PNG Haus Bung

https://pnghausbung.com/broncos-boss-wants-nrl-help-to-fend-off-poaching-vultures/

Published on May 4, 2021

BRONCOS BOSS WANTS NRL HELP TO FEND OFF POACHING 'VULTURES'

New Broncos boss Dave Donaghy wants the NRL to find a way to stop "vultures" from poaching players that clubs invest years into developing as they move to stave off the threat of Melbourne snatching their only Queensland representative, Xavier Coates. Donaghy is only three days into starting his long-awaited new role as CEO of the Broncos, he's having to deal with the threat of his former club Melbourne ramping up their a bid to sign the 20-year-old Maroons winger. Coates is edging ever closer to joining the likes of David Fifita, Sam Walker and Reece Walsh on the growing list of elite talent to leave Red Hill for greater opportunity and salary at rival clubs. If Coates leaves it could potentially leave the Broncos without a current Maroons star in their squad for the first time in their history. Even during the Super League war when players aligned with the rebel organisation were not selected, Brisbane still had veteran prop Gavin Allen in the Queensland squad. Donaghy said losing young Queensland talent to rival outfits after his club had invested years into their development was an issue the NRL needed to address. "We are investing a lot in development and nurturing Queensland players," Donaghy said. "My intent is to come in and work with the recruitment and retention team and I do have experience in that space. I’ve got a firm grasp on the salary cap and understanding it roster management wise. "But there are all sorts of challenges, they’re not excuses but challenges, in terms of regulation that governs the game. "There is no reward for development. There’s an ability for vultures to swoop in and throw ridiculous amounts of money and steal your best talent. "Is this something that needs to be on the agenda for the NRL? Yes it will be. "But certainly for me I want to ensure the program is sophisticated enough that we’re identifying those players at a young age and making sure those players stay." NRL head of football Graham Annesley said the idea to provide salary cap dispensation so clubs can keep more juniors "is always worthy of debate" but there are several complicating factors to consider. "Some of our clubs don’t have big junior areas, for example, so they have to rely on buying players," Annesley said on Monday. "And where do those players come from? They come from other clubs. There’s also restrictions about salary caps and how many players you can have in your squad. "You can’t keep them all, you can’t pay for them all. It’s always worthy of debate and there are always options that perhaps haven’t been considered in the past or different ways of structuring these things. "But ultimately, that’s not determined by the NRL football department. We would provide information to the [ARL] Commission, but that’s a policy decision and that’s a decision that would have to be dealt with by the Commission." Annesley added that as far as he was aware the Commission hasn’t discussed the issue in recent times. Donaghy believed the Broncos system was the best fit for Coates, a former Palm Beach Currumbin High School star, to develop his career and hoped he would remain in Brisbane under the new coaching program implemented by Kevin Walters. "He is a wonderful young man and he is a wonderful player," Donaghy said. "He is a great athlete and I think the program here can certainly make him a better athlete as well, he has a lot of upside which is really exciting. "He is from this part of Queensland and I think we can certainly provide him with the right tools and environment to be the best possible football player he can be." Donaghy oversaw Melbourne’s salary cap as the Storm underwent a generational transition from boasting three of the best players in the league – Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk – to now boasting a spine that remains the envy of the NRL in Ryan Papenhuyzen, Cameron Munster, Jahrome Hughes and Harry Grant. But the new Broncos boss doesn’t believe the recruitment and retention policy used in Melbourne would necessarily fix Brisbane’s situation. The Broncos have released at least half a dozen players in the past three seasons midway through their contracts to ease salary cap pressures. "I think it’s fraught with danger to think we can pick up a plan from somewhere else and put it in another organisation, it just doesn’t work," he said. "The Storm has their own way, the Broncos have their own way, Souths, Cowboys, everyone has their own style and own culture in their organisation. "We need to do things our way." Donaghy insisted Walters would receive the support and resources to make rebuild Brisbane, but repeatedly dodged the question of whether his initial two-year deal was enough security to get the job done or whether he needed more time to achieve his plan. "The priority with me is to work with Kevvie in the short term and long term," Donaghy said. "I know his aspiration is to be here for the long term. "I understand there are high expectations and we are probably in the development phase at the moment but certainly for us we’re putting pieces in place to establish long term success is what we’re working towards." SOURCE: NRL News

Published on May 4, 2021

https://pnghausbung.com/bill-and-melinda-gates-announce-end-of-27-year-marriage/

Published on May 4, 2021

BILL AND MELINDA GATES ANNOUNCE END OF 27-YEAR MARRIAGE

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife of 27 years Melinda Gates said in a statement on Monday that they intended to end their marriage. "After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage," the pair said in a statement. "We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life." The pair have run the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation together for more than 20 years and have three children together They said they intended to continue to work together on the foundation and still held a shared belief in the mission of helping people across the world. The foundation focuses on improving health outcomes and lifting people out of poverty. The pair have been incredibly philanthropic and have donated tens of billions of dollars to charity. In terms of their relationship, Bill and Melinda Gates said they no longer saw a path toward growing together. Bill Gates is one of the richest individuals in the world, with a net worth estimated at $130.5 billion according to Forbes. Picture from: ABC7 SOURCE: FOX News

