The boss of gambling firm Bet365 was paid more than £200m in just one year, which is one of the biggest salaries ever awarded in the UK. The highest paid director of Bet365 Group, believed to be founder Denise Coates, earned a salary of £213.4m in the year to March 2022. She was also entitled to at least half of £100m in dividends, despite a fall in profits. Bet365 did not immediately respond to the BBC's request for comment. But campaign groups such as the High Pay Centre hit out at the announcement, arguing it served as a reminder that "too much [money] is going to too few people" in the UK economy. Its spokesman Andrew Speke said: "It shows if the government wanted to provide greater support to those struggling and increase the pay of striking public sector workers facing real wage cuts, increasing tax on high incomes and wealth would be one of the most effective ways of funding this." Labour MP Carolyn Harris, who co-chairs a cross-party parliamentary group examining gambling-related harm, said that losses made by users as prices are rising "are paying for the huge salaries of gambling bosses". She called on the government to bring forward its white paper on gambling and update laws that have been in place for decades. Ms. Coates founded the Bet365 website in a portable building in Stoke-on-Trent more than 20 years ago. She is thought to be one of Britain's richest women and among the best-paid bosses in the world. After training as an accountant she helped build the group into one of the biggest online gambling companies from her father's bookmaking business. Her brother is also co-chief executive. According to the latest company accounts, Ms. Coates received a salary of almost £250m salary the year before. Piling money into efforts to expand internationally saw the Bet365 group's profits dive. Bet365 made a profit before tax of £49.8m for the year, taking into account a £26.2m loss from its ownership of Stoke City Football Club, much less than the £469m profit seen in 2021. The group also saw its wage bill go up significantly, with more than 6,000 employees now on the payroll. In the year to 29 March 2022, the business turned over £2.9bn in total, an increase of 2% compared with the year before. While sales from sports betting fell, online games revenues jumped by 25% during the year. Its report also describes how it invested heavily in advertising and IT systems, having previously benefitted from a boom during the pandemic. Charitable donations of about £100m were made through the Denise Coates Foundation. The eldest of four children, Ms. Coates worked part time for the family firm while still at school, before gaining a first-class degree in econometrics. She has previously been described as one of the UK's "most successful women", spotting the opportunity that online platforms presented. In a rare interview with a local newspaper, Ms Coates once said: "I was convinced early on that gambling would work well on the internet. It is private, accessible and allows you to present a huge range of betting opportunities to customers."   Source: BBC

Manly will go into 2023 with a new coach and potentially new-look side as Anthony Seibold looks to get the club back to the top after a disappointing past year rocked by injury and controversy. The Sea Eagles have a squad on paper capable of challenging any team (see the 2021 version) when firing, but it's no surprise a lot of that hinges on the fitness of star fullback Tom Trbojevic. Trbojevic, returning from a shoulder reconstruction in the pre-season, has been halted by a hamstring concern but should be OK for Round 1. Off the field continuity will also be key for the side and club next year with the rainbow jersey saga an unwanted distraction that has turned their culture upside down in recent months. With a fresh coach in, it shapes as the perfect time to start a new chapter. Predicted Round 1 team Tom Trbojevic Reuben Garrick Tolu Koula Brad Parker Christian Tuipulotu Josh Schuster Daly Cherry-Evans Josh Aloiai Lachlan Croker Taniela Paseka Haumole Ola'kauatu Kelma Tuilagi Jake Trbojevic Ben Trbojevic Sean Keppie Toafofoa Sipley Ethan Bullemor Squad watch Anthony Seibold has inherited a squad of 28 players and will have little room to move on potentially targeting someone he wants before the season kicks off. The Sea Eagles are very forward heavy in their squad but lack a specialist hooker option behind former half turned rake Lachlan Croker. They also lack depth around their halves with Daly Cherry-Evans and Josh Schuster (who is untested) the only recognised playmakers in the squad. Former Storm halfback Cooper Johns is on a train and trial deal and yet to enter the top 30 but would be handy back-up option. Back-rowers Kelma Tuilagi and Ben Condon arrive from rival clubs and will both be pushing for Schuster's vacant forward spot on the left edge. Health watch The Sea Eagles finished the year with a heavy injury toll and that looks set to continue into the pre-season with several players either recovering or rehabbing their setbacks over the summer. Josh Aloiai (shoulder) and Taniela Paseka (knee) had end of season surgeries and are being eased back to training while Jason Saab (knee) and Karl Lawton (knee) continue with their recovery following ACL injuries. Reuben Garrick, Morgan Harper and Ben Trbojevic (all shoulder) underwent surgeries while Tom Trbojevic's hamstring injury suffered in December is a concern but all should be available by the time the season opener comes around. Morgan Boyle (foot) had surgery in the off-season after a luckless 2022 campaign but has been re-signed for a further year. Most contentious position The departure of Kieran Foran gives Josh Schuster his big chance to cement the five-eighth spot at the club but if the move doesn't pay off early, there will be pressure on Anthony Seibold with what to do next. Schuster sacrificed a World Cup appearance with Samoa to get himself into shape to make the No.6 jersey his own but as highlighted above, there is minimal depth in the halves in the current squad if it doesn't work out. The rest of the 17 should be fairly straight forward, although Dylan Walker's exit to the Warriors also leaves Seibold with a decision to make around the bench make-up. Ben Trbojevic could be an option here, or Karl Lawton, who will be eased back into the competition after rupturing his ACL in 2022. Biggest strength Any side led by Daly Cherry-Evans and Tom Trbojevic in it at the same time will lift to another level regardless of who is in the team. For as long as the pair are on the field together, everything else around them should flow. Both players, particularly Trbojevic, help players around them go to another level and their combination around the ruck is a constant worry for the opposition. The Sea Eagles are strong in the middle and on the edges which should give DCE and Trbojevic the ability to work their magic. Biggest question mark How reliant can a team be on one or two players, specifically Tom Trbojevic? The side showed without Turbo that Reuben Garrick is a worthy replacement, but Manly's woes off-field cancelled out anything good on it towards the end of the 2022 season. If the club can get their back house in good order over the summer then at least it will give the players a chance to band together under the fresh mind of Seibold to shock a few in 2023. With not a lot of pressure on them next season, it could be a chance for Manly to either hit back or finish where many believe they will in 2023 - outside the top eight. Source: NRL.com

