PNG Haus Bung

The Capital Rugby Union (CRU) President announced this week that the CRU Club Presidents met on Thursday 7 January 2021 at Rugby Haus and resolved to accept the Expression of Interest from MBB Marlins Rugby Club to join CRU from the 2021 Season. CRU is pleased to announce that MBB Marlins will be the ninth Club to join the CRU Family after meeting the required criteria as a Club. MBB Marlins Patron Mr Rawali Bokuik said the Club was looking to offer their players the maximum benefit by joining CRU who have a wealth of experience in the development of rugby union players. Our players asked the Club to join CRU and we decided to submit our Expression of Interest. We are grateful for the opportunity and look forward to being part of the CRU Competition. The CRU competition has approved the Club to play in all five Divisions from the Premiers to the Under 19 Division. CRU Clubs have commenced planning for Season 2021 with the draw expected to be released later this week. CRU President Kori Chan said that the admission of MBB Marlins is part of the ongoing development of rugby union in the National Capital. A major announcement regarding rugby union is expected before thecommencement of the 2021 CRU Season.

Papua New Guinea reported ten new cases of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the last 24 hours increasing the country’s total cases to 833. A total of nine cases were reported in West New Britain whilst New Ireland province reported one positive case. In Talasea district in West New Britain, five female and four male, ages ranging between 19 to 53 have been tested positive. All nine cases did not show symptoms of COVID-19 but swab samples returned positive. In New Ireland province, a 51 year old male who lives in Lihir, Namatanai district is the latest to be confirmed positive. The 51 year old was not showing symptoms of COVID-19 at the time of testing but results from swab samples returned positive. The country’s COVID-19 cases as a result now stands at 833 with 9 known deaths. Sixteen provinces including the Autonomous Region Of Bougainville have reported cases. The distribution of the cases is as follows: Provinces Cases NCD 365 Western Province 212 West New Britain 156 East New Britain 30 New Ireland 18 Eastern H/lands 13 Western H/lands 10 Central 10 Morobe 6 East Sepik 3 Enga 3 Milne Bay 2 West Sepik 2 Southern H/lands 1 AROB 1 Hela Province 1 TOTAL 833 Globally, the total confirmed cases of COVID-19 has reached 89,707,115 including 566,186 new cases reported in the last 24 hours. The death toll is 1,940,352; of which 9, 371 were reported in the last 24 hours.

This news just in! 10 new COVID-19 cases just reported which brings PNG total to 833. 9 of those cases just confirmed are in WNB & 1 more for New Ireland. Keep practicing your COVID-19 safety protocols, listen to the news on this station or follow our news website pnghausbung.com for more on this story.

Emmanuel Tipi and Salam Lavaki are the faces behind the social media famous ‘KabbageGang Entertainment’ which have taken Papua New Guinea comedy to a whole new level. Everywhere on Social Media, especially Facebook and YouTube, you will not miss scrolling across any one of their videos shared by fans. Emmanuel hails from Enga and Salam from Gulf, and the duo came up with the name ‘KabbageGang’ because they thought the name was humorous and that no one would react to what they did seriously. But without it being intentional, KabbageGang Entertainment has grown to be one of the funniest entertainment household comedy names on Social Media. “We were bored at home during the COVID19 lock down so we started recording funny videos randomly to make my kids laugh, and before we knew it, that was the start of KabbageGang Entertainment”, said Emmanuel. There were no expensive gadgets or high tech recording devices used for the recordings, the duo used the smartphones that they had to capture and edit the videos. “If you have a smartphone, you have an asset." KabbageGang said that although they have their fair share of criticism to contend with,  they still have a lot of fans to entertain and the videos that they upload are to keep their fans entertained. “We must be ready to accept criticism and negative comments because that is life and people will always have something negative to say about what you are doing. But at the end of the day it is how we react or respond to it, grow, change or just ignore it." He further added that another challenge they are currently facing is the fact that a lot of Papua New Guineans do not have a YouTube account and using YouTube to upload their videos is more suitable for a bigger audiences and viewers rather than that only outside of Facebook. KabbageGang Entertainment plans on creating a brand under KabbageGang here in Papua New Guinea and also to create more Educational videos that will change the mindset of the people. KabbageGang Entertainment also hopes that the Government in future can somehow create an organization or a business opportunity that will support and grow the entertainment industry by promoting their type of comedy.

