The UFC's reigning middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is facing former champion Robert Whittaker again at UFC 271 today in Houston, Texas. In 2019 Adesanya knocked Whittaker out in the second round in front of a hostile Australian crowd, to claim his undisputed championship title. Since the pair last met, Whittaker has gone on an impressive three fight win streak, while Adesanya has comfortably defended his belt three times, with his only UFC loss coming from a step up in weight-class to take on the light-heavyweight champion at the time, Jan Blachowicz. SOURCE: RNZ NEWS

The New Zealand government is being urged to prioritise sending more vaccine supplies to Pacific nations, in order to stem the spread of the Covid Omicron variant. Over 2000 people have tested positive to Covid-19 in Kiribati and two people have died. Low vaccination rates have led to hundreds of deaths in Papua New Guinea and 50 deaths in the Solomon Islands. Although Tonga currently has 108 cases, its vaccination rates have still been promising. Similarly the Cook Islands, Samoa and Niue, appear to be successfully vaccinating their populations. New Zealand has donated at least 1.2 million doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, helping 11 Pacific nations both directly and via the COVAX scheme. But humanitarian aid groups say that more can be done and have vowed to keep the government accountable as the pandemic continues. Council for International Development executive director Josie Pagani said that New Zealand has a vested interest in helping the Pacific. "In New Zealand, we are onto our third jab with boosters. Some countries are on their fourth. You can have as many booster shots as you like, but until you get the poorest countries and most vulnerable populations with their first jab, we are going to keep having new Covid strands keep emerging and they are going to end up on New Zealand shores." Minister of Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio said Aotearoa has managed to meet every vaccine-related request from the Pacific, with the help of Australia. "We were committed right from the start to ensure that the Pacific's needs will all be meet. I believe to date we have been able to meet the needs from the Pacific, the more recent requests from Samoa and Tonga," he said. Sio said that New Zealand is currently preparing to send vaccines to the Pacific which can be administered to children aged five to 11. [caption id="attachment_18972" align="aligncenter" width="886"] PNG is struggling with a third wave of the pandemic which has overwhelmed the country's hospitals. Photo: AFP[/caption] However, Pagani also stated that it was crucial the New Zealand government collaborated with locals, as well as officials, to learn how best to support remote areas in the Pacific. "We're hearing from people on the ground that the best thing New Zealand can sometimes do is not just donate vaccines but to actually fund mobile vaccination units, buses to go out to remote areas or improve communications and digital connectivity so you can counter some of the misinformation around the vaccines." Epidemiologists warn that new variants could emerge in large Pacific populations like Papua New Guinea, so it is crucial that they receive sufficient amounts of vaccine. ChildFund programme director Sally Angleson said that wealthier nations owe it to developing countries to increase the resources they provide as Omicron spreads. [caption id="attachment_18973" align="aligncenter" width="874"] Kiribati extends curfew as second Covid-19 death recorded Photo: RNZ / Chris Bramwell[/caption] She said the world was not safe from new variants until all Pacific nations have enough vaccines for their populations. Anderson also urged governments to avoid hoarding vaccines or sending close-to-expiry vaccines as aid. "I think the NZ government needs to be very cognisant of coordination. I know our partners in the Solomon Islands are saying they have got different vaccines from different sources and now there is even more vaccine hesitancy because they are getting mixed messaging from people." [caption id="attachment_18974" align="aligncenter" width="863"] The lack of bed space is a huge issue at the National Referral Hospital in Solomon Islands. Photo: Supplied[/caption] Misinformation has also been a major issue in Papua New Guinea. The country, with a population of over 8 million, currently has 600 recorded Covid-19 related deaths; health experts suggest that the actual death toll is likely to be higher. Pagani was also concerned about the impact that the low vaccination rates in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands were having. "Some Pacific countries even if they have an increase in hospitalisations due to an Omicron outbreak even if it is not so severe, if there are only two or three ICU beds in the country, then you are in real trouble if there are more than that who need ventilation and care. "Covid has shone a light on existing problems, one of the biggest problems in the Pacific - a very fragile health system. It's not going to take much for Covid to knock that over and that is our biggest concern." SOURCE: RNZ NEWS

