After the burning down of two buildings in Mt. Hagen City, Police in Western Highlands Province have sent out a stern warning to people in the city to not take advantage of the situation as reinforcements pour in from other parts of the Highlands region. Provincial Police Commander, Chief Superintendent John Sagom advised that Mobile Squad 8 has arrived in the Mt Hagen City and they are now waiting on others to arrive. “My men are moving around in the city.” “We are also looking out for opportunist who might take advantage of the situation and trying to cause unnecessary disturbance in the City.” The PPC reported that a Tyre Service workshop and a Spare Parts building were burn down in retaliation by the Mogie Nambka following the death of one of their leaders. The Mogie then allegedly ran riot throughout the city but police were able to contain the situation. “At this time we would like to assure the residents of the city that they are safe and that they operate their businesses without fear.” He further thanked the support of the PNG Defence force personnel on ground assisting the police to maintain safety and has added that they will be engaging all auxiliaries and reserve units.

“Mi kirap nogut eh. Mi to mi stap aut na mi no stap lo Pom. Mi stap out na ol boys tokim mi eh mi hamamas nogut tru.” (“I was shocked! I was out of POM and the boys told me and I was very happy.”) Beejoh, the ‘600 ways’ singer expressed excitement when he received his nomination of Best New Artist of the year at the PNGFM office this week. Beejoh, who just returned to Port Moresby after his Tour of Wewak recently said he was shocked when he found out about the nomination. The singer said his major highlight was that of last year’s tour in Madang. Stoked to be nominated, Beejoh says he’s working on some new material, with his recently releases being singles and has promised that he’s got more to offer. “Ol niupla wans kam aut na sampla niupla wans stap.” (“New ones are coming out and there’s some new ones also.”) Tickets for the YUMI FM PNG Musik Awards are on sale now at the PNGFM Office, Ahuia Street, Gordons.

Police in Western Highlands Province have moved into a village 5km outside Mt. Hagen City following the tribal conflict between the Moge Nambka Tribe of Hagen and the Kopi Tribe of Mt. Kuta. Provincial Police Commander, Chief Superintendent John Sagom told PNG HAUSBUNG that this was a result of incidents that occurred on Mother’s Day that continued onto Monday and the death of a clan leader of the Moge Nambka. “An employee of Black Swan who was also a villager there, was heading back into the village using the company vehicle.” “Youths who were under the influence of alcohol blocked of the road and had an argument, assaulted the driver damaging the vehicle.” The Chief Superintendent stated that the Black Swan employee, a supervisor in the security firm allegedly returned home and early hours the next day attacked the homes of the youths. Police received word of the impending attack and all manpower in the city was sent to contain the situation but were unable to do so, being badly outnumbered by both tribes. “We received intelligence of the attack and were there in the morning as early as 5-6 o’clock.” “However, we were outnumbered by the villagers.” “Our manpower couldn’t contain the mob that came in to attack the other tribe.” A tribe leader from the Moge Nambka was wounded and rushed to the hospital where they later received news of his death due to loss of blood. A couple of houses were burnt down in the process. Police have now intervened and the PPC has spoken to both leaders of the tribe and has sternly advised both tribes to not take the laws into their own hands and that police are already dealing with the situation. A task force has already been set up to investigate the matter.

Police have advised that the public demonstration aimed to protest the removal of the disgraced Moresby South MP, Justin Tkatchenko will not be authorized and police will be heightening alert from tomorrow onwards. This follows rumours of a planned protest. This was the message from the NCD Metropolitan Superintendent, in a statement this afternoon. The Met-Supt said police will not allow this demonstration, especially at this time when world leaders are coming into the country for their summit. “Any disturbances by a minority group in NCD would be a major embarrassment to the whole nation in the eyes of the international community.” Mr Sika said a letter from a group calling themselves the Coalition of Concerned Citizens was delivered to his office today, requesting police to grant approval for the planned protest march. The organisers of this event are using social media to persuade city residents to form up at the Pacific Institute of Leadership and Governance Institute in Waigani tomorrow. They intend to walk from there to parliament house, Supt Sika said. Sika stated the request is not approved because world attention is now focused on PNG. "We also took into consideration the social impact on the community." "The business community may suffer losses, and children's education may be disrupted by this event." The Met-Supt added that the people aggrieved by comments made by Moresby South MP Justin Tkatchenko can take their grievances to court and seek redress or write and petition the government without a public assembly. Mr Sika said police will continue to work closely with the community in maintaining peace and good order across the city.