Barrick (Niugini) Limited (BNL) would like to clarify that Porgera Mine remains in Care and Maintenance and the current limited rehiring of a specially skilled workforce is only to assist with ongoing maintenance work at the mine. A protest was held in Porgera on Friday claiming that BNL’s current recruitment process was improperly overlooking unemployed locals within the Special Mining Lease area. BNL completely rejects those inaccurate claims. Since the mine was placed into Care and Maintenance in April 2020, BNL has invested more than one billion kina in good faith in the hope and expectation that the various contractual and regulatory conditions for the reopening of the Porgera mine can be satisfied to allow for the restart to occur. While those conditions have not yet been satisfied, in preparation for restart BNL has approved limited maintenance work on plant infrastructure, repair of mobile equipment, and rehabilitation work on the open pit and underground areas. The ongoing maintenance at site requires highly skilled and experienced personnel to ensure operational readiness is maintained. BNL’s recruitment policy is based on transparency and best practice and gives first preference to skilled and experienced workers with a good track record who are based in Porgera. Due to the limited pool of local workers that meet the necessary requirements for the current ongoing work, however, we have had to rehire a small number of skilled workers from beyond Porgera, within Enga and PNG. These workers are on short-term contracts. BNL is aware that certain individuals have been creating false expectations of employment by unskilled Porgeran youth and spreading baseless claims of inappropriate hiring practices by BNL. No evidence has been put forward by those making these claims. BNL will always seek to recruit first locally as it is the best business option for New Porgera and in our interest to do so. The current maintenance work, however, requires specific skillsets so that safety and other requirements are properly complied with. As with any other professional organization, BNL will not recruit persons with an unsatisfactory employment or community history. Once the mine restarts, New Porgera will recommence the historically successful Job Ready Program (JRP) for the benefit of Porgeran youth. JRP provides the best avenue for inexperienced local youth to enter the mine workforce and has produced skilled miners who are now employed at Porgera, as well as at other mines in PNG and overseas. It is also incumbent on local leaders to work with Government and other stakeholders to invest in training and other opportunities for Porgeran youth. Any threat to the Porgera mine assets or our employees and contractors will be immediately referred to the relevant authorities. BNL will not hire persons involved in such activities. More generally, restoration of law and order should be the priority for all Porgera stakeholders to ensure Government services are restored and businesses, including Porgera mine, can operate safely and profitably. New Porgera provides an opportunity to build a new thriving and sustainable economy for Porgera that that will outlive the life of the mine and benefit the community long into the future. BNL urges all stakeholders of New Porgera, especially landowners, to work cooperatively to enable that future to become a reality.

