Hurricane Ian is strengthening rapidly in the Caribbean as it passes over the ultra-warm waters of the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center had predicted the system would rapidly intensify from a tropical storm to at least a category 4 hurricane in less than 72 hours. It is an unprecedented forecast, experts told CNN, but one scientist say is becoming more likely as the climate crisis advances, pushing ocean temperatures higher and laying the groundwork for tropical storms to explode at breakneck pace into deadly major hurricanes. Rapid intensification is precisely what it sounds like – a hurricane’s winds strengthening rapidly over a short amount of time. Scientists have defined it as a wind speed increase of at least 35 mph in 24 hours or less. The phenomenon played out with breathtaking speed in the Philippines this weekend. Super Typhoon Noru exploded in strength on its final approach toward the Pacific island nation, going from the equivalent of a category 1 hurricane to a category 5 overnight as residents around Manila slept. Noru’s rapid intensification right before landfall – which was not predicted – likely meant locals had no time prepare for the much stronger storm. Hurricane Ian’s has been in the forecast for days, giving Cuba and Florida the benefit of time. Winds in the storm increased from 45 mph Sunday evening to 80 mph late Monday morning, and more strengthening is in the forecast. Ian could intensify into at least a category 4 before it makes landfall in Florida midweek. Rapid intensification has historically been a rare phenomenon, according to Allison Wing, an assistant professor of atmospheric science at Florida State University. It “is really sort of at the extreme end of how quickly storms can intensify,” Wing told CNN. “Only something like 6% or so of all forecast time periods have those types of rapid intensification rates observed associated with them. And so it’s something that’s by definition, a rare event. Sometimes it only happens a few times per season.” Live updates: Florida braces for Hurricane Ian But human-caused climate change is stacking the deck in favor of more intense storms. So not only are they generating more rainfall and larger storm surge – they are also more likely to be stronger and are intensifying faster. “Climate change is increasing both the maximum intensity that these storms can achieve, and the rate of intensification that can bring them to this maximum,” said Jim Kossin, a senior scientist at the Climate Service. “The intensification rates in Noru and Ian are good examples of very rapid intensification, and there have been many others recently.” Two ingredients must come together for rapid intensification to occur, Kossin told CNN. The first is that upper-level winds around the hurricane need to be weak – strong winds can prevent a storm from intensifying or even tear a storm apart. The second is that warm ocean water must extend well below the surface, going hundreds of feet deep, to provide enough fuel for the hurricane to strengthen. More than 90% of global warming over the past 50 years has taken place in the oceans, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The past five years have been the warmest on record for the world’s oceans. Scientists have shown humans are the dominant cause of the relentless warming trend. Planet-warming emissions from fossil fuels trap heat in the atmosphere, creating an energy imbalance. The oceans, in turn, absorb 90% of the excess heat, which has led to an alarming increase in temperature. And much of that warming has happened in the top levels of the ocean where hurricanes get their energy, said Jeff Masters, a meteorologist at Yale Climate Connections. “Hurricanes and typhoons are heat engines, which means they take heat energy from the oceans and convert it to the kinetic energy that are winds,” Masters told CNN. “So if you increase the amount of heat energy in the ocean by warming it up, you’re going to increase not only the maximum intensity they can get, but also the rate at which they get to that maximum intensity.” A 2019 study found that Atlantic hurricanes in particular showed a “highly unusual” increase in rapid intensification from the 1980s to the early 2000s – a trend that could only be explained by human-caused climate change. And, concerningly, scientists found that the most significant changes were happening to the strongest storms, making the most life-threatening hurricanes even more dangerous. “Climate change increases the odds that you’ll get a rapid intensifier,” Masters said. Some of the United States’ most devastating recent hurricanes were ones that rapidly intensified right before landfall – something Hurricane Ian is not expected to do. Most recently, Hurricane Ida in 2021 strengthened from a category 1 to a strong category 4 in the 