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RACIST ABUSE DIRECTED AT ENGLAND PLAYERS AFTER EURO 2020 FINAL DEFEAT IS DESCRIBED AS 'UNFORGIVABLE' BY MANAGER GARETH SOUTHGATE

The online racial abuse of some England players following Sunday's Euro 2020 final defeat by Italy has been described by the team's manager Gareth Southgate as "unforgivable" and "just not what we stand for." Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka were targeted on social media after they missed penalties in the 3-2 shootout defeat at Wembley Stadium. "For some of them to be abused is unforgivable," said Southgate, who was speaking at a virtual press conference on Monday. "Some of it has come from abroad, we have been told this, but some of it is from this country. "We have been a beacon of light to bring people together and the national team stands for everybody. We felt the energy and positivity from the fans and I'm incredibly proud of that," Southgate added. Before and during the Euro 2020 tournament, the England players have knelt before each of their matches in a display of unity in the fight against racism and inequality. That was an act that caused anger among sections of the England fanbase, with some supporters choosing to boo as the players knelt. London's Metropolitan Police said it was investigating the "unacceptable" social media comments on both Instagram and Twitter, while UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also condemned the racist abuse. England's Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford get ready to come onto the pitch during the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy. "This England team deserve to be lauded as heroes, not racially abused on social media," Johnson said on Twitter. "Those responsible for this appalling abuse should be ashamed of themselves." In recent weeks, Johnson -- along with other lawmakers in his government such as Home Secretary Priti Patel -- have been specifically asked to condemn the England fans who have booed players taking the knee before kick-off but failed to do so. Gary Neville, former England international, criticized Johnson for not condemning those who booed the players in their battle for equality when he had the chance. "Gareth Southgate and the players a few weeks ago, about five days on the trot told us that they were taking the knee to promote equality and it was against racism," Neville told Sky News. "The Prime Minister said it was ok for the population of this country to boo those players who are trying to promote equality and defend against racism. "It starts at the very top." "The fact of the matter is, there is an issue obviously in football, there is an issue in society where we feel it's acceptable basically to criticize players for sporting actions because of the color of their skin," added Neville. Ahead of Euro 2020, Southgate penned an open letter to the country, outlining why he thought it was important for players to continue using their voice for good. "This is a special group. Humble, proud and liberated in being their true selves," wrote Southgate in the Players Tribune. Prince William said he was "sickened" by the discriminatory abuse while the Football Association in England said in a statement it was "appalled." The English national team's Twitter account tweeted its support for the players on Monday. "We're disgusted that some of our squad -- who have given everything for the shirt this summer -- have been subjected to discriminatory abuse online after tonight's game. We stand with our players." [caption id="attachment_11797" align="alignnone" width="1065"] England players comfort teammate Saka after he missed a penalty during a penalty shootout after extra time against Italy.[/caption] 'Social media companies must take immediate action' Football players receiving abuse on social media is commonplace. Savills, a real estate service provider in the UK, tweeted on Monday that it is "committed to eliminating discrimination and encouraging diversity amongst our workforce" after one of its employees appeared to be one of those abusing the England players on Twitter. "A full investigation will be carried out in regards to this unacceptable incident," it said. "Savills abhors and has zero tolerance to any form of racism and racial discrimination and is appalled by the racist comments in these tweets. Savills is immediately investigating and will take appropriate action." Rashford has continuously highlighted the racist abuse he's been the target of over the last few years. In the hours after England's defeat by Italy, a mural honoring Rashford was vandalized with graffiti in Manchester, United Kingdom. The artwork commemorated the Manchester United player's work to tackle child food poverty. It features the quote: "Take pride in knowing that your struggle will play the biggest role in your purpose." After the mural was defaced in the early hours, part of it has been temporarily covered with bin bags. The Coffee House Cafe, where the mural is painted, shared images on Facebook of locals coming out to support Rashford. Supporters have shared messages such as "hero" on the wall and an image of a card next to it says: "Dear Marcus, please know that you are so admired and people find you an inspiration". Greater Manchester Police said in a statement it is investigating the vandalism. The online abuse has led to calls for social media companies to do more to police their platforms. Earlier this year, former Arsenal forward Thierry Henry deleted his social media accounts following a spate of online racist abuse aimed at Black footballers and what he said was the inability of social media companies to hold users accountable for their actions. A few weeks after Henry had closed his accounts, English football clubs and governing bodies took part in a three-day social media blackout to protest against abuse. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, called the racist abuse "abhorrent," and called on social media companies to take immediate action to "prevent this hate." "Racist abuse of any kind is abhorrent and will not be tolerated on or off the pitch," tweeted Khan. "MetPoliceUK (The Metropolitan Police) will investigate the appalling online abuse aimed at England players. Social media companies must take immediate action to remove and prevent this hate." The chair for the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Julian Knight echoed Khan's sentiment. "Social media companies once alerted to this abuse have an acute responsibility to immediately take it down," Knight said. "The Government needs to get on with legislating the tech giants. Enough of the foot dragging, all those who suffer at the hand of racists, not just England players, deserve better protections now." Facebook, which owns Instagram, said in a statement sent to CNN that it was "committed to keeping our community safe from abuse." "No one should have to experience racist abuse anywhere, and we don't want it on Instagram," a Facebook Company spokesperson said. "We quickly removed comments and accounts directing abuse at England's footballers last night and we'll continue to take action against those that break our rules. In addition to our work to remove this content, we encourage all players to turn on Hidden Words, a tool which means no one has to see abuse in their comments or DMs. No one thing will fix this challenge overnight, but we're committed to keeping our community safe from abuse." [caption id="attachment_11798" align="aligncenter" width="996"] Italy's goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saves Sancho's penalty during the penalty shoot out during the Euro 2020 final.[/caption] In a statement sent to CNN, Twitter said it removed over 1000 tweets in the past 24 hours for "violating our rules." Visit CNN.com/sport for more news, features, and videos "The abhorrent racist abuse directed at England players last night has absolutely no place on Twitter," a Twitter spokesperson said. "In the past 24 hours, through a combination of machine learning based automation and human review, we have swiftly removed over 1000 Tweets and permanently suspended a number of accounts for violating our rules -- the vast majority of which we detected ourselves proactively using technology. We will continue to take action when we identify any Tweets or accounts that violate our policies. "We have proactively engaged and continue to collaborate with our partners across the football community to identify ways to tackle this issue collectively and will continue to play our part in curbing this unacceptable behaviour -- both online and offline." SOURCE: CNN

