The PNG Olympic Committee will be hosting a series of Youth Athlete Development workshops around the country from 21st to the 28th January, 2023. Through the support from the Olympic Solidarity and Kumul Consolidated Holdings Ltd, the PNGOC will be running workshops in Port Moresby, Goroka, Lae and Kokopo with the aim of building up the capacity of its member National Federations and the other stakeholders in sport that play an important part in identifying talent and developing them. PNG Olympic Committee (PNGOC) Secretary General, Auvita Rapilla said the workshops would assist National Federations (NFs) improve their understanding around developing their own youth athlete development (YAD) programs or talent identification and development (TID) programs to help them with proper structured athlete pathways for the future. Rapilla added: “These workshops are the starting blocks for member federations to build their foundation towards having stronger athlete pathways from the grassroots right through to the elite level where we can have more athletes perform at a higher level”. She said that these workshops are part of Team PNG’s Performance Strategy where Development Pathways is a key focus area. “Key factor in this is for all stakeholders to collaborate and work towards a common goal which is to see Team PNG perform consistently at the multi-sports Games level. The workshop will identify key areas for all stakeholders to strengthen their areas of support as we look towards achieving consistent success at World Cups, World Championships, Pacific Games, Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games” added Rapilla”. PNGOC will be working closely with its major partner, PNG Sports Foundation including High Performance Sport PNG and National Sports Institute to deliver on these workshops. The workshops are the first phase of the project where it is aimed at enhancing and educating the NFs and make them aware of best practice around Youth Athlete Development and Talent ID and eventually have NFs develop their own TID programs to discover world class talent. The workshops will be facilitated by two Australian experts in Talent Identification & Development, Dr. Peter Davis and Dr. Jason Gulbin who have vast amounts of experience in Talent ID, sport management and high performance. A total of five (5) workshops have been scheduled to be held in the four main regional centres around the country: Port Moresby • Saturday 21st January • Sunday 22nd January Goroka • Tuesday 24th January Lae • Thursday 26th January Kokopo • Saturday 28th January PNGOC has invited all member National Federations and Provincial sport authorities to participate in these important workshops.

PacTrade PNG Ltd donated newborn packs consisting of Nappy time diapers and baby wipes to the Maternity Ward of Port Moresby General Hospital to welcome the new year babies. PacTrade’s Marketing Coordinator, Ms. Rosslyn Arek who was on hand to deliver the donation said, “We have been supporting Friends of Pomgen since last year with emergency appeals for the hospital and we look forward to continue this partnership moving forward in 2023. With this donation for the month of January, we now kickstart our monthly supply of new born packs for the Maternity Ward. FOPG Operations, Ms. Grace Roland who was on hand to receive the donation thanked PacTrade for the wonderful partnership and support. Ms. Roland also added that diapers, infant formulas and essential sanitary goods are some of the basic needs that some mothers lack when admitted at the Maternity ward due to their medical state or financial constraints. These situations put them in a position where they have to rely on the hospital again. Therefore, we are very thankful that with this donation and from other friends who have also dropped by to show their support, FOPG can continue to help the hospital.

Jacinda Ardern says she will not be seeking re-election this year and her last day as prime minister is 7 February. Ardern said she reflected over the summer and tried to find a way to keep going for another year and another term but she could not. "After going on six years of some big challenges, I am human. Politicians are human. For me, it's time... "So today I'm announcing that I will not be seeking re-election and my term as prime minister will conclude no later than the 7th of February. "I believe that leading a country is the most privileged job anyone could ever have but also one of the more challenging. You cannot and should not do it unless you have a full tank plus a bit in reserve for those unexpected challenges." Ardern was visibly upset and tearful as she made the announcement. She will stay on as an electorate MP until the end of April to spare the country a by-election. Ardern said she had no plans, professionally, beyond then. Grant Robertson would not be putting himself forward to be Labour's new leader and prime minister, she said. The 2023 general election will take place on 14 October. Source: rnz.com