Hong Kong is set to lift its year-long ban on the import of hamsters later this month as it unwinds some of the world's toughest Covid restrictions. The city's Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) told the BBC the rodents would be tested for the virus. Last year officials said around 2,000 animals would be culled to stop the spread of Covid. The move came after an outbreak of infections at a pet shop. A spokesperson for the AFCD said it planned to lift the import ban in mid-January. "Our staff will arrange to collect samples from hamsters and other small mammals for Covid-19 testing. They can only be sold if the test results are negative," the spokesperson said. They added that this was because studies had found the animals could contract the virus and pass it to humans. "If such imports are to resume the hamsters need to be handled with consideration [and] given the best care possible during transport and quarantine," a spokesperson from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Hong Kong said. Rodent row Hong Kong banned the import of hamsters last year after an outbreak of the Delta variant of Covid-19 was linked to a worker at the Little Boss pet shop in the city. It prompted officials to test hundreds of animals in the shop for coronavirus. Eleven hamsters that had been imported from the Netherlands tested positive. Officials said they believed this could have been a case of animal-to-human Covid transmission, and said around 2,000 hamsters and other small animals would be culled as a "preventative measure". At the time thousands of people signed a petition against the decision to put down the animals. "Subsequent testing of humans and hamsters confirmed that there was transmission of Covid-19 from hamsters to humans," Vanessa Barrs, a professor of companion animal health at the City University of Hong Kong, told the BBC. "The situation was very sad, but the government acted out of an abundance of caution at that time," she added. The virus that causes Covid, Sars-Cov-2, can be caught by animals including dogs, cats and hamsters, which are all commonly kept as pets. But there is no clear evidence that pets can easily pass the infection to humans. Louis Yeung, owner of the Chinchilla & Pets Shop in Hong Kong, said he had handed over 22 hamsters to be culled by the authorities last year. He told the BBC that he hopes to start selling the pets again once import restrictions are lifted. "Since January 2022, our business has been bad. The hamsters are popular pets to lots of people, especially children," he said. Opening up Hong Kong dropped almost all its Covid restrictions last month, following a similar move by mainland China. People arriving in the city, which is a special administrative region of China, no longer have to do mandatory PCR tests. A vaccine pass system was also scrapped, although people were still required to wear masks in public places. It was a dramatic move by the city, which once had some of the most stringent Covid-19 restrictions in the world.   Source: BBC

A clean-up operation is underway following flash floods that swept through parts of Fiji. The National Disaster Management Office said its team has been out in force with the help of local youths removing debris. The Fiji Roads Authority said eight roads remain closed due to flooding caused by the heavy rainfall. Meanwhile, severe weather warnings have been updated in Samoa this morning, and Solomon Islands Police have urged caution in the bad weather. Source: Radio New Zealand

New Ireland Rugby Union (NIRU) leaps into the New Year hosting its Annual General Meeting proper today-Friday 06th January 2023. Interim NIRU President Charlie Melachon revealed today the affiliated associations of NIRU including Kavieng Urban, Kara, Nalik, Sentral, Namatanai and Matalai Rugby Union Presidents convene today to elect the NIRU President to lead the association for another term. Mehachon said Lihir, Murat and Lavonggai Associations participate as observers as they are yet to establish in house managements. Of the two districts of New Ireland province, Kavieng Urban, Kara, Nalik, Sentral, Murat and Lavonggai associations represent Kavieng district while Namatanai, Matalai and Lihir Associations represent Namatanai district of New Ireland respectively. But I am proud that over my three year term as NIRU interim President the success of my core working group is attested to the rest of New Ireland represented by six established affiliated associations of the NIRU. And three more to be added heading into 2023 that would complete a 100 percent spread of rugby union from urban to rural New Ireland. Rugby union revival is core in New Ireland like the rest of other Provincial Unions and reestablishing partnerships to reignite the code’s flare is a must in a province that once dominated Papua New Guinea in the yesteryears of the code. The Nakmai Pty Ltd 7s, Douglas Guise 7s and Bilas Peles 7s initiated and hosted respectively during my term, as well coming up is the Lihir Islanders 7s in 2023 gives ownership of the code to the province as a whole. “The good thing about 7s tournaments in New Ireland is the capacity to revive and encourage participation and in the longer run to incorporate into the annual NIRU calendar. Eventually we want the tournaments to be sanctioned by PNG Rugby Union (PNGRU).” The proper AGM later today will formally announce the new NIRU President as well board of the NIRU heading the code in the province from 2023 onwards