Published on July 13, 2021

https://pnghausbung.com/resumption-of-link-png-flights-to-wapenamanda/

Published on July 12, 2021

RESUMPTION OF LINK PNG FLIGHTS TO WAPENAMANDA

Link PNG, a subsidiary of Air Niugini wishes to advise the general public that the airline will resume flights to Wapenamanda, Enga Province, commencing on Sunday 18th July, 2021. Link PNG suspended services to Wapenamanda in September 2019 to allow for major upgrade works to the runway by National Airports Corporation (NAC). These runway upgrade works have now been completed and Link PNG is pleased to be able to restore services to Wapenamanda and the surrounding communities once again. Link PNG will be operating three weekly direct flights between Port Moresby and Wapenamanda, every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, using Dash-8 aircraft. Tickets can be purchased via any PX Sales office, Travel Agents or online channels. Link PNG continues to operate with strict health and safety measures in place including temperature testing of all passengers and providing face masks and hand sanitiser to ensure your air travel is safe.

Published on July 12, 2021

https://pnghausbung.com/parliamentary-committee-chair-abel-wants-urgent-action-to-address-sorcery-accusation-related-violence/

Published on July 12, 2021

PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE CHAIR ABEL WANTS URGENT ACTION TO ADDRESS SORCERY ACCUSATION RELATED VIOLENCE

