Santos PNG Orchids scrum half Lilah Malabag is one of several players in the current team who took up rugby league as a direct result of watching the Orchids’ first Rugby League World Cup appearance in 2017. Lilah explains: “Back in 2017 I was an AFL player, and I played for PNG Flames (the national women’s Australian Rules Football team) in the AFL International Cup in Melbourne that year. But then I watched the Orchids on TV in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup and decided I wanted to be part of that. “I had played touch and rugby 7s before, but I started rugby league in 2018, playing with the Hanuabada Hawks club in Port Moresby (alongside Orchids player Maima Wei). I liked the fact I could use my kicking skills in rugby league, as well as the structure of the game.” Lilah enjoyed a rapid rise to national team honours, being selected to play a friendly against the Brisbane Broncos, and in the Prime Minister’s XIII clash, later in 2018. She played her first tests for the Orchids against England in 2019. The 22-year-old, who hails from Western, Central, Gulf and Sepik, credits friend and former PNG national rugby union representative Iga Kere with supporting her to reach the highest level in rugby league. “I look up to her and she motivates me and gives me advice. “I’m so happy and proud that I’ve come this far. My family and community in Gordons (Port Moresby) have been getting together to watch the games. They put the TV outside the house and everyone comes to watch. They’ve also been sending videos of support to me and my roommate, Shae (de la Cruz).” Lilah says one of the highlights of being with the Orchids at RLWC2021 has been the spirit of togetherness in the camp. “We are all together as one family. Even though we’re in a new environment and have left our families behind, it feels like we are all one family here in England, supporting each other, and that makes me happy.” Source: Santos PNG Orchids 

Papua New Guinean’s campaign at the 2021 Rugby League World Cup saw the PNG LNG Kumuls bow out after the quarter final match against hosts England on Sunday morning, the Kumuls took a 46-6 beating. The Santos PNG Orchids on the other hand thrashed Brazil 70-nil on Sunday morning as Belinda Gwasamun scored four tries to be named player of the match. PNG Rugby Football League (PNGRFL) Chairman Sandis Tsaka said that it wasn’t the result anticipated for the Kumuls however he commended the PNG men’s team for their overall performance. “A disappointing result but proud of the boys’ overall performance at the tournament. They have been great ambassadors of our sport and country, both on and off the field.” “The girls were outstanding and let's hope they do well in the semi-final and lock a place in the grand final,” Mr Tsaka said. “One major positive is that both national teams have qualified for the 2025 Rugby League World Cup in France. Yes, it will be back to the drawing board post-World Cup and continuing our investment in our juniors and pathways to expand these programs.” [caption id="attachment_29884" align="alignnone" width="906"] HULL, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 05: Carol Humeu of Papua New Guinea breaks with the ball during the Women's Rugby League World Cup Group A match between Papua New Guinea Women and Brazil Women at MKM Stadium on November 05, 2022 in Hull, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images for RLWC)[/caption] PNGRFL Chief Executive Office Mr Stanley Hondina added that positive comments have come from the Rugby League World Cup (RLWC) organisers on the conduct of the Kumulsboth on and off the field. “The standards they have abided by are the highest in the sport and that is something we are proud of,” Mr Hondina said. “I commend team manager John Wilshere, head coach Stanley Tepend and the entire coaching staff on a job well done.” Mr Hondina further added that preparations for the 2025 RLWC in France will commence with a strategic plan in place for that. “Our girls have also created history after a 2/3 victory with a third one to come and qualifying for the semi finals as well as the 2025 RLWC in France. We wish head coach Ben Jeffries, team manager Cassie Davis and the entire Orchids coaching staff and players all the very best in the remaining games,” he said. The Orchids will take on hosts England at the Emerald Headingley Stadium in Leeds this Thursday 10th November 2022 at 5.30am local time, to determine who finishes on top in Group A.

