Milne Bay Province is once again set to come alive this festive season with the traditional staging of the two-day Huhu War Canoe Festival starting Wednesday (tomorrow) 22nd December until Thursday 23rd December, kicking off the Christmas festivities in the province. And what better way to welcome the Christmas activities with BSP Alotau Branch coming on board for the first year as a Bronze sponsor, with K10,000 towards the Canoe Festival. “People and culture play an integral part in strengthening community and business relationships,” said BSP Alotau Branch Manager Martin Gilo, when presenting the K10,000 cheque to the Huhu War Canoe Festival Committee (HWCF) for the upcoming canoe festival. “As the only home-grown bank in the South Pacific, we like to grow with our community, and investing in events like this enhances our community relationships,” said Mr Gilo. “While we acknowledged Milne Bay Province as a prominent tourism hub in the country and a key contributor to PNG’s economy, we believe supporting this event will encourage tourism and expose local and traditional products,” added Gilo. Chairman of the Huhu War Canoe Festival Committee, Kaimuyoni Kila, thanked BSP saying, “We are thrilled that BSP continues to support our events. The cultural events are a powerful expression of creativity and an integral part of the local community and we are fortunate to have BSP as a community partner.” This year is the first year BSP has stepped in to support the Huhu War Canoe Festival as Bronze sponsors, and hope that the support will continue to develop the close relationship with the Milne Bay community. Over the years, BSP remains committed to building strong partnerships with communities through supporting cultural events, including the Kenu & Kundu Festival, Goroka Show, Morobe Agricultural Show, Sepik Crocodile Festival, Wawagira & Mask Festival, Bulolo Show and Rabaul Frangipani Show. This year, the bank has invested over a million Kina in sponsorship in supporting Charities and Organizations, Conferences and Sports. BSP takes great pride in supporting the people and causes that are important to our customers throughout Papua New Guinea and across the South Pacific. The two days festival will be held in Milne Bay Province starting on Wednesday 22nd December, 2021, and Thursday 23th December, 2021. Picture courtesy: papuanewguinea.travel

Canada has provided a welcome boost to support a range of COVID-19 prevention activities delivered by the Kokoda Track Foundation (KTF) across rural Oro (Northern) Province. The Canada Fund for Local Initiatives has committed to KTF’s COVID-19 response, Project Airborne, with funds supporting the most recent delivery of hygiene supplies to Oro Province, as well as KTF’s first round of vaccination patrols across the region. With the Delta variant present across the country and the looming risk of Omicron, maintaining supply of sanitation, hygiene and personal protective equipment to remote regions is more critical than ever to keep communities safe by implementing Niupela Pasin measures; regular hand washing, mask wearing, distancing, and the final line of defence against the virus, vaccination. High Commissioner-designate to Papua New Guinea, His Excellency Mr Mark Glauser, says “The COVID 19 pandemic is a global threat that does not recognise borders. It will only be overcome through coordinated global action. The Government of Canada is committed to supporting equitable access to sanitation supplies, vaccines and education, in order to prevent further devastating health, social, economic and security impacts on people around the world. We’re proud to be supporting the great work of the Kokoda Track Foundation to keep the Oro Province in Papua New Guinea safe”. Supplies and virus and vaccination awareness materials have been distributed across the province, delivered by any means possible; boat, helicopter and by foot to villages across the Kokoda Track. Working in conjunction with the Northern (Oro) Provincial Health Authority, KTF undertook their inaugural vaccination patrols in two locations – the Northern Beaches and the Kokoda Rural LLG. Led by Florence Tumbari, Health Extension Officer at Kokoda Memorial Hospital, the team included suitably qualified KTF Archer Leaders Program alumni trained to administer vaccinations: Peter Mabin (Medicine) and Michelle Miana (Pharmacy). Over a fortnight, the