The discovery of 81 bales of cocaine will land a "major financial blow" to illegal drug market, Police Commissioner says. New Zealand authorities have intercepted more than three tonnes of cocaine from a vessel in the Pacific Ocean. A media conference is being held at Police National Headquarters detailing the bust. Operation Hydros - a joint mission by police, Customs and the Defence Force - seized 81 bales of the drug, totalling 3.2 tonnes, with an estimated street value of half a billion dollars. The shipment is destined for destruction, having since made the six-day journey back to New Zealand aboard the Royal New Zealand Navy vessel HMNZS Manawanui. Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said given the large size of the shipment it would have likely been destined for the Australian market. [caption id="attachment_35776" align="alignnone" width="788"] No arrests have been made yet. Photo: NZ Police / Supplied[/caption] "There is no doubt this discovery lands a major financial blow right from the South American producers through to the distributors of this product," Coster said. "This is one of the single biggest seizures of illegal drugs by authorities in this country. While this disrupts the syndicate's operations, we remain vigilant given the lengths we know these groups will go to circumvent coming to law enforcement's attention." Operation Hydros started in December 2022, as part of the police's ongoing work with international partner agencies to identify and monitor suspicious vessels' movements, he said. "I am incredibly proud of what our National Organised Crime Group has achieved in working with other New Zealand agencies, including New Zealand Customs Service and the New Zealand Defence Force. The significance of this recovery and its impact cannot be underestimated." While no arrests have been made at this stage, enquiries were continuing internationally. [caption id="attachment_35777" align="alignnone" width="788"] The cocaine was intercepted from a vessel in the Pacific Ocean. Photo: NZ Police / Supplied[/caption] New Zealand Customs Service acting comptroller Bill Perry said his agency was pleased to have "helped prevent such a large amount of cocaine causing harm in communities here in New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere in the wider Pacific region". "The sheer scale of this seizure is estimated to have taken more than half a billion dollars' worth of cocaine out of circulation. "It is a huge illustration of what lengths organised crime will go to with their global drug trafficking operations and shows that we are not exempt from major organised criminal drug smuggling efforts in this part of the world," he said. New Zealand Defence Force joint forces commander Rear Admiral Jim Gilmour said they had "the right people and the right capabilities to provide the support required". "We were very pleased with the result and are happy to be a part of this successful operation and are proud to play our part in protecting New Zealand." Source:rnz.com

H.E. Grand Chief Sir Bob Bofeng Dadae,, Governor General of Papua New Guinea, has received congratulatory messages on his recent re-election as Vice Regal for a second term. Resident heads of missions and representatives recently paid Courtesy Calls on the Governor General Grand Chief Sir Bob Dadae to convey congratulatory messages on behalf of their countries and Governments. Representing the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, Ambassador Zeng Fanhua conveyed a congratulatory message from the President of China Xi Jinping. “PNG was among the first Pacific Island countries to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, and the traditional friendship between our two countries has endured for a long time and is full of vitality. The China-PNG comprehensive strategic partnership enjoys high-level cooperation across the board, bringing tangible benefits to the people of our two countries,” President Jinping said. Governor General of Australia the Honorable David Hurley also conveyed his congratulatory message to Grand Chief Sir Bob and extended an invitation to our Governor General to visit Australia. “Australia and Papua New Guinea have a strong and enduring relationship, a bond between equals, underpinned by a shared history, deep community links, mutual respect, and cooperation across all spheres…I would like to invite you to visit Australia as a Guest of the Australian Government at a mutually convenient time in 2023,” the Australian Governor General wrote. The Australian High Commissioner to PNG Jon Philp also expressed similar sentiments in his congratulatory remarks when he called on the Governor General today. High Commissioner Philp stated that the Australian Government would like to encourage more Australians to visit Papua New Guinea and to see more Papua New Guineans participate in the Australian Government’s Labour Mobility Scheme. High Commissioner Philp noted that Papua New Guineans from 12 provinces have so far been engaged in the Labour Mobility Scheme and plans are underway to include more provinces and increase the number of Papua New Guineans to participate in the Scheme. High Commissioner of United Kingdom to PNG Keith Scott also paid a Courtesy Call on the Governor General to convey his congratulatory message on Grand Chief Sir Bob’s re-election. The British High Commissioner also discussed with the Governor General preparations for the coronation of Their Majesties King Charles III and the Queen Consort which will take place in the first week of May, this year. The Governor General and Prime Minister James Marape will attend the event and have an audience with the King in the days leading up to the Coronation.

