21-year-old Lisah Paul was all smiles after receiving her Dignity Kit. She could not express in words, but her smiles and gestures said it all as she went through the contents of what she received. Lisah who was born deaf, was brought to the Wonepap Catholic Parish by her grandmother, who heard news of the distribution of the kits from the local priest. They traveled a few miles from their local village to reach the church. Women and girls are among the most vulnerable during a humanitarian crisis, or in this case, election-related violence, and too often women and girls with disabilities are forgotten. Lisah was among 300 women and girls in Laiagam District who each received a Dignity Kit. These women continue to face the consequences of the 2022 election-related violence in the district, and most are displaced, living in neighboring villages. This saw women and girls from fourteen villages around the district travelled to get to Wonepap Catholic Church to receive menstrual pads and soap and basic hygiene supplies. Apart from Lisah was Erika Aiyah, from the Mapumanda outstation in Laiagam who expressed her gratitude on behalf of the 25 women from her outstation, and the women in her district, saying the products in the kits were of great need to the women. “We need this! We need menstrual pads. We need underwear. We need torches and whistles during times of violence and these kits meet our needs and more.” Aiyah also shared that election-related violence continues to exist in the villages and where women being killed. “Living in our villages is not safe anymore because violence erupts unexpectedly.” “Most of the women have moved into the Catholic outstation in Mapumanda because in the Church, we are safe, so we seek refuge there.” The local priest at Wonepap Catholic Station, Father Newman Kingi, distributed the kits and reminded the women and girls of the importance of utilizing all the products in the kits. He thanked UNFPA and USAID for such a generous donation of important hygiene items to the affected women and girls. “We are thankful for this support, for recognizing the needs our women and girls face, and for these partners for stepping in and helping.” “Thank you for these kits and also for the new tent, which will be used as a safe space for them.” UNFPA, through the funding support of USAID, provided the district with a tent to be used as a temporary safe space for people who are displaced by violence to receive information and to seek support. Though basic, safe spaces such as these, are easily accessible to survivors of violence in Laiagam District. Frontline responders in the district have received training in psychological first aid to provide evidence-based psychosocial care for survivors. Fr. Newman stated that these affected women and girls find refuge in the church and through this partnership between UNFPA and the Catholic Church, more will be done and look forward to it.

The management and Board of the Papua New Guinea National Rugby League have made a response considering the recent incidents that happened at the Lae Rugby League Oval in Morobe Province during Round eight of the National Rugby League Competition. Firstly, the management and Board of the PNGNRLC have encouraged that all media outlets report responsibly, as in the case of what factually happened in the recent match at Lae Rugby League Oval that led to Monday’s misleading reporting made this week. The incidents that happened were very unfortunate and the PNGNRLC requested statements from all parties involved in the incidents that occurred. Reports have been received from the match officials that officiated the double header in Lae between Lae Snax Tigers and Enga Provincial Government Mioks (including the teams involved), as well as the reports from match officials of the PRK Mendi Muruks and Bintangor Goroka Lahanis match. The PNGNRLC does not condone any form of violence of any sort in the premier competition after taking huge strides to ensure that the sport entirely removes violence by adopting a zero-tolerance policy. The PNGNRLC Match Review Committee (MRC) met and reviewed the video footage of the games and has identified those involved in the incidents and has laid charges. The actions of these offenders have breached several PNGNRLC rules and guidelines and will not be taken lightly. The performances of match referees are also being reviewed. The penalties for the players and club officials involved in the incidents have been served to their respective clubs today. This will see Bintangor Goroka Lahanis player, Roger Kenny will serve a 7-match ban for disputing the match referee’s decision and breaking the laws of the game by conducting himself in a way contrary to the rules of the game. Fellow Lahanis player Charlie Buka will serve a 2-match ban for disputing the match referee’s decision thus bringing the game into disrepute. Also from Lae Snax Tigers, player Charlie Simon will serve a 6-match ban for charges of using offensive language and misconduct. Simon has been charged for breaking the rules of the game by running onto the field of play after full-time and verbally abusing the match referee. His actions a serious breach of conduct as captain of the club. Tigers’ club officials, Jerry Kutz and David Loko have also been banned from attending any Digicel ExxonMobil Cup matches for five years effective immediately. They will not be attending any matches for the rest of the 2023 season until after the 2027 season and must not be seen within 100 meters of any venues hosting the competition. These penalties come after them partaking in assaulting (punching) the match referee after fulltime. Additionally, both franchises Lae Snax Tigers and Bintangor Goroka Lahanis will be fined for bringing the game into disrepute and tarnishing the image of the competition as a recommendation by the MRC and therefore the Board will hand down fines deemed appropriate to both franchises. Meanwhile, the PNGNRLC has started working on programs designed to educate franchises on all forms of violence whether it be gender-based violence, match official violence, and on-field/off-field violence. The charges handed down by the MRC to the offenders will send a firm message and stronger warning to all clubs and their supporters to have more respect towards match officials and the competition. The safety and security of our players, our match officials and supporters will not be compromised by disrespectful individuals.