team moved from village to village across the Kokoda region, raising community awareness and addressing any concerns about the virus and vaccination. Communities were also offered the opportunity to have the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine administered. The team noticed a slow but steady growth in the number of people choosing to protect themselves, their families and communities by getting vaccinated. Michelle Miana noted that even in rural areas, the main source of vaccination information was via social media channels, particularly Facebook and WhatsApp; much of which is not accurate. The team rose to the challenge of correcting misinformation through the awareness activities, as Michelle observed, “Many of the villagers showed interest to find out more on the COVID-19 vaccines. Frequently asked questions were based on the contents of the vaccine and the type of side effects/expected effects to be aware of. Generally, most people reacted positively by receiving credible information through the awareness programs. “An example was a 65-year-old woman who was against vaccination earlier this year when health teams visited her village, finally made up her mind to get vaccinated after attending the awareness and asking questions concerning the vaccines.” This combination of hygiene supplies, factual information about the virus and the vaccine, and the vaccine itself is the pathway to halting the spread of COVID-19 across PNG, one arm at a time. With this support from Canada, alongside the PNG Australia Partnership and corporate donations, to date KTF’s Project Airborne has delivered over 135,000 water, sanitation and hygiene products, 212,000 items of personal protective equipment to aid posts, schools and colleges, and delivered awareness in excess of 336,000 people across Oro, Central, Western and New Ireland Provinces.

The National Capital District Commission (NCDC) has registered with BSP Financial Group Limited (BSP) as a Mobile Banking Merchant to offer digital mobile payment for NCDC Services in Port Moresby. National Capital District Commission (NCDC) is a Corporate and Municipal Authority established pursuant to Section 4 of the Constitution governed by the NCDC Chairman, who is the Governor of NCD and the Chief Executive, who is the NCDC City Manager. As part of Port Moresby’s modernisation and transformation strategy, NCDC City Management endeavours to optimize revenue collection and therefore ensuring service users have the opportunity to pay their bills on time with the introduction of mobile digital payments for NCDC municipal service is well received by the NCDC. NCDC City Manager Bernard Kipit said, “By becoming a Mobile Merchant on the BSP Mobile Banking service, this enables alternative payments options for residents to pay for municipal services using their mobile phone 24/7 for services like NCDC Land Tax, Garbage Rates, Dump Fees, Burial Fees and Market Vendor Fees, in an efficient, accountable and faster process.” [caption id="attachment_17790" align="alignnone" width="433"] NCD Governor Powes Parkop[/caption] “Significantly, this accomplishment provides all our customers mobile payments without needing to come our office which effectively means they can remain up to date on their bills, and avoid penalties for late fees. It will definitely increase the efficiency and ease of reconciliation, with the reduced hassles associated with handling cash and more secure way to receive payments means my staff do not have to visit the bank regularly. The challenges of COVID situation in Port Moresby has impacted many service providers, and this mode of payment reduces direct customer-contact with our staff and equally important is all NCDC services’ clients can pay immediately to access our services” said Bernard Kipit. When paying your NCDC Service, payment steps are: Dial *131# for BSP MB Customers and enter your Mobile PIN to access the service Select Payments and choose “NCDC Services” Enter invoice number Enter payment amount Choose receipt recipient Enter recipient number Confirm payment Payment e-receipt is generated as an instant SMS notification as soon as the customer confirms payment and sent to both the paying customer and NCDC as the Merchant. Businesses interested in registering as Mobile Merchants can contact BSP through email servicebsp@bsp.com.pg or call BSP 3201212 or 70301212.