The National Trust Cymru will allow a shrine to Dobby the house elf — a character in the Harry Potter series— to remain at a Welsh beach after floating the idea of removing it. Fans created a memorial to the beloved character at Freshwater West beach, which is part of a protected conservation area, where scenes in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I and Part II were filmed. Dobby is killed towards the end of the first instalment and is buried up on a dune overlooking the Welsh beach. The beginning of the second film features a scene showing the elf's grave marked with a tombstone that reads "HERE LIES DOBBY, A FREE ELF". Since the final film's release in 2011, fans have trekked to the beach to lay tributes to the fictional character. Many leave pebbles with messages such as "RIP Dobby" and "we love you Dobby" written on them in permanent marker, others are painted in bright colors. A Wales Online report said the elf's resting place was also adorned with "hundreds of socks". The socks are a reference to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, in which Harry tricks Dobby's then-master Lucius Malfoy into handing the house elf a sock — which frees him from servitude. Tens of thousands of visitors each year The National Trust Cymru said the popularity of the beach with tourists was putting pressure on the area, according to a BBC report. Freshwater West is part of a protected area, classed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a European Designations of Special Protection Area and a Special Area of Conservation The area is home to large grey seals, harbour porpoise, and some of the largest populations of seabirds in the world, the Trust said. It said about 75,000 people visited the car park each year, with numbers regularly exceeding capacity. In May, the Trust launched a survey about how the landscape should be looked after. Two questions focused on the Dobby tribute site, with participants asked whether the memorial should be removed or transferred. 'Leave no trace' policy Eight months later, the National Trust Cymru said the shrine could stay. "The memorial to Dobby will remain at Freshwater West in the immediate term for people to enjoy," a trust press release said. "The trust is asking visitors to only take photos when visiting the memorial to help protect the wider landscape. "Items like socks, trinkets, and paint chips from painted pebbles could enter the marine environment and food chain and put wildlife at risk." An executive summary of a report prepared for the trust said the site would need to be managed in line with a "leave no trace" policy in the future. "The management of Dobby's grave requires further liaison between relevant stakeholders to reach a middle ground which allows access but provides a more sensitive solution for the local environment," it said. "The involvement of one or more local charities or groups is suggested in terms of adopting a role in overseeing the site in future." Source: ABC News

South Korea’s prime minister has called deadly Halloween crush in Seoul a “disastrous accident that should not have happened”, as authorities responded to growing public anger with a series of apologies. Expressing sorrow to bereaved families as the first memorial services were held, Han Duck-soo admitted that institutional failures in managing crowds played a role in the disaster, and said the government would work with all ministries, agencies and medical institutions to ensure such problems during spontaneous events never happened again. The country’s police chief, Yoon Hee-keun, apologised for an “inadequate” emerency response. “We’ve judged that the response to the emergency calls was inadequate,” he said, noting the large number of calls placed before the disaster unfolded. Announcing an independent investigation, Yoon said: “We will thoroughly check the facts to see whether we took proper actions after receiving emergency reports informing us of the danger in advance.” The crowd surge was South Korea’s deadliest disaster since the Sewol ferry sinking in 2014, which killed 304 people and exposed lax safety rules and regulatory failures. Saturday’s crush has raised public questions about what South Korea has done since then to prevent human-made disasters. “I deeply apologise to the people to whom the recent accident occurred despite the state bearing infinite responsibility for the people’s safety,” the interior and safety minister, Lee Sang-min, told a parliamentary session on Tuesday. Seoul’s mayor, Oh Se-hoon, also tearfully apologised during a media briefing and said the city government would put all available administrative resources “until every citizen can return to their normal lives”. The death toll from Saturday’s crowd crush during Halloween celebrations in the nightlife district of Itaewon increased to 156 on Tuesday, amid public anger over what some have called a human-made disaster. A Buddhist ceremony was held at a funeral hall in Suwon on Tuesday for an office worker who died. The victim’s mother and sister held hands and comforted each other while listening to chants and