in Port Moresby or Lae.

Applicants are sought for the role of:

COLLECTIONS MANAGER PNG

Applicants should have management experience over 5 years

Shipping experience preferred

Accounting experience and credit control a must

Strong verbal and communication skills

Ability to deal with customer at all levels

Must be able to confidently communicate with the senior management team in PNG and Singapore

The role will be reporting to the PNG Finance Manager and remuneration package will include medical, housing and company car depending on skills and experience.

Interested applicants can submit your applications via email to sheena.orari@ swirecnco.com or hand deliver to our office:

Swire Shipping PO Box 492 Port Moresby Attn: Sheena Orari Level 1 ENB Haus Harbour City

Applications close on Friday 6th February 2015

PUBLIC NOTICES

INVESTMENT PROMOTION AUTHORITY

Papua New Guinea Associations Incorporation Act

Reg., Sec. 2. Form 1

Notice of Intention to Apply for the Incorporation of an Association

I, Kabo HOTISEPA, of PO Box 260 Nupa Safa Village, Korofeigu, Goroka EHP, person authorized by the committee of the association know as

KEUSASA PURARI RESOURCE OWNERS ASSOCIATION INC.

Give notice that I intend to apply for the incorporation of the association under the Associations Incorporation Act:

The following are the details of the prescribed qualifications for incorporation as specified in Section 2 of the Act:

(a) The association is formed (or is being formed) (or is operating) for the purpose of-

(i) Promoting the sustainable development of Keusasa Purari’s Association members’ Natural Resources ;

(ii) To act as entity to distribute or invest the revenue benefits of the Keusasa Purari Association members;

(iii) Representing the Keusasa Purari Resource Owners Association interests in dealing with Government, NGO’s, Resource Developers or other such entities that has an interest in developing the Association Members Natural Resources;

(iv) Acting as an Avenue where Keusasa Purari Resource Owners wishes, needs, interests and other associated issues can be presented, discussed and brought forward to responsible Authorities;

(b) That the association will apply its profits (if any) or other income in promoting its objects; and

(c) That the association will prohibit the payment of any dividend or payment in the nature of a dividend to its members.

Dated 09 JANUARY 2015

This Notice has been approved by the Registrar of Companies

Note: A person may within one month after the publication of this notice, lodge with the registrar an objection to the incorporation of the proposed association in accordance with Section 4 of the Act.

PUBLIC NOTICES

PAPUA NEW GUINEA Associations Incorporation Act

Reg.,Sec. 2. Form 1

NOTICE OF INTENTION TO APPLY FOR THE INCORPORATION OF AN ASSOCIATION

I, Thomas Sasala of C/- P.O. Box 157, Buka, Autonomous Region of Bougainville, a person authorized for the purpose by the committee of the association known as Takom Land Owners give notice that intend to apply for the incorporation of the association under the Association Incorporation Act.

The following are the details of the prescribed qualifications for incorporation as specified in Section 2 of the Act.

(a) The Association is formed for the purpose of:

i. Develop and protect the natural resources on the land for the benefit of all members of the association.

ii. To facilitate for the members to maximize returns from the resources and products produced from their land.

iii. To facilitate and source markets for the members to sell produce.

iv. To facilitate and assist its members with investment of their individual and family wealth.

v. To assist its members with educational training on life assisting skills.

vi. To assist its members in conflict resolutions on disputes within its members.

vii. To prepare and plan for the development of the village and assist in properly setting its members within their land.

viii. To promote and encourage corporation and consultation within its members.

ix. To amass wealth for the association through levies on members contributions and levies on produce.

x. To earn income from sale of certain products and resources approved by the members.

xi. To apply its profits (if any) or other income in promoting its objectives.

xii. To prohibit the sale of its resources without approval by the association.

xiii. To facilitate and sources assistance from government and organization who provide funding and training programs for the benefits of the association.

xiv. To acquire and hold property in its name.

xv. To promote the payment of any dividend to its members.

xvi. To do all things as are incidental or conducive to the attainment of the objectives or any of them of the Association.

Thomas Sasala Applicant

Dated the day of December 2013

The Registrar of Companies has approved this Notice

Registrar of Companies

Note: A person may within one month after the publication of this Notice, lodge with the Registrar an objection to the incorporation of the proposed association in accordance with Section 4 of the Act.