The Governor General, Sir Bob Dadae has issued a statement late this evening declaring Monday the 22nd of this month a Public Holiday in the National Capital District. Acting upon advice from the Prime Minister, James Marape, this is to mark the occasion of the Visit of the international delegates who will be arriving in the country. This is in an official gazette, the Governor General, conferring with section 149 of the constitution and section 5 of the Public Holidays Act [Chapter 321]. These delegates include the President of the United States, Joe Biden, Prime Minister of India, Nahendra Modi and Fijian Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka. The visit will focus on the India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit.

The Opposition Leader and Member for Kandrian-Gloucester, Joseph Lelang has welcomed the news of Moresby South MP, Justin Tkatchenko stepping aside from the position of Foreign Minister, however he along with the Opposition believe that this is not enough. In a statement released this week, the opposition leader stated that he will be making a submission to the Citizenship committee to determine the status of the disgraced MP and for him to be deported. “Nothing less than that is acceptable.” “Tkatchenko, who is a naturalized citizen must be dealt with for his insulting, derogatory, racist, and offensive comments describing the people as “useless” and “primitive animals” on international media.” These statements received widespread criticism from prominent Papua New Guineans across the country, many of whom have also called on the Prime Minister to sack and revoke Tkatchenko’s citizenship. “He must be deported so that in future, such comments should never be uttered against the country and it’s people.” He added that it is shameful that the prime minister is trying to deflect the situation and protect Tkatchenko. “The country is bigger than Prime Minister and Tkatchenko and that the interest of the country, it’s cultures, heritage and it’s peoples must be protected at all times.” “The Opposition will lay an official complaint against him for misconduct in the coming days with the Ombudsman Commission.”

City Pharmacy Limited Group of Companies Chief Executive officer, Navin Raju has called on the Government and Provincial Authorities to establish a more effective consultation process with local business houses before making decisions that impact businesses. In a statement released yesterday, Raju stated that the sudden announcement of public holidays or liquor trading restrictions made without proper consultation can have adverse economic consequences. “These decisions often result in significant losses for businesses, yet there seems to be little consideration given to their impact.” He added that while they understand the rationale behind these decisions, it is crucial that businesses are given sufficient notice to mitigate losses and plan accordingly. Raju stated that by engaging in meaningful consultation with the business community, they can better understand the potential impact of its decisions and take steps to minimize any adverse effects on the economy.

As Port Moresby gets ready to welcome both the leaders of the United States of America and India, the Minister for Internal Security, Peter Tsiamlili Jnr has stated that they are taking all measures necessary to ensure their safety and security. In a security brief, he announced that they are pleased that the joint forces from the police, military and other security agencies will be stepping up their efforts to monitor the city by foot, air and sea. “We are proud to have the CIA, FBI, and Indian Intelligence collaborating with our Joint Task Force Intelligence to ensure that our visitors are welcomed to a safe and secure environment.” The minister added that they would like to remind the general public to cooperate with the authorities and take notice of any public notices on liquor and road closures, to ensure a seamless experience for the leaders, and will be conducting a dry run on Wednesday, 17th May 2023. “This will involve running through the airport arrival procedures, as well as the routes from the Apec Terminal to the Apec House." "We are expecting a full support team from the White House and the Indian Prime Minister to accompany their respective leaders.” He also stated that they would like to inform those with drone licenses that there will be air closures during this period and are confident that these measures will help provide a safe and secure environment for both heads of state.