the sound of a wooden bell. The previous day, students in school uniforms had come to pray for their classmate, a middle-school student who had joined the Halloween festivities with her mother and aunt. None of them survived. After paying their respects, some students sat on the floor in the hallway and sobbed. A visual guide to how the Seoul Halloween crowd crush unfolded At a makeshift altar in front of Seoul’s city hall, several citizens heckled government officials and politicians as they came to pay their respects. Many young people came to the memorial site. Choi Ji-yoon, 22, told the Guardian that most of the victims were her age or younger, so they did not feel like strangers. “I wanted to commemorate them,” she said. The majority of those killed were young women. Several factors are being blamed for the disaster, including a lack of preventive measures and crowd control owing to the absence of an organising body for Halloween. That night, an estimated 100,000 people descended on Itaewon in Seoul’s Yongsan district. Only 137 officers were on the scene, mostly for traffic and crime prevention. The Hankyoreh newspaper said in an editorial on Tuesday that the Itaewon disaster was “predictable”, stemming from “a lack of a safety management manual in the event of a crowd crushing accident and authorities’ complacent response”. While South Korea has a safety manual for festivals with more than 1,000 attendees, the manual assumes an organising body is in charge of safety planning, which was not the case on Saturday. In a Yongsan district meeting held days before the disaster, the conservative newspaper Chosun Ilbo said “virtually no safety measures were prepared”. “The damage could have been minimised and crowds spread out had the police and local government set up safety plans to block traffic to Itaewon-ro [the main street], which connects to the alleyway where the accident occurred. It could have also taken measures to make the subway not stop [at Itaewon station].” South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol has instructed the government to come up with a crowd control system for spontaneous events that have no organisers. He also called on his cabinet to take “heavy responsibility”. ‘I don’t know how to live’: grief over loved ones lost in Seoul’s deadly Halloween crowd crush The interior minister expressed regret on Tuesday for previously stating that more police would not have prevented the tragedy. Collective trauma is setting in as South Koreans come to terms with what has happened. On Tuesday, the prime minister promised that the government would provide psychological support to all citizens affected by the tragedy, regardless of whether they were in Itaewon at the time. A high school teacher in Gyeonggi province, who did not wish to be identified, told the Guardian that she recently taught a class about various holidays such as Halloween so students could learn about cultural diversity. On Monday morning, the students removed all Halloween decorations they had put up last Friday, even though no one had asked them to. “Everyone, both students and teachers, are extremely sad,” she said, saying that it reminded her of the 2014 ferry disaster, in which most of the dead were high school students. “I am sorry and feel guilty that our promise to create a safe country was not kept.” The death toll from Saturday’s crowd crush during Halloween celebrations in the nightlife district of Itaewon increased to 156 on Tuesday, amid public anger over what some have called a human-made disaster. A Buddhist ceremony was held at a funeral hall in Suwon on Tuesday for an office worker who died. The victim’s mother and sister held hands and comforted each other while listening to chants and the sound of a wooden bell. The previous day, students in school uniforms had come to pray for their classmate, a middle-school student who had joined the Halloween festivities with her mother and aunt. None of them survived. After paying their respects, some students sat on the floor in the hallway and sobbed. The Hankyoreh newspaper said in an editorial on Tuesday that the Itaewon disaster was “predictable”, stemming from “a lack of a safety management manual in the event of a crowd crushing accident and authorities’ complacent response”. While South Korea has a safety manual for festivals with more than 1,000 attendees, the manual assumes an organising body is in charge of safety planning, which was not the case on Saturday. In a Yongsan district meeting held days before the disaster, the conservative newspaper Chosun Ilbo said “virtually no safety measures were prepared”. “The damage could have been minimised and crowds spread out had the police and local government set up safety plans to block traffic to Itaewon-ro [the main street], which connects to the alleyway where the accident occurred. It could have also taken measures to make the subway not stop [at Itaewon station].” South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol has instructed the government to come up with a crowd control system for spontaneous events that have no organisers. He