24 hours before it made landfall in Louisiana and left a trail of destruction in its wake from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast. Forecasters are getting better at seeing the signs of this phenomenon before it happens, though, which gives people along the coast more time to prepare for the worst. Kossin said there are several reasons for this. One is that meteorologists are becoming more confident in the computer forecast models, which are improving at seemingly light speed. The other is that they have seen more extreme cases of rapid intensification in recent years, which makes it easier to forecast them in the future. Masters told CNN it all adds up to better forecasts. “The forecasts are unprecedented primarily because the [National] Hurricane Center is getting better at doing their job,” Masters said. Weather models “have gotten so much better. And our techniques for forecasting are getting better.” Source: CNN

As part of the organization’s talent quest, National Superannuation Fund (Nasfund) recently participated in the Papua New Guinea University of Technology (Unitech) 2022 Career Fair. The event, held on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th September 2022, brought together Unitech students, staff, and corporate partners, to showcase the opportunities on offer by Nasfund, to all in attendance. Over the 2 days, close to 1,000 participants passed through the exhibition. According to General Manager Talent & Culture Vincent Lialu, the Fund used this avenue to raise awareness on the importance of superannuation, and at the same time promote the Fund’s Graduate Development Program (GDP) which is a key Leadership Development Program the Fund is implementing as part of its Talent & Culture Framework. “This is to ensure we equip young talented Papua New Guineans to be first-line managers to succeed in our increasingly competitive business and financial environment and to ensure that Nasfund attains sustainable leadership within the competitive superannuation industry. The opportunity to engage with students was to provide some guidance as to what is required for graduates who may want to join Papua New Guinea’s leading superannuation provider. As an equal opportunity employer, the Fund is always on the lookout for talent to provide the next generation of officers to serve our members. Those in attendance were provided guidance on what the qualities that the Fund looks to, when recruiting our staff, whether it be through direct selection, or through our Graduate Development Program (GDP). In addition to this, the Fund also provided awareness on superannuation in general, and the products and services on offer. As a Fund, we believe it is important to educate the next generation of Papua New Guineans on the importance of saving for retirement through superannuation. We would like to thank the administration of Unitech for allowing our participation at this event, and we look forward to working together in ensuring that we promote the important role of superannuation to the next generation of Papua New Guineans.”

CEO of NCD Provincial Health Authority (PHA) Dr Steven Yennnie highlighted this challenge during the recent project handover of an upgraded Pari Health Clinic by the BSP First and BSP Capital Teams in Port Moresby. Dr Yennie said the NCD Provincial Health Authority constitutes of 27 health clinics in the city. Pari Village Clinic is one that serves a population of 15,000 plus patients annually, some from as far as Taurama. “This clinic in Pari plays a critical role in delivering primary health care service. The challenge faced by our clinics in NCD is the facility maintenance and we thank BSP for this project here in Pari which is the refurbishment of the clinic.“ BSP Group CEO Robin Fleming in handing over the completed project said being part of the community means being able to recognise the difficulties some people experience in their community and make way for staff to contribute.“BSP is pleased to continue that support through our Community Projects. I do want to thank our staff who put in the effort to assists with the rehabilitation to this clinic, and off course our contractors and health professionals who have to provide service to our people in difficult situations and not always the financial support they deserve. We hope that the community will look after the facility and what perfect time for this as the country celebrates its 47th Independence this month, “Mr Fleming added. BSP First and BSP Capital Teams in refurbishing the clinic went a step further and equipped the facility with 19 Solar Lighting items from SolarSolutions – a Solar Generator, indoor lighting and Street Lights. Pari Clinic Sister-in-charge Jennifer Puki said the upgrade is moral boosting for her team of five (5) staff and thanked BSP for the support.

