Seabees supporting Pacific Partnership 2022 (PP22) are currently building a new multifunctional two-room classroom at the Buluma Primary School in Kimbe, Papua New Guinea (PNG). Now in its 17th year, Pacific Partnership is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Charge’ D‘Affairs Joe Zadrozny said, Pacific Partnership 2022 brought the Seabees back to West New Britain 79 years later. Pacific Partnership was a joint effort between the United States and Papua New Guinea, and included colleagues from Australia, and even Japan. Former adversaries have now become strong allies. Pacific Partnership is a unifying mission that fosters enduring friendship and cooperation among many nations. And the construction of Buluma Primary School is proof of that. Now, instead of warships, we bring hospital ships. The US Navy vessel Mercy served as the operations platform for Pacific Partnership. From Mercy, our Navy Seabees began construction of Buluma Primary School on August 26, and today, just a month later, the work is done. In peacetime, the Seebees continue to do what they do best – build.” At the event, Engineering Aid Constructionman Matthew Evans said, “this school will give countless children the ability to be educated and grow. The building can also be used as a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief shelter if needed.” Evans and his team of Navy engineers are assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4 in Port Hueneme, California. They broke ground on the Buluma school project on Sept. 6. While the Seabees are constructing a building they will leave behind for the local community’s use, the Navy personnel are taking something with them when the complete the project. “I think the biggest take away for me from this experience is the importance of working together to provide aid. With that being said, we also learn a lot from the host nation considering there are many cultural differences.” Learning more about the PNG culture and meeting new friends has been one of the added benefits of this Pacific Partnership project. “The people of Buluma village in West New Britain have been very welcoming, and they love to show it. From bringing us snacks to helping us stay cool, this project is as much a testament to their work as it is ours,” Evans said. PP22 events are coordinated with the host nation and are planned based on the requirements and requests of Papua New Guinea.     

Work on the construction of the West Coast Highway is steadily progressing. As of Thursday 29th of October 700 metres of road had its first coat of prime sealing. Sir Julius Chan emphasized to the contractor China Railway Construction Group and the New Ireland work men that the road works must be of quality and last for a long time. “The election promise by Sir J is taking shape,” said Deputy Governor and Tikana LLG President Sammy Missen. “This is his dream project to make the last, the best ." The West Coast highway begins at Para Junction, all through Sentral Niu Ailan, and through Namatanai to Burukalai which is a total distance of 190 kilometers. The road works and sealing is being done in 5km phases.

Papua New Guinea’s HIV prevalence is on the rise, but unless it increases its testing it will be difficult to know the real situation. According to the National Department of Health technical officer, HIV counselling and testing, Mary Daniel, there were less tests done in the past five years which is of concern to NDoH. Starting on Monday this week, Mrs Daniel is co-facilitating a two-week HIV counselling training for 22 HIV counsellors and clinicians. The training is held at Tuhava, outside Port Moresby, and is on the Provider Initiated Counselling and Testing (PICT), one of the three models of counselling that are used in the country. The PICT training was developed to help health care workers to develop their skills and competency in HIV counselling and testing. She said all the three models – Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT), PICT and community outreach – are being executed to increase testing in the country. The 22 participants are HIV counsellors and clinicians and work with different health facilities in the National Capital District. Three of the facilities represented have not begun HIV counselling and testing yet, but will be after this training. Among them are also support workers with the TB program. At the VCT, the client initiates a test – contrary to PICT. This training emphasizes the need for HIV counsellors and health workers to initiate the test, so that the patient that comes to seek help at the health facility does not go away without knowing his HIV status. “It’s their right to know their status. Invite them to go for a test,’’ she said. Those who test HIV positive are immediately put on antiretroviral therapy which has seen many people, including professionals living normal lives. Babies being born to mums with HIV that are put on ART have high chance of being negative. The PICT training has been organized by the National Department of Health with support from the World Vision and Global Fund. “In the last five years, we had less tests done so it is a concern,’’ she said. The country is far from reaching the Global target of 95-95-95 (The Global target is to have 95 per cent of the country’s population know their HIV status; 95 per cent of those with HIV are put on treatment; and 95 per cent of those on treatment should check to ensure their viral load is suppressed). Mrs Daniel said one of the reasons why people are not coming for tests is because of self-stigma and discrimination, especially the male. “They are scared of coming out or because they know their behaviour or of cultural norms. Cultural norms contribute to people not coming out for testing,’’ she said. “Women are more free to come out for testing unlike men.’’ She said the Key Population, including sex workers, people living with HIV and transgender people, is also of concern. They are being targeted in this training to help with the lost-to-follow-up cases through the community outreach counselling and testing program. At the same time, however, they need help and health workers need to ensure they are providing friendlier health services for them to access as well. One of the sessions in the training has highlighted that there are attitudes and beliefs that might assist or get in the way of health care workers providing quality PICT.