also called on his cabinet to take “heavy responsibility”. The interior minister expressed regret on Tuesday for previously stating that more police would not have prevented the tragedy. Collective trauma is setting in as South Koreans come to terms with what has happened. On Tuesday, the prime minister promised that the government would provide psychological support to all citizens affected by the tragedy, regardless of whether they were in Itaewon at the time. A high school teacher in Gyeonggi province, who did not wish to be identified, told the Guardian that she recently taught a class about various holidays such as Halloween so students could learn about cultural diversity. On Monday morning, the students removed all Halloween decorations they had put up last Friday, even though no one had asked them to. “Everyone, both students and teachers, are extremely sad,” she said, saying that it reminded her of the 2014 ferry disaster, in which most of the dead were high school students. “I am sorry and feel guilty that our promise to create a safe country was not kept.” Source: The Guardian

A Tanzanian commercial flight operated by Precision Air crash-landed in bad weather in Lake Victoria on Sunday, killing 19 people. The country’s Prime Minister, Kassim Majaliwa, said officials believe all bodies have been recovered from the airplane. “We’re starting to pull out the luggage and personal items from the aircraft. A team of doctors and security agencies have started the process of identifying the dead and notifying the families,” Majaliwa said. The airline confirmed the death toll and amended the number of survivors down to 24 in an updated statement on Sunday evening. Earlier, the carrier as well as local officials had said that 26 of the 43 people on board had been rescued. “Precision Air extends its deepest sympathies to the families and friends of the passenger and crew involved in this tragic incident. The company will strive to provide them with information and whatever assistance they will require in their difficult time,” the airline said. “The names of passengers and crew on board the aircraft will not be released until all next-of-kin have been notified,” it added. The flight, including 39 passengers and four crew members, had taken off from Tanzania’s commercial capital of Dar es Salaam and was headed to the town of Bukoba before it plunged into Lake Victoria as it was preparing to land. Video circulating on social media taken by onlookers on the shores of Lake Victoria showed the aircraft submerged in the water with emergency responders coordinating rescue efforts from nearby boats. Precision Air CEO Patrick Mwanri appeared visibly distressed while speaking to reporters in Dar es Salaam Sunday. Mwanri’s voice broke and he had to pause to wipe away tears as he said the plane had departed around 6 a.m. local and had been expected in the northwestern lakeside town of Bukoba at 8.30 a.m. “But at 8.53 a.m. our Operations Control Center got a report that that aircraft had not arrived,” he said in a televised statement. The accident is believed to have happened on the final approach to the airport whose runway begins right next to Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest freshwater lake. Local officials suggested bad weather may have played a part in the accident, saying the area had been under heavy rainfall and strong winds at the time. The regional airline has opened a Crisis Management Center and established information areas in Bukoba and Dar es Salaam to communicate with families of the passengers. Following news of the crash, Tanzania’s President took to social media to call for calm while rescuers worked at the site of a downed plane. “I have received with sadness the information of the crash of the Precision Air flight at Lake Victoria, in the Kagera region,” President Samia Suluhu Hassan wrote on Twitter Sunday. “I send my condolences to all those affected by this incident. Let’s continue to be calm as the rescue operation continues and we pray to God to help us.” Precision Air is a Tanzanian airline based out of Dar es Salaam. Source: CNN News

The German government said that it plans to make plastic manufacturers contribute to the cost of cleaning up litter in streets and parks. The Cabinet agreed on a bill that makers of products containing single-use plastic will need to pay into a central fund managed by the government, starting in 2025. The fund is estimated to collect about 450 million euros ($446 million) in the first year, based on the companies’ past production of single-use plastic. Affected items include cigarette filters, drink containers and packaging for takeout food. Environment Minister Steffi Lemke said the cost of cleanups in Europe’s biggest economy is currently borne by all. “That should change,” she said. “Whoever depends on putting single-use plastic onto the market for their business should contribute to the collection and cleanup costs.”   Source: The Guardian