In collaboration with the New Guinea Binatang Research Centre, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) under the EU-STREIT PNG Programme rolled out a series of intensive capacity development workshops targeting vanilla farmers in the Sepik Region of Papua New Guinea to tackle increasing climate-change impacts on agriculture and food security. These trainings were held in 11 locations across nine districts of East and West Sepik provinces, including Wewak, Angoram, Yangoru-Saussia, Ambunti-Dreikikir, Maprik, Wosera-Gawi, Vanimo-Green, Aitape-Lumi, and Nuku. Under the theme, “Farmers’ Training on Climate Smart Agriculture in Vanilla Production”, the workshops brought together 1233 participants, with almost 20 percent of women and 30 percent of youth participation.  To further strengthen the built capacity among the farmers as well as to ensure the sustainability of knowledge and skills at the farmers’ level, the participants were trained as Trainers-of-Trainers (ToTs) and empowered to transfer the taught skills and techniques on best agriculture practices to fellow farmers in their respective communities. The workshops’ content covers all aspects of Climate-Smart Agriculture practices, from land preparation to marketing and how to use vanilla's generated income to sustain their livelihood. “After attending the training, the farmers understand and learn what to do in the field and why these practices like pollination techniques, block management are important to continue or improve on to produce quality vanilla beans for more income and to sustain their lives and livelihoods,” explained Lisa Paschalis one of three experts from Binatang Research Centre who facilitated the trainings. For the participants, the training was an eye-opener to climate change and the risks it poses on agriculture production and their crops like vanilla. “I am learning new things in this training like making sure that my vanilla block is always clean to avoid pests and diseases,” said female farmer and mother Josephine Aikaiwa of Nienguanje Village in Wewak Rural LLG who attended the two-day session held in Wewak. “This is an excellent partnership between the EU-STREIT PNG and the New Guinea Binatang Research Centre to undertake this awareness through trainings like this because initially, we had no idea what was happening to our vanilla crops. We now learned that because of climate change, different kinds of pests and diseases can destroy or damage our vanilla. With this training, we learnt how to manage our blocks properly,” said Alphonse Kare, a farmer and Ward Member of Dagua LLG. “This training is very helpful to us, and I urge all participating farmers to share best practices with others in their households and communities,” added Joel Soromari, a farmer and Ward Member of Wrindogung Village in Wewak Rural LLG. These workshops on sustainable agriculture and climate-smart practice provide further capacity development opportunities for hundreds of lead farmers who had been already equipped with agricultural production and processing tools and materials and skill training sessions on vanilla cultivation, husbandry and processing by the EU-STREIT PNG Programme. “Partnership with PNG national authorities and scientific institution to support improving agricultural extension services and ensuring the sustainability of agri-food value chain development interventions, is a top priority for the EU-STREIT PNG Programme,” said Dr Rabi Rasaily, the FAO Senior Agriculture Officer and the Programme Coordinator a.i., adding “with triggering cascade effect, these built capacities at the coach farmer level, help transforming practices adopted by thousands of farmers and increase rural communities’ resilience to climate-change impacts.” 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 West Sepik 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.

Port Moresby & Central Province Unplanned System Outage Date: 06th January 2023 Time Off: 8:32am Expected to fully restore before 2pm PNG Power would like to inform all our valued customers that we are experiencing an unplanned system outage due to unknown fault at 8:32am. Our Operations & Support teams are currently working in progress to identify fault. We will keep you posted once fault is identified & rectified. PNG Power sincerely apologies for any inconveniences caused and appreciate your patience and understanding. Source: PNG Power Limited

Australian Prime Minister Hon. Anthony Albanese will visit Papua New Guinea next week for a two-day official visit, Prime Minister James Marape announced yesterday (January 5, 2022). Prime Minister Albanese will travel to PNG from January 12-13 to attend the Annual Leaders' Dialogue alongside his counterpart Prime Minister Marape in Port Moresby. Following the Dialogue, the Prime Ministers will travel together to Wewak to visit the resting place of the late Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare. “We look forward to the visit of Australian Prime Minister Albanese to PNG,” Prime Minister Marape said. "I have spent time with my good friend, Prime Minister Albanese, on several occasions last year, including in Australia at the Prime Minister's XIII Rugby League match. "For Prime Minister Albanese to start the New Year with a visit to Papua New Guinea reinforces the strong bond between our two countries. "Australia and Papua New Guinea have a long history and this visit will strengthen our shared vision for the future. “Australia is a very-important foundation bilateral partner of PNG, in as far as nation-to-nation relations are concerned. “This will be the first visit by an Australian Prime Minister to PNG since my ascension to the Office of Prime Minister on May 30, 2019. “It is also special in that at the time of Independence in 1975, the Australian Labor Party led by the late Gough Whitlam was in Government in Australia, while the Pangu Pati led by the late Sir Michael Somare was in Government in PNG. “Prime Minister Albanese has also indicated that he will be travelling all the way to Wewak to lay a wreath on the tomb of the late Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare.” Prime Minister Marape assured the people of PNG that preparations were fully underway for the visit by Prime Minister Albanese. “Our Foreign Affairs Minister, Hon. Justin Tkatchenko, is organising the programme and we are full prepared for the visit by Prime Minister Albanese,” he said. “Part of the programme will include Prime Minister Albanese addressing our National Parliament, which we are offering as a mark of respect to the Australian leader, as PNG marches towards our 50th anniversary of Independence,” he said. “It is only befitting that the leader of the Australian Labor Party, which granted Independence to PNG in 1975 through then leader Gough Whitlam, be given this honour of addressing our National Parliament.”

