Jessikah Reeves grew up in Brisbane with the PNG side of her family, but it has been a call-up to the Orchids that has helped her realise how much PNG has been a part of her life. The 21-year-old forward, who was a non-playing member of the Brisbane Broncos NRLW squad for the 2021 season, was persuaded to explore representing her PNG heritage by former Brisbane Tigers club teammate, Orchid #42 Angela Watego. Jessikah explains: “My Dad is from Rabaul and grew up there before moving to Australia. When I met Angela playing footy, she encouraged and persuaded me to become more open about my PNG heritage and helped build confidence in me to strive for an Orchids jersey to make my Dad and family proud. “My Grandma (his mother) lives with our family and, growing up in Brisbane, I used to spend time with her and some of her PNG friends. At the time I never realised how much Tok Pisin I was learning, but when I got into camp with the Orchids this year, I couldn’t believe how much I knew already from back then.” Despite having represented Queensland at U18 level, Jessikah says being around her PNG teammates is even more special. “It’s a different kind of love for a team when they’re all from the same place as my family.” Source: Santos PNG Orchids

Papua New Guinean artist, Anslom is breaking barriers and promoting Papua New Guinea through his music. Anslom has been recognised by the Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala, India in partnership with Lazie Indie Magazine. Lazie Indie Magazine is a well-known global organization that promotes independent musicians worldwide including organizing some of the world’s biggest music tourism festivals. The Department of Tourism of the Government of Kerala in India has invited Anslom to perform at the International Independent Music Festival from November 9th to 13th. Anslom’s participation at the music festival in India also coincides with the release of his new single ‘I will love you’ through Canada based record label ‘Big Records’ in association with Sony Music The Orchard. Music tourism is on the rise in South East Asia and the music festival is set to promote the picturesque and culturally rich state of Kerala as a prime tourist destination and will be held near one of the most exotic locations in the world - Kovalam Beach. The five days of music fete brings together the best of the global music community from countries across the world. “It is a first for a Papua New Guinean musical artist to be invited to such a prestigious event and I am honoured by the invitation to represent Papua New Guinea in the music space at this event,” said Anslom. “The event is more than a music festival. While the platform provides a global prospective marketing platform and networking opportunities for artists, it also promotes music, culture and tourism together – a prospect that Papua New Guinea should also embark on,” he added. Anslom will share the stage with 18 musical artists from seven countries including the USA, UK, India, Singapore, Malaysia and Italy cutting across genres like reggae, rock, fusion, Indian rock, hard rock, heavy metal and pop hip pop. “Music can represent a country and it has been a hard long journey to break through the challenges, but we keep pushing on spreading the love and messages through music. The world is discovering the potential in my music. If the global audience enjoys my music, they remember where I come from, they will want to visit my country,” said the international singing sensation who started his musical career singing with the Barike Band in Rabaul, East New Britain Province, since 1993. Anslom will travel to India with producer, musical director and keyboardist Emmanuel Muganaua. Meanwhile, Anslom’s new single “I will love you” from Break The Barrier Extended Playlist (EP) will be out on all digital platforms on 1st November. The “Break The Barrier” EP contains six songs about social issues faced in everyday struggles and challenges in life,” he said. Distributed by Anslom’s record label in America- known as Big Records - in association with Sony Music The Orchard, songs from Break The Barrier EP has been submitted to four feature films for sync licensing. “It is a long challenging road for musical artists in Papua New Guinea. There are so many opportunities that musical artists can leverage on. It’s all about hard work and finding the right collaboration that will see the potential. One thing is for sure - all PNG musicians need to unite and work together to create this access through our alliance. I am so thankful for the wonderful people that see the potential and continue to support my international exposure. Getting an invitation to perform at an international music festival by the Government of Kerala in India, speaks for itself. Music tourism is growing in countries all over the world. There are passionate driven people who share the same vision and collaborate with us because they recognise the role music plays in tourism. This is the beginning of my world tours in association with global known organisations. We hope that our government can recognize and support music tourism. My journey to greater things through music globally has begun,” said Anslom.

