Northland has declared a state of emergency and the Auckland Harbour Bridge has been closed as steady rain and strong winds from Cyclone Gabrielle hit, but MetService says this is just the beginning. The Northland Regional council said a precautionary state of emergency has been declared for an initial period of seven days, as part of the regional response to Cyclone Gabrielle. It said emergency declarations were relatively rare in Northland, with only six emergency declarations in the past 50 years, some of which affected only parts of the region. Meanwhile, Waka Kotahi confirmed all lanes on the Auckland Harbour…
Author: PNG Haus Bung
Security risks put a handful of search and rescue operations on hold on Saturday, as the death toll of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey surpassed 25,000. Germany and Austria have suspended rescue operations in Turkey, citing security concerns. Meanwhile, rescue efforts in the rebel-controlled areas in north and northwest Syria have ended, announced volunteer organization Syria Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, on Friday. After searching for 108 hours, the group said it believes no one trapped under the rubble is still alive. Syria has been ravaged by civil war since 2011, and 4 million people…
After watching Nicho Hynes claim the Preston Campbell Medal as best on ground in the men’s NRL All Stars clash, while playing out of position back at fullback, Indigenous All Stars coach Ronald Griffiths heaped praise on the 26-year-old Sharks star. Following a shift from halfback – the position he won the Dally M Medal in last season – to fullback where he started his Telstra Premiership career, Hynes stole the show in Rotorua with a performance which included a try, try assist and 207 run metres in his side’s 28-24 win. Post-match Griffiths said Hynes had been a huge…
The Governments of Papua New Guinea and New Zealand are working on strengthening their bilateral relations through a more streamlined outlook on strategic people-to-people initiatives. Amongst these pertinent initiatives is the Labour Mobility Program that will be a main point of discussion between Papua New Guinea Foreign Affairs Minister Justin Tkatchenko MP and his New Zealand counterpart Nanaia Mahuta MP. Minister Tkatchenko, in an official press conference this morning, said the purpose of the trip is to discuss ways of enhancing the current status of the labour mobility program to include more Papua New Guineans across various industries in the…
Heavy rain from Cyclone Gabrielle is likely to arrive in Northland slightly earlier than expected, while people in the Coromandel in areas at risk are being warned to self evacuate. An orange warning is in place for severe wind and heavy rain for several areas including Northland, Auckland north of Whangaparaoa and Great Barrier Island, and a red warning for heavy rain was issued today for the Coromandel Peninsula and Tairawhiti Gisborne north of Tolaga Bay. The cyclone has been downgraded to Category 2 from Category 3, with wind speeds estimated between 89-118 km/h. Civil Defence Controller for the Coromandel…
Governor for Madang Ramsey Pariwa presented a dummy cheque of K1.2 million to the President of Divine Word University, Professor Fr Philip Gibbs, during the President’s dinner at the Madang Campus this week. While handing over the cheque, Governor Pariwa, making reference to the preamble of the constitution of Papua New Guinea, said he is honoring the stance of the fore fathers of this nation in investing in integral human development. “The late Sir Michael Somare and our fore fathers believed that upon education this nation will be successful, that is why integral human development is the number one goal…
A Selwyn Cobbo hat-trick propelled the Indigenous All Stars to a 28-24 victory over a gutsy Māori All side in the Saturday’s NRL Harvey Norman All Stars clash in Rotorua. Cobbo scored his three tries in the space of 12 minutes in the final quarter of the match to help his side overcome a Māori outfit who led for the opening 44 minutes and fought back to make it a one-score game with two minutes to go. Halfback Nicho Hynes was at the heart of the win for Ronald Griffiths’ side, scoring a try and then setting one up either…
Nambawan Super Limited (NSL) welcomes the State’s announcement to move the Department of Education, Teaching Services Commission and PNG National Commission for UNESCO into the 100% Member owned Vulupindi Haus in Port Moresby. NSL CEO Mr. Paul Sayer said on Wednesday (08/02/23) that in recent months, NSL has been working closely with the Government Office Allocation Committee (GOAC) to ensure the seamless transition of these key Departments to Vulupindi. “NSL and GOAC are currently working to finalize the tenancy agreement for Vulupindi Haus to onboard these new tenants and also to renew the expired leases for other NSL owned buildings…
Timothy Masiu, Minister for Information and Communications Technology, announced the Pacific ICT Heads Dialogue, which will take place next week in Kokopo, East New Britain province. The conference will bring together the heads of ICT in almost all the Pacific Island nations to discuss the opportunities and challenges faced in the region’s ICT space. At a media conference yesterday, Minister Masiu emphasized the importance of the Pacific region coming together in the fast-paced digital transformation, which is crucial for driving economic growth and addressing security concerns. The conference is the start of the Pacific region’s collaboration, with almost all Pacific…
The world of Harry Potter is getting new life. Hogwarts Legacy – the new open-world video game by Avalanche and Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company, will be released , to much anticipation. The single-player game has been five years in the making — experts put its budget at $150 million. The game already broke a record on Twitch for being the most-watched single-player game, played by streamers who got the game early. And it’s the No. 1 pre-sale this week on gaming platform Steam. “Open world style games are a really a big deal in the games industry,” said…