Family and sexual violence (FSV) services in Hela Province have been given a major boost with the opening of the Tari Family and Sexual Violence Unit (FSVU). The purpose-built unit significantly enhances the ability of police to investigate and prosecute family and sexual violence, child abuse and similar crimes and provide vital support to survivors and their families. The K1.6 million unit, which includes private interview and counselling rooms, a children’s play area and disability access, was built with support from the Australian Government through the PNG-Australia Partnership. It is the 27th FSVU to be established with Australian Government support and is part of a network of 47 FSVUs now operating across PNG. [caption id="attachment_17784" align="alignnone" width="623"] Hela Governor Phillip Undiallu giving a speech during the opening of the new facility.[/caption] Australian High Commissioner Jon Philp, who joined Hela Governor Phillip Undiallu and RPNGC Deputy Commissioner Anton Billie in officially opening the Tari FSVU, said the facility was the culmination of more than five years of effort by many including the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary, the Hela Provincial Administration, women advocates and community organisations. “PNG has robust laws against family and sexual violence, but it is often down to units like the one we formally open today to help translate these laws into actions that protect survivors and their dependents, hold perpetrators to account and make communities safer,” Mr Philp said. “Gender based violence is a significant challenge globally, including in PNG and Australia. It destroys families, communities, and economies. Tackling it requires coordinated community and government action to change mindsets and improve responses." Sergeant Alice Arigo, who founded the RPNGC’s Family and Sexual Violence Desk at the Tari Police Station in 2014, is the Tari FSVU’s inaugural Officer in Charge. [caption id="attachment_17785" align="aligncenter" width="644"] Australian High Commissioner Jon Philp (Centre), Hela Governor Phillip Undiallu (right) and RPNGC Deputy Commissioner Anton Billie officially open the new facility.[/caption] Sergeant Arigo said demand for the FSVU, and related services was expanding rapidly in Hela as awareness of laws against FSV grew. In 2019 alone, the province’s three Family Support Centres helped more than 1500 survivors of rape, sexual assault and family and intimate partner violence, many of them children. The PNG-Australia Partnership is also funding national media and SMS campaigns to promote the 1-Tok Kaunselin free helpline 7150 8000; providing trainings to Village Court and District Magistrates on the Family Protection Act, protection orders and sorcery accusation related violence; and training to RPNGC and Public Prosecutors to improve the investigation and prosecution of FSV cases.

Thirty-three pilot whales have died after being stranded in the Far North. The Department of Conservation (DOC) were informed on Saturday of the stranding of 49 whales in Parengarenga Harbour on the east coast south of Cape Reinga. Fourteen had already died. Along with iwi Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Kuri and Ngāi Takoto, tried to refloat the remainder. Only 16 survived, and the other 33 were blessed, measured, had samples taken and buried. DOC's website states despite their name, pilot whales are in fact one of the largest members of the dolphin family. DOC said pilot whales were prolific stranders, and this behaviour was not well understood. There are recordings of individual strandings all over New Zealand. SOURCE: RNZ NEWS

“The Library Books Donation was my dad, Miri Areori’s plan and so my family and I in honor of him started off the Karama Primary School Book Drive Initiative.” “My dad saw that Karama Primary School back in our village really needed good educational facilities most importantly a library for the students.” “Sadly, my dad passed away early this year and could not see alot of his project come through,” said Ms Alice Areori. Karama Primary School is located in remote Kerema, Gulf Province and according to statistics collected by the late Miri Areori, the rate of grade 8 students making it into high school was very low. Students don’t have a library to help them with their learning as well as their literacy level. Miss Areori said that a Senior Teacher from the school who teaches English across Elementary to Grade 8 stated that it is very difficult to teach the children without resources like books as most children living in the village use their mother tongue and the transition from their mother tongue to learning how to speak English is quite difficult. She added that all the books were donated by individuals and organizations and a total of 13 cartons of books have been delivered to the school. Transporting the books to the school was made possible by the Kokoda Track Foundation as part of her scholarship benefits where recipients of the KTF Scholarships are given K2000 for a mini project in the recipient’s communities. The Book Drive was Areori’s project so the money they donated was used to hire the vehicle to bring the books to Karama. Areori further added that this is not the end of book donations as they hope to get as many books for Karama Primary School and hopefully slowly start building a mini library for the school.