Published on May 4, 2021

https://pnghausbung.com/vax-live-prince-harry-makes-vaccine-plea-at-concert-in-la/

Published on May 4, 2021

VAX LIVE: PRINCE HARRY MAKES VACCINE PLEA AT CONCERT IN LA

The Duke of Sussex has called for vaccines to be "distributed to everyone everywhere" at a star-studded charity concert in Los Angeles. Prince Harry appeared alongside dozens of celebrities at the Vax Live event, a charity performance in aid of the international Covid vaccination effort. Hosted by the singer Selena Gomez, the concert - to be aired on Saturday - featured performances from artists Jennifer Lopez and Foo Fighters. US President Joe Biden also spoke. Addressing thousands of fully vaccinated guests at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, Prince Harry praised the efforts of front line workers during the pandemic. "Tonight is a celebration of each of you here, the vaccinated frontline workers in the audience and the millions of frontline heroes around the world," he said. "You spent the last year battling courageously and selflessly to protect us all. You served and sacrificed, put yourselves in harm's way, and acted with bravery, knowing the costs. We owe you an incredible debt of gratitude. Thank you." It was the duke's first public appearance since the funeral of his grandfather, Prince Philip on 17 April. His wife the Duchess of Sussex, who is pregnant, stayed at home. The couple are campaign chairs of Vax Live, organised by anti-poverty group Global Citizen. US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden also appeared at the concert in a pre-recorded video. President Biden said he was "working with leaders around the world to share more vaccines and boost production". The singer Selena Gomez hosted the event, calling for "doses and dollars" to go to the world's poorest countries. Rock band Foo Fighters were joined by surprise guest Brian Johnson of AC/DC for a rendition of the Australian band's hit Back in Black. The scheme to share vaccines with other countries Covid vaccines: How fast is worldwide progress? Covid map: Where are cases the highest? And actress and singer Jennifer Lopez was joined on stage by her mother to sing Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline. Other celebrity guests, including Ben Affleck, David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel and Sean Penn, all called for equal access to vaccines around the world, or vaccine equity. Other video messages came from Pope Francis, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In his address Prince Harry called on people to come together and commit to their "shared humanity". "The vaccine must be distributed to everyone everywhere," the Duke said. "We cannot rest or truly recover until there is fair distribution to every corner of the world. The mission in front of us is one we cannot afford to fail at and that's what tonight is about." Prince Harry also voiced support for India, which is in the midst of a Covid crisis which has overwhelmed hospitals. "Tonight, we stand in solidarity with the millions of families across India, who are battling a devastating second wave," he said. "The virus does not respect borders, and access to the vaccine cannot be determined by geography." Vax Live is calling on governments to commit to vaccine equity by donating doses and resources. The event raised $53.8 million (£38.8 million) for Covax, which is working to to ensure vaccines are shared fairly among all nations, rich and poor. Organisers said it was enough to help purchase almost 10.3 million vaccine doses. More than one billion doses of coronavirus vaccines have now been administered worldwide. But there are vast differences in the pace of progress in different parts of the world, with some countries having delivered doses to a large proportion of their population and others still waiting for their first shipments to arrive. The concert will stream on YouTube, along with American television networks, on 8 May at midnight GMT. Last year, Global Citizen partnered with the World Health Organization to put on a virtual concert to celebrate healthcare workers.

Published on May 4, 2021

https://pnghausbung.com/cpng-reps-compete-in-great-barrier-reef-t20-bash-for-cash/

Published on May 4, 2021

CPNG REPS COMPETE IN GREAT BARRIER REEF T20 BASH FOR CASH

Cricket PNG had four representatives playing in the Great Barrier Reef T20 Bash for Cash in Mackay, Queensland over the weekend. The tournament played at the newly renovated Harrup Park complex attracted 20 teams with CPNG players integrated into one of the sides, Flint Tropics. CPNG had originally entered Australian based players Chad Soper, Jack Gardner, Joe Slater and assistant coach Nathan Reardon in the event, however Slater unfortunately had to withdraw through illness. With the team now one bowler short CPNG National Coach Carl Sandri was drafted into the team. The Flint team competed well over the rain effected tournament with most games reduced to a T8 format to enable completion of the busy schedule. They finished the round robin rounds with two wins and two loses, one of the last ball, to narrowly miss a place in the semi-finals. Chad Soper had a solid tournament, but it was young fast bowler Jack Gardner that impressed, particularly in game three where bowling the final over he took three wickets to win the game finishing with 3/15 off his two allotted overs. Coach Sandri was a handy late inclusion finishing the series with 7/ 47 from his six overs through three games and Nathan Reardon led the batting with 99 runs at a healthy strike rate 275. He shouldered all the pressure but unfortunately missed out in the last game, out first ball, to eventual tournament winners Pioneer Valley. Speaking after the tournament Sandri reflected on the weekends events” Cricket has been scarce for the Barras, so it was an opportunity to see some of the boys play. It’s a shame Joe Slater couldn’t make the trip, but were some pleasing signs from the other two, young Jack bowled well! It was also a good opportunity for myself and Reardo (Nathan Reardon) to sit down together and discuss our plans for CPNG, particularly around the Barras World Cup preparations”. “We are working towards getting the squad into Australia to be able to best prepare for the T20 World Cup and playing competitive cricket. This fantastic facility here in Mackay may be an option as a base so it has been a valuable weekend and nice for us old blokes (coaches) to have an opportunity to play along side the boys, which gives a slightly different perspective”. Sandri and will continue coaching remotely while awaiting entry into PNG and now has both the Barras and the Lewas squads working towards a return to the field in Port Moresby with the upcoming Isuzu National One Day Cup later this month.