From 16th February the Controller has advised of changes to the requirements for passengers travelling to PNG. 1. No PNG Pandemic Controller Approval will be required any more for arrivals from 16th February 2. Passengers arriving from India and Philippines are no longer required to quarantine for arrivals from 16th February 3. All passengers will still need to show evidence at check-in of being fully vaccinated. PNG Citizens returning to PNG, or those under the age of 18 are exempted All passengers will still need to complete a negative PCR test within 72 hours of scheduled flight departure, and will undertake a rapid test on arrival. For Air Niugini flights arriving from Australia this will be conducted free of charge by ISOS. For all other flights the arrival testing will be conducted by Trakpro at a cost of K 350 per passenger. Passengers being tested by Trakpro are recommended to download and complete the “Scram TouchPoint” App in advance from the Apple - AppStore or for Android’s from the Google Play Store. All passengers also still need to complete, prior to check-in, the online health declaration form at https://www.pnghdf.info/

BSP Financial Group Limited (BSP) is advising schools registered as Mobile Banking School Merchants in the country to accept legitimate e-receipts provided by parents to ease the burden of queues in branches and improve schools’ operational efficiencies. Despite the BSP Mobile Banking *131# school fee payment platform being available for all to use, BSP branches continue to see influx in the number of people lining up in queues across the country. For example, in Mt Hagen, due to schools’ insistent on paper receipt and their reluctance to accept e-receipts for school fees paid via the Mobile Banking *131# School Fee payment option, parents and guardians are forced to queue up at the branches. BSP Retail Group General Manager Daniel Faunt is urging registered schools in Western Highlands to accept electronic receipts provided by parents and guardians as these are legitimate payments. “Mobile Banking *131# school fee payment option is genuine and improves school’s operational efficiencies by saving valuable admin time for teachers, easily recorded directly into the school system and allows for parents to make payments in their own time and place which essentially reduces banking queues,” he added. In addition to digital banking options, BSP also opened 16 of its branches, including Mt Hagen branch on 3 consecutive Saturdays for school fee deposits. This allows for parents and guardians who are unable to pay school or tertiary institution fees including project fees during the weekdays to have the opportunity to visit respective BSP branches on the weekend. BSP Mt Hagen Branch served over 700 customers over the three Saturdays it was open. BSP has 24 schools in Western Highlands that are currently registered for the Mobile Banking School Fee payments platform and the bank is calling on these schools to accept e-receipts from parents and guardians. “We understand the challenge of making school fee payments at this time of the year and have implemented digital solutions to provide parents with convenient options rather than having to go into BSP branches. Therefore, schools are urged to accept legitimate e-receipts for ease of banking and administration efficiency for parents and schools respectively,” said Faunt. Parents and guardians are encouraged to sign up for Mobile Banking while at the Branch for ease of school fee payment going forward.

The Deputy Controller of the National Pandemic Response Dr Daoni Esorom has expressed concern over people’s non-adherence to COVID-19 protocols and the measures and directives put out through the Controller’s office. “In the midst of a surge in the number of cases in the country, there’s still large sections of the population who are not adhering to the measures and directives put up by the National Control Centre through the Controller’s Office. The non- adherence to these measures is resulting in the increasing number of cases currently being seen,” said Dr Daoni. Dr Daoni has warned that as a result of non-compliance, a lot of people will become infected and it will affect a lot of staff or working people both in the private and the public sectors. “The NCC is receiving reports that most workplaces currently have more that 50 per cent of their staff who are infected and a lot of staff are absent from work,” Dr Daoni said. These, he warned, will affect government services being delivered by public servants and will affect companies’ bottom lines. He also reminded people that the current surge is predicted to end in March, but will be prolonged if people do not adhere to COVID-19 measures. “It may even extend into the election period where it is anticipated that there will be a lot of crowd and congregation of people and campaign houses set up. The only way to flatten the curve in the current surge is to fully adhere to the COVID-19 protocols. This includes getting tested if anyone presents with COVID-19 symptoms and most importantly getting vaccinated,” he said. Dr Daoni has encouraged the vulnerable people, who are mainly frontline workers; people with existing medical conditions and old people to get vaccinated. He also encouraged the vulnerable, even if they are fully vaccinated, to get their boosters. “Getting boosters will improve these people’s immunity and protect them against the current variant of COVID-19,” he said.