Hope for Poor Kids Care Inc. has received a surprised early Christmas visit from the Bank of South Pacific (BSP) with the donation of foods and supplies worth K3, 000 last week. More than five hundred (500) homeless kids and orphans accommodated at the centre would benefit from the food donation by BSP who visited the centre last week Wednesday. The food supply would keep the children going during the Christmas period. BSP Corporate Sponsorship Manager Ms. Amelia Minnopu said BSP as a community and people’s bank was pleased to give back to the community and assist children currently under the care of Hope For Poor Kids Care Inc. in Port Moresby care centres. “Community and people are among our core values and we hope our donation will positively assist the children at the care centre,” Ms. Minnopu said. Hope for Poor Kids Care Inc. Chairman Mr. Martin Piason thanked BSP for the timely and generous support and said the organization’s greatest fear was challenges associated with COVID-19 affecting its operations. However, Mr. Piason added, “Kind gestures from the business communities and other departments – whether in cash or in kind, encourages us and helps us in our daily operations.” “I would like to thank BSP for the timely donation and as an early Christmas present to our kids,” He said. “It is a challenging time for many but we appreciate you for having the heart for the less fortunate children and assisting us through such donations. Hope for Poor Kids Care Inc. is a care centre that caters for more than 500 Orphans and displaced children in 5 locations here in the Nation’s capital by providing food and shelter as well as education under its “Strengthen the Children’ project. For donation purposes, Please contact the Hope for Poor Kids Care Inc. Chairman Mr. Martin Piason on phone +675 72115657 or email fnrepng@gmail.com

Tiger Woods will go down as an all-time golf legend but at the PNC Championship, it wasn’t the five-time Masters winner who had his name up in lights. Instead, it was his 12-year-old son Charlie. The youngster went viral over the weekend for his cheeky gesture after sinking a putt on the practice green and on the final day of the tournament at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando, Charlie’s freakish ability sent the sporting world into a frenzy. In the final 12 holes for Team Woods, 11 of them were birdies and one was a par as the dynamic duo shot a 15-under 57 for the round. Fans were quick to hail young Charlie for how cool he was under pressure, while others were simply in disbelief at the scary potential of Woods’ protégé. Barstool Sports writer Eric Hubbs wrote: “Straight up nonsense what Charlie Woods is doing to this golf course.” Premier League star Declan Rice tweeted: “Charlie Woods is ridiculous. So good to watch.” Golf digest writer Dan Rapaport posted: “Charlie Woods hasn’t smiled in like an hour. Just hit a butter cut 4 iron to 4 feet and holed it from the back tees. Did not acknowledge any of the people yelling his name as he walked to the next tee. Tunnel vision. Apple, meet tree.” [caption id="attachment_17765" align="aligncenter" width="650"] Like father, like son. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)[/caption] Bleacher Report writer Adam Kramer said: “Charlie Woods is a machine. This is magic to watch.” NESN sports reporter George Balekji wrote: “It’s not just disgusting how good Charlie Woods is at golf at just 12 years old but also how much swagger this kid has. We ain’t s***.” Author Christian Schneider posted: “Charlie Woods’ round today is one of the most incredible things I’ve seen. 12 years old and hitting better shots than 20-year PGA pros.” While the world fawned over Charlie’s golfing ability, it was ultimately not enough as Team Woods came second in the PNC Championship. The tournament was won by cult hero John Daly and his son John Daly II, with the duo shooting a final round 57 to finish two strokes ahead of Team Woods across the two-round tournament. A weary Woods, who almost needed to have his shattered right leg amputated after a car crash in Los Angeles in February, said afterwards he was simply grateful to be playing again. “I’m just happy and thankful that I’m able to do this,” Woods told NBC television. “I still have my own leg, which was questionable for a while, and it’s functioning. I’m just really tired — I’m not used to this. “I think this might be only my fourth or fifth round of golf this year. I’m a little worn out. It was nice to have a cart.” Woods said he and his son had set a pre-tournament target of playing two bogey-free rounds, which they achieved. “Our whole goal for the two days was don’t make any bogeys - last year we made two - and we didn’t make any,” Woods said. “We felt we’d have to birdie every hole on the back nine to have a chance. It got interesting and a little tight towards the end, which was fun.” SOURCE: FOX SPORTS