Twenty-Five (25) young people in Port Moresby have just concluded three months of volunteer work with the National Airports Corporation through its Airport Ambassador’s Program at Jacksons International Airport. The Airport Ambassadors as they are called have been providing much needed assistance within the Jacksons Domestic and International Terminals between November 2022 and January 2023 which is the busiest period at Jacksons International Airport as many passengers travel in and out for the holidays. The three months was also an opportunity for them to learn some aspects of airport operations and its role in the aviation industry. In a small ceremony held last Friday, NAC Acting Managing Director Mr. Joseph Tupiri thanked the volunteers for their support and contributions and encouraged them to continue to seek opportunities to develop themselves. He also reminded the volunteers on the important need to provide good customer services not just at the airport but elsewhere in any service areas. “PMIA is the face of PNG and the first impression to any international travelers who come into our country, therefore, it is very important that you as airport ambassadors have the opportunity to make the first impression count to the passengers” explained Mr. Tupiri. As part of the program, NAC has provided the participants with references to support their search for future employment or study opportunities. The Airport Ambassadors Program is a volunteer program at NAC which is aimed at driving greater customer service across the airports. The program had been implemented at the Port Moresby International Airport since 2020. Since its implementation, a total of 80 people have participated and benefited from the program.

FinCorp's K10,000 donation to the Uni Piggies will help the club's management train, strategize and incentivize player participation in the Capital Rugby Union Competition. “FinCorp is thrilled to show support to the Piggies team as part of our commitment to communities,” said Brett Tayler, CEO of FinCorp. “We live and work in these communities and know that the life-work balance should be encouraged. FinCorp believes that, if we help a community to thrive, then we all move forward.” As an organization with 25 years of operation in PNG, FinCorp understands relationships and the impacts its financial services can have on communities. This is aligned to its vision statement to be the most trusted and innovative financial services provider growing within its chosen markets. “With our brand recognition, FinCorp would like to foster trust and build our social capital as part of our investment strategy,” said Mr Tayler. “Sports is an integral part of a community’s health and well-being, and this is our way of giving back and supporting specific causes.” Mr. Pochon Lili, Vice President of the Rugby club, expressed his club's gratitude and further added that the sponsorship will go towards benefiting the operations of the club this year. The Uni Piggies club has been an active sporting club for over 57 years since its inception in 1965. Being the oldest club in the Rugby Union sports code, the club has providing talent to the National Rugby Union Team, Pukpuks over the years. Uni Piggies is currently participating in the Capital Rugby Union Competition with Pre-season training starting in February this year.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology is embarking on implementing its public investment programs in 2023, which include in particular, the Cyber Security Network and the Digital Government Infrastructure and Service. This was highlighted by the Minister for Information and Communications Technology Hon. Timothy Masiu, when addressing the Commonwealth Conference on Cybercrime in the Pacific, in Port Moresby on Monday. “The Department of ICT is currently formalizing and onboarding key cyber agencies in PNG that will form a national cyber coordinating committee (N3C) which will speed up reporting, technical verification by backend technology, and cooperation with the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) Cybercrime Unit, leading to search warrants and prosecution,” Minister Masiu said. DICT has made progress so far in collaborating with the National Censorship Office in relation to addressing illicit content on the Internet being accessed within PNG’s digital boundaries. “There are also other areas such as the Dark Web which PNG needs government leadership and on the same token, I want to express my deep satisfaction that all three arms of government are deeply engaged in digital transformation and cybersecurity,” Minister Masiu added. While the PNG Constitution entrenches the principle of ‘separation of powers, each arm of government has a duty to the citizens to digitally transform the delivery of government services and to ensure that this takes place in a cyber secure environment. In the meantime, the Government has invited heads of the Pacific ICT institutions for an ICT dialogue in East New Britain province, to further deliberate amongst other issues, cybercrime and how ICT bodies can collaborate for a common purpose. “The Global future is a digital future and I look forward to the outcomes of this conference, Minister Masiu added.