“New Ireland Governor Sir Julius Chan has expressed sadness at the passing of the late Sir Leonard Wilson Kamit who passed on the 9th of January 2023. “Many a great men come and go; they leave their mark where they thread on Earth and their legacy transcends through the ages. The former Governor of the Bank of Papua New Guinea, the late Sir Leonard Wilson Kamit is such a man,” said Sir J. Sir J said Sir Leonard Wilson Kamit was a career banker for over 39 years and was one of the key pioneers within the Central Bank since 1973. “ He worked alongside the first Governor of the Central Bank, the late Sir Henry ToRobert and, indeed, over my two terms as Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea. Hearing of his passing on the 9h of January 2023, I am deeply saddened by the news. As the sixth Governor of the Bank of PNG, Sir Wilson oversaw the introduction of the new Central Banking Act and Banks and Financial Institutions Act with a more focused set of roles and functions.” He said in his capacity as the Minister for Finance for many years, he valued the confidence and close working ties with Papua New Guineans at the helm of Finance and Banking institutions paving the way for our currency, the introduction of new banks and proper regulation of the Savings and Loan Societies. “It is a milestone for Papua New Guinea that the late Sir Wilson Kamit was appointed to a senior executive position at the head office of the Asian Development Bank in Manila and continued to be fully engaged in various Boards and Consultancies with the Government and the private sector.” Sir J described him as a delightful, humble person. Hard-working and honest, serving as mentor to many. “I remember well, when I sent him on a secret mission to Los Angeles to investigate a hoax financial scheme. A mission of no small consequence in the uncertain world of international finance. Without going into detail, I can say he was successful in achieving our objective.” The casket of the late Sir Leonard Wilson Kamit arrived in Kavieng on Thursday 19th January, accompanying the casket alongside wife Winifred Kamit and his children family were a number of public figures including former Chief Justice Sir Arnold Amet, Acting Governor of the Bank of Papua New Guinea Benny Popoitai, former Bank of Papua New Guinea Governor Loi Bakani and other prominent New Irelanders. A funeral service was held at the Kavieng United Church before the body was laid to rest at the CIS Cemetary in Kavieng.

Tropical cyclone Irene is causing flooding and power cuts in Vanuatu's main city and closing roads. RNZ Pacific's correspondent in Port Vila said there's flooding in some areas of the capital and road blocks caused by fallen trees. Hilaire Bule said some parts of Port Vila were enduring power cuts, and that Irene has damaged fruit trees such as avocado and banana. The Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazard Department said Irene is expected to hit the Island of Tanna, in south Vanuatu at midday Thursday local time. A red alert is in place for Tafea, Shefa and Malampa provinces, while Penama and Sanma provinces are on yellow alert. Alert level yellow is in place for the Loyalty islands in the east of New Caledonia. Air Vanuatu's international and domestic flights will be cancelled on Thursday and Friday for safety reasons. Based on the French meteorological services 6:40 am update, winds in its centre are close to 101km per hour with gusts reaching 140km per hour. A meteorologist at Meteo-France New Caledonia, Edouard Peleau, said the system is expected to remain at a steady intensity for the next 24 hours. "It is currently appraching Tanna, the south of Vanuatu and is currently moving fast at the speed of 43km per hour. In the next 24 hours it will keep a steady intensity and then start to diminish." Meanwhile, the Fiji Meteorological Service said Irene is likely to track over open waters and remain to the southwest of Fiji, about 560km south-west off Kadavu on Thursday night. It said heavy rain and thunderstorms is expected over Yasawa and Mamanuca Group, western and northern Viti Levu, Bua and Macuata Province, Vatulele, Kadavu and nearby smaller islands. Source:rnz.com