The powerful underwater eruption of Tonga's Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano earlier this year produced a plume that soared higher into Earth's atmosphere than any other on record, according to experts. Researchers say the plume reached about 57 kilometres into the sky, extending more than halfway to space. The white-grayish plume unleashed by the eruption became the first one documented to have penetrated a frigid layer of the atmosphere called the mesosphere, according to scientists who used multiple satellite images to measure its height. Its plume was composed primarily of water, with some ash and sulphur dioxide mixed in, said atmospheric scientist Simon Proud, lead author of the research published in the journal Science. Eruptions from land-based volcanoes tend to have more ash and sulphur dioxide and less water. The deafening eruption on January 15 sent tsunami waves across the Pacific Ocean and produced an atmospheric wave that travelled several times around the world. [caption id="attachment_29868" align="alignnone" width="873"] The January volcano eruption triggered a tsunami warning for several South Pacific island nations.(Reuters: NOAA/CIRA/Handout)[/caption] "To me, what was impressive is how quickly the eruption happened. It went from nothing to a 57-km high cloud in just 30 minutes. I can't imagine what that must've been like to see from the ground," Mr Proud said. "Something that fascinated me was the dome-like structure in the centre of the umbrella plume. I've never seen something like that before," added Oxford atmospheric scientist and study co-author Andrew Prata. The damage from the eruption obliterated a small and uninhabited nearby island and resulted in the deaths of six locals. Its plume extended through the bottom two layers of the atmosphere, the troposphere and stratosphere, and about 7km into the mesosphere. The top of the mesosphere is the coldest place in the atmosphere. The plume was far from reaching the next atmospheric layer, the thermosphere, which starts at about 85 km above Earth's surface. A delineation called the Karman line, about 100 km above Earth's surface, is generally considered the boundary with space. Scientists used three geostationary weather satellites that obtained images every 10 minutes to measure the blast and relied upon what is called the parallax effect: determining something's position by viewing it along multiple lines of sight. "For the parallax approach we use to work, you need multiple satellites in different locations — and it's only within the past decade or so that this has become possible on a global scale," Proud said. Until now, the highest recorded volcanic plumes were from the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, at 40 km, and the 1982 eruption of El Chichón in Mexico, at 31 km. Volcanic eruptions in the past likely produced higher plumes but occurred before scientists were able to make such measurements. Source: ABC News

The Oreva Group, which has recently made the headlines for being the firm responsible for the repair and maintenance of the now collapsed Morbi bridge, was reportedly involved with the bridge since 2008. The Oreva Group, which has recently made the headlines for being the firm responsible for the repair and maintenance of the now collapsed Morbi bridge, was reportedly involved with the bridge since 2008. According to a report by the Indian Express, the Oreva Group had a contract for managing the bridge between 2008 and 2018. However, it did not apply for renewal over reported differences with the municipality over ticket prices. Despite that, municipality officials claimed that Oreva continued to manage the bridge after 2018. The publication also reported that after an intervention by the state government on ticket pricing, Oreva approached the municipality for a fresh MoU on June 3, 2020, which was approved months later on August 27 of the same year. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic—when the bridge remained closed—the agreement for renovation and maintenance of the bridge was signed in March 2022. After the renewal, Ajanta Manufacturing Pvt Ltd, the flagship company of the Oreva Group, got the contract for the management of the Morbi bridge for 15 years, with its authority extending to operations and maintenance (O&M), security, ticketing, cleaning, and staff deployment. However, according to the agreement, only one aspect of the operations was in consultation with the Morbi District Collector and the municipality, namely, the price of tickets. IE, which reviewed the agreement, reported that there was no reference in the agreement to an upper limit to the number of visitors allowed on the bridge. Chief Officer of Morbi Municipality, Sandeepsinh Zala, told the publication the bridge lacked a fitness certificate and a safety audit could not be carried out as the Oreva Group had not notified the municipality that it would reopen the bridge on October 26. Zala also said that the municipality "didn't have time" to order a ban on tourist entry or issue a show-cause notice to Oreva as the bridge had been opened just days before the catastrophic collapse on Sunday that claimed at least 134 lives. Meanwhile, Kusum Parmar, the president of the BJP-ruled