Football chief and PNG Football Association President John Kapi-Natto has heaped praises for the huge contributions of the never-ending retiring player and PNG Captain Raymond Gunemba for his leadership in steering the PNG national men’s team into the first-ever MSG PM’s Cup grand finals this afternoon in Port Vila, Vanuatu. President Kapi-Natto said: “The leadership which I saw from you in the first match was outstanding and I knew that you will take our Team right through the Semis and through to the Grand final and bring the MSG Cup to PNG for the first time like our Women’s National Team that did in Fiji.” “We can create another history that can be written down as the 2022 MSG Cup Men’s Champion.” Kapi-Natto also acknowledge the Men’s Team that was made up of both the young and old saying the team all have blended together very well in their contributions on the field. “Coach Harrison, I salute you for believing in the young youths of our players who will one day carry the torch.” Mr Kapi-Natto also thanked PNG Sports Foundation for bringing Alwin Komolong and Nigel Dabinyaba to the Team for the second and the third match and it paid great dividend to reach the finals. ALL THE BEST – Nogat less man!

Ever since its inception in 1967, the Linguistic Society of Papua New Guinea (LSPNG) has promoted the indigenous languages of Papua New Guinea through research and advocacy of literacy and language education. The International Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022- 2032 has brought these issues to the forefront of our endeavours. Our “Land of a Thousand Tongues” is rapidly transforming into a modern multilingual and multicultural nation, united in its desire for social progress, justice, and prosperity. There are fears, however, that our indigenous languages and cultures may fade, diluted by the unstoppable socio-economic integration and the national English-based education system. The fate of our endangered languages was the focus of the international conference of the Linguistic Society of Papua New Guinea held at the National Research Institute Conference Centre in Port Moresby from the 21st to the 22nd September 2022. LSPNG 2022 was our second virtual conference, devoted to “preserving and promoting the Indigenous languages of the South Pacific.” Zoom brought together researchers and policy makers from PNG and from around the world. It was a great opportunity for an exchange of ideas on how best to promote Tok Ples languages and cultures of Papua New Guinea, while at the same time meeting the demands of the 21st century. How can the unique linguistic and cultural diversity of the South Pacific survive the levelling convergence of human cultures in our Global Village? It is often said that linguistic diversity is an obstacle to social contact. This is not necessarily the case, since humans have always been able to learn their neighbours’ languages and to even create new languages out of existing tongues when the need arose. The advantage of having English as the language of education in PNG is that it gives people access to all the knowledge stored in books and in cyberspace, and ensures effective communication with the world. How can the use of English go hand in hand with the preservation of indigenous, ancestral languages that reflect important local identities? This was the challenge facing LSPNG 2022. During active deliberations between scholars and policy makers on language education and language-related issues, LSPNG 2022 identified some optimal strategies for achieving the long-term survival of indigenous languages, while at the same time ensuring that the goals of Vision 2050 become reality: 1. Early Childhood Education (ECE) It was noted, with satisfaction, that ECE has become the focus of government education policy. Early childhood (3-6 years after birth) is the “maximum impact” period in human brain development, when children are most receptive to language acquisition – they learn languages easily, from mere exposure. Therefore, to promote all the indigenous languages of Papua New Guinea, we suggest that ECE should not be “English-only” but bilingual (English, to prepare the child for learning in school and the child’s community Tok Ples). Bilingual ECE centres, if set up in every remote village community, would enable very young children to attend their village pre-school. Village elders may be engaged in teaching them Tok Ples and cultural knowledge, ensuring that every child speaks the language of the surrounding community, while specially trained, tech-savvy local youths would use recorded English nursery rhymes, songs and games to teach them English during play. Village ECE preschools should also work together with local health centres, to ensure that children do not suffer from micronutrient deficiencies which may disrupt their brain development (Iodine Deficiency Disorders are particularly dangerous, and they are prevalent in many remote communities of PNG). Bilingual ECE is seen as the most effective way to help all PNG children to start learning to read and write in English when they get to Grade 1 (this is important as, in Papua New Guinea, English is the language of instruction in all formal education). 2. Bilingual Curriculum throughout Primary and Secondary School It is important that all children maintain the knowledge of their Mother Tongue. However, starting from Grade 1 in larger Primary Schools where students come from many outlying villages speaking different Tok Ples, it will not be possible to continue with the teaching of all of the different students’ community languages from Grade 1 to Grade 10. Therefore, one of the two National Languages of Papua New Guinea should be part of the Primary and Secondary School curriculum (Tok Pisin or Hiri Motu). 3. Early Learning of Literacy Research on the effects of Age of Onset of learning English (AO), Age at Literacy (AgeLit) and Early Learning Language (ELL) on the academic performance of National High School and UPNG students [1; 2; 3; 4; 5] has established a strong negative correlation between students’ AO, AgeLit, and ELL (other than English) and students’ academic grades: the younger they were when they learned English and literacy, the better they did in their further studies at school and university. However, if for some reason children have not received bilingual ECE, they should learn to read in the way that is easiest for them – that is, in a language that they speak when they arrive at school (provided theirs is a written language). 4. Transfer of literacy skills from one language to another Research has also shown that when children who do not speak English learn to read in their home language (whether a vernacular or Tok Pisin), then those literacy skills can be readily transferred to literacy in English (or any other language). 5. English Teacher Training The AO Research has shown that children do better at all levels of formal education in Papu New Guinea, if they learn to speak English at a young age. However, research has also shown that many elementary teachers do not have good English skills, which means that their students cannot learn well, either. Therefore, the teaching of good English skills to teachers in training is paramount, so that they can help children learn English well. 6. Community Awareness Community awareness campaigns, explaining the value and benefits of Bilingual ECE should be carried out, followed by monitoring, to make sure the new policies are working as well, as intended. The public should also be informed about the need for the National Languages (Tok Pisin/Hiri Motu) to be part of the Primary, Middle, and Secondary school curricula, in order to foster the sense of national identity and promote the indigenous languages of Papua New Guinea. 7. Significance of Bilingual Early Childhood Education Bilingual ECE, using both the children’s community language and English, will ensure that children are fluent in both languages when they enter Grade 1; this will enable them to learn, as English is the Language of Instruction (LOI) at all post-preschool levels of education (the remarkable success of China’s One Village One Preschool government-supported intervention may well be worthy of emulation in the remote mountainous areas of PNG). Bilingual ECE will thus improve the quality of education at all levels, resulting in greater professionalism of National Human Resources. By extension, national universities will produce more graduates specialized in linguistics. As native speakers of the indigenous languages of Papua New Guinea, they will have the power, and the specialized knowledge required to document and describe their Tok Ples languages – thus, ensuring their survival.