Puma Energy have advised Air Niugini at 5pm today (5th January) that they have resumed normal supply of fuel. Hence Air Niugini is able to resume operating a normal schedule from tomorrow morning. Affected customers are advised to revalidate their travel to the next available flight. Air Niugini regrets the inconvenience caused, however the situation has been beyond the airline’s control. Safety is always of paramount importance in our operations.

The Fiji meteorological service has warned that heavy rain is expected to continue throughout the week in Fiji. Flash floods are expected to hit low-lying areas in the Western region of the island of Viti Levu with heavy rain in the west and interior parts as well. The Ministry of Agriculture issued a statement advising farmers to salvage crops, move livestock to higher ground and shift their farm machinery. Senior Meteorologist Sakeasa Rabit said the rain will move towards Australia, and there is a potential for a cyclone to form in the coming weeks. "We see the Australian region specifically is going to become very active in terms of rain. Most probably within the week or next week, something should be developing in terms of a cyclone." Closures Multiple roads and crossings are closed in Fiji as the country continues to be battered by wet weather. A Fiji Roads emergency dashboard has seven roads, 15 crossings and one bridge closed, mostly in the Western Division. Several others have restrictions such as being down to one lane or suitable for four-wheel-drive vehicles only. The closure feed is directly from the Fiji Roads Authority's maintenance contractors on-site. Source: rnz.com

Prime Minister James Marape has asked both Bank of Papua New Guinea (BPNG) and Puma Energy to find solutions to the strenuous business relationship they have that is now becoming a national security issue and a cause for concern about functioning of the economy. He said the case of Puma being unable to maintain the supply of fuel products to its customers was because of ongoing issues with BPNG, for which the country was being held to ransom. PM Marape has asked BPNG, immediately after an urgent National Security Advisory Committee (NSAC) today (January 5, 2023), to find a short-term solution by lifting restrictions on Puma so that their supply of fuel products continue without compromising Central Bank’s fiduciary requirements. “I want to also inform the country and business that today, the Bank has the highest-ever level of foreign reserves (FX) of more than K13 billion – more than enough for a year,” he said. “That’s because my Government’s fiscal policies assisted in raising FX in the Central Bank over the last three years to record levels. “For example, concessional US$ soft loans from Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Japan and Australia have helped to raise our FX. “We were also assisted by increased prices of commodities, not just in oil and gas, but more importantly an increase in agriculture production. “Therefore, FX in the Central Bank is not an issue in this case of Puma, it is just a case of BPNG ensuring that transactions are done prudently and correctly. “However, in this case, BPNG may have stressed Puma to the point that they are unable at supply fuel products due to unavailability of matching US dollars for fuel imports. “I have, immediately after today’s NSAC meeting, written to Central Bank asking them to find solutions to the issues with Puma without compromising the role they play in ensuring that legitimate transactions take place. “This issues between BPNG and Puma have been going on for some time and the Executive Government will have a holistic look at the entire saga. “I, as Prime Minister, believe that businesses should be operating with ease, and when it comes to FX, they should be accessing FX. “If it is a legitimate transaction, it is the Central Bank’s duty to ensure that the requirements of FX are met, with little or no impediments. “Without compromising Central Bank’s role in ensuring that transactions are legitimate and proper, I appeal to it to exercise wisdom and not just be a policeman, but use monetary policy and the Bank as an incubator of economic activity in PNG. “The Government is also looking at the arrangement with Puma, whereby they have a monopoly in PNG, and does not want the country to be placed in a dangerous security situation. “I ask the Central Bank to clear the order for the supply of fuel products by Puma to continue, in the meantime, as we find permanent solutions. I will also set up a State team to look deeper into this saga between the Central Bank and Puma.”