Papua New Guinea reported four new cases of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the last 24 hours increasing the country’s total cases to 823. Two cases were reported in West New Britain and a case each reported in New Ireland Province and the National Capital District respectively.   In West New Britain, a 35 year old female and a 12 year old male were both reported positive. Both cases did not show symptoms of COVID-19 but swab samples returned positive. In the National Capital District, a 63 year old male who lives in North-east electorate is the latest to be confirmed positive. In New Ireland province, a 53 year old male who lives in Lihir, Namatanai is the latest to be confirmed positive. He was identified though contact tracing. The country’s COVID-19 cases as a result now stands at 823 with 9 known deaths. Sixteen provinces including the Autonomous Region Of Bougainville have reported cases. The distribution of the cases is as follows: Provinces Cases NCD 365 Western Province 212 West New Britain 147 East New Britain 30 New Ireland 17 Eastern H/lands 13 Western H/lands 10 Central 10 Morobe 6 East Sepik 3 Enga 3 Milne Bay 2 West Sepik 2 Southern H/lands 1 AROB 1 Hela Province 1 TOTAL 823 Globally, the total confirmed cases of COVID-19 has reached 89,048,435 including 664,574 new cases reported in the last 24 hours. The death toll is 1,930,265; of which 11,139 were reported in the last 24 hours

Lae based Pharmaceutical company Chemcare have provided a donation of first aid supplies worth over K1,000 to Athletics PNG for its training programme in Kerowagi, Simbu Province. It is the second time Chemcare have come to the assistance of APNG in recent times, having also donated supplies for the training camp at NSI in Goroka leading up to the 2019 Pacific Games. President Tony Green was on hand to collect the supplies from Sales Representative Martha Nakaio which were later taken up to Kerowagi. On behalf of the athletes, Green thanked Chemcare’s Operations Manager Angus King for the generous donation.

