It’s been seven years since Britney Spears released her last album, but she’s still making news in the music space. Over the weekend Spears became a member of Spotify’s “Billions Club,” when her 2003 hit single “Toxic” hit a billion streams according to the streaming platform. She joins other artists – including ABBA with their 1976 single “Dancing Queen,” Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” from 1987 and DJ Khaled’s “Wild Thoughts” from 2017– to reach the achievement. The news comes on the heels of the recently released Spears collaboration with Will.i.am for a song titled “Mind Your Business.” The song marks Spears’ second collaboration since her 2016 solo album “Glory,” and since her conservatorship ended in 2021. Last year, she teamed with Elton John for a new remix based off his classic 1972 song “Tiny Dancer,” titled “Hold Me Closer.” Interesting fact on “Toxic,” which was off Spears’ 2003 album “In the Zone” – it was reportedly originally meant for singer Kylie Mingoue, but the Australian songstress turned it down. Source: CNN News

In a radical rebranding, Twitter owner Elon Musk has replaced Twitter’s iconic bird logo with X. Musk made the shock announcement of his plans early Sunday. By Monday morning US time, he tweeted that X.com now points to Twitter.com. “Interim X logo goes live later today,” he wrote, shortly before sharing a photo of Twitter’s headquarters lit up by a giant new X. The Twitter website now features the same logo, while the familiar blue bird is gone. Previously, Musk said he was bidding “adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.” Twitter (TWTR), founded in 2006, has used its vivid, globally recognized blue bird emblem for more than a decade. The renaming could be seen as something of a brand overhaul “Hail Mary” for the company: Musk in recent months has repeatedly warned that Twitter, facing steep losses in ad revenue, was on the edge of bankruptcy. Increasing the pressure, earlier this month rival social media platform Threads launched from Facebook (FB) parent Meta. It surpassed 100 million user sign-ups in its first week. Twitter had 238 million active users prior to being taken private by Musk in October 2022. Spats, mass layoffs One of the world’s richest men, Musk was once best known for his innovative efforts through companies SpaceX and Tesla (TSLA) to launch rockets and build electric cars. Now, many of the headlines he makes are for his eccentric remarks on his personal Twitter account – often sharing conspiracy theories and getting into public spats on the social media platform. Musk overhauled the site after acquiring it for $44 billion in late October, then followed with mass layoffs, disputes over millions of dollars allegedly owed in severance and Musk’s note to employees that remaining at the company would mean “working long hours at high intensity.” He wrote: “Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade.” The upheaval prompted organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League, Free Press and GLAAD, to pressure brands to rethink advertising on Twitter. The groups pointed to the mass layoffs as a key factor in their thinking, citing fears that Musk’s cuts would make Twitter’s election-integrity policies effectively unenforceable, even if they technically remain active. Musk also began overseeing controversial policy changes which led to frequent service disruptions at Twitter and upended his own reputation in the process. ‘A second chance’ In June, Musk named Linda Yaccarino, a former NBCUniversal marketing executive, CEO of the company. She commented on the name change on Twitter Sunday afternoon: “It’s an exceptionally rare thing – in life or in business – that you get a second chance to make another big impression. Twitter made one massive impression and changed the way we communicate. Now, X will go further, transforming the global town square.” As the new venture begins, it faces challenges. Musk recently disclosed that the platform still has a negative cash flow due to a 50% drop in advertising revenue and heavy debt loads. Criticizing the exit, or pause, of such Twitter advertisers as General Mills (GIS), Macy’s (M) and some car companies that compete with Tesla, Musk has called himself a “free speech absolutist” and said he wanted to buy Twitter to bolster users’ ability to speak freely on the platform. Musk explained his approach to free speech by saying: “Is someone you don’t like allowed to say something you don’t like? And if that is the case, then we have free speech.” He added that Twitter would “be very reluctant to delete things” and that the platform would aim to allow all legal speech. Many users have worried that could mean a rise in hate speech. Meanwhile, the initial frenzy around rival Threads appears to have come back to earth, especially as it has been plagued with spam and lacks several user-friendly features Twitter, or, now X, offers. Adam Mosseri, who is overseeing the Threads launch for Meta, has hinted at plans to add features such as a desktop version of the app, a feed of only accounts a user follows and an edit button. Its ability to draw advertising support is, as yet, unproven. Source: CNN News

 Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” raked in a stunning $155 million domestically over the weekend, giving the film the largest opening weekend of 2023 and the biggest-ever debut for a female director. The combined release of “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” dubbed “Barbenheimer,” has become a pop culture sensation – and one that might revive a struggling movie industry. Barbenheimer was the fourth highest-grossing industry weekend of all time in North America, totaling $302 million Sunday. Analysts believe it will grow even more when final numbers are reported Monday. Coming in behind “Barbie,” “Oppenheimer” opened at $80.5 million domestically over the weekend, according to Comscore. Both movies essentially doubled predictions from weeks ago, Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, said. It’s unprecedented to not only have two films do so well, but also to help each other with the Barbenheimer trend, Dergarabedian said. “I can’t really think of any parallels ever,” Dergarabedian said. “Where both movies became bigger because of each other.” It’s also a tale of two trajectories, Dergarabedian said, between a commercial blockbuster and a three-hour historical drama. “Both can be considered absolute homerun hits, and both are gonna perform in the coming weeks in a different way,” Dergarabedian said. The two movies can enjoy a summer with little competition, particularly “Barbie” since there haven’t been female-driven blockbusters since “The Little Mermaid.” “Barbie” took in $70.5 million in North American theaters Friday, including the Thursday pre-shows. The movie has made the biggest domestic start for a female-directed movie. Its closest comparison is “Wonder Woman” in 2017, directed by Patty Jenkins, which raked in about $38 million domestically on opening day, according to Box Office Mojo. “Captain Marvel,” co-directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, brought in about $62 million. “Barbie” was distributed by Warner Bros., owned by CNN’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. Preview showings of “Barbie” brought in $22.3 million, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The Mattel doll film beat “Oppenheimer,” which earned $33 million on Friday – also an impressive feat. It’s a win for director Christopher Nolan, surpassing many of his previous hits: “Inception” brought in around $22 million on opening day and “Dunkirk” $20 million, though it didn’t reach opening day numbers for “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises.” This kind of foot traffic can be expected for big Marvel or Star Wars movies, Boxoffice Pro chief analyst Shawn Robbins said. It’s a big signal to studios that they don’t have to play it safe all the time, he said. “When you have two highly anticipated movies, they’re counterprogramming in a lot of ways and not cannibalizing each other,” Robbins said. “They can succeed at the same time.” Before “Barbie,” “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” had the biggest opening of 2023 at $146.3 million domestic. A social media driven campaign to see both movies led to a double-feature Barbenheimer phenomenon. That could bring a much needed rebound to the movie industry. Summer releases from earlier in the season, such as ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ drew underwhelming box office numbers on opening weekend, drawing $60 million in the United States and $70 million internationally. “Everything about this movie and the toy is fun,” Sheri Lambert, a marketing professor at Temple University told CNN. “I think people are looking to escape.” Mattel is also not new to nostalgia marketing, making people “really excited” about movies that take them back to the past, Lambert added. Source: CNN News

The actor took to Instagram on Thursday to post a picture of himself atop a gold race car outside of a Las Vegas hotel. The car is labeled “BETMGM,” an online sports betting company. Foxx captioned it, “Thankful for my @betmgm family and a great few nights in Vegas. We got BIG things coming soon.” A photographer named Erik Umphery commented on the post, writing, “As always it was a great experience working with you the last 2 days.” Foxx was hospitalized for an undisclosed medical complication in April and has remained largely out of the spotlight since. He has been spotted in Chicago in recent weeks, where he had undergone medical treatment at a facility that specializes in rehabilitation care for patients with physical impairments, brain or spine injuries. His daughter Corinne Foxx posted on Instagram in May that her father was on his way to recovery. “My dad has been out of the hospital for weeks, recuperating. In fact, he was playing pickleball yesterday! Thanks for everyone’s prayers and support,” she wrote. Source: CNN.News