The Special Parliamentary Committee on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) has been active this year in drawing attention to the increasing levels of GBV across the country and continue to call for more action from the Government. One of the most pressing issues that has been brought to the attention of the Committee in recent months is the worrying rise in sorcery accusation related violence (SARV), which is resulting in vicious, brutal violence and killings of innocent people, not only in outlying villages but also now in bigger towns and cities. At the parliamentary hearings held by the GBV Committee in May this year, the Committee heard troubling stories about SARV cases from a number of representatives from organisations who work on the issue. Ruth Kissam, of the Tribal Foundation, stated: “Any woman who is accused of sorcery are now having their children at risk of the same violence. Cases must be prosecuted to send a message that they cannot be targeted.” Ms Kissam’s colleague Gary Bustin also confirmed, “What is happening to women and children in sorcery related violence is beyond what one animal would savagely do to another. We need to go after the “glass men”, the witch doctors who are playing on local fears to make money.” Committee Chairman Charles Abel has raised strong concerns that more needs to be done to address these issues. He stated: “I am extremely concerned that SARV cases are increasing around the country and no action is ever seen to be taken against the perpetrators. Whole villages seem to be involved – with violence and killings occurring in broad daylight – yet we see no arrests and no-one being held accountable. The police must do more to investigate and make sure that people are protected from these absolutely untrue allegations. There is simply no place for such random, senseless violence in our society.” In June 2021, the Divine Word University, National Research Institute and Australian National University held a conference on SARV issues. Subsequently, the NRI has released a report on SARV in PNG titled “The Role of Glasman/Glasmeri as Catalysts of Accusation and Violence” which has highlighted the troubling roles that that glassmen/glassmeri are playing in SARV cases. The NRI research found that the involvement of a glasman/glasmeri in an accusation of sorcery significantly increases the likelihood of a violent response. The research indicated that many glasman/glasmeri operate in ways that generate financial advantages for themselves, though some no doubt genuinely believing they wield supernatural powers. The research found that even under current laws it is possible to charge glasman/glasmeri as accessories in cases of SARV that amount to criminal ofences, if it can be proved that they aided and abetted or incited the crime. It is also possible that when Village Courts and other courts hear about sorcery allegations, they can issue specific preventative orders to stop glasman/glasmeri from making statements. Additional research as found that while the public believes there is impunity for SARV perpetrators, in fact, there was an average of five convictions each year from 2000-2010, but that number leapt to an average of 19 per year from 2010-2020, making the average across the two decades 12 convictions per year. Committee Chairman Abel has commended the report as a must-read for all Ministers, and all MPs, who need to come together to take action to address this problem. He stated: “I want to work with experts in our country to use our powers, as a Committee but also as MPs who have powers to enact and amend laws, to make sure that the laws of PNG are sufficient to outlaw and criminalise these barbaric practices. We must act now to make sure we protect our people and that the police and courts have the power to take action to stop SARV cases. Hon Abel noted: “I will make sure that the issue of SARV is addressed in the Committee Report that we will be producing this month and which we aim to table in Parliament in August. We are all committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of our people – outlawing SARV is surely a top priority in that regard and I will do everything in my power to address this.” The Committee was set up in 2020 by the National Parliament and is chaired by Hon Charles Abel, Member for Alotau, is seven members in total – including Deputy Chairman, Hon Allan Bird (Governor East Sepik), Hon Powes Parkop (Governor NCD), Hon Michael Dua (Governor Chimbu), Hon Aiye Tambua (Goroka MP), Hon Ginson Saonu (Governor Morobe) and Hon Allan Marat (Rabaul MP). The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is providing technical support to the Special Parliamentary Committee on GBV as part of its gender programming and the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative. This support aims to address GBV and support longer-term efforts to promote women’s participation and leadership in the Parliament. Picture by: ABC

Published on July 12, 2021

https://pnghausbung.com/solemn-appeal-by-united-nations-to-observe-olympic-truce-during-tokyo-2020/

Published on July 12, 2021

SOLEMN APPEAL BY UNITED NATIONS TO OBSERVE OLYMPIC TRUCE DURING TOKYO 2020

“The Olympic Movement aspires to contribute to a peaceful future for all humankind through the educational value of sport, in particular youth,” said Bozkir in the appeal. “The Games will bring together athletes from all parts of the world in the greatest of international sports events as a means to promote peace, mutual understanding and goodwill among nations and peoples — goals that are also part of the founding values of the United Nations. For the second time, the IOC Refugee Olympic Team will participate under the Olympic flag in the Olympic Games in Tokyo, acting as a powerful symbol of inclusion and our shared humanity.” “The Olympic Games are the only event today that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “This is why we are so grateful to the UN Member States for their support of the Olympic Truce resolution. With this resolution, they are supporting the values and principles that unite us. In this Olympic spirit of universality, solidarity and peace, I invite you all to join hands and to celebrate our unity in all our diversity at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and beyond. Let us demonstrate together that our shared humanity is stronger than all the forces that want to divide us.” Entitled “Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic Ideal”, the resolution was passed unanimously at the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly and was co-sponsored by 186 out of 193 UN Member States, demonstrating the recognition by the UN’s international community of the power of sport and the relevance of the Olympic Games to bring the world together in peaceful competition, providing hope for a better future. The Olympic Truce – a tradition for more than 3,000 years The tradition of the Olympic Truce – “Ekecheira” – has been to ensure a halt of all hostilities, allowing the safe passage and participation of athletes and spectators taking part in the Olympic Games. The resolution reaffirms that the Olympic values of peace, solidarity and respect are as important across the world today as they were over 3,000 years ago, when the ancient Olympic Games first took place in Greece. The main objectives pursued by the IOC through the Olympic Truce are to mobilise young people for the promotion of the Olympic ideal; to use sport to help build bridges between communities in conflict; and, more generally, to create a window of opportunity for dialogue and reconciliation.