New Ireland Governor Sir Julius Chan along with his brother Michael Chan marked 28 years of their father’s passing by visiting his grave in Sydney. Late Pak Chin passed away on the 28th of September 1994. In passing their well wishes a staff member from Sir J’s Port Moresby office wrote, “Today Marks 28 years of your beloved Father's passing. Not most people on Earth remember & honor their parents though in their death. You have truly been a great blessing to your parents, family , colleagues and those around you. You have fulfilled one of the commandments in the Bible, Honor thy father & mother even to death. May this day bring you fond memories of your beloved father and may the good Lord bless you and keep you healthy and prolong your life to fulfil your purpose. We pray this day will turn out well for you and your families there in Sydney to remember.” Sir J and his brother were joined by other family members to commemorate the day. Sir J has honored his father every year since his passing but due to the advent of the Covid 19 Pandemic he was not able to make his annual visit for the past two years. However he has picked up where he left off when the international borders opened up again. On October 30th, Sir J will also commemorate the 47th Anniversary of his mother’s passing Miriam Tinkoris. A native of Nokon village , Namatanai. She was buried in Rabaul.

Air Niugini Destinations Loyalty Program continues to increase its program partners as it welcomes back on board Axellerate Sports. Axellerate Sports is offering members of Air Niugini’s loyalty program the opportunity to earn and redeem Destinations points for specified products. Items include wheeled luggage bag, travel gear bag, runners, polo shirts, trucker caps, soccer balls, rugby league balls and netballs. Air Niugini Chief Executive Officer, Mr Bruce Alabaster welcomed back Axellerate Sports to the program highlighting the need to have a variety of avenues for members to earn and redeem points. “The Destinations Program now has a total 10 corporate partners for earn and redemption of loyalty points. We are grateful to have Axellerate Sports on board providing a wide range of products where members can earn and redeem their points. The program aims to establish more corporate partners throughout the country,” Mr Alabaster added. Axellerate Sports Executive Director, Mr Anthony Toscano said it was great to be back onboard with Air Niugini the National Flag carrier of Papua New Guinea. Axellerate Sports welcomes all the Air Niugini Loyalty members to stop in at the Taurama Aquatic Centre, 3 Mile Port Moresby where the Axellerate Shop is located to check out these great genuine items. Members must present their physical membership card, virtual membership card or membership number with identification at the point of sale in order to earn points. For redemption, members will select items by requesting and authorizing via email to the Destinations Loyalty Program office to purchase those products using points. Members are sent an electronic voucher specifying clearly the item they have purchased and will typically have 1 month to utilise the voucher. Air Niugini’s Destinations Loyalty Program currently has over 123,000 active members since it was launched in August 2009.