The Deputy Controller of the National Pandemic Response Dr Daoni Esorom has advised people against using COVID-test kits that are not approved by the National Control Centre for testing and for self-testing for COVID-19. Currently, he said there is only one test kit namely Panbio that is approved as a rapid test kit to be used to test for COVID-19. He said, “Any other test kits that are being used are not approved and anybody selling them must stop selling them and must take them off the shelves. The use of non-approved rapid test kits will mess up the national testing protocols.” He said the NCC is currently working with the Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL) to validate four other antigen test kits. These will be approved next week when the results become available. Dr Daoni said the validation has been completed by CPHL and the final report is being worked on. “When the results are finalised, additional test kits will be approved for use. These test kits will be used in the health facilities and also people will use them to self-test at home. “It is anticipated that with the availability of more test kits, more testing will be undertaken in the country,” Dr Daoni said.

Work on the restoration of power supply into the Upper Highlands Region is still ongoing as of this afternoon. PNG Power expects to have the work completed tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon and have full power supply restored to the Upper Highlands Region townships of Kundiawa, Minj, Banz, Mt Hagen, Ialibu, Mendi and Wabag. We would also like to correct the misleading headline put out on the front page of one of the dailies (Tuesday February 8) stating that the power outage will be off for an indefinite period. We would like to assure the general public affected by this outage that we are working around the clock to restore full power supply from the Ramu Hydropower Station as quickly and safely as possible by tomorrow. Challenges on the site of the damaged power pylons have delayed work by a few days but we expect to have full power supply restored for our consumers and business houses in the Upper Highlands Region. The act of sabotage on our tower 101 power pylon at Dumum Village, Chimbu Province for reasons only know to the locals has disrupted power supply to these townships and PNG Power is calling on the provincial authorities in these areas to assist stop this continuous act of vandalism and service disruption.

The United Nations Development Programme continues procurement of new ambulances in support of efforts to address ongoing pressures of the latest COVID-19 surge on Papua New Guinea’s rural health system. As the number of infected people continues to soar, emergency response services in rural regions are in need of effective ambulance services. On presenting a new ambulance today to the Government of Papua New Guinea for designation to Finschhafen District in Morobe Province, the UNDP Resident Representative Mr. Dirk Wagener explained that the ambulance will “help to address some of the pressure, but we must lift vaccination rates and raise community awareness as an absolute priority,” Mr Wagener said. He thanked the Government of India for its generous support. The Minister for Health and HIV/AIDS, Hon. Jelta Wong, Indian High Commissioner Shri Inbasekar, and the Member for Finschhafen, Hon. Rainbo Paita were present during the handover at the United Nations Development Programme Office, in Port Moresby. “This ongoing support from UNDP and partners will provide valuable strengthening to Papua New Guinea’s provincial COVID response,” said Minister for Health and HIV/AIDS, Hon. Jelta Wong. UNDP procured 10 new ambulances with the generous assistance of the Government of India through the India-UN Development Partnership Fund. The first two ambulances were handed over in 2021 and assigned to St. John’s Ambulance Services to boost capacities to cope with recent surges. Additional new ambulances are expected to arrive in Papua New Guinea in 2022 to be handed over to the Department of Health for assignment throughout the country. The United Nations Development Programme has played a critical and wide-ranging role in supporting Papua New Guinea’s national COVID-19 response efforts. UNDP has supported the Government with critical humanitarian and pandemic coordination services through the country’s National Coordination Centre, the procurement of 30 ventilators, and in delivering Papua New Guinea’s first national socio-economic impact assessment on the impacts of the COVID pandemic in addition to the procurement of ambulances and other response services.