IVESTMENT PROMOTION AUTHORITY

Papua New Guinea Associations Incorporation Act

Reg.,Sec. 2. Form 1

Notice of Intention to Apply for the Incorporation of an Association

I, Wendy STEIN, of C/- Education Milne Bay, Magi Highway, Alotau, 211, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea person authorized by the committee of the association known as SPACIM PIKININI - PNG INC.

5-101331

give notice that I intend to apply for the incorporation of the association under the Associations Incorporation Act.

The following are the details of the prescribed qualifications for incorporation as specified in Section 2 of the Act:

1. To provide the Independent State of Papua New Guinea with health, education, family planning, training, disability services, medical education and disability equipment.

2. To enhance Rotary Programmes.

3. To facilitate service provision and extend program coverage. This Notice has been approved by the Registrar of Companies. Dated 18/01/2015.

The validation code for this Notice is ASSOCIATION-1526930.

To check the validity of this Notice enterhttp://www.ipa.gov.pg/pngassociations/verify /5-101331/ASSOCIATION-1526930.html in your browser.Notice generated 18 January 2015 11:21 AM PGT

Note: A person may within one month after the publication of this notice, lodge with the registrar an objection to the incorporation of the proposed association inaccordance with Section 4 of the Act.

POSITION VACANTS

Advertising Sales Executive- LAE

South Pacific Post Limited is seeking to recruit suitably qualified and highly motivated individual to join our dynamic Advertising Sales Department. This position is based at our Lae Office.

You MUST meet the following requirements:

Benefits

- Very attractive salary package

- Commission incentives

- Medical insurance cover

- Free issue of daily paper

Housing is not condition of employment.

If your experiences, qualifications, skills and attributions fall within the above specification immediately forward your application with updated resume, copies of Certificates, 3 References & Police Clearance to:

Human Resources

Wednesday, January 28, 2015.

P O Box 85

Port Moresby, NCD

humanresource@spp.com.pg

Ph: 309 1000

Email: postcourier@spp.com.pg

South Pacific Post Limited is seeking to recruit suitably qualified and highly motivated individuals who would be interested in the following positions:

Senior Reporters - (POM Based)

Reporters-(POM Based)

To be successful, you should meet the specifications set below:

P

Ph: 309 1040

Port

Email: tkelola@spp.com.pg

PUBLIC NOTICES

INVESTMENT PROMOTION AUTHORITY

Papua New Guinea

Act, Sec 378(3) Company 1-62507

Number

NOTICE OF INTENTION TO REINSTATE A COMPANY REMOVED FROM THE REGISTER OF REGISTERED COMPANIES

I, Collin Andamale, of P.O.Box 1253 Boroko, Na onal Capital District Port Moresby, Na onal Capital District, give no ce that I intend to apply to the Registrar of Companies to reinstate LENGMOND ALLUVIAL GOLD MINE Ltd, a company that was removed from the Register of registered companies on 20th April, 2010 and give no ce that my grounds of applica on will be that:

1. I was a Shareholder and a Director and

2. S ll carrying on business,

3. The Company should not have been removed from the Register.

Dated this 15th day of January, 2015.

Signature of person giving this No ce

This No ce has been approved by the Registrar of Companies

Dated 19 day of 01, 2015

Alex Tongayu Registrar of Companies

Note: A person may within one month a er the publica on of this No ce, lodge with the Registrar of Companies an Objec on and reasons thereof to the reinstatement of the defunct company in accordance with Sec on 378(3)(d) of the Companies Act 1997.

PUBLIC NOTICES

INVESTMENT PROMOTION AUTHORITY

Papua New Guinea Associations Incorporation Act

Reg.,Sec.2. Form 1

Notice of Intention to Apply for the Incorporation of an Association

I, Huro HAVARI, of Port Moresby, Port Moresby, National Capital District, Papua New Guinea person authorized by the committee of the association known as GORDON RIDGE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION INCE. 5-101195

give notice that I intend to apply for the incorporation of the association under the Associations Incorporation Act. The following are the details of the prescribed qualifications of incorporation as specified in Section 2 of the Act.