Nambawan Super wishes to clarify that we have not told the State to move out of Nambawan Super Limited (NSL) owned properties as was reported in recent media publications. In fact, we value the State’s business and intend to retain them as a long-term tenant. The State is contributing to better retirement outcomes for public servants by doing business with the Fund, as well as through their role as one of our key investment partners and the employer for many of our Members. As such, It is our hope that we can reach an amicable solution to this issue, however Nambawan Super remains firm on our intention to lock out the State tenants occupying NSL properties if no payments are made and no suitable agreement is reached prior to the agreed deadline. The lockout notice is purely a commercial decision to protect the Fund’s investment in these properties. Today, the NSL Management team is meeting with the Departments of Finance and Treasury to secure a significant first payment and an agreed payment schedule for the remainder of the K160 million in rental arrears owed to the Members of Nambawan Super. We have extended the deadline for payment of these arrears to 5pm today, as the State has maintained positive communications with the Fund over the last few days. If this deadline is not met NSL will enforce the lockout notice to all State tenants, excluding the Department of Health. We are reluctantly taking this course of action as we understand the disruptions this will cause to the operations of the State and its services, however, we must act now in order to protect our Members’ funds from further undue losses.

Papua New Guinea’s national petroleum company, Kumul Petroleum Holdings Limited (Kumul Petroleum) announced yesterday that it had made a binding conditional offer to Santos Limited (Santos) to acquire an additional 5% shareholding in the PNG LNG Project. Kumul Petroleum would also assume 5% of the PNG LNG Project debt corresponding with that additional equity. Wapu Sonk, Managing Director of Kumul Petroleum, said, “We have made an offer to purchase another 5% equity in the PNG LNG Project, subject to a number of formalities. This is a massive investment for us, costing approximately US$1.1 billion.” “To secure this offer, open for acceptance until 31 December 2022, we have made a part payment of US$55 million to Santos, and these funds will be held by Santos until the transaction is finalised. This is a very worthwhile investment for Kumul Petroleum; the additional project equity will ensure a boost in our annual cash flow and significantly raise national ownership in the project.” Mr Sonk outlined that following the Kumul Petroleum Board and NEC approval, Kumul Petroleum has been negotiating with Santos to acquire this equity in the PNG LNG Project following the Oil Search:Santos merger in 2021. Mr Sonk continued, “the offer to Santos is irrevocable, Santos will deal exclusively with Kumul, and its progression will require the waiver of certain pre-emptive rights by other PNG LNG Project participants, and will require all necessary regulatory approvals to be complied with.” “The transaction will strengthen alignment for the future development of PNG’s natural gas resources,including undeveloped resources which may at a future point utilise the existing PNG LNG Project infrastructure. We also look forward to progressing a Heads of Agreement with Santos to enable us to work together to advance Kumul’s intentions to become a net-zero regional operator.” After the equity acquisition the PNG State’s participation in the PNG LNG Project would increase to approximately 22 per cent and Santos would retain a 37.5% interest. “The economic development of PNG’s natural gas resources will underpin national development for decades to come, and increasing national content and enhancing the strong cash flows to Kumul Petroleum and other stakeholders will bring huge economic and social benefits to the nation,” Mr Sonk concluded.

Department of Prime Minister and National Executive Council Secretary, Ivan Pomaleu has clarified to all government agencies and corporate entities that Papua New Guinea National Flags should already be back at full mast. Secretary Pomaleu said following Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s burial on 19 September, all national flags under the Commonwealth and Realm countries including PNG were to have returned to full mast at 8.00 on the morning after the burial. “All flags should have gone back to full mast the day after the public holiday. The King decreed a further 7 days of mourning for the United Kingdom but that did not affect the Commonwealth and the Realm countries,” he said. “I call on all government agencies and corporate entities to have our country’s flag flown high at full mast, if not done already,” he said. Secretary Pomaleu said the half-mast flag, which symbolizes a time of mourning, revealed our country’s grief during the Queen’s death; however, the PNG flag must now be flown at full mast. He gave that clarification after it was noticed that some institutions and corporate entities are still flying the flags at half-mast.