PNG Power Ltd have advised via a Public Notice posted on their social media pages of a citywide System Power Outage. “This is a public notice to all consumers within the POM Grid that we experienced a total system outage at 10:23am.” “We have rectified the issue and we are in the process of restoring power supply back to all our feeders in due course.” PNG Power added all customers will be kept updated on the restoration work progress. For more information, city residents can call the PPL National Call Center on 116 or email: callcenter@pngpower.com.pg

Finally after four years, the YUMI FM PNG Musik Awards is coming back as a public event aimed to be bigger and even better and to spice things up, the three Radio Stations, Yumi FM, Nau FM and Legend FM will be giving away tickets to lucky winners during the weekly draws for them to have a chance to watch the show come 17th of June at the Lamana Gold Club, Port Moresby. The weekly draws will go on for three weeks where in the first week they announced one winner each for the three radio stations, totaling to three winners. This saw three lucky winners walked away with one ticket each. The second week, saw three winners walked away with two tickets each and in the third week, will also see three winners walk away with two tickets. Senior Content Director, Michelle Lai said this week is now the third and final week where one winner, each for the three radio stations, will walk away with two tickets. “So, for the competition on all three of our stations’ ultimate invite, we are giving our winners the chance to attend the YUMI FM PNG Musik Awards 2023. So far we’ve had weekly winners they scored themselves tickets.” She explained that in addition to the weekly draws, a Grand Draw will be made on Monday the 12th of June, which is the ultimate VIP Package. This she stated is where a winner will win a plane ticket to Port Moresby to watch the Awards and will be given a VIP pass and accommodation. “We got our last week of giveaways now before a grand draw is going to be made next week Monday. Each station will fly someone and will have a VIP access on the night.” To be part of this week’s final draw, Lai explained that listeners can tune in to listen to any of the three radio stations where a question will be asked. In order to answer the question, the listener or participant must first answer with the line; ‘I’m going to the Musik Awards with Legend FM,’ this will also apply to Nau FM. For Yumi FM, it will be, ‘Mi bai go lo Musik Awards wantem Yumi FM’ and from there, you can then give your answer to the question. “Make sure you say that line first before you give in your answer then your name goes into the draw. So this week, we’ll pick that lucky person for each station who will walk away with two tickets each.” Furthermore, for the Grand Draw that will take next week Monday, all the names of those who took part in the first, second and third weekly draws, will still have a chance to win the Grand Draw prize. “We really want our listeners to be part of the Musik Awards this year so we’re giving you this opportunity to do that.”

24 grade 11 students of Warangoi Secondary School will resume studies in Term 3 after the Disciplinary School Board have decided and agreed that they return to school after facing suspension. The suspension was due students being under the influence of alcohol and destroying school properties, in the dormitories and causing a nuisance on school campus. The incident occurred during the Easter Weekend when the students were caught drunk and making a scene in the school. Principal of Warangoi Secondary, Mrs. Naomi Vuvu said the students were suspended for the whole of Term two whilst awaiting a decision to be made on whether the students would be accepted back into the school or not. “The students’ behaviour in school is unacceptable especially when they behaved in a disorderly conduct.” “However, fortunately for them, the board has accepted their return but will be put on Good Behaviour bond for the rest of the academic year.” It is understood though that the students however will each pay k200 before they resume studies in Term 3. Meanwhile, in better news for the school, the Grade 10 students successfully completed their first National Exams paper which was the Written Expression Examination. This saw a total of 117 students sit for the exams on Thursday the 01st of June 2023. Vuvu was pleased with the outcome as students started and finished on time with no issues faced. She also said that the students prepared well and commended the teachers for their great input in making sure of this. The school also finally received its second quarter of the Government Tuition Fee Subsidy as of last week for the second term. The total funding given to the school was K254, 000. Vuvu said though they should have received it at the beginning of the term, the school had just enough from last term to fund the school before receiving the second quarter in Week 7. In addition to this, the school has also put forward a proposal for the extension of its school mess in which they are still awaiting approval of funding to be given to them by the Provincial Education Department. “We plan on extending our school mess to cater for other activities as well, both for recreational and academic purposes.”