Hurricane Ian has ploughed into Florida's Gulf Coast with catastrophic force, assaulting the state with howling winds, torrential rain and a treacherous surge of ocean surf. About 2.5 million people were ordered to evacuate south-west Florida. The category four storm was heading inland, where it was expected to weaken, but residents in central Florida could still experience hurricane-force winds. Before making its way through the Gulf of Mexico to Florida, Hurricane Ian tore into western Cuba as a major hurricane Tuesday, killing two people and bringing down the country’s electrical grid. Ian is one of the most powerful storms on record to hit the United States, with sustained winds of up to 241 kilometres per hour, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported. The storm's wind speeds put it just shy of a category five designation on the Saffir-Simpson scale, the most severe classification for storms. The landfall zone is home to miles of sandy beaches, scores of resort hotels and numerous mobile home parks, a favourite with retirees and vacationers alike. Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Power outages across Florida In total, Ian has affected more than 830,000 customers so far, but power companies have restored some early outages. Cuban officials said they had begun to restore some power on Wednesday after Hurricane Ian knocked out electricity to the entire country when it hit the island's western tip on Tuesday. In Venice, a coastal city of nearly 24,000 residents halfway between Tampa and Fort Myers, rain and wind were already intense before noon. Authorities said it was now too late to get out of harm's way and urged anyone still in the storm's path to hunker down. More than 524,000 homes and businesses were without power in Florida on Wednesday afternoon, according to local utilities. [caption id="attachment_27489" align="alignnone" width="862"] A woman walks her dog in knee-high water in Key West, Florida.(AP: The Key West Citizen/Rob O'Neal)[/caption] Doug Coe was one of the town's residents who chose to ignore warnings and stay put. As he walked through rainfall on Wednesday morning to see how a friend's home was weathering the storm, Mr Coe admitted to never experiencing a storm of this magnitude, but he was unfazed by the prospects of it ravaging his neighbourhood. "You have to be vigilant because you never know what's going to happen with it," he said. "I'm staying vigilant, but trying not to worry." Many streets were flooded, and the steady gale bent palm trees at 45 degree angles and shredded billboards and road signs. Forecasters say Ian would unleash storm surges — wind-driven coastal flooding — of up to 3.7 meters along with intense thunderstorms and possible tornadoes. "This is a devastating storm," said Ken Graham, director of the National Weather Service. "This is a storm that we will talk about for many years to come, an historic event." 'We're secure and we're prepared for this' Hotels along Interstate Highway 75, which runs up and down Florida's west coast, were jam packed with people seeking shelter. The area is dotted with mobile home parks, which most residents had abandoned, taking refuge in local schools and other facilities being used as emergency shelters. [caption id="attachment_27490" align="alignnone" width="862"] Some residents chose to ignore warnings and stay put.(AP: Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)[/caption] The area's numerous assisted-living facilities were mostly evacuated, too. Heartis Venice, an assisted living home north of Venice, was an exception. Of its 107 residents, 98 decided to shelter in place and continue receiving care with help of staff and some family members, general manager Michelle Barger said. The facility, opened two years ago, was built to withstand a category five storm. "Our community is locked down. We're secure and we're prepared for this," Ms Barger said, adding the facility was stocked up with enough food, water and medical supplies to last more than seven days. "We feel pretty confident and safe, as do the residents and families and team members here." Migrant boat sinks, leaving 23 missing US Border Patrol said on Wednesday that 23 people were missing off the coast of Florida after a Cuban migrant boat sank due to Hurricane Ian. The Border Patrol agents responded to a migrant landing in Stock Island, Florida, officials said on Twitter, adding that the US Coast Guard had initiated a search operation for the 23 missing people. Four Cuban migrants swam to shore after their vessel sank due to inclement weather, Chief Patrol Agent Walter Slosar said. Local media said those four were hospitalised. Source: ABC News