REFER TO THE FORM AS1 WITH THE BARCODE#66039 UPLOADED FOR MORE DETAILS OF OBJECTIVES. This Notice has been approved by the Registrar of Companies. Dated 4/12/2014.

The validation code for this Notice is ASSOCIATION38622344. To check the validity of this Notice enter http://www.ipa.gov.pg/pngassociations/verify /5-101195/ASSOCIATION-38622344.html in your browser.

Notice generated 04 December 2014 01:27 PM PGT

Note: A person may within one month after the publication of this notice, lodge with the registrar an objection to the incorporation of the proposed association in accordance with Section 4 of the Act.

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE

Papua New Guinea 2015 OPENING OF ACCOUNTS

NOTICE TO NATIONAL DEPARTMENTS, STATUTORY AGENCIES, SUPPLIERS OF GOODS AND SERVICES TO GOVERNMENT, PROVINCIAL AND LOCAL LEVEL GOVERNMENTS & THE PUBLIC.

The following are information about the opening of the 2015 financial year to all suppliers and payees of government:

The opening date for the issue of new Integrated Local Purchase Order Claim (ILPOCs) and for the corresponding entry of commitments to the Government’s Integrated Financial Management System & PGAS accounting system is Monday 19th January 2015. Invoices and all queries concerning payments should be directed to the paying office of the relevant department. Under no circumstances should claims be submitted to the Department of Finance other than for goods and services provided to the Department of Finance.

Remember, in accordance with the law, only an officially approved ILPOC can be recognized as a commitment and a valid claim against the State.

AUTHORIZED BY

DR KEN NGANGAN CMA CPA ACTING SECRETARY

NATIONAL FISHERIES AUTHORITY & ENBPA, RABAUL DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION

DETAIL DESIGN AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT/ SUPERVISION OF THE KURAKAKAUL FISHERIES JETTY AND SHOREBASE FACILITIES.

This is an acknowledgement for the overwhelming interest from consulting companies in submitting EOIs and Bids for said project. I take this opportunity to thank the consulting companies for your time and effort.

Please be advised that you will be contacted only, with the NFA Tenders Board endorsement, should your company has gone through successful evaluation/assessment.

ENDORSED by;

Mr John Kasu MANAGING DIRECTOR

Australian horses top sprint rankings

HORSE RACING

THE next clash between the world’s three highest-ranked sprinters will be in the Newmarket Handicap at Flemington.

The world’s best racehorses for 2014 have been released with the sprinters’ category dominated by Australian horses.

Lankan Rupee and Terravista were crowned equal top sprinters with an international rating of 123, one point higher than fellow Australian Chautauqua who finished third in the category.

Japanese horse Just The Way was named the world’s best racehorse with a ranking of 130 for his win in the Dubai Duty Free in March.

Japan Cup winner Epiphaneia filled second place on 129. Lankan Rupee, who achieved his 123 rating in last year’s Newmarket Handicap and ran to the same mark in the TJ Smith Stakes in April, is scheduled to resume in the Lightning Stakes before running in the Newmarket in March.

Sydney sprinter Terravista reached his rating when he claimed the Group One Darley Classic (1200m) atFlemington in November, defeating Chautauqua and Lankan Rupee.

The Quarterback gets chance to press claims

HORSE RACING

IN-FORM sprinter The Quarterback gets a chance to press his claims for a Newmarket Handicap start when he chases a second Listed win at Sandown on Australia Day.

The Robbie Griffiths-trained gelding broke through for his first Listed win in the Kensington Stakes on January 10, his second victory from three starts over the straight 1000m course at Flemington this campaign.

Griffiths has decided to keep the fast-finishing gelding to sprints this time in and

Monday’s WJ Adams Stakes (1000m) is the next suitable target for the son of Street Boss.

Griffiths is planning on giving The Quarterback a shot at the $1 million Group One Newmarket Handicap (1200m) at Flemington on March 14 if his form warrants it.

“That’s what we want to do but the question is whether he’s good enough, and how his form is leading into it,” Griffiths said.

“He’s got to keep taking the next step and if he continues to do that, well then he’s going to give himself a chance in a

race like that. “But he’s got to do that.”