On the eve of the 2022 National Elections and in light of reports of administrative delays, the impartiality and integrity required by PNG Electoral Commission (PNGEC) officials in the provinces to uphold the constitutional guarantee of free, fair and safe elections has never been more crucial. This was the message shared with provincial election managers at a one-day workshop in Port Moresby hosted by Transparency International Papua New Guinea (TIPNG) in partnership with the PNGEC. With only two months before the start of the elections, and delays on key electoral processes, TIPNG is working with partners to bolster mechanisms of electoral conduct including the integrity of decision making by constitutional office holders. “When the Constitution speaks of Rights and Responsibilities we all must take note, these are not mere words, the Constitution makes and invokes guarantee. It is easier to understand when we say that the Constitution is a contract between the State and her People. The Constitution of Papua New Guinea promises and contracts to its people, to deliver free and fair elections. It promises one vote per person it implies that each citizen must cast their votes in confidence and not to be forced or placed under duress,” said Mr. Richard Kassman, TIPNG Director, in his address to workshop  participants. “The Office of the Electoral Commissioner is a constitutional office and it cannot be and should not be directed by other departmental heads. The Electoral Commissioner delegates that responsibility to Provincial Election Managers as constitutional officers. In the conduct of the National Elections, PNGEC Provincial Managers can work with the Provincial Administrators and Provincial Police Commanders to deliver the elections, but they do not take direction from those offices. PNGEC Provincial Election Managers make the decisions when it comes to elections,” said Mr. Kassman. The workshop was attended by Electoral Managers from Morobe, East New Britain, New Ireland, Milne Bay, Central, NCD, Eastern Highlands and Jiwaka. The workshop was opened by Mr. Simon Sinai, PNG Electoral Commissioner, and had presentations by Janet Haue, National Capital District Commission and Mr. Gideon Ikumu, NCD Metropolitan Superintendent who spoke on Provincial Elections Steering Committees and the role of Elections Security Personnel respectively. The workshop under TIPNG’s Building Elections Integrity through Partnership (BEIP) Project was to ensure greater accountability during elections and enforcement of election laws and processes. The sessions included activities on ethical dilemmas and electoral corruption risk assessment. Through the BEIP project, TIPNG is working with partners like the PNGEC to strengthen elections integrity.  