municipality, told IE that the administration had "handed over the bridge entirely to Oreva and, therefore, ensuring the safety of visitors was their responsibility." IE also reported that the agreement between authorities and Oreva categorically states that the "income-expenditure" for the management of the Morbi bridge would be Oreva's responsibility and that there would be "no interference by the governmental, non-governmental, nagarpalika or corporation or any other agency." As per the agreement, Morbi-based Oreva was also given eight to 10 months from the date of the agreement to reopen the bridge after carrying out repair and maintenance work. However, the Oreva Group reopened the bridge within seven months of closure for repair work, with the inauguration being done by group founder Jaysukh Patel. In the video of the inauguration ceremony, Patel was heard saying, "In the old days, technology was limited and so certain types of material had to be used, as we can see that this bridge was made of wooden planks… We gave our requirements and technical specifications to the company to develop the material." Patel also said that the bridge was renovated "100 per cent at the cost of Rs 2 crore." His comments have now come back to haunt him. As for the possible reason for the collapse of the bridge, one of the managers of the Oreva Group, Deepak Parekh, told IE that the company was awaiting more information. However, he added that "prima facie, the bridge collapsed as too many people in the mid-section of the bridge were trying to sway it from one way to the other." Source: Deccan Herald

Aaron Carter’s older brother Nick is heartbroken after the singer’s death at the age of 34, he wrote in a post on Instagram Sunday, saying that despite their “complicated relationship,” his love for Carter “has never ever faded.” “I have always held onto the hope, that he would somehow, someday want to walk a healthy path and eventually find the help that he so desperately needed,” Nick Carter, a member of the Backstreet Boys, wrote in a caption alongside photos of the brothers through the years. “Sometimes we want to blame someone or something for a loss. But the truth is that addiction and mental illness is the real villain here.” “I will miss my brother more than anyone will ever know,” he added. “I love you Chizz, now you get a chance to finally have some peace you could never find here on earth…. God, please take care of my baby brother.” Nick Carter’s statement Sunday comes after a source close to the family told CNN on Saturday that Carter, who found stardom as a young boy with songs like “I Want Candy” and “That’s How I Beat Shaq,” was found dead in his bathtub. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department told CNN it responded to a call for help at Carter’s Lancaster, California, home on Saturday morning around 11 a.m. local time, where a deceased person was found. Nick Carter’s tribute followed another by his sister, Aaron’s twin Angel, who wrote on Instagram, “To my twin… I loved you beyond measure.” “My funny, sweet Aaron, I have so many memories of you and I, and I promise to cherish them. I know you’re at peace now. I will carry you with me until the day I die and get to see you again.” The singer had been open in the past about his struggles with mental health, but once denied having substance abuse issues in an interview with CNN. Carter at times had a fraught relationship with his siblings: In 2019, Nick announced he and Angel had filed for a restraining order against their brother, saying in a statement his youngest brother allegedly harbored “intentions of killing my wife and unborn child.” Aaron Carter had denied the allegations, saying he wished harm to no one. Aside from his siblings, those honoring Carter include Hilary Duff, who played the titular character on Disney Channel’s “Lizzie McGuire,” on which Carter once appeared as a guest star. “For Aaron - I’m deeply sorry that life was so hard for you and that you had to struggle in-front of the whole world,” Duff wrote on Instagram. “You had a charm that was absolutely effervescent… boy did my teenage self love you deeply,” she added. “Sending love to your family at this time.” Actress Melissa Joan Hart also expressed her condolences, posting a photo of herself with Carter and writing, “Sending love to the family and friends and fans of #AaronCarter. Rest In Peace!” The band New Kids on the Block similarly shared their sympathies in a statement on Twitter: “We are shocked and saddened about the sudden passing of Aaron Carter. Sending prayers to the Carter family. Rest in peace, Aaron.” Source: CNN news