Police in Milne Bay province have recently discovered the body of a young man off the coast of Alotau and are now carrying out investigations to ascertain the facts behind this. Provincial Police Commander, Chief Inspector Ben Kua stated that the body was discovered on the 10th of this month at sea. “Last week around 5pm on Wednesday, the body was discovered.” “A male adult from Esa’ala-Ferguson [Name withheld] floating at sea off the main wharf in town.” The PPC added that police found that the man had stab wounds found all over his body. Due to the deteriorating status of the body, the family of the deceased were advised to bury the body. Police are now urging people to take precaution. Meanwhile, Police have commended the efforts of seafarers who braved an attempt by Pirates to hijack their sea vessels, injuring 2 and leaving 2 dead. PPC Kua stated that they were brave to put up a fight. “There were 4 suspects on the Pirate boat attempting to attack the people, but they put up a fight. They shot 3 of them with the spear guns. One fell off the boat and was killed instantly.” The other was rushed to hospital in town and was pronounced dead on arrival. The other two were taken to hospital and are nursing injuries with police monitoring them.

The Western Provincial Education Division has advised that they have yet to receive their 2nd quarter GTFS although the Government has advised that the funds have already been handed over to the Education Department. Principle Advisor of Education for Western Province, Charlie Guya said that they were advised that the funds were in the hands of the Education department but they have yet to be disbursed throughout the country. “As far as I know, the last update on Friday after calling the department, they are saying the funds are already with the Department, but we have not received that in our schools.” Guya stated that this has become a concern for the Division, with lack of funds leading to the schools on the verge of suspending operation, midway through the year with the current status of schools running out of money. Meanwhile, whilst the country has welcomed the school structure reform to the 1-6-6 structure, Guya said that as they welcome the reform with open arms, they have also opened their arms to a truckload of challenges along with it. “1-6-6 is a big challenge. We’ve tried to implement the decisions and policies come with challenges and when you don’t have back up plans, you will certainly run into challenges.” Nevertheless, they have implemented these changes, and many schools have now rebranded with additional teachers that have been sent to the PNG Education Institute to undergo training.

Students attending the Morehead High School and another high school in Western Province will now have their education disrupted after their school administrations were advised by the Provincial Education Board (PEB) to partially close down due to funding issues. The Principle Advisor of Education for Western Province, Mr. Charlie Guya said he has advised the schools to suspend classes as there are no funds for the schools to continue operating this term. “Schools have no money! I have two high schools that are now looking at suspension of classes because they have no money. They have managed to run the schools for the last 4 weeks expecting that the national department will disburse all the funds, but that has not reached the accounts.” Most of the high schools in the Western province are boarding schools and when there is a lack of funding, that will mean no food on the table for boarding students. Business houses have now stopped assisting schools with food on credit, thus leaving them with no choice but to close down for an indefinite period. He said they have given the go ahead for them to suspend classes for grade 9’s and let the grade 10’s remain in class. He added that they will find ways to provide for the students and staff. At this point, school administrators will have a very difficult time in operating. “This is the result of the government’s decision and now the schools are in red.” Mr. Guya said this because earlier this year, schools were directed by the Education Department through a circular from the Secretary that schools would not charge any other fees to parents. This is because funds coming in from fees like the project fee component of the schools would also help in running the school, something which most schools were ordered not to impose this year.

The University Piggies bounced back from a disappointing loss last week to the Credit Corporation Harlequins, to pull off a well-deserved victory after defeating the MMB Marlins 35-7 on Saturday 13th May at the Bava Park, Port Moresby. The game seemed to hang in the balance for the first quarter of play, but that turned sideways for the Marlins following a penalty and the sin-binning of inside centre, Kana Martin. For what felt like an eternity, the Piggies assaulted the Marlins defense until flanker Andrew Ken crossed over the try line after shifting play from the western touchline. Piggies Fly-Half, Mick Kili had a good day with the boot, kicking 5 from 5 conversions. Dominating field and ball possession, the Piggies would score more tries before the break, one through spreading the ball to the eastern touchline, while the third through a solo effort by Trevor Paiva snatching up a loose ball and running 60m to score under the sticks. After the break, the intensity of the Piggies attacking playing increased, leaving the Marlins backpedaling for the rest of the match. They eventually managed to score in the final minute of the game, but John Pangatana’s men proving a force to be reckoned with this season.