A liberal helping of Zac Lomax brilliance and the steady hand of Ben Hunt led the Dragons to a hard-fought 18-14 win over Wests Tigers at WIN Stadium on Thursday night. The victory was just the fifth of the season for the Dragons and gave them some breathing space over Wests Tigers in the fight to avoid the wooden spoon. The Dragons fired an early shot when Hunt took the line on from close range but he was denied by strong defence from Isaiah Papali'i. On the back of a high tackle penalty against Jack de Belin, Wests Tigers marched up field and Junior Tupou disposed of Tyrell Sloan to score wide out to make it 4-0 to the visitors. The home side hit back in the 17th minute when Talatau Amone went to the line and delivered a sweetly timed flick pass for Sloan to score his seventh try of the season. Lomax's conversion made it 6-4 to the Dragons. Six minutes later the Dragons had a second when Hunt put the ball on a platter with a sublime chip kick for Lomax to regather and score. The sin-binning of Sloan in the 33rd minute for holding Daine Laurie down too long in a tackle inside the red zone proved crucial as the Tigers scored almost immediately through Tupou. Wests Tigers took advantage of the extra man again in the 40th minute when Laurie put Tupou away down the left wing and when he was confronted by the Dragons defence he kicked back inside for Api Koroisau to score. Wakeham converted for a 14-12 lead. The sides traded sets and mistakes for the opening 24 minutes of the second half before Lomax came up with something special to put the Dragons back in front. Lomax showed great strength to break free of a couple of defenders before getting a trademark flick pass away for Mikaele Ravalawa to score and the Dragons led 18-14. A mistake in the play the ball by Tupou with 10 minutes to play handed the Dragons field position and Hunt earned a repeat set with a deft grubber kick but the Tigers held firm in defence to stay in the game. Tim Sheens' men had a couple of late chances but were unable to convert and the home side hung on to make it six wins in their past eight clashes with Wests Tigers. The Dragons move to 16 competition points on the back of the victory while Wests Tigers are stuck on 12 points and needing a late surge if they are to avoid back-to-back wooden spoons. Source: NRL.Com

Transparency International PNG’s (TIPNG) Coalitions Engagement Lead, Ms. Barbra Ruin, is now engaged on a chapter-to-chapter exchange program with one of Transparency International’s leading chapter in the Asia Pacific region, TI Indonesia. Ruin leads the co-ordination of TIPNG’s engagements with the PNG Government through the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and the PNG Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), as well as various industries through the Community Coalition against Corruption. The learnings from the chapter exchange would help TIPNG develop a robust stakeholder engagement mechanism. During her exchange with TI Indonesia, Ruin will be involved in the chapter’s work on democratic governance and public participation, where she will have the opportunity to meet with TI Indonesia’s partners and learn how the Indonesian chapter manages stakeholder engagements. The aim of the chapter is to strengthen the network between TI chapters in the Indo-Pacific region, share knowledge, expertise, and to enhance capacity building of chapters to combat corruption within their context. TIPNG remains committed to its mission to empower people in PNG to take action against corruption and is focused in ensuring that it has the capacity to enable this. The chapter exchange program will help TIPNG develop a robust stakeholder engagement plan that fosters stronger and more active partnerships as well as unwavering support for anti-corruption in Papua New Guinea.