At RLWC2017, schoolgirl Gloria Kaupa was the youngest player in the Orchids squad and played just a handful of minutes against New Zealand in the team’s final match of the tournament. But she channeled her disappointment into motivation – and rose to become vice-captain of the team by the time of the 2019 test series against England. It has been a long journey for Goroka-based Gloria, who stars in the internationally released PNG Orchids documentary Power Meri, to persuade her community to support her playing rugby league as a woman (for religious reasons). She says the turning point was the Orchids’ match against England in 2019 in her hometown. “When we played in Goroka, it was the first time half of my church members, as well as my community came to watch…more than 50 people who knew me. After that, they were more supportive and started to take women in rugby league more seriously,” she says. Gloria has taken it upon herself to develop women’s rugby league in Goroka, setting up and player-coaching a new club team each year. “Because women’s rugby league in PNG started in Goroka, more Goroka women should be involved at the highest level, so I want to encourage more girls from Goroka to play and stay in rugby league.” Source: Santos PNG Orchids

FinCorp is evolving their branding, offices and services to meet the growing needs of Papua New Guinea. The refreshed logo, new brand look, and company ethos will be rolled out in a new advertising campaign across all of Papua New Guinea, supported with a totally redesigned website for customer experience - fincorp.com.pg - launched on the 26th October 2022. The new simplified website is designed so customers can navigate and access information about FinCorp finance products, with ease and convience. FinCorp CEO Brett Tayler is excited to be offering a streamlined online experience via the new website. “Our new site will offer users immediate access to a range of product options and online tools. Customers will be able to submit loan applications in minutes and immediately calculate whattheirloan repayments will be and over what timeframes.” Since first opening their doors in 1998, FinCorp has achieved many milestones. Introducing SME loans was one of the first steps forward in 2005; offering this product helped grow a typically underserviced market. FinCorp has also focussed on reducing Personal loan processing times to less than 24 hours reflecting our commitment to improving our customer service; and we will continue to challenge ourselves to further improve this turnaround time. We are committed to lowering our interest rates and as an example, our Fincorp Schoolfee loan interest rates are at the lowest since 2015. FinCorp CEO, Brett Tayler commented, “We’re making education more accessible, because investing in our younger generation is an investment in the future of Papua New Guinea. "As Fincorp transforms, Fincorp will maintain our focus on enhancing our product offerings to meet the developing and future needs of our customers. Our commitment extends to the development of our workforce with a strong focus on capacity development, talent cultivation and harnessing leadership from within. Our goal Is to ensure that our staff grow with us". The new brand reflects the organisations bold plans to move forward with a modern new look as we continue to meet our growing customer needs. Stay tuned for FinCorp’s new brand reveal across TV, radio, social, and press.

The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary’s Special Operation is soon to commence but for the public, it has been confirmed that there will only be police personnel conducting the operation. Deputy Commissioner of Police Operations Donald Yamasombi has confirmed that no other security personnel from sister forces, the Papua New Guinea Defence Force and Correctional Services of Papua New Guinea, will be engaged to take part in the operation. “No personnel for the DF or CS are engaged in this ops, only police. But, I have special Units of Water Police, Police Bandsmen, Special Services Division and K-9 Units deployed to assist the NCD Operation Units,” Yamasombi said. He further added that this is like having extra boots on the ground and it surely looks like the coming days will see men in blue to be patrolling the city in order to maintain peace and safety for the capital. “It’s really the Police Commander in NCD to take lead, I am supporting him with extra men, at certain strategic locations especially in the evenings. Please, do appreciate the fact that I have men at busy roundabouts, bus stops and shopping areas,” the DCP stated. In light of recent events, such as the fighting at Sabama between the Kirakira villagers and the settlers, police in NCD will be looking to minimize such incidents and deal with them with precise efficiency and foster a friendly relationship with the General Public.