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Opposition leader Chris Luxon have launched stinging attacks on their opponents in their opening speeches to Parliament this year. Ardern today delivered her Prime Minister's statement marking the first session of Parliament in 2022, warning as New Zealand enters its third "challenging" year of the Covid-19 pandemic that Omicron was unlikely to be the end. She also targeted the opposition's approach to Covid-19, housing, and infrastructure in her opening speech to Parliament this year. She said the expert advice was that Omicron would not be the last variant, and New Zealand could expect new and different variants in the future. "It's advice ... that sadly the opposition, I notice, have chosen to ignore. They declared the first of December 'freedom day', the day that the borders should open, even when the World Health Organisation had declared Omicron a variant of concern and the booster campaign had only just begun. "They claim they are ready to manage the pandemic because they had declared it over. They were wrong then, and they are wrong now ... it is not over but that does not mean that we cannot move forward." Ardern outlined the measures taken to try to avoid the worst of the outbreak, including the booster rollout. As schools returned for the new year, she said given the harm closures caused to student learning and wellbeing, the government would only close them down as a last resort in response to significant outbreaks. She said other challenges would also require the kind of planning that had gone into the government's Covid-19 response, including the re-emergence of infuenza; the need for healthier and drier homes; to keep children in school; and to build more public housing. "Kainga Ora and community housing providers will deliver over 2000 additional public housing places - that's adding to the 8700 delivered since November 2017, and while I note some members on the front bench of the opposition may laugh, these are numbers that far outstrip anything that government ever managed to build ... where their focus was on selling down public housing stock rather than building the homes that we need." Health was also in desperate need of reform, she said. "It's not right that the care that you get in this country can vary so much depending on where you live." She said the Māori health Authority was "absolutely key" to fighting inequality in the health system, with Māori dying on average seven years earlier. It was not about separatism, she said, "this is about reaching the equality we currently do not have in this country". Work to remove barriers for disabled people and expand the Enabling Good Lives model of disability services was far overdue, she said. Mental health and addiction services in general practice would be accessible to more than 2.7 million New Zealanders this year, she said, "a step-change in how New Zealanders access mental health services". She highlighted the impacts of mental health concerns for small business groups and the rural sector, particularly in the face of Covid-19, and committed to engaging with those sectors this year. New Zealand's Covid-19 recovery must not be a return to business as normal, she said. "We are better than that, in fact we were elected to address the challenges that have held too many back for too long. That's why our economic plan is to provide a high-wage, low-carbon economy." She pointed to free trade negotiations with the EU and her planned delegations to Asia and America, but said the crucial plank in the government's plan was infrastructure. "Historical underinvestment in infrastruce has been a handbrake on our economy, it's why we're planning for the next 30 years instead of electoral cycles." That also included a promise to "fix the issue of persistent under investment in our water services", signalling the government's intention to press ahead with its three waters reforms. Tackling climate change would also be a core part of the strategy, she said. "Other countries are moving to compete for and seize these opportunities and New Zealand cannot afford to be left behind. Not economically and not morally either." "The opposition claim they share our climate ambition. Why then have they opposed almost every initiative that would bring our emissions profile down? Climate change is a challenge we cannot postpone, just like child poverty, just like housing, just like mental health." Ardern today said the peak of New Zealand's Omicron outbreak might be in late March. Luxon responds National Party leader Christopher Luxon moved that the House that all the words of Ardern's speech be deleted and replaced with "this house has no confidence in this government that returns to Wellington at the start of each year with more promises it has no intention of keeping and fails to deliver". He said the National Party "is ready", and Kiwis were tired of a government failing to get things done. "A government that has turned out to be what? All spin and no delivery. This government has never met a problem it didn't think it could solve with just a little bit more government, a little bit more Wellington, a little bit more centralisation, a comms plan, more bureaucracy, and less input from affected communities." He said the government was out of steam and in less than two years would be voted out of office. "This government confuses words with action and they are two very very different concepts, and now here we are with an overheated economy ... and it's squeezing everyday New Zealanders." New Zealand was suffering from a "productivity disease" and the government's spending was leading to a "cost of living crisis", pointing to the price of a block of cheese and unsustainable rents. He said the government had promised to solve the housing crisis but made it much worse. "This from a prime minister who promised to build 100,000 Kiwibuild houses in 10 years, but here we are, we're four years in and how many more do we have to go? Another 98,000 houses." He said one of Ardern's first promises was a tram from the airport to Mt Roskill, and all that had been delivered was a new price tag of $15bn. "I reckon for all of that the government could actually go out and buy each of the team of five million people a brand new state of the art swish e-bike, and they'd still have billions of dollars left to invest." He said the spiralling debt of the country had to be repaid, which would mean inability to invest in better public services and Labour increasing taxes. "Labour broke that election promise of no new taxes in pretty quick time. What we saw was a ramming through of a stealth capital gains tax, that was quickly followed by the infamous ute tax, and if that wasn't enough Grant Robertson has now cooked up another brand new tax - this time he wants to slap it on every single worker and every single business in New Zealand." He also lambasted the three water reforms, saying Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta would soon be out of a job. "She made up her decision on day one, she locked in on a model, she's gone through a sham consultation process with local government and despite saying it would be voluntary lo and behold it's now been compulsorily aquiring the assets. "Grant Robertson is worried, right, he's been studying those polls over summer ... he's gonna come in and he's gonna squash these reforms too. You mark my words." SOURCE: RNZ NEWS