Bradford Bulls are delighted to announce the arrival of former NRL hooker James Segeyaro on a deal until the end of the season – having fought off stiff competition for his signature. The 32-year-old made his senior debut in the NRL in 2011, for North Queensland Cowboys before a four-year stint at Penrith Panthers. Segeyaro featured 10 times for Leeds Rhinos throughout a spell in 2016 before moving back down under, representing Cronulla Sharks, Brisbane Broncos and Manly Sea Eagles. The former PNG star most recently plied his trade in France for Lezignan but will now don the red, amber and black of Bradford – with thanks to the Bradford Bulls Squad Booster Association for their support. James Segeyaro, who is available for sponsorship, said: “To the Bradford Bulls community, I'm excited to be a part of this team and to have the honour of representing you on the field this season. I know that this team has a rich history of success, and I'm committed to doing everything I can to help us win. "I won't make any big promises, but I will give you my word that I'm going to work hard every day to improve my game, contribute to the team's success and earn your trust. Thank you for your continued support, and I look forward to seeing you at the games. Go the Bulls!” James' paperwork came through yesterday and he is already in the country - ahead of linking up with his new team-mates this week in training. Bulls CEO Jason Hirst said:  “The club has worked extremely hard behind the scenes, over a number of months, to not only make this signing, but to obtain a visa and arrange and implement all the logistical requirements. “We have signed James despite fierce competition from other clubs and to bring in a player of his undoubted pedigree, with over 150 NRL matches under his belt, from now until the end of the season, is testament to our on-field ambition. “Having personally spoken to James at length, on numerous occasions, his desire to get to the UK and play for Bradford has consistently shone through. He is, without doubt, chomping at the bit to pull on our famous red, amber and black jersey. “His signing gives us increased competition for places, on field impetus, further leadership and experience and real go forward from Dummy Half and bodes well for us achieving a Top 4 finish and a home fixture in the end of season play-off series. “A special thanks goes to Squad Booster for their support in helping make this signing happen.” The club have also provided an update on Jason Baitieri – who penned a deal last month. “On the very day we received Jason’s visa clearance, he picked up an injury, which was obviously extremely bad luck for him and us. Having now had the injury assessed and commenced his rehabilitation, Jason and we remain hopeful that he’ll soon be back to full fitness, to enable him to join us in the near future. “Given Jason’s undoubted determination, professionalism and desire to play for Bradford Bulls, we anticipate that being next month. We remain in regular contact with him and I will ensure that we will keep our loyal and appreciated supporters up to date with any significant updates, with regard to his injury, as and when we receive them.” Source:BradForBulls.uk

Gold Entertainment, a newly established Papua New Guinea (PNG) Music Company, will be hosting a live in country performance by DJ Noiz, who is known in the Pacific as the "Remix King," comprising of Kennyon Brown, Bina Butta and Rellek Brown. This will their first time to perform in the country and will take to the stage when they perform on the 10th of June at the Lamana Gold Club arena. According to the Director of Gold Entertainment Company, Samuel Lupo, this is a huge event for the company as they bring in famous Pacific music artists into the country to perform for the first time. Lupo, who is also the event organizer and promoter, has stated that the company has been planning for months since September of last year with majority of the tickets sold out. “VIP tickets and Balcony tickets have already been sold out which leaves with the main arena tickets, which are only limited on hand.” Lupo has encouraged those in Port Moresby who have yet to purchase a ticket to grab one now before the 10th. The tickets for the main arena are currently selling at K120. “Only people with tickets will be allowed in on that night, so make sure to grab tickets now before the event is sold out.” The newly established music company, focuses mainly on promoting shows, organizing and managing artists, both local and international.

