An underground metal movement is slowly growing in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and as the genre slowly starts gaining momentum, local talent emerges as well and young Ryan Hakalitz is a prime example of this positive growth and is evident in his skill as a drummer. Ryan, who hails from the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and New Ireland is an emerging Metal/Rock drummer for the band Red is The New Black, and he is hoping that he can perfect his craft as a drummer. “A lot of people would call it evil and all that but it’s none of that, it’s just raw emotion and passion for playing live music.” Apart from taking part in the recent Metal United Worldwide concert held at the Cosmopolitan last month, he is hoping to reach new heights in his career. Currently working as a freelance graphic designer and doing the odd job here and there, he believes in working hard to achieve his goal. Growing up, one of Ryan’s aspirations was to become a musician, picking up the guitar at first and but then finding solace in the drums. “Drums were a lot easier compared to the guitar for me. I had very stiff fingers and drums were easier, and I really picked up.” Ryan’s first hit out was in 2017 when he was recruited by the Tatai Force to become their 1st choice drummer. This was when he got his first taste of working together in a band. According to him, being a metal drummer can sometimes be challenging, but it takes a lot of grit to perfect, and this experience has taught him a lot over the years. “Being a metal drummer is sometimes difficult. It takes a lot of complex drumming patterns and fills and grooves to learn. I’m still trying to figure out myself as a drummer.” Apart from this, he also would like to provide awareness on the genre. At the moment, Metal in many parts of the country is sometimes regarded with animosity due to its dark themes and with roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock. Heavy metal bands developed a thick, monumental sound characterized by distorted guitars, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats and loudness. “Metal is listened to by a minority here in PNG and there are still people that hold on certain beliefs regarding the genre and calling it a lot of stuff and giving negative comments, but it’s good to respect a certain style of music and preference in music.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Lae MP John Rosso, on behalf of the Government has extended commendations to Lieutenant Colonel Boniface Aruma of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF), for his historic appointment as the second-in-command of one of Australia's prestigious combat brigades – Townsville’s 3rd Brigade. This is the first time a foreign military officer has been appointed as a deputy commander of an Australian combat brigade and this groundbreaking move aims to strengthen the military ties between PNG and Australia, enhancing collaboration and regional security. Lieutenant Colonel Aruma, an officer in the PNGDF for 27 years, has a Masters Degree in International Relations and Defence Studies from the Deakin and Australian National Universities respectively. "Lieutenant Colonel Boniface Aruma's appointment to this prestigious position is a testament to the professionalism, skills, and dedication of our defence force personnel. It is also a testament to the deepening collaboration between PNG and Australia in defence and security matters. Australian Defence analysts have said that this move sends a powerful message of solidarity to the Pacific as Australia has never appointed an officer from the Pacific to such a senior role and this appointment will give a greater appreciation of how PNGDF undertake strategic planning, operational and tactical activities. Deputy Prime Minister Rosso also highlighted the broader significance of this move. “The government recognizes the importance of maintaining strong, strategic partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region and are committed to working closely together with our Australian counterparts to promote peace, security, and prosperity in the Pacific region."

The grade 9 students of St. Charles Lwanga Catholic Secondary School had the best morning this week, when they welcomed the visit of members from the Brisbane Broncos NRL club all thanks to Bank South Pacific. The Broncos visit is part of BSP’s School Financial Literacy Awareness Program which aims at promoting good money handling practices for students at a young age. Former Broncos captain & Kiwi superstar, Alex Glen along with current broncos, Tyson Smoothy and Cameron Bukowski, Romy Teitzel and Annetta-Claudia Nu'uausala from the Broncos NRLW team spent their morning talking to students of the importance of saving money. Addressing the students, Alex Glen stated that saving for the future is of utmost importance and it was great to have the BSP staff over at all 4 schools to talk about saving for the future. “So, whenever you get the opportunity to learn about this from the staff from BSP, please listen out because it will help you in the long run and you’ll be able to provide for your family,” Glen said. St. Charles Lwanga Catholic Secondary School Principal, Bother Joymon Mathew said he was happy for the students and thanked the BSP Group for their effort in reaching out to the School to conduct the awareness. “BSP chose only 4 schools in NCD, and we are lucky to be one of them. Last week they contacted me to conduct an awareness program, which was held on the 26th [Thursday] and then today they presented gifts with the guests.” The Financial Literacy Program targets grade 9 students to teach them the importance of saving for the future. According to Brother Mathew, many students lack the intuition to save and believe this is a great program to help drive positive behaviour in terms of money handling.