St John Ambulance PNG continues its work in providing ambulance services to the people and with the tireless efforts, continue to save and help as many lives as they can. The partnership with the Government and the Provincial Health Authorities that St John Ambulance Council is focused on expanding ambulance service stations across the key provinces. The focus at the moment is in partnership with the Gulf Provincial Health Authority (PHA), the East Sepik PHA, and Madang PHA to re-establish the emergency ambulance stations in those provinces so that the people can have access to the triple one emergency service. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of St John Ambulance, Matt Cannon said that St John is seeing a substantial increase in the workload with several people calling for help each day increases continually. He added that according to statistics, St John Ambulance has helped around 21, 500 people last year and out of those, 99% were able to have the service delivered to them entirely free with no cost and that’s because of the great support from the National Government and also the support from the Provincial Governments as well including NCD, Morobe and East New Britain Province. “We’re seeing that increase every year and with the survey that we carried out, we are very proud to report that 97% of patients surveyed last year were very satisfied with the services that they received from the ambulance service.” “This gives a lot of pride to our ambulance service men and women that take an extreme risk sometimes every day to respond to remote communities to respond to urban communities and into settlements and people’s houses to render vital lifesaving help to people that urgently need help.” In addition to this, Cannon expressed that it is incredibly important that there’s support coming from their respective partners in the efforts in the work of what the medics do on the frontline and deepening that relationship and integration is so important. Meanwhile, whilst carrying out their daily duties, Cannon outlined some challenges as the main is keeping up with the demand. “There’s more demand now in Morobe since we only have one ambulance operating 24 hours a day compared to NCD where we operate with six ambulances, 24 hours day.” “This saw that just last quarter alone, we attended to 3, 000 emergencies in NCD and 1,500 emergencies in Morobe.” “As you can see with six ambulances in NCD, we were able to manage that demand well enough but unfortunately in Morobe we are seeing four to five emergency cases sometimes at the same time needing help but only one ambulance available to service the communities in the province.” “This is something that we’ve raised importantly to the PHA to see how they can assist to ensure that this vital service is available to more people in Morobe.” However, overall, Cannon was very thankful for the tireless efforts and the great work that the green angels; the ambulance service officers do for the people and commended them for their hard work. St John has over 300 fulltime staff across the country with 250 employed in NCD.

The Teak project comprised of the planting of big timber trees that can be grown in commercial plantations was launched by the Provincial Government in Kokopo, East New Britain Province. The launching conceded with the inauguration of ENB Governor, Michael Marum’s patroonship to Organization for Industrial Spiritual and Culture (OISCA). OISCA Board of Chairman, Sinai Brown said that the partnership between OISCA and the Provincial Government is to give the governor the ownership and honour not to the institution but to the students because the school has graduated a lot of successful people. He said OSCA have big innovative programs where they can send industrial people to Japan to work there and can come back home with money instead of sending people for fruit picking in Australia. “That is the agreement that we want here in this partnership, and this is something that will benefit the people of the province.” Brown said being a patron means you are the guidance, protector, and supporter of OISCA in the years to come and OISCA management is thankful to the Governor for accepting the challenge. In addition to this, he stated that OISCA has partnered with other stakeholders in carrying out the teak project where awareness, nurseries and planting has reached almost all the four districts. This log tree known as teak main objective is for families to build their houses to increase the families living standard and secondly to sell for income to sustain family’s welfare. Meanwhile, Governor Marum accepted the patroonship and thanked OISCA management for the partnership stating that they will work together to roll out the program as well as other agriculture programs to benefit the people of the province. Governor Marum also announced that the Provincial Executive Council (PEC) passed a paper regarding the teak project and urged the people to plant this tree and promote reforestation and preserve their natural resources.

In recent times, Papua New Guinea’s own international artist, Anslom, has received notable recognition from a growing listenership around the world, with the support of his management, Bassline. This recognition is immense and comes with its perks – something Anslom is grateful for and still coming into terms with after journeying more than 20 years in the music industry without government support. Anslom made it as finalist in the Los Angeles based InterContinental Music Award in the reggae category for his two hit songs, Love Me Again and Keep Hurting. In August, Anslom and his management will also travel to Atlanta, Georgia to participate at the International Singer Songwriters Association (ISSA) award ceremony where Anslom made the finals in two categories – International Band of the Year and International Male Album of the Year (Love Me Again). These are achievements that can only be dreamt of when you’re a musical artist in Papua New Guinea. Anslom’s music has also recently been recognized and supported by governments of other countries. In November 2022, Anslom was invited by the Kerala government in India to participate at its first international indie music festival. This week, Anslom and his band will leave the country for Vanuatu. The Deputy Opposition leader of the Vanuatu government, Honourable Marc Ati, has invited the reggae artist to perform in a week-long celebration to commemorate the country’s 43 years of independence. The international talent will perform for the first time to fans in Luganville, the second largest city in Vanuatu. Independence Day falls on the 30th of July where Anslom will be the main act. In Vanuatu, excitement has gained momentum as the organizing committee and the community look forward to receiving Anslom and his band. “We are going all out this year to celebrate Independence Day and are excited to mix in regional talent which is why we have invited Anslom and his band as our main performing guests.” “We look forward to some roots reggae with a Papua New Guinean touch”. Anslom said his band is looking forward to staging a performance for his fans in the island nation. “We are excited to be part of the Independence celebration and to strengthen our Melanesian links with our wan solwara wantoks to honour their special day,” said Anslom. The Vanuatu gig kicks off a world tour that will include performances in New Caledonia and in various locations in the USA in the later part of the year.