Should The Quarterback earn a crack at the Newmarket Handicap he would be up against the likes ofTerravista, Lankan Rupee and Chautauqua who are scheduled to run in the sprint classic.

Those three sprinters, who filled the trifecta in the Group One Darley Classic in November at Flemington, were confirmed as the top three-ranked sprinters in the world for 2014 in the World’s Best Racehorse rankings released on Monday night in London.

The Quarterback, like 11 of

the 14 nominated horses for the WJ Adams Stakes is non the limit weight of 54kg.

Multiple Group One winner Moment Of Change has been given 61.5kg, last year’s winner Shamal Wind has 56kg and Hard Stride, an acceptor in the Australia Stakes on Saturday, has 55kg.

Griffiths said The Quarterback had come through his latest win well.

“I’m really happy with him so he’ll go to the Adams Stakes and we’ll see how we go there,” he said.

Terravista is being aimed at the Newmarket first-up by trainer Joe Pride while the race is also on the radar forChautauqua, trained by the partnership of John, Michael and Wayne Hawkes.

Now-retired New Zealandtrained star It’s A Dundeel earned a 122 mark for winning the Queen Elizabeth Stakes while the Peter Moodytrained multiple Group One winner Dissident recorded a rating of 121 for his close second under a big weight in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes.

Star miler Sacred Falls was rated 120 for his second Doncaster Mile win last year. Dissident makes his return for 2015 in Saturday’s Group Two Australia Stakes at Moonee Valley.

Plutorius gets another Listed chance

HORSE RACING

KEVIN Moses had hoped to learn a lot more than he did about the ability of Plutorius to handle stakes company in the Tattersalls Cup. Nothing went to plan and the trainer will give the gelding another chance in Saturday’s Australia Day Cup (2400m) at Randwick.

After leading, Plutorius finished last of the six runners in the Tatt’s Cup (2400m) on New Year’s Day won byMultilateral who will be among his opponents again. “I told the jockey to be careful not to get boxed in because that can happen

in small fields,” Moses said.

“I didn’t want him to lead so we will try again.

“I want to see if he can get 2400 metres in that class because that opens up a lot of options for him if he can.

“He has been up a long time so I don’t know if he will keep going this preparation but at least we will know where he is going next time.” Jason Collett will replace Brenton Avdulla on Plutorius who Moses said had come through his last start in good order.

Plutorius won his only other 2400m start in a benchmark 75 at

Warwick Farm, beating Blazing Dragon who is also entered for the Australia Day Cup for which 11 nominations were taken on Monday. Permit is the highest rated on 97 but has struggled to capture his best form this preparation.

Tatt’s Cup runner-up Ghost Protocol is also in the entries along with Off The Rails, a last-start third in the Stayers’ Cup (1800m) at the Magic Millions meeting at the Gold Coast. There were 13 entries taken for the Listed Carrington Stakes which has been moved from New Year’s Day and extended from 1100 to 1400 metres.

THE Quarterback is well equipped.

CHAUTAUQUA is part of the new-wave of Aussie sprinters.

Burgess joins Manly

RUGBY LEAGUE

SOUTH Sydney will begin the season without another Burgess brother after Luke was granted an immediate release to join Manly.

On the same day Rabbitohs chief executive Shane Richardson left Redfern to take up a job at head office, Burgess signed a two-year deal at the Sea Eagles. The signing is the first under Manly’s new CEO

Reuben leaves Roosters to chase NRL dream

RUGBY LEAGUE

ONE of the most prolific tryscorers in Holden Cup history has revealed why he felt he had to walk away from the Sydney Roosters in order to keep his NRL dream alive.

Jonathon Reuben was the latest signing unveiled by Intrust Super Cup new boys the Townsville Blackhawks on Tuesday, less than 18 months after signing a two-year deal with the Roosters and being touted as a player with “blinding speed” and “blessed with a natural try-scoring ability”.

After a 2013 season with the Raiders under-20s in which he scored 28 tries from 19 games and was named in the NYC Team of the Year, Canberra had yet another one of their most exciting prospects snatched away from them.

But with Shaun KennyDowall and Michael Jennings locking down the centre positions at the Roosters, Reuben was consigned to a year playing for Newtown in the NSW Cup and struggling to cope with the demands of living in Sydney.