President Joe Biden on Friday dug into Republican opposition to advancing federal voting rights legislation during a commencement address at South Carolina State University. His remarks came ahead of a renewed push on voting rights, even as he acknowledged Thursday night that another major legislative priority of his administration, the Build Back Better social spending bill, will need to wait until 2022. "I've never seen anything like the unrelenting assault on the right to vote. Never," Biden said Friday during his address to the graduates. Showing some clear frustration, Biden said, "We have to protect that sacred right to vote, for God's sake." The president mentioned his key role in getting an extension of the original Voting Rights Act passed with bipartisan support in 1982, saying that at the time he thought the nation was "finally beginning to move." "But this new sinister combination of voter suppression and election subversion, it's un-American, it's undemocratic, and sadly, it is unprecedented since Reconstruction," he said. He said his administration has supported Democratic efforts to reform voting rights since "day one" and that there is "unanimous support" within the party, but with the filibuster in Congress blocking its efforts, Biden again criticized Republicans for not even wanting to debate voting rights legislation. [caption id="attachment_17758" align="aligncenter" width="914"] Picture: Carolyn Kaster/APPresident Joe Biden delivers the keynote address at the South Carolina State University's 2021 Fall Commencement Ceremony in Orangeburg, S.C., Dec. 17, 2021.[/caption] "But each and every time it gets to be brought up, that other team blocks the ability even to start to discuss it. That other team -- it used to be called the Republican Party. But this battle is not over. We must pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. We must!" Biden said. Earlier this year, Biden expressed support for altering filibuster rules to pass voting rights legislation, but he did not make the same call Friday. The president also focused on "hate and racism" in his remarks. There is currently a "reckoning on race not seen since the 50s and 60s," he said, adding that the graduates are entering a "tumultuous and consequential moment in modern American history." He pointed to the Orangeburg, South Carolina, massacre of 1968, when police shot three men during civil rights protests, and the mass shooting at Mother Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015. He said there was a "through-line" of hate and racism that extended to the 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Those marchers were "carrying torches and Nazi banners, screeching [the] most antisemitic and anti-Black rhetoric in history," Biden said. Referencing former President Donald Trump, he said that "when asked what he thought about it, Trump said, 'well there's some very good people there.'" "Hell very good people! They're racist, they're fascist," Biden said. [caption id="attachment_17759" align="aligncenter" width="928"] Picture: Meg Kinnard/APHouse Majority Whip Jim Clyburn looks on as President Joe Biden receives an honorary degree after speaking at South Carolina State University's 2021 Fall Commencement Ceremony in Orangeburg, S.C., Dec. 17, 2021.[/caption] Biden also invoked the Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol, saying that he gets asked by world leaders, "Is America going to be alright" after witnessing those scenes play out. After his speech, Biden was presented with an honorary doctorate from the university. The university also gave a degree to Rep. Jim Clyburn, a Democrat representing South Carolina. Clyburn graduated from South Carolina State University in December 1961 but only received his diploma by mail and did not walk across the aisle until Friday's ceremony. [caption id="attachment_17760" align="alignnone" width="939"] Picture: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty ImagesUS Representative Jim Clyburn, President Joe Biden and Interim South Carolina State University President, Alexander Conyers, arrive for the university's graduation ceremony in Orangeburg, S.C., Dec. 17, 2021.[/caption] In remarks before Biden spoke, Clyburn told the audience about how his late wife, Emily Clyburn, who he met after they were both jailed for civil rights demonstrations while students at the university, encouraged him to support President Joe Biden in the 2016 Democratic primary. "Not long before she passed away a little over two years ago, she said to me: If we want to succeed in this upcoming election, we'd better nominate Joe Biden," Clyburn said. "She passed away before the South Carolina primary, but what she said to me in that night stayed on my mind… And I followed her directions, just I had for the fifty-eight years that we were married." Clyburn's endorsement of Biden in 2020 is credited as a deciding factor in helping him clinch the presidency. SOURCE: ABC NEWS