Maika Sivo hasn’t seen his parents in more than three years but that’s all about to change when the Fijian family reunite for the NRL Telstra Premiership grand final on Sunday. Sivo’s parents Joeli and Mere will make the mad dash from their small village in Momi, a 40-minute drive from Nadi in Fiji, to watch their son play in person for the first time since 2019. It will be an emotional occasion for the family, who have mourned the loss of Sivo’s younger brother Luva for the past 12 months after he tragically passed away aged 13. Eels teammates Clint Gutherson, Mitchell Moses, Reed Mahoney and Nathan Brown met Joeli, Mere and Luva after visiting the village during the Prime Minister’s XIII visit in 2019. “Dad called me [last week] and said he and Mum will come watch the grand final if we made it,” Sivo told NRL.com. “He was confident he will see me when he called so now it’s about trying to get them over here as soon as possible. I’m so happy they want to come over and watch. I’ll get the club to help organise it. [caption id="attachment_27351" align="alignnone" width="840"] players Nathan Brown, Clint Gutherson, Mitchell Moses and Reed Mahoney with Sivo's mother Mere and late brother Luva at their family village in 2019.[/caption] “They don’t like to leave the village too much, especially mum. I haven’t been able to go home because of the border closures and my injury last year. “My cousins might want to come too but it will good to have mum and dad at least.” Sivo’s life has changed remarkably in the three years since Joeli last surprised his son in August of that year when he first visited Australia. The 28-year-old has gone on to become one of the most powerful wingers in the game with 67 tries in 82 games and made it a tradition for Eels fans to chant his name at CommBank Stadium. He’s represented his native Fiji on three occasions while going through the rollercoaster of Luva's passing and ACL injury last season. In March, he and partner Korina welcomed their first child, son Isaiah, into the world – creating another first for Sivo’s family this week to meet their grandson. “When dad came in 2019 I couldn’t believe it, he surprised me out of nowhere, and then when Gutho and the boys went to visit my village it meant a lot to me," Sivo said. "Having them at the grand final on Sunday will be amazing. All the boys are pumped, we’re excited. Many people said we couldn’t match the weather [in Townsville] but it felt like home to me." Sivo will wait and see how usual centre partner Tom Opacic pulls up from a potential return from a hamstring injury ahead of Sunday's decider against his former club but has full faith in Bailey Simonsson to repeat his preliminary final efforts. The Eels left edge were dominant against the Cowboys with Shaun Lane overcoming a poke in the eye early to help set up Sivo for a vital try. "Bailey was good to play alongside, we were talking all night with him and on our edge and made good decisions in defence throughout the game," Sivo said. "I’m not sure where Tommy is at but he will be close to playing." Source: NRL.com

Prime Minister James Marape’s four-nation visit – that includes meetings with a king and three heads of government, and an address to the United Nations – is taking Papua New Guinea’s trade and business interest to the next level. This is as Prime Minister Marape works at expanding PNG’s bi-lateral relations from the traditionally political and social one that often concentrated on donor aid to strategic economic relations where the focus is on specific areas of trade and investment as he negotiates at the highest level directly with heads of governments. As he did last year when PM Marape visited China and sold 3 million metric tonnes of gas from Papua LNG to Sinopec through his negotiations with the Chinese government, the value of discussions at the prime ministerial level is always the highest. On Sunday (250922), Prime Minister Marape was in Australia to meet with his Australian counterpart Hon. Tony Albanese after delivering his country statement on Thursday (220922) at the 77th United Nations General Assembly that was very well-received by Papua New Guineans back home. Before that, PM Marape was in the United Kingdom to attend the funeral of late