Over 200 Pastors and Church Leaders from the Debeini's Living Water (DLW) Ministries throughout the country attended a 5-day conference in Port Moresby. The conference started on Wednesday the 31st of May and concluded on Saturday the 3rd of June. The official opening saw the DLW youths display an array of spectacular contemporary music and dance performance representing all 22 provinces of the four regions. The highlight of the opening ceremony was the display of all the provincial flags, the Papua New Guinea, and Australian flags. Speaking during the opening was DLW Ministries Founder and Senior Pastor, Peter Solomon who addressed the theme; 'Move Up to the next level’ and urged the leaders to move up to the next level to experience God's power at work in their lives and that of their people. With 43 years of experience in the ministry, Pastor Solomon, told the leaders that he is as strong as he was 23 years ago and he wants to do the Work of God more. "Move up to the next level, and you will see what God is about to show you. Our Vision 2030 'Evangelism and Church Planting' still remains, and we will make sure we plant a church in every province of this country.” Pastor Solomon said it was the best conference held so far since the last one that was held back in 2017. He further acknowledged and thanked those who supported the conference financially. Meanwhile, Pastor, Freddy Francis of New Ireland acknowledged Pastor Solomon for the DLW Ministries of which he was honored to be serving in his province. Pastor Francis said he will ensure that the work of God under the DLW Ministries reaches the whole of New Ireland province. Also speaking during the conference was Pastor Steven Bandi from Kimbe who expressed that the conference was a very powerful one compared to the previous one because he saw that all pastors from the provinces had a chance to speak and share their experiences. The conference saw about 200 pastors and leaders from East Sepik, New Ireland, West New Britain, Morobe, Eastern Highlands, Madang, Milne Bay, Central, and the National Capital District who attended the conference. The conference ended on Saturday night with another spectacular performance by the DLW youths. The next conference will be held in two years' time.

Dwayne Johnson is officially returning to the “Fast & Furious” franchise. Johnson announced the news on his social media on Thursday, saying that he’s “one hundred percent confirming” that his character Luke Hobbs is back in the mix, and thanked audiences for their support and excitement surrounding his surprise cameo in “Fast X,” which hit theaters in May. The actor also known as The Rock also teased that more is to come between Hobbs and Jason Momoa’s character Dante. “If you thought that ‘The Rock’ versus ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin headlining three WrestleManias was earth-shattering, well, wait until you see Dante and Hobbs collide,” he said, calling back to his days as a professional wrestler. While Johnson wasn’t explicitly clear on what the next “Fast” installment is, The Wrap is reporting that an untitled Hobbs movie is in the works at Universal Pictures that will be a “bridge” between “Fast X” and “Fast X: Part II,” instead of Johnson returning in a “Hobbs & Shaw” sequel film (“Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” was a 2019 “Fast & Furious” spinoff starring Johnson and Jason Statham as Deckard Shaw). The “Black Adam” star first appeared as Hobbs in 2011’s “Fast Five” and went on to star in five films in the franchise thereafter. In 2021, Johnson told CNN that he “would not be returning to the franchise” after last appearing in the 2019 “Hobbs & Shaw” spinoff movie, and despite a public plea from mainstay “Fast & Furious” star Vin Diesel asking him to return. With regard to Diesel, Johnson touched upon the current status of his relationship with the “Pitch Black” star in his announcement on Thursday, saying despite their past differences, “we’ve been like brothers for years” and that they’re leading with the idea of “resolve” as they look toward the future of “bigger plans are the bigger build outs.” With all that in mind, he said, “it’s really not a hard decision to make: It’s a yes. Source: CNN News