Fiji eventually got the better of a much-improved Scotland 30-14 in their final Group B game, to secure a showdown with New Zealand in next week's quarterfinals. It was a scrappy performance from The Bati, who enjoyed 60 percent of the possession but for the most part failed to put it to good use, making 16 errors to Scotland's 10. The Bravehearts had two players spend time in the sin bin, while Bulldogs-bound forward Viliame Kikau also had 10 minutes off the field for his role in a skirmish. Fiji scored three converted tries in the opening stanza, but leaked a pair of tries which meant they led just 18-8 at the break. In the end Fiji's two converted tries in the second half was enough to see off the spirited Scottish effort, and while the performance leaves plenty to work on for The Bati, they are through to face the Kiwis in the knockout stage.       Source: NRL.com

EU-STREIT PNG joins hands with students and teachers in Sepik region of Papua New Guinea to commemorate ‘EU Climate Diplomacy Weeks’ with a message to promote the use of renewable energy sources to reduce global warming. The EU-STREIT PNG Programme in collaboration with students and teachers from three schools in East Sepik Province marked the Climate Diplomacy Weeks on Friday 21 October 2022 with highlights on the importance, benefits and practical functionality of renewable energy solutions to save the planet from global warming. Led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the EU-STREIT PNG Programme brought together 60 students to take part in learning activities that improved their knowledge and understanding of greenhouse gas emissions that have already increased temperatures and are drying up water sources, raising sea levels and threatening lives and livelihoods around the world including Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Region. Participating schools were Passam National School of Excellence, Nagum Secondary and Hawain Technical High. Explaining the purpose of the EU Climate Diplomacy Weeks’s event and the topic of climate change, the EU-STREIT PNG Programme Coordinator, Dr Xuebing Sun, in his official remarks said: “Extreme weather events like intense rain, dangerous storms and prolonged droughts affecting lives and livelihoods are challenges posed by the climate crisis that can undermine human security and increasing the risks of conflict and instability among other things. Addressing them requires global-level strategic and coordinated response and this is where climate diplomacy comes in.” “Climate diplomacy encompasses the use of diplomatic tools to support the ambition and functioning of the international climate change regime and to attenuate the negative impacts climate change risks pose to peace, stability and prosperity.” He added: “Climate diplomacy also means prioritising climate action with partners worldwide – in diplomatic dialogues, public diplomacy and external policy instruments.” Dr. Sun also told the students and their teachers including the local media to share this message with all, “caring for the environment is not only our responsibility, but also a question of survival, as millions of human beings all over the world including in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific are under threat”. In her intervention, the UNDP Project Manager for Renewable Energy under EU-STREIT PNG, Ms Karen Anawe explained to students how the Programme in partnership with PNG stakeholders is installing mini grid PV Solar Systems in selected remote public facilities like schools and community health centers in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)-7 which is “Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy” and UN SDG-13 which is “Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”. It was an exciting and fun day for the students who learned the basics as well as the different kinds of renewable energy sources suitable for rural areas/farming communities explained by the Programme’s national experts. A short video was also presented on renewable energy solutions. Female and male students took part in a quiz competition and drawings as well, depicting the benefits of renewable energy for the Planet, Country, Province and Village. To encourage youth involvement along nodes of the agri-food value chains, prizes were awarded to the students/schools by the Programme for their participation: six wheelbarrows, six spades and three 50 meters long shade cloths. The students were also taken on a tour of the Programme’s green/solar-powered office building. “We’re excited to participate in this event because it helps us to understand greenhouse gas emissions and how it affects the environment and our lives,” said a female grade 11 student Joycelyn Siteseneve of Nagum Secondary. The event was equally exciting for teachers. “We’re privilege to attend this EU Diplomacy Weeks’s event here in Wewak. This is an eye-opener and I believe it will be a good learning curve for all schools in East Sepik if all of us could participate,” said Mr Nelson Sangisi of Passam National School of Excellence. Concluding the event, the Programme’s Gender and Youth Inclusion Specialist, Ms Patu Shang in her remarks reminded the youths: “You are the future of tomorrow and we rely on you to develop alternative energy solutions for your villages and households. In the next one year, we look forward to your renewable energy innovative solutions proposals that have been inspired by your presence here today,  we are waiting.” The EU-STREIT PNG Programme as part of its comprehensive packages of interventions to foster sustainable agri-business development in the Sepik, supports development and improvement of renewable energy solutions to create an enabling environment which will embrace development of the three targeted value chains (cocoa, vanilla, and fisheries) that thousands of rural communities in the Sepik Region depend on to sustain their livelihoods. In this framework, the Programme, among other interventions, also works on setting up solar power generation in six select facilities in the Sepik Region to promote awareness of sustainable and renewable energy. The EU-STREIT PNG Programme Office Building in Wewak, currently co-resided by the Programme and provincial agricultural bodies which will be transferred over to the East Sepik Provincial Administration at the end of the Programme, is a good example to showcase how renewable energy solutions – in this case, solar panel generated energy – is an efficient way to provide reliable energy for public, and other private, business and educational facilities. This office building is powered by 189 solar panels, which significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduces the collective dependence of around 90 experts, technicians and extension service officers on fossil fuel and can support staff’s operation for 36 hours. The EU-STREIT PNG Programme, being implemented as a UN Joint Programme (FAO as the leading agency, and ILO, ITU, UNCDF and UNDP as partners), is the largest grant-funded Programme of the European Union in the country and the Pacific region. The Programme aims to help improve the lives of the people from East Sepik and Sandaun provinces, by focusing on increasing sustainable and inclusive economic development of rural areas through improved economic returns and opportunities from cocoa, vanilla and fishery value chains while strengthening and improving the efficiency of value chain enablers, including the business environment, and supporting sustainable, climate-proof transport and energy infrastructure development.