Manam Islanders in Madang Province will now save a K100 round trip to Madang Town to access banking services following the commissioning of its first BSP Cash Agent on the island. Last week, BSP Commissioned its first Agent in Baliau Village on Manam Island located off the coast of Madang. BSP Madang Branch Manager Mary Koi said accessing banking services involved traveling up to four hours to BSP Madang. “That will now be a thing of the past, with the commissioning of a BSP Agent on the island. BSP is proud to expand its network of Agents, bringing banking services closer to communities that were previously underserved,” said the BSP Madang Branch Manager. “The commissioning of the Manam Anua Enterprise Limited as a BSP Agent on Manam Island marks a significant milestone in our commitment to providing accessible and convenient banking services to all Papua New Guineans.” Koi stated that the Madang Branch Team went a step further and conducted Financial Literacy Training to over 500 participants, not only from Baliau Village, but other neighboring villagers on Manam Island. She added that they also assisted new customers open a BSP Account, process card replacements and register for Mobile Banking. “We are proud to be the only bank servicing these remote communities. Our team processed over 500 applications by the time we wrapped up our offsite banking services. Our Agent on the island - Anua Enterprise Limited will continue to offer customers Cash Deposits, Withdrawals, Funds Transfers, and Loan Repayment services.” Manam Community Representative, Michael Rupunai, expressed his community’s gratitude to BSP and said the Agent will save customers an estimated K100 in travel expenses that they would otherwise incur when accessing banking services in Madang. Rupunai also acknowledged the collaborative partnership between Digicel PNG and The NID Office in assisting customers with the registration of their mobile SIM cards and Nation Identification Cards. “Their collaboration with BSP ensures a comprehensive and seamless experience for customers, further enhancing the accessibility and convenience of banking services in the region.” Meanwhile, BSP Banking Agency Manager, Stanley Seimoni, said BSP recognizes the importance of providing banking services to all individuals, regardless of their geographical location and the launch of the BSP Agent on Manam Island is part of BSP's commitment to financial inclusion and reaching underserved communities. With this new Agent, Manam Islanders can now enjoy the convenience of accessing banking services right in their own community. “To ensure a seamless experience when using the Agent service, customers are required to have their mobile phone numbers registered in order to receive One-Time Passwords (OTP) for transaction facilitation.” “Additionally, customers have the option to bring their Kundu card if they wish to withdraw cash from the EFTPoS Terminal. These measures are in place to enhance security and provide customers with convenient and secure access to banking services through the agent network.” In addition to the Manam Island Agent, BSP has eight (8) other operational Agents in Madang. These Agents including: 1. Barasi Cash Agent at Divine Word University, 2. Berakah Agri Trading at Malala High School (Bogia Station), 3. Biabi Cash Agent on Karkar Island, 4. Madang Energy Distributors in Madang Town, 5. Migima Trading Cash Agent at Torokina Estate in Madang Town, 6. Rait Kona Solutions Cash Agent in Potsdam Carecentre in Bogia Station, and 7. Sauto Trading Cash Agent at Raikos District. BSP Financial Group Limited through its Agency Banking Network, extends its banking services to remote areas through existing small businesses that offers Cash Deposits, Withdrawals, Funds Transfers, and Loan Repayments. BSP has a total of 266 active Cash Agents around the country.

