Cronulla Sharks forward Andrew Fifita is in an induced coma after sustaining a throat injury in his side’s defeat to Newcastle Knights on Sunday. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the 32-year-old has been placed in an induced coma after being rushed to hospital at the Royal Brisbane Hospital. Fifita is reportedly in a stable condition but has been placed in the induced coma to assist with breathing due to severe swelling of his larynx. The Tonga and former Australia international is expected to need surgery, which will almost certainly end his 2021 season. On Sunday, Fifita lasted just 13…
Author: PNG Haus Bung
Kina Securities Limited presented a vigorous strategy to PNG’s competition commission on Wednesday in support of its acquisition of Westpac PNG. Represented by Chairman, Isikeli Taureka, and Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Greg Pawson, Kina outlined a powerful vision for more competition in the banking sector, more innovation and more customer choice for Papua New Guinea if the acquisition is approved by the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (“ICCC”). “Our mission is to constantly improve the prosperity of the people, communities and markets that we serve,” said Mr. Taureka in his opening statement. “We strongly believe that this transaction…
Officials in Haiti have confirmed at least 1,297 people are dead after a powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit the Caribbean nation on Saturday. Rescuers are picking through rubble in a desperate search for any survivors. Homes, churches and schools were among buildings flattened in the quake. Some hospitals were left overwhelmed and in need of supplies. An unknown number of people are missing and about 5,700 have been injured, officials say. The disaster compounds problems facing the impoverished nation, which is already reeling from a political crisis following the assassination of its president last month. The south-west of Haiti appears to…
The rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in Papua New Guinea is vital because it limits the spread of the virus and saves lives. The Oil Search Foundation (OSF) is supporting the Gulf Provincial Health Authority (GPHA) to work with government and development partners to ensure Papua New Guineans have access to the COVID-19 vaccine. In the Gulf Province, the vaccine roll-out of the first round of priority population groups is doing well. In just five weeks the GPHA vaccination teams have achieved amazing results. The first groups to be vaccinated were health staff, other essential workers and people considered vulnerable because…
Fisheries Minister Dr Lino Tom said investment into children’s education is important as they will drive the nation forward in the future. He made these remarks during the opening of a four-in-one double classroom at Arifiran Primary school in Markham District of Morobe Province last Friday. The four-in-one double classroom project was an initiative undertaken by the former Fisheries Minister and is part of National Fisheries Authority’s community base support. Minister Tom said the project will serve to benefit the children with access to proper classroom building that will enhance their learning environment and urges parents and the community to…
Prime Minister James Marape said all 89 MPs received K2 million for COVID-19 on top of their K10 million District Services Improvement Programme (DSIP) funds. He said this in Parliament on Friday to clear confusion by North Fly MP James Donald and Opposition Leader and Vanimo-Green MP Belden Namah on these funds. PM Marape said each MP had already received K2 million for COVID-19 for his district last year while disbursement of the K10 million depended on availability of funds. Of the K2 million for COVID-19: K1 million was earmarked for agriculture intervention, K500,000 for Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)…
Nearly two million people have been urged to evacuate their homes amid heavy rainfall in parts of Japan. Highest-level rain warnings have been issued in a number of prefectures, including Fukuoka and Hiroshima. One woman has died and her husband and daughter are missing after a landslide destroyed two homes in Nagasaki prefecture. More than 150 troops, police and firefighters have been sent to help with rescue operations in the area. “They are carefully searching for the missing residents, while watching out for further mudslides as the heavy rain continues,” a local official told the AFP news agency. The west…
Rwandan President and Arsenal fan Paul Kagame has vented his frustration at the club’s shock defeat by a newly promoted club on the opening day of the English Premier League season. Brentford, after a 74-year absence from top-tier football, beat Arsenal 2-0. Mr Kagame often comments on the Gunners – a club sponsored by his government. After Friday’s away game, he tweeted: “We just must NOT excuse or accept mediocrity. A team has to be built with purpose to win win win.” In two further rapid-fire tweets, he demanded “a plan that really works” and lamented that “fans don’t deserve to…
The Marsden Point oil refinery is asking for taxpayer help to look into making more environmentally friendly jet fuel. Refining NZ is proposing a study that could cost several million dollars funded by a public and private consortium. It would look into making jet fuel from the likes of biomass or hydrogen. It is envisaged this would provide an alternative to the oil refinery that is set to shut down with the loss of hundreds of jobs. “We believe that some of the equipment we currently have on site at Marsden Point, as well as some of our team, are…
At least 304 people were killed and more than 1,800 injured as a devastating 7.2-magnitude earthquake rocked Haiti Saturday morning, the country’s civil protection agency confirmed to ABC News. The earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey, struck about 5 miles north of Petit Trou de Nippes, Haiti, a little over 90 miles from the capital, Port-au-Prince. There are also concerns that the earthquake could exacerbate the island’s COVID-19 infection rate should displaced people be forced into closer confines. Jerry Chandler, Haiti’s director of civil protection, said that teams will be sent to the area for search and rescue missions, The…