At least 146 people have been killed and more than 150 injured after being crushed by a large crowd pushing forward on a narrow street during Halloween festivities in the capital Seoul, South Korean officials say. Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul’s Yongsan fire department, said the death toll could rise as emergency workers were continuing to transport the injured to hospitals. He said many of the dead had been sent to hospitals while the bodies of the remaining 46 were still on the streets in the leisure district of Itaewon on Saturday night. Officials said it was believed people were crushed to death after a large crowd began pushing forward in a narrow alley near Hamilton Hotel, a major party spot in Seoul. The incident took place at about 10:20pm local time. [caption id="attachment_29309" align="aligncenter" width="691"] Many of the victims were women in their 20s[/caption] A large number of people fell down in the alley during the festivities, Mr Choi said, with many of the party-goers wearing masks and Halloween costumes. Many of the victims were women in their 20s, Mr Choi said. Officials from the National Fire Agency and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety earlier said about 100 were injured and about 50 were being treated for cardiac arrest as of early Sunday. More than 400 emergency workers and 140 vehicles from around the nation, including all available personnel in Seoul, were deployed to the streets to treat the injured. The National Fire Agency separately said in a statement that officials were still trying to determine the exact number of emergency patients. Foreigners were among those transferred to nearby hospitals. Chaotic scenes TV footage and photos from the scene showed ambulance vehicles lined up in streets amid a heavy police presence and emergency workers moving the injured in stretchers. Emergency workers and pedestrians were also seen performing CPR on people lying in the streets. In one section, paramedics were seen checking on at least a dozen people who lying motionless under blue blankets. Police, who were restricting traffic in nearby areas to speed up the transportation of the injured to hospitals across the city, also confirmed that dozens of people were being given CPR on Itaewon streets. The Seoul metropolitan government issued emergency text messages urging people in the area to swiftly return home. Some local media reports said the crush happened after a large number of people rushed to an Itaewon bar after hearing an unidentified celebrity visited there. One eyewitness said a makeshift morgue was set up in a building adjacent to the scene. About four dozen bodies were carried out later on wheeled stretchers and moved to a government facility to identify the victims, according to the witness. [caption id="attachment_29310" align="aligncenter" width="694"] It was the first Halloween event in three years after the country lifted COVID restrictions and social distancing.[/caption] Largest gathering since COVID Local media said about 100,000 people flocked to Itaewon streets for the Halloween festivities, which were the biggest since the start of the pandemic following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in recent months. It was the first Halloween event in three years. Some witnesses described the crowd becoming increasingly unruly and agitated as the evening deepened. The Itaewon district is popular with young South Koreans and expatriates alike. Its dozens of bars and restaurants were packed on Saturday for Halloween after businesses had suffered a sharp decline over three years of the pandemic. Curfew on bars and restaurants and a limit of 10 people for private gatherings were lifted in April. An outdoor mask mandate was dropped in May. [caption id="attachment_29312" align="aligncenter" width="710"] Emergency services arrive after more than 140 killed during Seoul crowd surge[/caption] President Yoon Suk-yeol presided over an emergency meeting with senior aides. "The area is still chaotic so we are still trying to figure out the exact number of people injured," said Moon Hyun-joo, an official at the National Fire Agency. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol issued a statement calling for officials to ensure swift treatment for those injured and review the safety of the festivity sites. He also instructed the Health Ministry to swiftly deploy disaster medical assistance teams and secure beds in nearby hospitals to treat the injured. Source: ABC News