Police in Milne Bay province is still struggling to maintain law and order, especially with a limited number of manpower, but are still maintaining that they will continue to work toward ensuring public safety and security. Provincial Police Commander (PPC), Chief Inspector Ben Kua stated that at the moment police have not faced any major incidents in the last 4 weeks, but with only 71 police officers the Milne Bay Command is still faced with a couple of ongoing challenges. Housing, logistics and manpower is what PPC Kua believes are the only issues that are greatly affecting the command; however, he is grateful for the support from the business community and the Provincial Administration and other stakeholders to the Police. “The biggest challenge is manpower. I have two vehicles and a couple of dinghies, but we still get assistance from the Provincial Administration.” With the festive period fast approaching, PPC Kua said that this will be captured in his operational plans to acquire a couple more vehicles to cater for transportation.

The Minister for Justice and Attorney General, Pila Niningi has announced that retirement benefits and pension scheme for Judges of the National and Supreme Courts will be improved significantly to give judges a descent retirement after life on the bench. The Minister made this known by stating that the current pension scheme under the Judges Pension Act 1997 is inadequate and they will be working to amend the Income Tax Act to have the judges exempted from paying personal tax on their pension. Apart from this, he said that they are also considering some other fringe benefits as well for judges on retirement. “Currently, only Members of Parliament are exempted from paying tax on their pension upon retirement, I would like to see the same for the judges as well. This is one of the new initiatives undertaken by the Marape/Rosso Government to modernize the judiciary and our court system to meet the challenges of the 21st century.” According to Niningi, this will further compliment the newly approved three-tier court system announced recently and he would like to see all these changes taking place within this term of Parliament. Amongst the imperatives to improve capacity and performance, the government has recently approved to increase the ceiling of judges from 40 to 60. Annual budgetary appropriations to the judiciary have also increased in recent years. “The government believes that maintenance of the rule of law by a vibrant and independent judiciary is vital for growth and development. A strong and robust judicial system provides a good platform for investment and gives investor confidence.” “Some of our judges are now nearing their compulsory retirement age. Many of them have spent most of their active working life on the bench for over 30 years or more.” He went on to add that a judicial appointment to the bench is a lifetime calling in many respects and it is for this reason that judges must be adequately and sufficiently remunerated, both during their time in office and also at retirement.

The country’s national flag carrier, Air Niugini, has announced that there will be disruptions to their services to international and domestic flights, both passenger and cargo, due to technical issues and will not be risking the safety of their customers due to this. In a statement released today, Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Gary Seddon stated that Air Niugini operates aircraft to one of the highest standards of aviation and airworthiness in the world. “This is a very good safety benchmark to have. This means that we will not cut corners on our interim aircraft acquisition program.” “When we discovered that the Q400s that had been previously selected were not to standard, we cancelled the arrangements and went back to market. I will not risk our operations with aircraft that cannot be relied upon to improve our position.” Air Niugini was expecting to receive four Dash8-Q400 turboprop and two Boeing 737- 800 aircraft by September this year and is currently negotiating with aircraft vendors in North America and in the meantime has accelerated heavy maintenance programs on its existing fleet. “We hope to be able to add to our turboprop fleet in the very near future, but for now we are investing in engines and heavy maintenance to return our existing fleet to service.” Air Niugini has stated previously that due to its aging fleet, the airline often struggles to operate more than 55% of its aircraft (13 planes) on any given day. This is because there has been little investment in maintenance repair and overhaul over the past decade, and this retooling takes time and capital. “We have recruited more qualified staff and we have been stocking high turnover inventory. We are seeing some improvement in productivity. But the age of the fleet continues to hamper operations. We will not place profits and schedule ahead of safety, and an unserviceable aircraft will not be operated regardless of the cost and inconvenience of disruption.” Mr. Seddon said attracting more pilots and crew to operate additional aircraft has been challenging noting that there is a worldwide shortage of pilots because the most experienced are being attracted to larger operators around the region, who are paying very high rates and one-off joining bonuses. Air Niugini recently recommenced the pilot cadet training program and has received over 1, 500 applications from school leavers to licensed pilots looking to develop their career.