The first shipment of the Novavax COVID vaccine arrived in Australia last night ahead of the rollout later this month. The shipment, containing about 3 million doses, landed in Sydney airport from Singapore. Another 48 million more are expected to arrive over the coming weeks to make up Australia's full order of 51 million doses. Novavax is the fourth COVID-19 vaccine approved for administration in Australia. Who is eligible to get Novavax? The Theraputic Goods Association (TGA) has cleared Novavax for anyone over the age of 18. It is available to be used as a first and second dose, but at this stage it is not possible to book in for a booster. MRNA vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna, and viral vector vaccines such as AstraZeneca, have been shown to be safe and effective at protecting people against COVID-19. However, TGA head John Skerritt acknowledged a very small section of the community had been hesitant about those vaccines in particular, and expressed a preference for the Novavax formula. The government says part of the reason it has made Novavax available is to offer more choice to those who cannot or do not wish to get existing coronavirus vaccines. "For some who may have had contraindications or reactions with regards to other vaccines, this will provide an additional opportunity for them, as well as those who for whatever reason have not taken up the program so far," Mr Hunt said. "But I do want to encourage everyone, unless there's a contraindication, please continue to come forward and take the existing vaccines." When can I make an appointment? The vaccine will be supplied to GPs, pharmacies and state hubs across the country, and will be available from February 21. However federal Health Minister Greg Hunt says they first have to undergo batch testing by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. "Subject to successful batch testing, the Novavax vaccine will be available to be administered," he said. The TGA has approved Novavax for use in a two-dose course, with the two jabs being administered 21 days apart. [caption id="attachment_18918" align="aligncenter" width="660"] The government plans to distribute Novavax by late February.(AP: Alastair Grant)[/caption] How does Novavax work? The Novavax vaccine works in a different way to other vaccines that protect against infection or severe symptoms of COVID-19. The more common mRNA vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna contain a genetic instruction telling your body how to make a spike protein like that on the SARS-CoV-2 virus, so that your immune system learns to recognise and fight it. Novavax, on the other hand, delivers the spike protein itself into your body, and your immune system then learns to fight the virus in the same way. Two separate worldwide trials found Novavax had a 90 per cent efficacy rate at preventing symptomatic infection with no major signals of adverse events. But those trials were conducted before the emergence of the Omicron variant. The company says it is conducting further studies on the efficacy of the vaccine against newer variants. What side-effects can I expect? One phase three trial on Novavax found its most commonly reported side effects were headaches, muscle pain and fatigue. In the study, side effects were more commonly reported after the second dose of the vaccine. SOURCE: ABC NEWS

What a great way to start off the 2022 Academic Year for the University of Papua New Guinea’s School of Natural and Physical Sciences, particularly, the Earth Sciences Division, to have the Chief Executive Officer and Director of K92 Mining Ltd, Mr. John Lewins, present the K92 Tertiary Scholarship in Geology on Thursday, 03 February, at the UPNG’s Waigani campus. The 2022 Recipient of the K92 Tertiary Scholarship in Geology, Ephraem Nick, who is a final year Earth Science student, was awarded the Trotsky Benjamin Medal, by Mr. Trotsky Benjamin, Superintendent Mine Geology, a senior staff and the longest standing member of K92 Mining Ltd. The presentation was witnessed by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Frank Griffin, the Executive Dean of the School of Natural and Physical Sciences, Prof. Simon Saulei, the Divisional Head of the Earth Sciences Division, Associate Prof. Joseph Espi, representatives from the Mineral Resources Authority and the PNG Chamber of Mines and Petroleum, and staff members and students. The Vice-Chancellor, in his remarks, explained that the Earth Sciences Division carries out hands-on programs to expose students to a wide range of environments from which they can learn practical skills of Geology in Earth Science, in the country, and by extension in the world as well. He added that the University as part of its 2022-2025 Strategic Plan, is promoting the implementation of partnerships and engagements. This Scholarship is a great start for the School of Natural and Physical Sciences, on which the University can build. Prof. Griffin thanked K92 Mining Ltd for seeing the value in the awardee’s achievements. He added that scholarships like this are not just sponsorships, but recognition of the students’ ability to be able to deliver, and also the value in the program that is provided at the Earth Sciences Division of the School of Natural and Physical Sciences. Executive Dean, Prof. Saulei described the presentation as a rare occasion for the School and the Division to have sponsors from external organisations, and expressed his gratitude to K92 Mining Ltd for the initiative. He hopes that the scholarship presentation is one of many to come in the future. The CEO and Director of K92 Mining Ltd, Mr. Lewins elaborated on the company’s focus which includes education, that they are happy to extend the scholarship initiative, and have plans to continue in the years to come. Divisional Head, Associate Prof. Espi, in his remarks said that this particular award is the foundation on which the Earth Sciences Division will work together with K92 Mining Ltd and the graduates to make sure they meet whatever standards are required of them in the industry, so that what is being taught here in the University is comparable to what they practise in the industry, and the world. This scholarship will set a benchmark for students to work hard and give them motivation to be a valuable member of the industry. Prof. Espi thanked the K92 Mining Management Team for their initiative and extended his thanks to the stakeholders, staff members, and students for their contribution to the industry.