Biosecurity and plant protection officers, development partners, Ministry of Agriculture representatives and IT experts came together in Nadi, Fiji, this week to train on electronic phytosanitary (ePhyto) certificates. The training represents a crucial step forward to improve agricultural trade facilitation and safeguard regional food security. The event was funded by the Australian and New Zealand Governments through the Regional ePhyto project and supported by the European Union through the Pacific Community (SPC) implemented Safe Agricultural Trade Facilitation through Economic Integration in the Pacific (SAFE Pacific) project. The ePhyto certificate is the electronic equivalent of a paper phytosanitary certificate issued to indicate that export consignments of plants, plant products or other regulated articles meet specified import requirements. The certification ensures the continuity of trade despite travel and shipping limitations. It also improves trade efficiency by reducing the time and cost of sending paper certificates from country to country. "The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) ePhyto initiative comes at a crucial time when our members are faced with different dilemmas as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This platform will ensure that members are kept connected, that challenges are shared, advice is being sought out and that information and guidance are being provided by the entire Pacific Plant Protection Organisation (PPPO),” said SPC’s Land Resources Division Director Karen Mapusua at the opening event. The training taught participants about new developments in ePhyto and shared implementation experiences from different countries. Participants also checked their newly learned ePhyto skills by sending test certificates to other countries during the workshop to gain hands-on experience using the Generic ePhyto National System (GeNs) portal. GeNS is a centralised web-based system used to create, send and receive ePhytos between the National Plant Protection Organisations (NPPOs) of two trading countries through the IPPC Hub. “ePhyto enables governments to share phytosanitary data well before a commodity’s arrival. As a result, importing countries save time in determining compliance and can address any biosecurity or documentary issues directly with the exporting authority. This will help to pre-plan their inspections, logistics and testing,” said PPPO’s Vice Chair Mr. Nacanieli Waqa. The ePhyto Solution leads to better regulation of plant exports and imports across the Pacific region and provides efficient market access opportunities at a reduced operational cost. “Developing countries in the Pacific are often at a disadvantage when it comes to adopting technological advances, and continue to rely on paper certificates,” said Mr Waqa. “Many Pacific countries share common hurdles such as funding, infrastructure, personnel and training. The successful implementation of GeNS in the Pacific will result in a consolidated approach by Australia and New Zealand to support the ePhyto Solution.” Key development partners working in collaboration to implement the ePhyto Solution in the region include the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF), World Bank Group (WBG) and PACER Plus. A number of countries such as Argentina, Chile, Fiji, Ghana, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Samoa and USA are already operating the system to transmit phytosanitary certificates safely. As part of the training, a field trip was organised to the Sigatoka valley to attend the launch of the first Tahitian lime export from Fiji to New Zealand. In addition,  participants had the opportunity to follow the process from production to the ePhyto issuance phase. Mr. Waqa concluded that the improved ePhyto implementation plan recognises and reflects on the importance of regional coordination, identifies synergies and operates in a complementary way for better delivery of activities that address Pacific country and territory needs.

The Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG) wants to delay the next meeting of the Joint Supervisory Body with the Papua New Guinea government, claiming Port Moresby is dragging the chain on drawing up critical constitutional regulations. The key focus of the ABG is on achieving independence by 2027 by the latest. This latest dispute comes despite both governments committing last April to the Era Kone Covenant which lays out how the independence referendum results would be tabled in the national parliament, and the manner in which that institution may ratify the results. At that time Bougainville President Ishmael Toroama commended the national government for its unwavering support for the Bougainville peace process. He said the Era Kone Covenant laid out a timeline and a roadmap for the ratification of the referendum results in the national parliament. PNG Prime Minister James Marape, at the time, reaffirmed his commitment to the outcomes, saying his government would continue to work within the spirit of the peace agreement. "We've established a pathway that we should work towards and we on the national government side, I just want to assure Bougainville that it doesn't matter who sits in this chair in three months' time, the work for Bougainville has been set and the work we have set will continue on," Marape said. But a national government's technical team has since failed to engage with its Bougainville counterpars to develop a jointly agreed draft of the regulations. ABG Minister, Ezekiel Masatt, said this week this lack of commitment from the National Government has frustrated the ABG leadership and prompted its call for a deferral of the Joint Supervisory Body meeting. The PNG government, and its technical team, have called for nation-wide consultations on the Bougainville question, but Masatt says the ABG's position is that ratification of the outcome of the consultation on independence is for the National Parliament and not all the citizens of PNG. He said there is no legal basis for such a proposed nationwide consultation.   Source: Radio New Zealand

Delivering on its promise, Remington Technology on Friday (28/10/22) presented Butuka Academy Secondary School with a cheque of K3,000 to award its Top Performing ICT students for this year’s class of Grade 10 and 12 as well as the school’s Dux Award for its pioneering class of Grade 12s. This newly established partnership with Butuka Academy Secondary School is part of the Remington Group’s ongoing development program to help build a brighter future for the coming generations of Papua New Guineans, assisting them to reach their highest potential. “Remington Group strongly supports education for PNG students wherever we can, especially in the field of ICT. We do our best in supporting this subject in learning institutions as this is where we have the most expertise”, says Peter Goodwin, CEO of Remington Group. Butuka Academy Secondary School have received support from the Remington Group in the past, the Group has now gone further to establish this annual partnership which will challenge and boost students in their pivotal years of Grades 10 and 12. The need to develop ICT skills in students today is crucial, considering how fast technology is advancing and the world becoming more digital, as students endeavour beyond Grade 12, being digitally savvy will be an added advantage. The Remington Group have been in PNG since 1948, and are committed to helping and providing opportunities to groom our next generation of leaders. The Group has provided three programs like the Graduate Program, Apprenticeship and On the Job training which is conducted annually. In 2021, twenty students have gone through these programs and benefited from the training to assist them to kick-start their careers. Butuka Academy Secondary School officially opened in 2019, catering for students from preschool to grade 9, this year sees their very first batch of Grade 12s graduate from the school, an occasion of which the Remington Group is proud to be a part of. This is a huge milestone for the school and they will work towards providing the very best facilities and educational support for their students to shine.

Telikom Limited and the Papua New Guinea Cancer Foundation (PNGCF) have signed a partnership Memorandum of Understanding that will see the telecommunications company provide in-kind sponsorship support to assist the implementation of the foundation's public health and outreach programs throughout 2023. Telikom Limited will be recognized as the official communications partner of the PNGCF throughout the duration of the partnership. Representing Telikom Limited Chief Executive Officer (CEO) was Ms. Marisca Kurerua, (Marketing Operations Manager) who joined PNGCF Executive Manager Ms. Priscillar Napoleon at the mock MoU signing and photo opportunity. Source: Papua New Guinea Cancer Foundation