Published on July 12, 2021

https://pnghausbung.com/png-red-cross-to-benefit-from-coca-cola-foundation-ppe-donation/

Published on July 12, 2021

https://pnghausbung.com/pascoe-pushing-sme-sector-support-programs/

Published on July 12, 2021

PASCOE PUSHING SME SECTOR SUPPORT PROGRAMS

CAPACITY building programs are an integral part of the Pascoe Promotions SME strengthening platform, covering numerous niche markets and aspects of business. This week’s POM City Markets will introduce a new workshop-style event featuring industry experts and trailblazers to share their experience and advice with up and coming SME’s. Mentor Moments will feature its first guru Chef Alice Futter on Saturday July 17 from 12.30pm to 3pm at the National Museum and Art Gallery, who has worked around the world for the past 25 years as a chef and barista and recently as an entrepreneur here in Papua New Guinea as owner of Fab Catering. She is currently a food and beverage consultant to various establishments. Alice says as an observer she can see a lot of improvement for local catering SME’s and hopes to share with them essential advice regarding consistency, hygiene standards and pricing to ensure that they are turning a worthwhile profit. “Another thing I want to talk about is finding your niche; something that you are good at and sticking to that. Everyone seems to be doing the same thing”, she said. Following the Foodie’s session Sylvia says experts from other industries which are common within the SME community will follow such as textiles, photography and art and craft. Also launching this month, certified businesses that register on the Pascoe Promotions website and are vendors at the POM City Markets and sister events are also able to access member privileges such as the awarding of a free stall for upholding good business practice and standards. Additionally, as part of the push to grow the SME community, a start-up promotion will also run each month where new businesses are encouraged to apply to win a free market stall. Pascoe Promotions Director Sylvia Pascoe says this promotion is to give new SME’s a running start but also dedicated time with the SME Elevate Series consultants offering free business advice at each Market event. “POM City Markets is the most highly attended monthly market and the original platform that created the SME revolution sweeping the nation. The growth and evolution of crafts, quality products and diversity in creation absolutely boomed with our events and I’m proud to say they truly play a major role in many community’s lives, where the air of possibility and opportunity continues to flourish and inspire new business hopefuls to find their start”, Sylvia said. In addition to the free stall, Pascoe’s media team will create a promotional video for the winning SME and the owner will get to have a one-on-one mentor moment with Sylvia over coffee.

Published on July 12, 2021

AIRSIDE WORK FOR NEW KIUNGA AIRPORT TERMINAL IN NORTH FLY DISTRICT OF WESTERN PROVINCE PROGRESSING WELL.

A new terminal project worth over K3 million which is jointly funded by the District Development Authority (DDA) and PNG Sustainable Development Program (PNGSDP) will now allow for smooth operations of flights in and out of Western Province and also give a facelift to airline services provided to the travelling public. Member for North Fly James Donald says not much changes have taken place in the past years for the benefit of the people in Western Province, however, with the support of key stakeholders, change is now evident for a better future for all. [caption id="attachment_11763" align="aligncenter" width="914"] North Fly MP James Donald presenting a cheque of K1.5 million to AGL builders rep David Mackenzie during the ground breaking ceremony in Kiunga airport on Friday[/caption] Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony held in Kiunga on Friday, he said the new terminal will boost economic activities and safe airlines services not only in Western Province but PNG as a whole. The new airport facility includes parameter fencing, upgrade of the runway, carpark zones and an airport terminal amongst others. Present to witness the groundbreaking ceremony were OTML manager for Kiunga operations Dexter Wagambie, CEO of PNGSDP John Wylie, NAC rep Mark Salin, AGL Builders rep David Mackenzie and Mr Rupert Tabua, Deputy Provincial Administrator for Western Province. This new airport terminal building is in-line with the Civil Aviation Development Infrastructure Program (CADIP) aimed at rebuilding rundown facilities in Kiunga airport. Mr Donald says the North Fly DDA allocated K1.5 million while PNGSDP allocated over K2 million with Fly River Provincial Government including Ok Tedi Mining Limited giving further assurance of their commitment to support the terminal project. He says it is a dream come true for many business houses, stakeholders and residents in the province, most especially the people from the native tribes of Awin and Yongom in Kiunga who will after more than sixty years see a brand new terminal in the province.

Published on July 12, 2021

https://pnghausbung.com/ambassador-mckee-presents-genexpert-cartridges-to-png-government-to-enhance-covid-testing-3/

Published on July 12, 2021

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