Vehicle owners will have to fork out a bit more from their pockets to purchase fuel following an increase in retail prices for petrol, kerosene and diesel across the country. The Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (“ICCC”) hereby announced the new retail fuel prices for this month, which took effect on Friday, 8th January, 2021.                     "For this month, the Indicative Retail Prices (IRP) for petrol, diesel and kerosene will all increase on average, throughout PNG", said ICCC Commissioner Paulus Ain. These increases in the retail prices for petrol, diesel and kerosene have mainly been attributed to the increase in crude oil prices during the month of December, 2020.   The average oil price increase was mainly due to the easing of lockdowns following the second wave of Covid-19 which led to increased oil demand from Asia. Furthermore, the price increase is also reflective of the increases in the domestic wholesale and retail margins for fuel products in 2021. The domestic retail fuel prices for this month are inclusive of the Import Parity Prices (IPP), domestic sea and road freight rates for the first quarter of 2021, the annual wholesale and retail margins for 2021, excise duty, and Goods and Services Tax (GST). According to the ICCC’s calculations, retail fuel prices for petrol, diesel and kerosene will all increase right across the country. Vehicles fetching fuel at a Puma Service Station in Port Moresby. PORT MORESBY As a result of adding all the various cost components mentioned above, the maximum retail prices for fuel in Port Moresby are as follows: Port Moresby Retail Prices (toea per litre) Petrol (tpl)Diesel (tpl)Kerosene (tpl)Retail Prices as of 8th January, 2021299.27259.94230.25Retail Prices as of 8th December, 2020283.19242.82210.88Price Variance (+/-) toea per litre16.0817.1219.37 Retail prices in all other designated centers will change according to their approved in-country freight rates and their respective retail margins for 2021. ALL CENTRES For all centers, the maximum retail fuel prices for each petroleum product in the country will change on average as follows: Petrol prices will increase by 16.07 toea per litre;Diesel prices will increase by 16.36 toea per litre; andKerosene prices will increase by 18.62 toea per litre. As part of the ICCC’s enforcement and compliance of fuel prices, its Investigation Officers will conduct inspections at all service stations to ensure prices of petroleum products do not exceed the allowable maximum prices. The following ICCC officers will conduct compliance inspections in Lae, Mt Hagen, Kokopo and Port Moresby. Inspections in other provinces will be supported by our contacts in those provinces. Please note: Mr. Christopher Gabesoa, Mr. Seri Tau Vali, Mr. Dennis Jerry and Mr. Bill Boiu will conduct compliance inspections to all service stations in the National Capital District. They can be reached on telephone number 325 2144;Ms. Pamela Ipambonj, Mr. Allen Monyomb and Mr. Timothy Ponau will conduct compliance inspections in Lae. They can be reached on telephone number 472 2859;Mr. Bobby Tei, Mr. Roman Rosting and Mrs. Dorcas Baining Julai will conduct compliance inspections in Kokopo, Rabaul, Kerevat, Warangoi and Toma. They can be reached on telephone number 982 9711; andMr. Kevin Kondo and Mr. Jeffery Khar will conduct compliance inspections in Goroka, Kainantu, Kundiawa and Mt. Hagen. They can be reached on, following mobile numbers 7369 8251/ 7232 4861. The prices set by the ICCC are the indicative maximum retail prices, for which retailers may choose to sell below the ICCC approved maximum price. The ICCC would like to remind retailers who sell fuel-using pumps to set fuel prices to one decimal place while the ICCC will continue to set the maximum price to 2 decimal places. No fuel pump operator should charge above the Indicative Retail Price for this month’s price regardless of the number of decimal places. This is to ensure compliance with the Prices Regulation Act under which the maximum prices of refined petroleum products are set. Retailers who are displaying prices to 1 decimal place are urged by the ICCC to round the prices down to ensure prices are within the allowable indicative retail prices. ICCC Inspectors will continue to conduct spot checks after 8th January, 2021, to ensure on-going compliance by retail fuel operators. Consumers are advised to report any instances of overcharging by retailers through the ICCC’s Consumer Protection Division on 325 2144, on toll free number: 180 3333 or by contacting our Regional Offices closest to you on the numbers provided above.

Two minors are currently on observation for head injuries while one passenger was pronounced dead on arrival at the Port Moresby General Hospital Accidents and Emergency Department following last Friday's tragic motor vehicle accident along the Waigani Boulevard in the National Capital District. The Independence Boulevard, Waigani The casualties were among a total of 10 victims brought in to the Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) for medical attention after Friday's nasty accident involving a 10 seater and a 25 seater PMV bus. PMGH CEO Dr Paki Molumi confirmed these numbers, adding that the one adult who had suffered head injuries has been intubated and is in critical condition. Dr Molumi added that of the further 6 casualties, 1 is in shock following a pelvic injury while another who had suffered arterial bleeding from facial injuries sustained has been operated on by ENT specialists. The further 4 are recovering with multiple soft tissue and limb injuries. Port Moresby General Hospital

Passengers travelling to The Australian Government has announced changes to the requirements for travel to Australia. All passengers travelling to Australia will at some point be required to provide evidence of a negative PCR test at time of check-in. At present that is still not yet a requirement for this PCR test for flights to Australia, but the Australian Government will advise when this will come into effect, and Air Niugini will provide this information as soon as we are notified.   These PCR tests can be completed in Port Moresby at PIH and St John for a fee with results provided quickly. It is probable there are also other service providers in PNG also able to do these PCR tests for passengers to Australia as well.  Other types of test such as the rapid (or Gen-X test) are not acceptable. The Australian Government has also mandated that all passengers must wear a mask on all flights to Australia.  Failure to comply comes with significant penalties. Air Niugini will continue to operate the five flights per week to Brisbane and the Monday flight to Cairns.   However these new restrictions also include very significant reductions in the number of passengers allowed to be uplifted to Australia. Consequently based on the number of passengers already booked, Air Niugini has had to close all the Port Moresby to Brisbane and Cairns flights for any additional sales from 15th January out to 15th February. 