Townsville born and bred, Reuben is hoping a return to his family will allow him to produce his best football and catch the eye of North Queensland coach Paul Green.

“I was just missing home and wanted to come back home and be close to my family. I wasn’t really enjoying my football down there so I thought it was time to come home and sign with the Blackhawks,” Reuben told NRL. com.

Joe Kelly, who hasn’t wasted time in securing a player from his former club. Burgess, 27, has played 135 NRL and Super League matches since making his debut for the London Harlequins back in 2007.

Ironically, the Sea Eagles had discussed securing Thomas Burgess just last week. Sam Burgess, last year’s Clive Churchill medalist, has switched to rugby union.

“I’ve had a wonderful time

at the South Sydney Rabbitohs and I’d like to thank them wonderful memories over the years,” Burgess said.

“I really appreciate them granting me this release.

I’m really looking forward to the next few seasons at the Sea Eagles and can’t wait to get stuck in with the boys tomorrow.”

Sea Eagles coach Geoff

Toovey added: “Luke is really coming into his prime

as a front-rower and we’re pleased to have added more experience, power and depth to our forward pack with his late addition to the squad.

He’s an experienced footballer and comes with a winning mentality, so I’m sure he’ll fit right in to what we have got going here at the club already.” The Sea Eagles were short on grunt up front after the departures of Anthony Watmough, Glenn

Stewart and Jason King in the offseason, while Newcastle recruit Zane Tetevano was sacked before he had played a single game. “Luke signing with the club is a fantastic result and I’d like to thank the South Sydney Rabbitohs for their willingness to grant him a release and join us here on the Northern Beaches.”

Burgess will join up with the rest of the Sea Eagles squad on Thursday morning.

Sailor: Only injuries will stop a breakout year for Lee

RUGBY LEAGUE

HE was out of sight, out of mind with Indigenous All Stars voters but Wendell Sailor believes only more longterm injury will stop Edrick Lee from making the Maroons sit up and take notice.

A broken arm in 2013 and a toe injury early last year restricted him to 17 games in two years, ensuring the winger has become one of the NRL’s forgotten men.

The 22-year-old is a mainstay in Queensland’s Emerging Origin squad, and Sailor says

The bottom line

the Maroons’ transitional phase could eventually open the door for the flamboyant winger.

“He got some [All Stars] votes, but because he’s been out injured for so long people have forgotten about him,” Sailor said.

“Edrick needs a little luck with injuries, and I have no doubt [Queensland selector] Gene Miles would be looking at him.

I know Queensland’s got [Will] Chambers and [Dane] Gagai there, but Brent Tate has moved on and Darius

[Boyd] is injured. “The next season or two, if he can stay on the park you never know where it will take him.”

Lee boasts 15 tries in 24 NRL games and Sailor believes the speedster with the flat top is ready to leap from cult figure to serious football star.

“We certainly haven’t seen the best of Edrick Lee, not only is he young but he’s been injured,” he said.

“I just want him to have an injury-free season, as well as [Raiders teammate] Jack Wighton. “He just can’t get a full season in. He always

Rugby league was first played in England in 1895, and

sticks his tongue out and has different hair, crowds love that but he’s a good footballer too. “Edrick’s a pure finisher, a bit like [Souths youngster] Alex Johnston. He’s destined to play the All Stars at some stage, he’d really relish it.”

While Edrick has endured some rotten luck, Wighton has also had his fair share of injuries.

Wighton, named on the Indigenous All Stars bench, was a NSW Origin shadow player for game two last year and Sailor says he could handle the big stage.

LUKE Burgess with South Sydney Rabbitohs team in a match (inset) LUKE Burgess

EDRICK Lee and Jack Wighton are hopeful an injury-free run will allow them to play more games together this year.

was originally called Northern Rugby Football Union.

JONATHAN Reuben

Behich: Socceroos have no excuses not to make semi-finals SOCCER

THE Socceroos might still be recovering from an energysapping defeat against South Korea last Saturday night but defender Aziz Behich insists his teammates refuse to be happy with anything less than advancing to the Asian Cup’s final four.

Australia has their moment to achieve exactly that on Thursday night when they take on China at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, the venue where the Koreans sent the Socceroos to their first defeat of the tournament.