Queen Elizabeth II where he met with King Charles III. As the prime ministers of PNG and Australia acquainted over the Prime Ministers XIII rugby league match at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on Sunday afternoon, they also took the opportunity to discuss labour mobility covering TVET, nursing and labour hires – needs that Australia currently has that PNG can fill. “The Australian Prime Minister and I watched the Prime Ministers XIII and had a bilateral meeting as a prelude to our PNG-Australia ministerial meetings that will take place in Canberra, as well as when the Australian PM visits PNG in December,” said PM Marape. “In the last three years, we have elevated PNG-Australia relations to the highest level we can go. This is encapsulated in the Comprehensive Strategic Economic Partnership between us and Australia. “This partnership involves areas of trade and economic arrangements that now includes the recruitment of labour and Papua New Guineans working in Australia in terms of the skills we can provide to Australia, and Australia picking up our products from PNG. “So we have now elevated our relationship from a political and social level and aid/donor type of arrangements to strategic economic relationship. “Australia has been buying from us, and we focusing now on areas of forestry downstream processing, agriculture downstream, livestock downstream, and fisheries downstream. “Many Australian businesses are in PNG, and we are encouraging them to move into these downstream spaces so we can send finished products back to them instead of primary raw products all the time,” said Prime Minister Marape. After the Prime Ministers’ XIII match, the PNG Prime Minister is flying out to join another round of world leaders at the funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who during his tenure, had been supportive of PNG in our mutual bi-lateral relationship. While observing the funeral, PM Marape is scheduled to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Hon. Fumio Kishida on Tuesday (270922) in a bi-lateral conversation that again aims at promoting trade and investments focusing on PNG’s renewable sectors of forestry, fisheries, and agriculture. After the visit to Japan, PM Marape will return to United States to join members of the Pacific Island Forum who are scheduled to meet with American President Hon. Joe Biden, during which PM Marape will have the opportunity for a one-on-one meeting with the President. PM Marape said of this: “Papua New Guinea’s position with the US is clear. While we have been having a strong political and administrative relationship, we are asking United States to buy more products from PNG especially as we work at sending finished products in agriculture, fisheries and forestry to the world. And we want the United States to also pick up its fair share from us. “We are also inviting them to come in and partner us, take up residence here in the downstream processing sector. “America’s number one company, ExxonMobil is already here. Now we invite others to join up in our Special Economic Zones and in and around the country where we will give them special support. “Our International Trade & Investment Minister Richard Maru has been tasked to look into this space, and part of my job as prime minister when I meet leaders of countries is to pitch the direction in which our country is moving, and lobby for investors to come in and open up markets in the countries that I visit,” said PM Marape. The Prime Minister said while under his watch, he would promote and push a national interest that focused on downstream processing and the sale of finished products done in the country, ready to be sold throughout the world. “PNG is privileged to have relationships with these big economies – United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, India, South Korea and the Philippines. These are huge markets. “As I visit them and sit with their heads of government, it is time to consolidate our relationships looking into the next decade. We want renewed partnerships that focuses on downstream processing of our agriculture, fisheries and forestry. These bi-lateral relationships must now be anchored in trade and commerce,” said Prime Minister Marape.