Football Australia will host a four-team invitational tournament featuring three of Oceania’s highly ranked women’s national teams in the 2022 Pacific Women’s Four Nations Tournament in Canberra from November 8-13 2022. The senior women’s national teams of Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands will join the Australia U-20s for a round-robin tournament that will feature the top three finishers at the 2022 OFC Women’s Nations Cup. Over six days the four teams will participate in a series of double-headers on three match days at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra and Queanbeyan’s Seiffert Oval. November’s Four Nations tournament is the result of a partnership with Australian Government and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, through PacificAus Sports. Football Australia CEO, James Johnson said: “We are delighted to welcome the senior national teams of our Pacific neighbours Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands for the first Asia-Pacific cross-confederation tournament activity since the COVID-19 pandemic.” “An initiative through our Legacy ’23 International Engagement pillar, in addition to providing the CommBank Young Matildas valuable match preparation ahead of their bid to qualify for AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup™ Uzbekistan 2024, the Four Nations tournament will provide female footballers from the visiting Pacific nations with access to quality matches, high-performance facilities and expertise, including capacity-building sessions with Football Australia technical and subject-matter experts. “With our two confederations, the OFC and the AFC, hosting the historic FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023™, this tournament underscores Football Australia’s ongoing commitment to genuine, productive engagement as we work to be a centre of excellence for women’s football and a supporting partner in the growth of women’s football in the Asia-Pacific region. “We thank for the Australian Government and Australian Department of Foreign Affairs for their collaboration on this tournament and look forward to working towards more projects in this space.  Football Australia is living its vision to ensure legacy from next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup™ and this impact is felt throughout the Asia-Pacific region.” The CommBank Young Matildas will be led by head coach Leah Blayney with the new cycle of players set to be tested in their first international matches against rapidly improving opponents, including a Papua New Guinea side crowned Oceania champions in July. Papua New Guinea remain in contention to qualify for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ via next February’s inter-Confederation play-off where they will take on Panama in the Group C semi-finals at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland on February 19 2023. The 2022 Pacific Women’s Four Nations Tournament follows up the successful 2019 Pacific Tour, which saw the CommBank Junior Matildas travel to Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Tonga for a series of matches. All matches in the Pacific Women’sFour Nations Tournament will be streamed LIVE via the Football Australia YouTube account, with fans encouraged to attend the final matchday free of charge at Seiffert Oval on November 13 2022. Source: PNG Football Association

Prime Minister James Marape has urged Papua New Guineans not to illegally settle on untitled land in urban centres of the country. He said this today (November 6, 2022) when announcing an exciting plan by Government to help people acquire land in towns and cities starting in 2023. “I appeal to our people not to settle on land in urban centres that is untitled,” PM Marape said. “The Government is working on an exciting programme, spearheaded by Deputy Prime Minister and Lands Minister John Rosso, to properly organise all urban areas so that people with proper titles are living on land legally acquired. “I encourage our people not to just go and settle on any land which is not yours. “People are also advised not to enter into any transactions with so-called ‘traditional landowners’, in an informal arrangement, as you may be evicted by someone else who claims to be the ‘proper landowner’. ” PM Marape said starting in 2023, the Government would acquire additional land in towns and cities which would be properly planned, so that working Papua New Guineans or those involved in small business would be given a small piece of land. “This land programme which starts next year, will be very big in our towns and cities,” he said. “This is to enable our people to own a piece of State land on which they have decent accommodation which is connected to electricity, water and other services. “It pains me to see Papua New Guineans being evicted from land which is not theirs, which they moved onto in the first place because of the high cost of rental.” PM Marape said in Port Moresby, the Government would work closely with National Capital District Governor Hon. Powes Parkop, on the ‘Settlements to Suburbs’ programme. “ We will put some money aside for this and will work on it,” he said. “I also call on companies and individuals who claim to have title to land in the city, and have evicted settlers, to immediately develop this land that they claim to own. “Why are people being evicted, as in Garden Hills and Morata, and the land is not being developed? “My warning is that of this land is not developed, it will be forfeited back to the State, and distributed to people in a planned manner.”