Days are counting down for one of Papua New Guinea’s biggest fashion show, the annual NGCB Paradise Runway, which will take place on the 16th of September at the Hilton Hotel in Port Moresby. This will be the sixth year that PNG Fashion Week is preparing for after launching this year’s theme, “Voyager”. According to PNG Fashion Week Director and Founder, Philma Kelegai, they chose this theme to signify storytelling told through the textiles and fashions and just like every other year, new and different designers come on board to showcase their talents. “This year we are excited to announce that we will be having a total of sixteen designers who will be showcasing their designs and talents. We have designers flying in from Lae, Popondetta, Mount Hagen and even Brisbane, so we are expecting new faces and new talents.” Kelegai also shared with PNGHAUSBUNG the excitement of seeing new designers along with new and exciting ideas about how Papua New Guinea (PNG) can be expressed though fashion. “We are definitely excited to create new opportunities for others to shine and that is what we are looking forward to the most come the 16th of September.” With the modelling auditions that took place last month (June) at the Hilton Hotel, a total of 65 models were selected to take part in the runway. “We have been rehearsing with our models at our venue partner, Hilton Port Moresby every weekend until show time.” Meanwhile, in its third year, SP Export has taken the naming rights of the PNG Fashion Awards. Kelegai said that it is important that they recognize and celebrate fashion designers and artists who create incredible works of art, and the partnership with SP Export allows them to give these fashion designers and artists that freedom. The prizes that will be awarded during the event will include a K10, 000 cash prize to the SP Export Designers of the Year, a K5, 000 cash prize to the SP Export Rising Star and so much more. Furthermore, Kelegai stated that the runway will be held on Independence Day because they believe there are many ways PNG can express its culture and one is through fashion.

One little boy’s dream of becoming an aircraft engineer has only started. Alex Ontimo, a 15- year old, grade six student at Sevese Morea Primary school at Vabukori village in Port Moresby has always been passionate about airplanes, growing up. It was a dream come true when he visited Air Niugini’s Engineering hangar at 7mile, Jackson’s airport in Port Moresby recently where he had the opportunity to see what engineers do on a daily basis, saw upfront the aircraft engine, landing gears, tires and board an Air Niugini aircraft for the first time. Under the close guidance of Air Niugini’s General Manager, Engineering, Ferdinand Almeda, the young boy was taken on a tour of ANG’s Dash 8, Q400 and a Fokker 100 aircraft. The experience was made even more memorable by visiting the flight deck and sitting on the captain’s seat. “I am just too excited, I do not know what to say right now. I cannot believe I am in an actual aircraft right now.” He was accompanied by his 13- year old brother, Eric and their mother, Tai. There was an additional touch to the whole experience with Air Niugini’s Acting Chief Executive Officer, Gary Seddon, making time out of his busy schedule to accompany the youngster on his tour. Seddon said that every child has a dream that is unique to him or her and there is nothing more rewarding than supporting a child with passion and igniting that dream. Growing up, young Alex was always passionate about building things using his father’s carpentry tools, timber and anything around the house that he could lay his hands on. His mother also shared her son’s passion stating that it was further fueled a few years back when he saw a group of young men working on an engine at a learning institution somewhere at the Gordons Industrial Centre. “This ignited my son’s passion of becoming an aircraft engineer, he couldn’t stop talking about it. For now, he is doing well in school, getting good grades and I always encourage him to work harder to maintain his marks or do better if he is to reach his goal of becoming an aircraft engineer.” Young Alex is from a mixed parentage of New Ireland and Central Provinces, his father, Eric is from Nonopai village in New Ireland while the mother, Vabukori in Port Moresby South electorate. Mrs. Ontimo works at the National Parliament as a Stock Controller while the father is self-employed. Mrs. Ontimo acknowledged Air Niugini for the opportunity provided to her son to visit the hangar. She hopes the youngster continues to do well in school and takes advantage of the current training opportunities provided by Air Niugini. Prior to visiting the engineering hangar, young Alex had the opportunity to visit Air Niugini’s head office where he was presented with a Boeing 767 aircraft model and meet one of ANG’s Boeing fleet Captains who is also the current Acting General Manager, Flight Operations, Captain Samiu Taufa, a product of Air Niugini’s own Pilot Cadet scheme. Seddon stated that as the national airline, Air Niugini is always encouraged by young Papua New Guineans who are passionate of becoming aircraft engineers, pilots, accountants or any role they can play within the airline. “We have opportunities available, all they need to do is study hard, get good grades and apply.”