Coolio, known for his '90s hit "Gangsta's Paradise" from the movie Dangerous Minds, died on Sept. 28 in Los Angeles. He was 59. TMZ was first to report the news of the rapper's passing. Coolio's manager Jarez Posey confirmed Coolio's death to NBC News, stating, "As far as what I know now is that he was at a friend's house and was in his bathroom. " Jarez said Coolio died of a suspected heart attack, but no official cause of death has been confirmed. Per TMZ, when Coolio didn't respond to his name being called, his friend went inside the bathroom and found him unresponsive on the floor. The friend then called the paramedics, who pronounced Coolio dead upon arriving at the scene. Coolio, whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey Jr., was born in Monessen, Pennsylvania and achieved success in the 90s rap scene. He received a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for "Gangsta's Paradise" at the 1996 ceremony. He is survived by his children. Source: ENews!

Nearly one million people in PNG have some form of disability, with only two percent having access to public services, says Constitutional and Law Reform Commission (CLRC) Secretary Dr. Mange Matui. “Out of the 976, 500 estimated persons with disability, 30,000 people have hearing impairment,” Dr. Matui said. He said it was a wake-up call for government officers to know such vital facts to enable them to develop suitable policies and programs that can also impact the lives of these people. Dr. Matui was speaking at a workshop that marked the International Sign Languages Day on the 23rd of September 2022 under the theme: “Sign Language Unite Us” “The day helps to promote Sign Languages as the fourth language which have been accorded equal status as any other spoken languages,” he said. He said the intention of the government was for Sign Language to be used in all aspects of life and in government programs. Dr. Matui said the day reminded the public service to give prominence to sign language interpreters as well, as awareness on the rights, privileges, challenges, and needs of persons with hearing impairment increase. Dr. Matui said the event was the first for a government sector particularly, the Law and Justice Sector GEDSI (Gender, Equity, Disability, and Social Inclusion) Community of Practice to host with the support of PNG Disability Association, the Australian High Commissioner, and Justice Services and Stability for Development (JSS4D) He thanked those stakeholders and other partners for the partnership and support. “To take back PNG, we must all work together to take back our people first from all forms of violence, depressions and suppressions by creating enabling environment where they can progress and actively participate in the economic, social, political and cultural life of the nation,” he said.

In response to the National Newspaper’s cover story on Wednesday, 28 September 2022, we would like to reiterate Nambawan Super Limited’s (NSL) position on the proposed privatization of the State Owned Enterprise, Telikom PNG Limited (Telikom). At this point in time NSL has not made any commitment to purchase shares in Telikom. We will only do so after we have reviewed the investment through our established processes and have deemed the venture to be beneficial to our Members. We congratulate Telikom’s Management and staff on their successful performance this year in generating a profit of K28 million and delivering a K3 million dividend to its shareholders. Despite Telikom’s good performance this year, like all investments considered by the Fund, we must still follow our strict regulatory guidelines before committing to a deal. NSL is the Trustee for over 214,000 hardworking Papua New Guineans and so it is essential that the Fund is prudent in its considerations. We consider all investment opportunities on their own merits in consultation with our Licensed Investment Manager as required under the prudential standards and regulations. This process guides investment decisions and ensures that opportunities to generate returns for our Members are considered against the appropriate level of risk.

National Airports Corporation recently handed over the new Gurney Airport market and toilet facilities, to the Milne Bay Provincial Government to operate, manage and sustain under a Memorandum of Agreement with the Provincial Government. Bearing in mind that Milne Bay Province is a tourist hub, the new market facility aims to encourage and promote community participation in selling products including arts and crafts to airport users including tourists. The facilities are connected to electricity & water supply with a vehicle parking area and security fencing. These facilities were built as part of the Gurney Airport Upgrade Project which was completed in 2020 under the Civil Aviation Development Investment Program (CADIP) at a cost of K30.6 million. Other major improvements which were completed at Gurney Airport in 2020 included the Runway Pavement Strengthening and extension from 1700 metres to 1900 metres, refurbishment of the existing terminal, three NAC staff houses and a new Power House among others. Further upgrade for Gurney Airport is included in the proposed CADIP Phase 2, which include a new terminal building, asphalt surfaced runway, taxiway and apron. CADIP is implemented by the National Airports Corporation and is funded through the Asian Development Bank’s Multitranche Financing Facility (MFF) loan and counterpart funding from the Government of Papua New Guinea (GoPNG). The developments taking place through CADIP, are in line with the Government’s Vision 2050 to provide improved airport infrastructure and services that will enable economic sustainability and growth.