Australia clinched a thrilling final 20-17 to claim the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens crown and bring to an end Fiji’s dominance that had seen them take the last five titles in Hong Kong. A pulsating end-to-end final played in an electrifying atmosphere was settled in the final minute when Nathan Lawson scored in the corner to cue wild celebrations from the Australia contingent. It had been 1,308 days since the last final was played in Hong Kong back in 2019, and the highly anticipated comeback edition certainly made up for lost time with a classic encounter between Fiji and Australia. Double Olympic champions Fiji led through tries from Josua Vakurinabili and a pair from Waisea Nacuqu, but Australia hit back through Henry Hutchison, twice, and Tim Clements before Lawson sealed the comeback victory to continue the fantastic form which saw them clinch the 2022 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series title. Fiji were aiming to continue their love affair with Hong Kong with a record breaking sixth straight title but it was not to be for the Pacific Islanders. France were losing finalists last time Hong Kong hosted a Series event in 2019 but had to settle for bronze on this occasion, seeing off Samoa 19-17 thanks to a pair of tries from Stephen Parez Edo Martin and one from tournament top try scorer Aaron Grandidier who ran in 11 tries and 55 points over the weekend. This was perhaps the most hotly contested Hong Kong Sevens in history as two quarter-finals and one semi-final required extra time to separate the teams in highly competitive contests, before the closely fought bronze and gold medal finals. Australia reached the final with a 10-7 win over a valiant France outfit thanks to a finely executed golden point penalty kick from the outstanding Maurice Longbottom following an earlier try from Josh Turner. Longbottom had already shown match-winning exploits earlier in the day, scoring a sensational try in extra time as Australia performed a remarkable comeback from 19-5 down to beat Ireland 26-19 in the quarter-final. Australia had qualified for the knock-out matches thanks to pool victories over New Zealand (24-17) and Hong Kong (43-0) despite a 22-17 defeat to Samao. [caption id="attachment_29845" align="alignnone" width="906"] On day one of the Cathay Pacific/ HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2022 at Hong Kong Stadium on 4 November, 2022 in Hong Kong, China. Photo credit: Mike Lee - KLC fotos for World Rugby[/caption] Fiji’s route to the final saw them squeeze past Commonwealth champions South Africa 12-7 with tries from Joseva Talacolo and Jeremaia Matana to clinch in a tense quarter-final, before overcoming Pacific neigbours Samoa 19-7 in a pulsating semi-final, with two scores from Filipe Sauturaga and one from Joseva Talacolo. Fiji had progressed through their pool on Friday and Saturday with free-scoring wins over Japan (59-12), Spain (35-21) and the USA (24-0). Samoa had earlier broken Argentinean hearts with a try from Vaovasa Afa Sua in extra time securing a 19-14 quarter-final victory, while France proved too strong for USA in the last quarter-final with a pair of tries from Aaron Grandidier. The highly experienced Olympic bronze medallists Argentina beat a youthful USA 36-0 to finish fifth. New Zealand bounced back from their disappointment of failing to reach the quarter-finals in Hong Kong for the first time ever, by securing fifth place with a trio of victories on Sunday. The All Blacks Sevens triumphed over Kenya 34-0, Spain 24-7 and Canada 33-5 to finish ninth. Uruguay showed plenty of potential on their debut as a Series core team, recording impressive victories over Great Britain (19-17), Kenya (10-7) and Japan (33-10) to finish in a respectable 13th place. Australia captain Nick Malouf said : “After having done so well last year, to come out here and back it up straightaway and win Hong Kong for the first time since 1988, incredible. I think we're cutting a few years off our coach's life leaving it so late! [caption id="attachment_29847" align="alignnone" width="906"] On day one of the Cathay Pacific/ HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2022 at Hong Kong Stadium on 4 November, 2022 in Hong Kong, China. Photo credit: Mike Lee - KLC fotos for World Rugby[/caption] “We knew coming into this weekend that we’ve just got to keep grinding and doing what we've been doing really well, working hard for each other and we know they're going to come for us now so we have got to keep getting better. “There's not much between the teams. This is the Olympic qualifying year, so everyone's going to be coming in red hot and it's going to make for great viewing and tough games on the pitch.” Fiji coach Ben Gollings said: “At the end of the day, we made a final and we've been consistent. It’s bitterly disappointing that we lost. Ultimately 30 seconds of rugby was the difference in the end but credit to the boys was a tough year and they stuck at it and like I said the consistency and being in another final is fantastic. Hong Kong was the first of 11 rounds on the men’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023, which promises to be the most competitive and exciting Series to date with more at stake than ever before as the top four ranked men’s and women’s teams will earn Olympic qualification for Paris 2024. At the other end of the table in the men’s competition the number of teams for the 2024 Series will reduce from 16 to 12 to equal the number of women’s teams and align with the Olympic competition structure, meaning fans can expect an intense battle to avoid relegation throughout the 2023 Series with every match and every point counting towards the final Series rankings. Source: Oceania Rugby