Published on May 4, 2021

https://pnghausbung.com/soldiers-to-be-deployed-to-milne-bay/

Published on May 4, 2021

SOLDIERS TO BE DEPLOYED TO MILNE BAY

The Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) will deploy soldiers to assist the police units deployed to Milne Bay province after the Police Commissioner, David Manning, declared war on criminal elements in the province that recently attacked police and citizens in the capital, Alotau. The defence force Chief of Staff, Navy Captain Philip Polewara, confirmed this on behalf of the Commander of Defence Force, Major General Gilbert Toropo. He says the police commissioner requested for assistance and the defence team is now working with police to see what sort of assistance they can give. “The Chief of Force Preparations is working with ACP police operations. We will see what sort of task to be done and that task will determine the number of personnel we will deploy,” said the Chief of Staff. “Considering that Milne Bay is not mainly a main land area. It has outer islands and part of it is connected to Central and connected to Oro and then you have the mountain range. These are the things that will determine what type of force and strength we will deploy.” The Chief of Staff further added that the documentations or instruments for the defence force deployment, is being worked on by the police hierarchy before anything is put out. Therefore, the callout could be delayed a bit given that the necessary paperwork is done and in order before the army goes out to assist police in the operation in Milne Bay province.

Published on May 4, 2021

https://pnghausbung.com/nec-appoints-dr-daoni-as-the-new-deputy-controller/

Published on May 4, 2021

NEC APPOINTS DR. DAONI AS THE NEW DEPUTY CONTROLLER

The country has a new deputy Controller of the National Pandemic Response and he is Dr Daoni Panuel Esorom The National Executive Council on the 19th April appointed Dr. Daoni to the position. The vacancy in the position existed following the passing away of late Dr. Paison Dakulala who was then the Deputy Controller. Dr. Daoni’s appointment is timely as he is duty bound to support Controller David Manning in his efforts to contain the rise in the COVID-19 cases. Until his recent appointment, Dr. Daoni was the PNG National COVID-19 Incident Manager at the National Coordination Centre and Executive Manager - Public Health Division in the National Health Department. Dr Daoni brings with him a wealth of experience with 23 years in medical, public health, Emergency Medicine, Business and Management with extensive experiences in both project and program management both in the Public and Private sectors. He holds a Masters in Business Administration, Masters in Public Health, Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, post graduate diploma in Anesthesia and post graduate diploma in the leadership and management of STI/HIV/AIDS among other credentials and affiliates to professionals groupings and bodies. Following his appointment, Dr. Daoni thanked Prime Minister James Marape and NEC, Health Minister Jelta Wong and the Controller of the National Pandemic Response David Manning for having confidence in him. With this elevation to the new position, Dr Daoni is very well aware of the challenges and the new look responsibilities in the ongoing work to contain the COVID-19. “The challenge for us now is to identify efficient, experienced and skilled manpower under the new structure recently approved by the Controller who can come in to help us with the ongoing work to contain COVID-19,” said Dr. Daoni. In his response to the country’s approach in the battle against COVID-19, Dr. Daoni said “ At the moment we should be winning the war against the virus but our attention is divided because we are fighting unnecessary battles that is impeding the war against COVID-19. We have a lot of people who are spreading myths and misinformation about COVID-19 which is part of the battle that is taking away our attention. We all should be focused on battling to contain COVID-19,” said Dr. Daoni. “Our health system is classified as fragile and we need to make sure we use the response in the COVID-19 to strengthen our health system and all the systems of government from the national level to the provincial, districts and communities,” said the Deputy Controller. Dr. Daoni is optimistic that with the support of the citizens in complying to measures under Niupla Pasin or New Normal, PNG will eventually contain the virus. He called on citizens not to lose focus but continue to comply to measures in the New Normal or Niupla Pasin. “The critical message here is that we’ve got a policy, Niupla Pasin or New Normal which is nothing new than all the public health interventions that are proven to be effective. So, if we adhere to wearing masks, hand sanitizing, physical distancing and use COVID-19 response to educate our people, we can contain this virus,” At the same time we need to focus on the provincial and community responses, said Dr. Daoni. Picture From: asiapacificreport.nz

Published on May 4, 2021