Pacific Palms Property (PPP), the property division of Steamships is delighted to welcome Bill Doa Neill as the National Leasing Manager. Mr. Neill joins PPP from the Brian Bell Group where he was the Commercial Business Development Manager, bringing to the team over ten years of experience in commercial and project management. Mr. Neill has joined at an exciting time for the business, as PPP undergoes exceptional growth in 2023, with major projects; Portside Business Park, Harbourside South, and the Hagen DOBEL center scheduled to be completed by mid-2023. His knowledge of the Papua New Guinean landscape and wealth of experience both locally and internationally will bring a fresh perspective and seniority to the division. On Mr. Neill's appointment, Rupert Bray, Steamships Managing Director, says “We are pleased to be joined by another young, highly qualified and experienced manager. We look forward to Bill’s contributions to the growth and development of PPP in the years to come.” Mr. Neill was educated at Westlake Boys High School in Auckland before earning a bachelor’s degree in Marketing at the Queensland University of Technology. As a group, Steamships is committed to supporting and promoting local talent. Mr. Neill is the latest addition to the senior management team of Pacific Palms Property.

Lino Eaki is on a journey to expand her business as well as providing this vital service for many working-class parents in Papua New Guinea’s capital city. equips Steppingstone Preschool, tucked away behind a church in a suburban community has enrolled up to 10 children in its primary year of business in 2022. Lino was part of cohort of twenty-eight other women entrepreneurs that participated in a six-week Entrepreneurship Acceleration Programme  (EAP) from October to December 2022. The programme was facilitated by the United Nations Development Programme and Credit Union Foundation Australia. Through this programme, 28 women across Port Moresby have gained access to vital skills to grow their small businesses and address the challenges women entrepreneurs face today. The curriculum included live instructor-led training sessions, self-paced learning, engaging speaker series by industry leaders, and mentoring sessions with private sector individuals, for additional support and networking. “I have been teaching for over 20 years, teaching from public to private school and as a mum myself saw the need for earlier learning and childcare targeting the working class.'' Previously, from the fees I collected as school fees went to paying rentals and expansion of the school. However, attending this course has allowed me to improve on my financial management of the funds and it also taught me how to market my business online with useful digital and innovative tools and ideas.” said Lino Women entrepreneurs benefited from a range of topics offered by the program, such as digital marketing, financial management, customer experience, logistics, and more. Aside from digital skills, women entrepreneurs also gained practical financial skills to better manage their businesses, forecast and budget beyond for the coming years. "I gained a lot of knowledge from this course; it has been mind boggling and as the name of my school suggests - a steppingstone. This experience gave me the confidence and the drive I needed. I am also happy to say that this has not only been a journey for me, but for my school, students and their parents - so to the organisers, I say, you have not only helped me grow but you have impacted the lives of my students and their family," she said. Since its inception, the initiative has provided more women-led Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) with the business acumen to tackle challenges and access vital skills and tools to better manage their businesses. There has been a lot of interest and requests from the general public to continue rolling out programmes like the Entrepreneurship Acceleration Programme.  

Center for Excellence in Financial Inclusion is currently running its first 2023 Training of Trainers Training for Kina Bank staff. A total of 10 participants including eight women are attending the training. Following the training the Kina Bank Trainers will be required to deliver the Retail Training to their colleagues. This will be implemented through a training roll out plan developed by Kina Bank and CeFi will provide support to ensure that Kina Bank implements its training plans and training report provided to CeFi. The participants are being trained to deliver financial literacy training and taught skills on how to train a group of adult learners on Savings and Budgeting. They are also given the opportunity to practice session planning, customizing and delivery. To complete their training, the participants will be assessed on their competencies to deliver Group Based Learning for Adults. Source: Centre of Excellence in Financial Inclusion