Serena’s outfit makes waves

TENNIS

AUSTRALIAN Open top seed

Serena Williams’ fashion sense has once again been making waves on court, with fellow players enthusiastic about the backless dress she sported in her first round match at Melbourne Park.

“Love Serena’s outfit,” Canadian seventh seedEugenie

Bouchard tweeted about the neon green dress with pink highlights that Williams wore on her opening round win against Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck.

Two-time Australian champion Victoria Azarenkawas also a fan, tweeting: “Serena is rocking that outfit! Cut out back #sexy #outfit.” Williams, whose fashion statements in

the past have included moon boots and leopard-skin prints, explained that her backless outfits this year were designed to send a message about female empowerment.

“Nike did these wonderful green colours and we decided to do something,” she said. “This whole year is about the back and strength and women and power. We wanted to look

at my back all year, so all year you’ll be seeing my back.” She said the dress showed “you can be beautiful and powerful at the same time”.

The five-time Australian Open champion, who is chasing her 19th Grand Slam this year at Melbourne Park, joked that the revealing outfit forced her to watch what she ate. “I feel like I don’t want to

eat too much -- one peanut and I’m going to break the dress, so I try not to eat that much,” she said.

“Other than that, it depends, sometimes I’m a little nervous (wearing her outfits on court). But this one I think is really good. It’s really trendy and young, but at the same time it also has a great message and it’s also really nice.”

Liverpool, Chelsea 1-1 after first leg of League Cup semi

SOCCER

RAHEEM Sterling found a way past formidable Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois with an exquisite solo goal to earn Liverpool a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their English League Cup semifinal on Tuesday.

It needed something special to beat Courtois at Anfield and Sterling delivered in the 59th minute, picking up the

ball 40 meters from goal, turning and speeding away from Chelsea’s defense before applying a low finish.

That canceled out an 18thminute penalty won and converted by Eden Hazard in the only shot on goal Chelsea produced in a defensive performance that saw the Premier League leaders outplayed at times, especially in the second half.

“They are a top side but I’m

not sure they’ve had a game like that this season,” Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said. “I thought the performance was a benchmark. There is absolutely no doubt we can go to the second leg and get the performance we need.”

Chelsea will be relieved to come away on level terms and is the marginal favorite heading into the return match at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.

After a slow start to the season, though, Liverpool has rediscovered its identity and intensity that almost took the team to the Premier League title last season. The Reds are unbeaten in nine games.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho grumbled about his side’s poor distribution but that was due to the pressure being applied by Liverpool, which is seeking to extend its record of eight titles

Manchester United slams $75 million

SOCCER

AS the rumors continue to swirl about David De Gea potentially leaving Manchester United, the Red Devils have reportedly placed a value of $75 million on the Spanish international goalkeeper.

De Gea, 24, has excelled in goal for United this season with several stunning displays against the likes of Everton, West Ham and most notably arch rivals Liverpool back in December. Hence why numerous publications are reporting a $75 million transfer valua-

tion on his head. With Real Madrid increasingly linked with a move to make De Gea the long-term successor to Iker Casillas and offer the Spaniard a chance to return to his hometown of Madrid, the rumor mill has been spinning into overdrive recently. It has even been mooted that Gareth Bale may be used as bait by Real in order to land De Gea, which tells you just how good the 6-foot-4-inch ‘keeper has been this season. A report from the Daily Express claims that United are ready to offer De Gea a new

five-year contract with wages up to $300,000 per week, but the Spaniard will enter the final year of his original fiveyear contract this summer and officials have to make a big call on whether or not to offload the Spanish international this year or risk losing him for nothing in 2016.

Since arriving at Old Trafford for $27 million (a British record for a goalkeeper) as a skinny 20-year-old in 2011, De Gea has developed into one of the best goalkeepers in the world with his shot-stopping ability among the best, plus

in the League Cup.

The visitors had only two shots in a game played in light snowfall, one of which ended in the net when Hazard picked himself up after being fouled by makeshift defender Emre Can to send goalkeeper Simon Mignolet the wrong way from the spot.

After that, it was all Liverpool and only Courtois’ brilliance denied them a lead to take to London.