The Sport of Athletics is mourning the loss of Elanga Buala who passed away suddenly at her home in Lae today. Along with Iammo Launa and Barbara Ingiro - Sapea, Buala was , in 1984 one of the first women to represent PNG at the Olympic Games From a beginning in Volleyball, Elanga made the transition to Athletics in 1981 when she won the Open Women’s 100m title at the National Championships in Mt Hagen Overall she won seven national titles  -  100m (1981 & 1982), 200m (1982 & 1983) and the 400m (1982, 1983 & 1984), and won a total of 13 National Championship medals in her career at the top. Elanga competed at the inaugural Mini South Pacific Games in Honiara in 1981, the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane in 1982; the Pacific Games and then the inaugural IAAF World Athletics Championships, held in Helsinki, Finland in 1983; and the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles It was in 1983 when she had her first taste of individual success, winning the gold medal in the 200m and 400m events in the South Pacific Games, in Apia, Samoa. She also won gold in the 4 x 400m Relay, silver in the 4 x 100m Relay and bronze in the 800m.  A great Games for Elanga, however 1984 was to be her crowning glory. She won the 100m at the inaugural North Queensland Games in Townsville, but saved her really special performances for the Los Angeles Olympic Games. Prior to the Games she competed in a warm-up meet in California at which she ran her fastest ever 100m time – 12.22 seconds which was a PNG National Record until Barbara Ingiro ran 12.19 ten days later during the Olympic Games . In the Olympic Games themselves, Elanga ran 24.82 seconds in the 200m which was to remain as the National Record until 2006 when it was finally eclipsed by Mae Koime. (Today that time ranks 4th on the All Time Best Lists) The 400m race saw her establish another National record, 56.82 seconds which stood until Mary Unido broke it in the 1993 MSPG in Port Vila. Thirty plus years after her last serious race, Elanga’s times stand up very well against the current runners and those who succeeded her. Elanga and her teammate Barbara Ingiro-Sapea opened a new era in women’s sprinting in PNG. In 2015 Elanga looked back on her start in the sport and what remained upmost in her memory was the strong support of her family, her coach, her village and her friends. They provided a solid foundation for the success that followed.

While the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine will likely be the first to get approval in Australia, most of us will end up receiving the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot, Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly says. During a national coronavirus update, Professor Kelly said the fact the Pfizer vaccine needed to be made overseas meant we would be getting large supplies of the AstraZeneca vaccine. "We know that the Pfizer vaccine is the one that will have the most experience around the world, [because] it was the first to get the emergency use authorisation in the US, UK and other places," he said. "But it is being made overseas. There is limited supply that we will be getting of the Pfizer vaccine." It also presents logistical challenges: The Pfizer vaccine needs to be shipped and stored at -70 degrees Celsius. "As for the AstraZeneca vaccine, it is being made right now in Melbourne and it is well advanced, so we will be getting large supplies of the AstraZeneca vaccine," Professor Kelly said. "That is the one we will have available for most people during the year." The coronavirus vaccine rollout is now expected to begin in Australia next month, almost six weeks earlier than the Government originally expected. Australia has secured 10 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 53.8 million of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The first to be rolled out will be from Pfizer, which the Government hopes to have approved by the end of this month. Professor Kelly said the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) should have the information it needed to able to make a decision on approving the AstraZeneca vaccine in February. Source: ABC News

As Fijians continue to suffer financial constraints due to COVID-19, Lautoka residents Narayan Reddy and Allen Lockington have joined forces again to assist parents in getting their children back to school on the 19th of this month. Reddy says they have distributed more than 250 packs of stationery and school bags to families affected by COVID-19 in the Western Division. He says they are currently rolling out another 150 packs which include pens, pencils, books, shoes, school bags, rulers and mathematical sets. Reddy says they receive donations from their friends overseas and in Fiji and also ordinary people who wanted to help those in need. Reddy and Lockington have already sent two shipments of assistance to people affected by TC Yasa in Vanua Levu and have reached out to more than 200 families. If you would like to donate towards this worthy cause, you can call Narayan Reddy on 9968900. You can also check out Hands Across Fiji section on website, fijivillage where they connect people needing assistance to help those severely affected by COVID-19 and TC Yasa to those who are looking at initiatives to assist the worst affected. Source: fijivillage.com