It’s back to the drawing board for the PNG Kumuls following a disastrous first half that led to their 27 point hammering by the Fiji Bati. A visibly disappointed Kumul Coach, Justin Holbrook mentioned that there were a number of areas that they weren’t able to maintain, things that the Bati were able to execute well and this cost them the match. “What we built over the last couple of games we didn’t obviously do and Fiji did. They beat us in all areas of the game.” The Kumuls now have a week to regroup before taking on the Bati for a second time at the end of the week for the Pacific Bowl.

Kumul Kyle Laybutt will be running out as Captain for the team for just his second time, he is thankful that he’s jobs been made easier with the help of other senior members of the team, stating that he is happy to be surrounded by leaders in the likes of Edwin Ipape and Rhyse Martin. According to the Kumul skipper, it’s more of a group effort and it’s been a good experience for him being put in charge of the team, something that he was not expecting. “It’s a pretty easy job with the group of boys that we have. Rhysies come in and Edwin, two leaders in themselves. I wasn’t expecting it, but yeah, it’s a huge honor and I’m looking forward to it.” In preparation for the clash tomorrow, Laybutt stated that they won’t be taking this match lightly especially in front of the home crowd, knowing fully well that the final is still yet a week away. “We know that this isn’t the main game, but we really want to get a win in front of our home crowd, and we want to keep building to get better and better.” In terms of training, the Kumul skipper was impressed by the willingness of each player to turn up during practice because it shows how tight knit, they are as a unit. Apart from that, Kyle is excited to have the boys from the Super League back in camp and is looking forward to running out with them all tomorrow.

“Hey everyone, Maika Sivo is in the house!” Literally! Sivo fever is so big in Papua New Guinea that officials had to secret him into a house opposite the Hohola Flies ground, while his Bati team-mates conducted a coaching clinic, to ensure they were able to maintain control. With the announcement of Sivo's presence at the end of the session, fans rushed towards for a glimpse of the Fiji megastar and stood outside chanting his name after the team returned to the house. Students at the school next door came to the fence overlooking a courtyard where the Fiji players were now gathered and also began chanting “Sivo, Sivo” after they spotted the 30-year-old. "I don't think Sivo can go out there now, it is a bit too packed there at the moment," Blake said. "Everyone is just shouting 'Sivo' everywhere we go. As soon as they see him they start the Sivo chant. I thought I was back at CommBank." Blake was stunned that fans were also chanting his name at the school coaching clinic, which attracted a crowd of about 2000 to see the Fijian team, who play the Kumuls on Sunday at Santos National Football Stadium. [caption id="attachment_46754" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Waqa Blake has been taken aback by the support in PNG ©Erick Lucero/NRL Photos[/caption] Before the session, on a rock-hard dirt field where the local grand finals will be played on Sunday, the students had sung “Happy Birthday” to the Parramatta centre, who turned 29-years-old. “I have never seen anything like it before,” Blake said. “Being in the NRL, you hear all of the stories, but I couldn't believe that a lot of them knew my name and they sang me 'Happy Birthday'. “It is crazy how big rugby league is in this country, we just got swamped, and I wouldn’t mind something like this happening in Fiji. It just shows that PNG deserves to have a team in the NRL. It just shows that PNG deserves to have a team in the NRL. "From the bottom of my heart, I am so grateful and thankful to PNG for hosting us.” The coaching clinic was organised by Fiji coach Wise Kativerata after meeting Kevin Aribi, a student and player from Hohola, who was a member of the Bati academy in Suva. “Kevin knows all the Fiji Bati players and he knows everything about the NRL, which all Papua New Guinea people know,” Kativerata said. “He came and spent three weeks at my place, and this was Kevin’s wish - for the Fiji Bati to come and visit his place. It is amazing what rugby league can do for people.” Players addressed the students about the importance of drinking water, eating well and maintaining a healthy lifestyle before heading to a roped off area where they ran coaching drills with the assistance of NRL PNG staff. Thousands of fans stood outside the rope, calling the players over for photographs and autographs, but order was maintained until the end of the session as the Bati stars joined Sivo in the house owned by Kevin’s family. “It is a dream come true for all the students and all the kids, and for us adults too,” said Kevin’s sister, Ali, who MC’d the event. “Kevin had the privilege of spending three weeks at the Fiji Bati academy in Suva, Fiji. Through that friendship and relationship that we have fostered over the Pacific Ocean, we have bought the Bati to the community to Hohola. “We are so thankful and grateful for that. We have never had this opportunity and it is a positive impact to hear the players talk about the importance of water, food and health. “Seeing the players happy will build a positive and strong confidence within the kids.” Source: NRL.Com