Such a quarter-final matchup may have been seen as an easy path before the event began but the Chinese emerged with a 100 per cent record from their three group matches, downing traditional Asian powerhouses Saudi Arabia, 2011 Asian Cup semifinalists Uzbekistan and 2010 World Cup participants North Korea.

Behich insists the Socceroos won’t fall into the trap of underestimating China but says they should also be confident about their prospects of winning.

“They’re a good side, they’ve won three from three, it’s not going to be an easy game and there is no easy games in this tournament,” he said before training on Wednesday. “We’re prepared – and it will be a battle. But I think we’re pretty confident we’ll be getting through.

“We know what we’re capable of as a team and I think we have a great team. We see no reason why we shouldn’t go through. That’s what we have in our minds, getting through this game and then we’ll go for the game after.”

The bullish mentality has so far worked for the Socceroos, who privately feel they are not getting enough credit for the way they’re playing. Despite 4-1 and 4-0 wins against Kuwait and Oman to open the tournament, the 1-0 loss to Korea was notable for Australia holding a staggering 67 per cent of possession.

price tag on De Gea

his distribution and ability to claim crosses have drastically improved. Louis van Gaal has so far denied to talk publicly about De Gea’s contract situation, but it must be a concern that his goalkeeper, who has been the star of the season so far for United, has yet to commit his long-term future to the Red Devils.

With former Barcelona ‘keeper Victor Valdes arriving on a free transfer earlier this month on a two-year deal, speculation will continue surrounding De Gea’s future at the “Theatre of Dreams.”

SERENA Williams of the U.S. makes a forehand return to Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne. Insert: Serena Williams of the United States celebrates a point in her first round match against Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium during day two of the 2015 Australian Open at Melbourne Park.

SPANISH and Manchester United goal-keeper David De Gea

Cricket PNG to showcase talent at qualifier

CRICKET BY MIRIAM ZARRIGA

CRICKET PNG will showcase their emerging talent in the forthcoming under 19 East Asia Pacific Regional World Cup Qualifier.

The EAP has long been an event PNG has taken part in since 1998. Cricket PNG High Performance manager Rarua Dikana yesterday said the event is an avenue for the junior members to prove their worth for a chance at the top level.

He added that already there are three players from the Under 19 squad who have shown promise and have begun training with the senior team.

Dikana said selecting the final team was a hectic job as they had 75 potential players to choose from.

There are 15 other countries taking part with the winner automatically qualifying for the World Cup while the runner up will have a chance to redeem themselves at another qualifying meet.

Cricket PNG will make the announcement of the team today for the tournament slated for the end of next month at Blendheim, South Island in New Zealand.

Shao the new president

Cricket vying for Pacific Games and World T20

CRICKET

BY MIRIAM ZARRIGA

CRICKET PNG is getting ready for two major events on its 2015 calendar.

The two events are the World T20 and XV Pacific Games, which will be held during the month of July. PNG will take part in both tournaments.

Cricket PNG will look at a 30 member squad that will

include 16 contracted players to select players for both meets.

Current players based in Port Moresby are in intense training, which includes PNG Barramundi’s Captain Chris Amini and Jack Vare who are injured and are on the mend undergoing a rehabilitation program.

High Performance Manager for Cricket PNG Rarua

Dikana said the two events are happening at the same time will be a challenge to the administration as it will be a task to put two good teams to ensure PNG win.

“We have about 16 contracted players, a development squad and few players on the fringe of playing in the main team to select to play in the World T20 and the Pacific Games.”

“Part of the training that is currently going on is to ensure both junior and senior players are in the training camp with head coach and former New Zealand Black Caps Dipak Patel,” Dikana said.

In terms of the Pacific Games, Dikana said PNG has a good record having won gold at all the seven Games that PNG has taken part in.

“Vanuatu and Samoa have proven themselves against PNG in the past, though Fiji have always been the challenge for the gold medal with PNG, Vanuatu has a good development program and will provide an exciting match for Team PNG as well.”

“Our coaching staff is ensuring PNG must win gold because we are playing on our home turf,” Dikana said.

Tura visits city island community

TATANA village in the Motu Koitabu district in the National Capital District had the privilege of hosting Tura, the official Mascot of the 2015 Pacific Games in their village over the weekend.