After playing host to their Māori counterparts for the past four NRL Harvey Norman All Stars, the Indigenous squad are this week enjoying being guests in the first ever edition of the event to be held in New Zealand. Tuesday morning saw a large gathering at the picturesque Te Papaiouru Marae, situated on the active geothermal lakefront in Rotorua, to welcome both the men’s and women’s Māori and Indigenous sides ahead of Saturday’s matches at Rotorua International Stadium. “To have the All Stars over here is pretty good, and to learn about the Māori culture as well,” Indigenous back Selwyn Cobbo said from the marae. “I have never seen anything like this before, it’s a lot to take in and I love the Māori culture.” Forward Ryan James, who retired from the NRL last season but has travelled to take part in one final camp with the Indigenous side as a player, said he was in awe of the way Māori culture is embraced in Rotorua. Five years ago the city became the first in New Zealand to be declared bilingual, with road signage in both Te Reo Māori and English. “It's amazing to see how embedded the New Zealand Māori culture is here, it is unbelievable,” James said. “Even to see the kids know the language and have schools that have the language. “New Zealand are well far ahead of us [Australia] when it comes to knowing their culture and being extremely proud of who they are. “It's just one of those things where we just have to keep learning our culture. Australia has never really taught our culture, and it's something that we're looking to change. To see the pride that they have when everyone's performing is something that we strive for. Ryan James On Tuesday the men’s and women’s teams all had their first training session since arriving in New Zealand on Monday afternoon. For Cobbo, the match against the Māori is a chance to have a starting role in the star-studded Indigenous backline after coming off the interchange in last year’s fixture, while he’s also enjoying rubbing shoulders with some childhood idols. “I only finished school a few years ago and it wasn’t long ago that I was watching these boys on TV,” Cobbo said. “It’s my first camp with Latrell [Mitchell], and the boys have been looking after me and taking me under their wing. “It’s good to be back and I am proud to get picked in this team again.” Source: NRL.Com

UH Hilo Political Science major and Pi Sigma Alpha member Leoshina Kariha was selected to represent Hawai‘i at the 2023 College Student Congress organized by the Henry Clay Center. As an academic summer program, the College Student Congress is a fully funded, public-policy summer program, providing students with opportunities to research and write public policy on current national issues, meet students from across the country, develop new interpersonal and leadership skills, and interact with guest speakers in Lexington, Kentucky, and Washington, D.C. Only one student from each state and the District of Columbia is selected for this very competitive program. Congratulations, Leoshina! Source: University of Hawai'i at Hilo

It’s always best to start the year on a good note said the Acting Provincial Police Commander for Eastern Highlands Province, Chief Inspector Timothy Pomasso, when he spoke at the recent opening of the legal year parade. Pomasso, echoed keynote speaker Acting Justice Irene Mugugia’s message to the people of EHP to strive to become law abiding citizens because one of major issues that is being faced right around the country is the gap between disciplined forces, including the police to administer policing services. “The break up between both the population and the servicemen being exponentially wide, so we need to work alongside each other to combat law and order issues in the province,” Mugugia said. Meanwhile, CIP Pomasso also brought to light the news regarding the number of officers currently present on ground in the province. While working on the authorized position numbers of officers in the province, Pomasso said that on paper the official number is 308, but those on the ground number less than the figures projected. “Trying to request for additional manpower comes in two components. If we have to request for manpower, we have to have equal number of accommodation,” Pomasso said. This has raised concerns with Pomasso, who has also implied that at this point, they are in no position to request for manpower. Pomasso has spoken with EHP Governor on issues pertaining to accommodation for personnel and the response has been favorable; therefore, he hopes to be fruitful in the coming months.