Power lines have been downed and houses washed into the sea after Storm Fiona battered Canada's coastline. At least one person died after being washed out to sea in Newfoundland, officials said. Fiona was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm on Friday. Such weather events are rare in Canada, and police said the storm was "like nothing we've ever seen". The army has been deployed to Nova Scotia to assist the clean-up. Parts of five provinces experienced torrential rain and winds of up to 160km/h (99mph), with widespread flooding and hundreds of thousands of people left without power. Prime Minister Trudeau says the military will be deployed to Nova Scotia, adding: "If there is anything the federal government can do to help, we will be there." He has said he will no longer travel to Japan to attend the funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to deal with the storm's aftermath. Mr Trudeau convened a meeting of the Incident Response Group on Sunday - the second to discuss Fiona - and promised to "ensure that all necessary support is available" to restore services as quickly as possible. A 73-year-old woman died when the storm hit Port aux Basques, a small town on the southwest tip of Newfoundland that was one of the hardest hit areas. "The woman was last seen inside [her] residence just moments before a wave struck the home, tearing away a portion of the basement," the police said. The coast guard and rescuers recovered her body from the sea on Sunday. Port aux Basques is "like a complete war zone," with more than 20 homes destroyed and 200 people displaced, said mayor Brian Button. He added that damages were in the millions of dollars. Rosalyn Roy, a local resident, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp that rebuilding would take "months". Earlier, a woman was rescued after being "tossed into the water as her home collapsed". Government officials have said the country's military will be deployed to help clear trees and roads. A police chief on Prince Edward Island urged residents to stay inside "unless absolutely necessary" as recovery efforts continued. Power companies have warned that it could take days to restore electricity, as wind speeds remain too high to start work on downed power lines. Severe hurricanes in Canada are rare, as storms normally lose their energy once they hit colder waters in the north and become post-tropical instead. Fiona had already wreaked havoc on Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic earlier this week, with many still left without power or running water. Florida also faces a hurricane threat as tropical storm Ian strengthened as it moved over the Caribbean on Saturday. It could approach Florida early next week as a major hurricane.     Source: BBC

The Minister for Education, Hon Jimmy Uguro, MP issued a challenge to all senior education officials present at the official opening of the week-long Senior Education Officers’ Conference being held at Kavieng Fisheries College to play their part and work together to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 4 by 2027. Mr. Uguro said that according to the Sustainable Development Goals, countries have been called on to ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes by 2030”. For Papua New Guinea, he called on everyone starting from the Ministry of Education staff, the community, the different levels of government and partners and stakeholders in education to play their part in achieving the SDG 4.1 by 2027. The Ministry has been tasked with the implementation of two Priority Goals for the next five years. The implementation of these two priority goals will result in the achievement of the SDG 4.1 by 2027. Priority Goal No 1 will ensure that all children complete a grade 12 education – leaving no child behind. The following are strategies under Priority Goal 1 that the different levels of government and organisations are responsible for: 1. The National Government (Policy/Standards), 2. Provincial Government (High Schools & Vocational Training Centres) and Districts (LLGs) (Primary – Pre Schools) build 2,243 classrooms each year in schools and/or build 85 new high schools each year. i.e. each province build 4 schools per province or each district build 1 new high school each year. 3. All secondary schools offer quality FODE to all students and young people. 4. National Government through the Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology train more teachers. 5. Free Education at Basic Education – From Prep to Grade 12, FODE and VET is free. Parents make voluntary contributions for School Projects under SLIP. Meanwhile, Priority Goal No 2 will ensure that all children receive quality education – leaving no child behind. The following are the strategies need to be implemented by all stakeholders to improve quality and standard of education: 1. Build more classrooms and schools – to reduce class size 2. Train more competent teachers to improve Pupil:Teacher Ratio and teaching and learning 3. Provide One textbook per child – By printing, procurement or e Copy 4. Increase school inspectors visit to schools and teachers – Housing and Mobility 5. Provide every school access to electronic education. 6. Ensure Teacher attendance in school and classroom is mandatory. 7. All schools have School Learning Improvement Plan (SLIP). The Minister also called on all leaders in the education sector to cut down on administrative tasks and focus on activities and programs that will make a positive impact on teaching and learning such as infrastructure, teacher training, teachers’ salaries and conditions like housing. He said teachers must sleep well in order to teach well. The Minister suggested that for all fees to be done away with and for the government and business houses to consider a feeding program for children who are not in school. I am also calling on the government to increase education’s share of the national budget to 20% from the current 13-14% share of the national budget in order to implement all important reforms and policies The Minister thanked the children, teachers and the community in Kavieng for the colourful traditional welcome at the airport and also during the opening ceremony this morning. During the conference proper, the Minister reiterated his call everyone to work together in order to achieve results.