The major sponsor for match officials of the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League (PNGRFL) has condemned the violence against referees and touch judges last weekend. Motor Vehicles Insurance Limited (MVIL) denounced the violence and called on PNGRFL to take appropriate actions in imposing strict penalties on those involved in humiliating the standard of rugby league in the country. MVIL Managing Director, Mr. Michael Makap, said first and foremost, the match officials are human beings who deserve to be treated with decency and respect. They play a crucial role in ensuring that the game is played in a spirit of good competition and fairness. Secondly, the match officials who were assaulted in this PNGRFL-sanctioned match had MVIL-branded uniforms on. Hence, the attack on the officials is an indirect attack on MVIL. “Those referees and touch judges who were assaulted were wearing MVIL-branded uniforms. It is an unpleasant thing to see in the print media, on television and on social media. MVIL is against all forms of violence,” he said. “I mentioned during my opening speech before the 2021 Digicel Cup Grand Final Match that MVIL will not tolerate any form of violence against match officials. I condemn such behaviour in the strongest possible terms as a sponsor and avid supporter of the sport.” Mr. Makap has formally written to the PNGRFL to provide a written response on how the organisation is handling the matter and its strategies to protect match officials in future matches. He further added that the rugby league body should impose life bans on those involved to show that there is no place for violence in this sport as well as a stark reminder to those taking part in the league. MVIL stands together with PNGRFL match officials against this senseless behaviour. The company will reconsider its future sponsorship.

It was a forlorn hope, perhaps, but after a second year of pandemic-era monotony — pat your pocket for a mask; yep, there's the QR code; ooh, the text says we've got another parcel coming soon — a few of us had hoped the Ashes might occasionally offer something exciting and unexpected. Maybe exciting wasn't the word for it, but on day three in Adelaide, it was certainly novel that England went the entire first session without losing a wicket. Joe Root and Dawid Malan, their country's first and last batting defence in this series, put on 123 runs in 32 overs. And it was not just that England played well, it was that Australia didn't. Shorn of the best fast bowling combination in cricket, Australia was learning that the excellence of Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser is not quite the same as the outright brilliance of generational quicks. Every second over, it seemed, there was a boundary-ball. Singles were easily accumulated. The pink ball softened. And wasn't this pitch meant to take spin? What happened after lunch — combined with the British media's depressed chuntering of the last 24 hours, which suggested the tourists' performances this summer are actually the result of years of meticulous planning — showed that comedy remains England's great cultural export. Cameron Green, who Australia picks mainly to bat, dismissed world-beater Root for the second time in three innings. From a relaxed 2-150, England fell apart like Nigella Lawson's aromatic lamb shank stew. The paltry score of 236 was one thing, England's rolling out of the greatest hits another. Like so often, one brought two (and then many more) when Malan departed for 80. Faced with a crisis, Jos Buttler brought his usual gung-ho-no-matter-the-stakes batting. To go with his sketchy keeping, it's made him as useful as a chocolate teapot in this game. Again, Ollie Pope did everything in fast-forward and was hopelessly undone by spin, looking more and more like a bunny for Nathan Lyon. Again, England was revealed as a team with three No.11's. And again, as he'd done with the ball, Ben Stokes was left to restore some sense of national pride, although he was so stiff and sore he could barely play shots. The respective home-team advantages being what they are, we have come to expect a competitive imbalance in the Ashes. But this one is really testing the theory that Australians don't care for even contests when England is down and out. It's over. Green swings momentum Australia's way A hallmark of the top Test sides is not putting in two bad sessions on the trot, a metric by which Australia fared well. In the second session, 4-57 from 30 overs was a faultless recovery from the morning and the momentum kept rolling. Already a dominant presence in this game with the bat, Steve Smith pulled off a tactical masterstroke after Root's departure. Common sense said keep Green on — he was troubling the new man Stokes, too. But to murmurings all over the country, Smith replaced him with Starc. Immediately