BSP Financial Group Limited (BSP) is the first corporate organization to throw its support behind the Motu Koita Assembly in hosting the 2023 Hiri Moale Festival. BSP commenced its partnership with the Hiri Moale Festival Committee in 2021 and is proud to support the festival for a third year running. BSP Corporate Sponsorship Manager Amelia Minnopu presented a cheque of K30, 000 to the Motu Koita Assembly (MKA) on Wednesday 18th January 2023, as silver sponsors of this annual prestigious Motuan cultural event - the 49th Hiri Moale Festival. “As you all know, culture and traditions are a big part of the communities in PNG and the Pacific and BSP values the communities that we operate in and it’s through events like the Hiri Moale Festival that unifies our brand with our people, “ said Ms Minnopu. “We believe our support will help promote our culture and keeping our traditions alive for the future generations,” She added. Chairman of Motu Koita assembly Dadi Toka Jnr thanked BSP for the support saying they are pleased to partner with BSP again to see the festival go ahead for the third consecutive year. “We applaud the continued support of BSP that celebrates a historical event of traditional trade. The event will also see the crowning of a new Hiri Hanenamo Queen that provides a platform for young women to build their confidence, extend their network and be cultural ambassadors for their people,” said Toka jnr. The event is scheduled to take place on from Friday 3rd to Sunday 5th March 2023, at the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium in Port Moresby.

New Ireland Governor Sir Julius Chan is back in the country again after undergoing several operations in Brisbane Australia. He stepped right back into formal duties as soon as he arrived back on Sunday the 15th of January and throughout the week to attend to parliament duties. Amidst Parliament sitting on the 17th of January, Sir J made time to meet with interim CEO for Newcrest mining Sherry Duhe and Interim Chief Operating officer Craig Jones. Ms Duhe who is most likely the first female head of any resource and energy sector company operating in the country and has extensive finance and leadership experience across various global organizations, including the past four years as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President at Woodside Energy. She has held a range of senior international roles across sectors, including at Shell exploration & production, Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil, Duke Energy and J.M Huber Corporation. As with any developer in the province, Sir J hopes the miner will continue to contribute to the lives of all New Irelanders in any meaningful ways through its community and Government relations. Sir J also met with senior Papua New Guinean officials through out the day to catch up on current developments in the country and to discuss ways forward for New Ireland and the country. Earlier on in the week, Sir J was officially welcomed back to the country by acting Administrator Moses Taram who happened to be in Port Moresby at the time. Sir J flew back to New Ireland on Thursday 19th January after taking part in the Governor General vote. On arrival he was given a warm New Ireland welcome back home in true New Ireland custom, it was also his first time to set foot in the New look terminal after it was officially opened last year in November. Sir J also made time to lay a wreathe at the resting place of the late Sir Wilson Kamit who was buried in Kavieng

Kina Bank and Links of Hope continue their partnership into 2023 with a donation of K100,000. The partnership between Links of Hope and Kina Bank arose from the late Nancy Moka, who was a founding board member and active volunteer living on site to support children who had lost parents HIV. When she passed from Covid in 2021, Kina Bank discovered her deep ties to Links of Hope and has since then has made a commitment to continue late Nancy’s legacy with the annual donation. Kina Bank continues to honour her memory and support her legacy through this annual donation to enable Links of Hope to continue their vital work of supporting children impacted by HIV. Country Head and Executive General Manager Banking, Lesieli Taviri said ‘Nancy’s legacy of selfless giving and her heart for the community is an example we aspire to emulate within Kina Bank. Links of Hope are a light in the darkness supporting an otherwise forgotten group of people’ when she presented the cheque to Country Manager for Links of Hope Debbie Bromely. Mrs Bromley said ‘Our Operational focus this year is on further development of our Health Education curriculum, programs to upskill and train adolescents on the Links of Hope program and aligning with key partners to drive change in the area of Child Protection. We are extremely grateful for the ongoing support of Kina Bank, which goes such a long way to supporting the operational and staffing structure needed to support our work and growth. We honour the memory and legacy of our dear friend and founding board memory, Nancy Moka, who’s passion and heart for this work continues to have a lasting impact on so many people’. Links of Hope began as a way to support women released from prison in the creation of small business enterprises, while also assisting a small number of widows and those living impacted by HIV and AIDS. A major focus of Links of Hope now is the operation of a Child Sponsorship program supporting children impacted by HIV. Children in the program are supported with monthly nutritional care packages, education programs, school fees and packages.