The death toll from a strong earthquake in south-eastern Turkey, near Syria's border, could rise eight-fold, the World Health Organization has warned. The toll, which currently stands at more than 3,400 people, has increased rapidly since the first earthquake struck early on Monday morning. About 12 hours later, a second powerful tremor hit further north. Rescuers have been combing through mountains of rubble in freezing and snowy conditions to find survivors. Countries around the world are sending support to help the rescue efforts, including specialist teams, sniffer dogs and equipment. The US Geological Survey said the 7.8 magnitude tremor struck at 04:17 local time (01:17 GMT) at a depth of 17.9km (11 miles) near the city of Gaziantep. Seismologists said the first quake was one of the largest ever recorded in Turkey. Survivors said it took two minutes for the shaking to stop. The second quake - triggered by the first - had a magnitude of 7.5, and its epicentre was in the Elbistan district of Kahramanmaras province. Many aftershocks are still being felt across the region. The number of dead and injured from both Turkey and Syria has increased rapidly throughout Monday. The WHO has warned that those numbers are likely to increase as much as eight times, as rescuers find more victims in the rubble. "We always see the same thing with earthquakes, unfortunately, which is that the initial reports of the numbers of people who have died or who have been injured will increase quite significantly in the week that follows," the WHO's senior emergency officer for Europe, Catherine Smallwood, told AFP. Ms Smallwood added that the snowy conditions will leave many people without shelter, adding to the dangers. Many of the victims are in war-torn northern Syria, where millions of refugees live in camps on both sides of the border with Turkey. There have been dozens of fatalities reported in rebel-held areas. Thousands of buildings across both the countries have collapsed, and several videos show the moment they fell, as onlookers ran for cover. Many buildings that were as large as 12 storeys high are now flattened, roads have been destroyed and there are huge mountains of rubble as far as the eye can see. Among the buildings destroyed was Gaziantep Castle, an historic landmark that has stood for more than 2,000 years. The BBC's Middle East correspondent Anna Foster, reporting from the Turkish city of Osmaniye, near the epicentre, described a devastating scene. "It's absolutely pouring with rain which is hampering the rescue efforts. There is no power at all in the city tonight. "We're still feeling regular after-shocks... and there are still concerns that there may be still more buildings to collapse," our correspondent said. Turkey's energy infrastructure has also been damaged, and videos have emerged showing large fires in southern Turkey. Social media users claimed they were caused by damage to gas pipelines. Turkey's energy minister Fatih Donmez confirmed there had been serious damage to the infrastructure, but did not mention the explosions. Turkey lies in one of the world's most active earthquake zones. In 1999 a deadly quake killed more than 17,000 in the north-west. The country's worst earthquake disaster was in 1939 when 33,000 people died in Turkey's eastern Erzincan province. One Kahramanmaras resident, Melisa Salman, said living in an earthquake zone meant she was used to "being shaken", but Monday's tremor was "the first time we have ever experienced anything like that". "We thought it was the apocalypse," she said. The Turkish Red Crescent has called for citizens to make blood donations, and the organisation's president, Kerem Kınık, said on Twitter that additional blood and medical products were being sent to the affected region. Following an international appeal for help, Turkey's President Erdogan said 45 countries had offered support. UN Secretary General António Guterres has called for an international response to the crisis, saying that many of the families hit by the disaster were "already in dire need of humanitarian aid in areas where access is a challenge". The European Union is sending search and rescue teams to Turkey, while rescuers from the Netherlands and Romania are already on their way. The UK has said it will send 76 specialists, equipment and rescue dogs. France, Germany, Israel, and the US have also pledged to help. Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered help to both Turkey and Syria, as has Iran. Turkey's interior minister, Suleymon Soylu, said 10 cities were affected by the initial quake including Hatay, Osmaniye, Adiyaman, Malatya, Sanliurfa, Adana, Diyarbakir and Kilis. School has been suspended in those cities for at least a week. A volunteer with the White Helmets rescue group, which operates in rebel-controlled areas of north-western Syria, fought back tears as he described the devastation in Sarmada, near the border with Turkey. "Many buildings in different cities and villages in north-western Syria collapsed," he told the BBC. "Still now, many families are under the rubble. We are trying to save them but it's a very hard task for us. "We need help. We need the international community to do something, to help us, to support us. North-western Syria is now a disaster area," he added. The earthquake was powerful enough to be felt as far away as Cyprus, Lebanon and Israel. Source: BBC