Thousands of people have been evacuated and government offices have been closed as a a super typhoon bashes the Philippines eastern islands. Typhoon Noru has caused gusts of up to 240kph (149mph) on the main island Luzon, where more than half of the country's 110 million population live. Forecasters say the storm experienced an "explosive intensification" as it made landfall west of Luzon. The storm could cause landslides, flash flooding and dangerous storm surges. More than 8,400 people have already been evacuated from its path, and officials have issued warnings of "serious flooding" in areas of the capital, Manila. The storm's speed increased by 90 km/h in 24 hours. Weather forecaster Robb Gile told news agency AFP that its increased speed was "unprecedented". The Philippine weather service has issued a wind signal five for Luzon, the highest warning level which marks Noru as a super typhoon. Richard Gordon, chairman of the Red Cross in the Philippines, told the BBC that heavy rainfalls had filled many of the country's dams, leading to a risk of flooding. National police chief Gen Rodolfo Azurin urged people to comply with evacuation orders. In Quezon Province, east of Manila, fishermen have been prevented from heading to sea, and there were reports of some areas being without power. Flights and ferry services have been cancelled. On Luzon - the most populous island - President Ferdinand Marcos suspended all government work and school classes were also cancelled. In Dingalan municipality, northeast of Manila and on the Pacific coast, residents were forced to seek shelter. "We live away from the coast so we're staying put so far. We're more worried about the water from the mountains," a resident told AFP. Authorities warned of dangerous storm surges along the eastern coast, as well as heavy agricultural losses. Trading on the country's stock exchange will also be suspended on Monday and Mr Marcos warned that the energy ministry had placed on high alert all energy-related industries in the county. Thousands of volunteers are monitoring river levels, bridges and mountains for landslides which could hamper rescue efforts, said Dick Gordon, chairman of the Philippine Red Cross. Information will be crucial in getting help to where it is needed, he said. The Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean, is highly vulnerable to storms. It sees an annual average of 20 tropical storms. An estimated 400 people died when Typhoon Rai hit the country in December 2021, with rescue teams describing scenes of "complete carnage". And in 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful tropical storms ever recorded, killed some 6,300 people.   Source: BBC

They threw away their old worn out jerseys for the new Lae Biscuit sponsored jerseys to complete their Papua New Guinea 47 years independence games today (Monday 26/09/22) at Buimo prison in Lae. Detainees at Papua New Guinea’s second largest prison the Buimo jail in Morobe province end their independence games today running out in Lae Biscuit Company sponsored jerseys. And more than the bleak dark shades of prison, the Lae Biscuit Company donation of six sets of jerseys to the participating teams gives them a brighter outlook than the crimes that brought them behind bars. Apart from the jersey sets, the Lae Biscuit Company Marketing team led by Manageress Denise Girey delivered more than 100 cartons of Snax noodles on Friday topping up from the previous day’s donation of Snax Biscuit cartons as well. For the prison, being within the confines of barricades doesn’t stop them to acknowledge their patriotism of PNG as their mother land according to Buimo Prison Welfare Officer, Sargent Jack Abu. Sargent Abu told the Lae Biscuit team that indeed they can’t go out and celebrate independence with the rest of PNG knowing very well the splendor displays out there but such events hosted within the prison makes them one in spirit with the rest of PNG. ‘’Yes we are within the prison confines and seeing each other only, but through such games we are in unity,’’ Sargent Abu said. Sargent Abu said independence being one of their biggest hosted events every year they now look forward to Christmas and as always, it’s the Lae Biscuit Company that gives them hope to one day make it out better and reuniting with loved ones. Sargent Abu thanked the Lae Biscuit Company for always coming out big and lending a hand to put the smiles on detainees faces engaging in events within the prison confines just like the rest of PNG outside the prison. The Lae Biscuit Company has maintained its belief in creating and supporting the community by providing assistance to community projects, events, sporting events, and disaster relief. Lae Biscuit will always strive to give back to the community. The two weeks Buimo prison PNG 47 years’ independence games ends today.