Tura, led by Games Organising Committee CEO Peter Stewart, visited on Saturday at the request of the village leaders and community to hear of their interest to help in the Games.

The Visit coincided with the Villages annual Nick and Bonnie Allan

Volleyball Cup Challenge, in which Tura made an appearance dancing and entertaining the children.

Village Councillors, Opao Udia and Tom Linken, speaking on behalf of the community expressed their intentions to play a hosting role in the Games come July.

Tatana village has had a history of hosting pacific Island countries in past events in PNG.

“We hosted a lunch for Fiji and accommodated Wallis and Futuna in the 1980 Festival of Pacific Arts, and then in 1991 for the 9th South Pacific

Games we hosted a lunch for Kiribati and Vanuatu. Very recently we hosted New Caledonia during the 5th Melanesian Festival of Art and Culture.

We would be honoured to host a country in our village again for this Games”, said Councillor Udia.

GOC CEO Peter Stewart acknowledged important contributions of Motu Koitabuan villages to sport in PNG, especially in volleyball.

He highlighted the success of the PNG in the past Pacific and Mini Pacific Games such as Wallis and Futuna Games were PNG won gold with

the majority of the team made up of Motu Koitabuans.

He also acknowledged the contributions of PNG National volleyball coach, the late Tommy Lui Kila.

Stewart said Kila’s legacy will live on and will encourage young athletes and coaches to continue to drive the sport forward. He thanked the community for inviting the team to visit the village and wished current and upcoming athletes from Motu Koitabu the best in their sporting carriers.

“I look forward to having some of you being involved in the Games.”

TABLE TENNIS

THE PNG table tennis federation (PNGTTF) has a new president in George Shao. Shao was elected at a recent Annual General Meeting (AGM). Shao replaces Moses Tolingling who did not seek re-election.

Also on the executives are Sepa Simoi (vice president), Arun Rao (secretary), Rea Loi (treasurer) while Tolingling remains as a committee member with Annie Loi and Haoda Agari.

The sports competition manager for the Pacific Games is Karai Taukarai.

Shao thanked everyone for their support and confidence in him and vowed to promote and develop table tennis in PNG. He urged all executives and members to work together as a team.

The PNGTTF will now continue its preparations for the Open National Championships to be held in Port Moresby from January 30 to February 1 at the Port Moresby International High School.

All associations wishing to participate can pay their 2015 affiliation fee of K100 to have players qualify to participate. Categories are under 12, under 15, under 18 and open divisions. The championships will also be used by the PNGTTF to prepare for the Pacific Games.

For more information on the championships contact George Shao on 7263 1772/7637 2135 or Rea Loi on 7357 7245.

HEBOU PNG Barramundis coach Dipak Patel explaining the grip of the ball to bowlers. INSET: Members of the PNG Barramundis extended squad listen to their coach during training at the Amini Park yesterday.

PACIFIC GAMES

Hubert Murray Stadium new home of soccer Stadium home of soccer

Soccer home home

SOCCER

SOCCER in Papua New Guinea has finally found a home.

The Sir Hubert Murray Stadium at Konedobu is now the official home of soccer PNG.

The good news was announced by Minister for Sports and Pacific Games Justin

Tkatchenko during the launch of the 10th Telikom National Soccer League (NSL) at the Gateway Hotel last night.

Tkatchenko said it was only fitting that soccer be rewarded for its management and administration of the game. With the National Soccer League (NSL) taking the lead with Telikom to take the game to new heights

and with a huge future for the beckoning, Tkatchenko said it is only fitting that the FIFA compliant Sir Hubert Murray Stadium be the new home to support its growth.

Telikom acting CEO Jeffrey Bean said they are happy to continue their support of the NSL and urged all stakeholders to work together for the com-

mon cause. NSL deputy chairman Dan Kakaraya welcomed the pledge from the Minister and challenged the respective seven franchises to raise their standards. The PNGFA have not being officially informed of the announcement made by the Minister and were not able to respond on the new development as yet.

MINISTER for Sports Justin Tkatchenko launches the 2015 NSL competition with Telikom acting CEO Jeffery Bean (left) and NSL

Deputy Chairman Dan Kakaraya