Standing in the shadow cast by the statue of Rugby League Immortal Arthur Beetson, Kenny Bromwich said he was excited to take part in a special match that would see a dream of the pioneering player realised. The Dolphins take on the Sydney Roosters in their inaugural match at Suncorp Stadium in Round 1 of the 2023 season, with Beetson having played for both clubs during his storied career, writing in his book that his dream was to one day see the Dolphins play the Roosters in the NRL. “There has been a little bit of talk (about Round 1 already), especially coming into this new club and what we're play for there, Arthur Beetson; it'll be a memorial game for him,” Bromwich told assembled media at the club’s new one-game membership announcement. “It was his dream for the Dolphins to play the Roosters, so it's something that we're really working hard towards and something that we'll try to play in the right spirit and that’s play it hard and play to win. “There is a lot of history at the club and we're always trying to educate ourselves on what's happened at the club before we've got here. “There have been custodians of the jersey before us and when we're in the gym, you can see some of the flags hanging up with some of the names on there, so we’re always going to pay our respects to the players who dug the well before us so that we could drink from it.” Joining his older brother Jesse at the Dolphins after spending the past 10 years with Melbourne Storm, the Kiwi representative said he was adjusting well to life on the peninsular, and admitted there were a few similarities he had found at the club; namely the styles of coaches Craig Bellamy and Wayne Bennett. “I do think they're really similar in a lot of ways, they both care a lot about you as a person before the player and they both care about your families, which is something I really admire,” Bromwich said. “And I think you all think Wayne's a bit of a larrikin, but he does get quite cranky at training as well, so he’s not too far off Craig; Craig sprays, but Wayne does get a bit cranky every now and then too.” In saying that however, Bromwich said it didn’t take long for Bennett to convince him to join his brother and be part of paving the way forward with the new club. “It only took one conversation really with Wayne to make me feel like this was the right decision,” Bromwich said. “The vision and plan that he has for the place and what they've got going on was something that I really wanted to come into and help build.” Bromwich was also hoping to this year build on his enviable NRL record at Suncorp Stadium which has seen him win 18 of the 22 matches he has played there, with the Dolphins set to play eight games at the venue this year, including a highly anticipated match against the Broncos in Round 4. “I've really enjoyed playing at Suncorp, it's the best rugby league ground in the world,” Bromwich said. “Coming here and playing with a packed stadium, it's something. It's always easy to get up and play at Suncorp, so to be able to play our home game against the Broncos, that's very exciting and it's something that we will be looking to keep going and we will try to perform here every time we can.” Source: NRL.Com

Prince Harry's memoir Spare has become the fastest-selling non-fiction book in the UK since records began in 1998. The much-publicised book sold 467,183 copies in its first week, according to official figures from Nielsen BookData. The book, which was written with celebrity ghostwriter JR Moehringer, went on sale on 10 January. Most of the revelations in the book leaked early after some copies went on sale in Spain several days before the official publication date. But that does not appear to have damaged sales of Spare. The only books to have enjoyed higher first-week sales since Nielsen's records began were four Harry Potter novels and Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. The memoir sees Prince Harry describe his experience as a member of the Royal Family before he stepped back from official duties in 2020. It provides behind-the-scenes details of the conflict he had with his brother, Prince William, the heir to the throne. The book was released in a blaze of publicity, receiving widespread media coverage around the world. The Wall Street Journal previously reported the book sold 1.4 million copies in its first day - including pre-orders - across the US, the UK and Canada. It is the only non-fiction book in the all-time top 10 fastest-sellers since Nielsen started collecting data. Source: BBC