Things are slowly returning to normal following the arrival of two mobile squad units in Madang Town. Madang Provincial Administrator Frank Lau told PNG HAUSBUNG that tensions have eased slightly and people are returning to their normal daily routines. The major incident that sparked violence on Thursday was the discovery of a dead police officer, alleged to have been murdered by the members of the Wali Community in the N7 area in Transgogol. This in turn saw relatives of the deceased take up arms and raid the town in revenge. “They rampaged through town in the morning, the relatives and opportunists." "A lot of opportunists.” Luckily, local law enforcement officers were able to contain the situation, this after opportunists attacked government buildings and business houses. Lau said this was not the only issue that police had to deal with in town yesterday. There were other separate violence cases that were reported yesterday. A Bogia man was murdered and there was another fight that saw fighting in another part of town. “These are all settlement fights." *Opportunists in these settlements are causing all this mishap.” Despite many claiming that the lawlessness reported yesterday seemed to be connected, the PA has refuted these claims, stating that they were isolated incidents that spiraled out of control due to opportunists taking advantage of the situation. Meanwhile, Madang District Administrator, Timothy Ului has advised that public servants for the district administration were told not come to work today, a precautionary measure taken for their safety and security.

Young Kumul, Robert Derby will have a mammoth of a task this weekend stopping giants as the young lad lines up in the Melanesian clash this Sunday. Derby said there’s nothing much the Kumuls look to change up in their preparation for their match this Sunday against the Bati, but they remain ready for anything that the Bati will be throwing to them. The North Queensland Cowboy said they will be working hard to manage both Fijian wingers, Mikaele Ravalawa and Maika Sivo, knowing how dangerous these both of them are, seen from their last outing against the cooks. “Justin said that they [Bati] probably came into that game thinking that they would beat the Cooks, but the Cooks stepped it up a bit and I think for this week, they will be prepped for the weekend.” The back 4 of the Fiji Bati managed to put their names on the scoreboard against the Cook Islands. So far, he says training has been great and they will be working towards grabbing the W at home but on a personal level, Derby will be focusing on shutting down anybody, NRL player or otherwise. “We’re just working hard because we know they got big outside backs.” “We are just trying to get up on them quick.” Derby is expecting the Fijian backs to ramp up their game but going into the weekend, he has the confidence that their back line is more than capable of shutting down the Bati.

Koiari landowners have called for the Prime Minister, James Marape and the Government to disregard the resignation of PNG Power Limited, Obed Batia stating that he is the best person to address legacy issues that have plagued the State-Owned Entity (SOE) for many years. The landowners in a conference told media that should the Government not reinstate Batia by the end of this week, they will have no choice but to forcefully shutdown all power and water supply to the capital, including the new Edevu Hydro Station. Spokesperson Mr Mathias Jack expressed great frustration over Batia's resignation, alleging that it had been forced upon him by the board of PNG Power. Mr Jack said Batia, who has given 34 years of his life in service to PPL [formerly Elcom] was forced to resign following immense pressure for reasons unknown. The landowners praised the Government and the National Executive Council for their recognition of the Koiari people by appointing Batia as CEO of PPL. Since Batia’s appointment as CEO, the PPL has been working to address issues within the Energy Workers Union. The landowners added they believe that his resignation is forced and demand the Prime Minister rescind his resignation and allow Batia to return to work by Friday this week.