Starc removed Malan. For all the pre-game excitement about Neser and Richardson, the biggest ticks were for Starc, Lyon and Green, who accounted for nine of the wickets. After forcing a collapse of 8-74 in the second innings of the first Test, Australia rammed home its advantage with 8-86 here. Green proved the great upside to being an all-rounder, banishing thoughts of his batting struggles with two subtly aggressive spells of genuinely fast bowling. You wouldn't call it mongrel, but Green has revealed that he has a few more gears than his first summer of Test bowling suggested. He is a momentum-changer. Lyon turned the ball square, taking 3-58 from 28 probing overs that kept the quicks fresh. "Can SOMEONE please smack Lyon?!?!! FFS!" Kevin Pietersen had tweeted at one point. "Off spinner with zero variations and bowling on world crickets flattest road!!!!" (Sorry, but if we began to fix the grammar and punctuation, where would it end?) If remotely true, of course, Pietersen's diss could be read as a more scathing review of England's performance. And are variations even needed against this lot? Chris Woakes can handle himself with the bat. Lyon made him look like a synthetic-wicket slogger. The bigger boon for Australia was Starc, the recipient of more than a few scathing reviews over the years. He rose impressively to the challenge provided by the contenders for his spot, taking four wickets with fast spells full of attitude. Neser was tidy, Richardson uncharacteristically loose, if a little unlucky. There is nothing unlucky about England's bleak prospects. At the end of the day, Smith could have enforced the follow-on and made things really ugly. Instead he batted again, which opens up the possibility of a fifth day of this very dreary contest. Thanks for that, skip. SOURCE: ABC NEWS

Hong Kong holds elections for the city’s legislature on Sunday — the first for the Legislative Council since the central government in Beijing led an overhaul of Hong Kong’s electoral process this year. An analyst who spoke to CNBC predicted less interest in the polls this time, because those electoral changes have “narrowed” the choices for voters. The amendments that were introduced as part of the electoral overhaul mean there will be fewer directly elected representatives, and more Beijing-approved officials. Kurt Tong, partner at The Asia Group, expects voter turnout at the polls to be “rather low.” “Really the choices are quite narrowed for voters, and as a result, I would expect the voter turnout to be rather low,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Friday. “The character of the election has changed significantly from five years ago where there was really a sense that the legislative council election could have a major impact on the direction of the governance of the city. And that just doesn’t seem to be the case now,” Tong added. Under the new electoral system, the total number of seats in the legislative has been increased from 70 to 90. But the number of directly elected representatives has shrunk. Previously, half the Council’s representatives were directly elected by regular Hong Kongers. Under the new rules, about a fifth of them will be. An Election Committee that previously held only limited powers will now hand-pick almost half the Council’s representatives outright, and screen anyone who wants to run for the other seats. Criticism of process Democracy advocates and Western governments have accused China of using the new rules to suppress political opposition. Hong Kong’s “radical” electoral changes “mean that parties not closely aligned with the mainland or that are not pro-establishment will be excluded almost entirely from the legislature,” UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Dec. 14. Leaders in Beijing and Hong Kong openly say the new system is designed to ensure that only “patriots” hold office in Hong Kong. But they’ve rejected outside criticism of the electoral changes, which they characterize as fruitless interference in domestic affairs. Henry Tang, standing committee member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, argued to CNBC on Friday that the electoral changes are a step forward for democracy. The CPPCC is China’s top political advisory body. He was responding to a question on whether Hong Kong has lost some autonomy, with the decreased number of directly elected seats. “I would say that the democratic progress in Hong Kong has moved one further step forward,” the former Hong Kong chief secretary for administration told “Street Signs Asia” on Friday. “Because first, we have 90 members of the Legislative Council, instead of the previous 70. The composition has changed because we want more diversity and more inclusiveness.” Tang, who was also the former financial secretary of Hong Kong, explained that the candidates comprise individuals from “many different backgrounds.” SOURCE: CNBC NEWS