China's population has fallen for the first time in 60 years, with the national birth rate hitting a record low - 6.77 births per 1,000 people. The population in 2022 - 1.4118 billion - fell by 850,000 from 2021. China's birth rate has been declining for years, prompting a slew of policies to try to slow the trend. But seven years after scrapping the one-child policy, it has entered what one official described as an "era of negative population growth". The birth rate in 2022 was also down from 7.52 in 2021, according to China's National Bureau of Statistics, which released the figures on Tuesday. In comparison, in 2021, the United States recorded 11.06 births per 1,000 people, and the United Kingdom, 10.08 births. The birth rate for the same year in India, which is poised to overtake China as the world's most populous country, was 16.42. Deaths also outnumbered births for the first time last year in China. The country logged its highest death rate since 1976 - 7.37 deaths per 1,000 people, up from 7.18 the previous year. Earlier government data had heralded a demographic crisis, which would in the long run shrink China's labour force and increase the burden on healthcare and other social security costs. Results from a once-a-decade census announced in 2021 showed China's population growing at its slowest pace in decades. Populations are also shrinking and ageing in other East Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea. "This trend is going to continue and perhaps worsen after Covid," says Yue Su, principal economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit. Ms Su is among experts who expect China's population to shrink further through 2023. "The high youth unemployment rate and weaknesses in income expectations could delay marriage and childbirth plans further, dragging down the number of newborns," she added. And the death rate in 2023 is likely to be higher than it was pre-pandemic due to Covid infections, she said. China has seen a surge of cases since it abandoned its zero-Covid policy last month. China's population trends over the years have been largely shaped by the controversial one-child policy, which was introduced in 1979 to slow population growth. Families that violated the rules were fined and, in some cases, even lost jobs. In a culture that historically favours boys over girls, the policy had also led to forced abortions and a reportedly skewed gender ratio from the 1980s. The policy was scrapped in 2016 and married couples were allowed to have two children. In recent years, the Chinese government also offered tax breaks and better maternal healthcare, among other incentives, to reverse, or at least slow, the falling birth rate. But these policies did not lead to a sustained increase in the births. Some experts say this is because policies that encouraged childbirth were not accompanied by efforts to ease the burden of childcare, such as more help for working mothers or access to education. In October 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping made boosting birth rates a priority. Mr Xi said in a once-in-five-year Communist Party Congress in Beijing that his government would "pursue a proactive national strategy" in response to the country's ageing population. Apart from dishing out incentives to have children, China should also improve gender equality in households and workplaces, said Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan, director of the National University of Singapore's Centre for Family and Population Research. Scandinavian countries have shown that such moves can improve fertility rates, she added. According to Paul Cheung, Singapore's former chief statistician, China has "plenty of manpower" and "a lot of lead time" to manage the demographic challenge. "They are not in a doomsday scenario right away," he said. Observers also say merely raising birth rates will not resolve the problems behind China's slowing growth. "Boosting fertility is not going to improve productivity or increase domestic consumption in the medium term," said Stuart Gietel-Basten, a public policy professor at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. "How China will respond to these structural issues would be more crucial."   Source: BBC

British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe's firm Ineos has officially entered the race to buy Manchester United. United's owners the Glazer family said in November that they were considering selling the club as they "explore strategic alternatives". Ineos said the company had "formally put ourselves into the process". Ratcliffe made an unsuccessful late £4.25bn offer to buy Chelsea last year after owner Roman Abramovich put the London club up for sale. Born the son of a joiner in Failsworth, in Greater Manchester, Ratcliffe is a boyhood fan of United and one of the UK's richest men. He said he would have tried to buy the Old Trafford side following the failure to acquire Chelsea but, after meeting with brothers Joel and Avram Glazer, stated that they did not want to sell. However, since then the Glazers have changed their stance and he has now joined the bidding process. Ineos group owns Nice in France and Swiss club Lausanne. United have been owned by the Glazer family since 2005. They are fourth in the Premier League after an improvement in form under manager Erik ten Hag, who took over in the summer. They beat local rivals Manchester City 2-1 on Saturday and are nine points off leaders Arsenal. American investment firm Raine Group, who handled Chelsea's £4.25bn sale in May, is exclusively advising United. A consortium led by Todd Boehly paid £2.5bn for the Stamford Bridge club's shares, while saying it would provide £1.75bn to invest in the Premier League club. There have been multiple protests against the Glazers' ownership in recent years, including one in May 2021 that caused United's home league match against Liverpool to be postponed. Thousands of supporters marched to Old Trafford in protest before the same fixture this season, in August. United were part of the failed European Super League project that rapidly collapsed in April 2021. Manchester United co-chairman Joel Glazer later apologised for the unrest it caused. He later attended fans' forums in the wake of supporter unrest and pledged to make shares available to the club's followers. Since then, a statement from United in November said the board will "consider all strategic alternatives, including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the company". Source: BBC