Trukai Industries has achieved a safety milestone of 1, 000 days or six million man- hours Loss Time Injury (LTI) free. This demonstrates the company’s commitment to the safety of its employees in ensuring a safe workplace is provided, safe systems and controls are in place, effective training for its people facilitated by qualified, and that certified trainers are ongoing to ensure work is conducted safely with a zero-harm compliance. This has seen the last LTI recorded back in 2020. Trukai Industries’ General Manager for Operations, Risk and Corporate Services, David Newton commended employees for this achievement, stating that a zero Loss Time Injury (LTI) measure for 1000 days is a huge achievement for the business. This, he says, demonstrates how important safety is at Trukai Industries as the company has a very high safety standard with a positive safety culture across the business. Through several proactive measures, the company not only maintains a safe working environment, but also ensures that safety systems and controls to identify hazards are working to minimize employee risks. “Some of the actions to implement controls that address identified hazards include the provision of suitable PPEs, employee attendance of comprehensive safety trainings, encouragement to achieve a safe working environment through employee recognition for staff members who identify and report potential risks or hazards.” “Other actions include conducting annual audits and inspections to identify new or persisting hazards and risks and securing ownership and compliance from senior management to assist in fostering a culture of Safety First and transparency within the company.” These he says are all proactive actions along with their leading and lagging indicators in which they are proud of in driving compliance throughout their business. Ina addition, Trukai Industries’ Chief Executive Officer, Alan Preston also encouraged employees to maintain the Trukai safety culture. “It is the responsibility of each individual employee to continue to maintain these high safety standards by ensuring we all work safely whilst complying with the controls that are in place. Our aim is to get our employees safe to their families every day.” The 1000 days LTI free safety achievement follows Trukai Industries’ recertification for meeting a global standard for Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems under the ISO 45001:2018 standard in August 2022.

Health facilities in the Pomio District of East New Britain (ENB) Province were fortunate enough to receive new medical equipment from the Pomio District Administration recently. The medical assets include medical equipment such as mattress, wheel chairs, and information technologies satellite transmitters. This also included a vehicle, first aid kit, and mud strap, plant machineries, a Lucas Mill and a chain saw. East New Britain Provincial Health Authority (ENBPHA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr. Ako Yap and Provincial Health Authority Director Curative Health, Dr. Patrick Kiromat, were present at the Pomio District Administration to officially handover the assets. Speaking during the handover ceremony Dr. Yap said that the ambulance and the assets are co-funded by Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) through the ENBPHA. He said that Pomio District has a big land mass where many of the people live in the mountains and some in the coastal areas in which they are scattered and so the accessibility to services including health services, is a challenge. “We know there are many challenges in terms of having certain health facilities especially with infrastructure and staff houses plus other resources, but with this medical equipment, it’s just the beginning for more improvement to come.” He further stated that though Pomio is an isolated area, the attitude and behavior of the people are good with not many issues faced and has urged the people look after the facilities so that they will last long. In addition to this, Dr. Yap said that the PHA will be doing things online now where all the reports and data will be registered and entered into the system. A team currently working on that and with the satellite transmitters given, they will start putting them to good use. Meanwhile, Pomio District Acting Administrator, John Liskia, thanked donor funders and the PHA for the assets stating that the assistance was timely. Liskia said the service delivery in the district is challenging in terms of delivering basic health services, but they are doing everything they possibly can to help the people. The assets will be assign to the fourteen health facilities in the district by the District Health Manager and the District Administrator. The total cost funded for the assets was K479, 550.

A total of K50, 000 from the Kokopo District Service Improvement Program (DSIP) will be engaged to the St Mary’s Vunapope Hospital in Kokopo, East New Britain Province, for infrastructural renovations and other hospital resources and needs. Member of Kokopo, Hereman ToBaining Jnr revealed this during the recent commissioning and handing over of a digital X-ray machine in Kokopo. ToBaining stressed that health is a key priority area and the district administration will be handing this fund to the hospital so that the management will look into areas that needs improvement. He added that the hospital has been looking after the people in the province since the colonial times and is always open to everyone including neighboring provinces. The member also pledged K20, 000 towards the hospital from his family business of Malapau Beach Resort which will be handed over to the hospital as well. “As your government, we will work together with the Provincial Health Authority CEO to sign an MOU for the partnership for the hospital to become a District hospital.” He explained that the MOU will be between the Kokopo City Authority and the ENB PHA so that it can free up some of the responsibilities under the financial powers and Kokopo district can look after that under some other plans such as upgrading of all the facilities. Meanwhile, one of the district’s five-year plan for Butuwin town clinic is to be upgraded as well and this is one of the biggest plans in working in partner with the ENB PHA and Vunapope Hospital through the Catholic archdiocese and the Provincial Government.