The Thai navy says 31 sailors are missing after a warship carrying more than 100 crew capsized and sank during a storm in the Gulf of Thailand. HTMS Sukhothai sank after water flooded its power controls on Sunday night. Images shared by the navy showed some crew who survived in a life raft. On Monday, authorities said they had rescued 75 sailors, but 31 were still missing in rough seas. “We will keep looking,” a navy spokesman told the BBC. Search crews worked through the night to find survivors, with the operation continuing on Monday with air force assistance. The…
Author: PNG Haus Bung
Nations have agreed to protect a third of the planet for nature by 2030 in a landmark deal aimed at safeguarding biodiversity. There will also be targets for protecting vital ecosystems such as rainforests and wetlands and the rights of indigenous peoples. The agreement at the COP15 UN biodiversity summit in Montreal, Canada, came early on Monday morning. The summit had been moved from China and postponed due to Covid. China, which was in charge of the meeting, brought down the gavel on the deal despite a last minute objection from the Democratic Republic of Congo. UN Secretary General Antonio…
Featherstone Rovers have added Papua New Guinea international prop McKenzie Yei to the squad ahead of the 2023 season, as well as having retained the services of club captain James Lockwood. Yei joins from Queensland Cup side Central Queensland Capras having previously played for PNG Hunters and was rated highly for his efforts during this year’s Rugby League World Cup where he made an impact in both defence and attack. “I am really pleased that we have secured McKenzie’s signature, it’s a real coup for us. I’ve watched him over the last three years both at international and club level and…
Prime Minister James Marape, MP, officially launched the Hiri Koiari Five Year Development District Plan yesterday at the APEC Haus, in Port Moresby. The Prime Minister said the Marape-Rosso Government wants to bring leadership closer to the people at the District Level that is why his Government approved seven new districts from the twelve recommended by the Electoral Boundaries Commission for the 2022 Elections and Hiri-Koiari was one of the seven. Prime Minister Marape said the seven electorates were not just picked for the sake of picking. They were strategic economic electorates and they were big so we needed to…
Twitter’s owner Elon Musk is asking users of the social media platform to vote on his future as its chief executive officer. In a poll to his 122 million followers, he tweeted: “Should I step down as head… I will abide by the results…” The technology tycoon, who also runs Tesla and Space X, has faced tremendous criticism since taking over Twitter. After a major legal battle, Mr. Musk took control of the company in October in a $44bn (£36bn) deal. It comes as Twitter says it will shut down accounts solely designed to promote other social media platforms. The…
Brittney Griner is opening up about her return home for the first time. The WNBA star, who returned to the U.S. last week after a prisoner swap with Russia, was detained in the country for 10 months. On Friday, Griner shared a long Instagram post about her return to the U.S. and her plans for the future. “It feels so good to be home! The last 10 months have been a battle at every turn,” she wrote. “I dug deep to keep my faith and it was the love from so many of you that helped keep me going. From the bottom…
A rare edition of the first Harry Potter book, never released to the public, has been auctioned for £8,000. The copy, which was signed by author JK Rowling, was one of only 15 produced for a competition to mark the 15th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. It was awarded to entrant Chloe Esslemont, then aged 16, from Cumbria. Auctioneers had described it as “particularly scarce” as there was no record of similar copies being sold. Publisher Bloomsbury organised the competition in 2012 and asked fans of the series to write a colourful letter explaining why they loved…
In the span of three weeks, shootings in Atlanta have killed four children between the ages of 11 and 16, and Mayor Andre Dickens said Sunday the recent trend is unacceptable. “A week before Christmas, families should be preparing to celebrate,” Dickens wrote in a statement. “Instead, we have parents in Atlanta doing what no parent should ever have to do: laying their children to rest.” Dickens wrote these last few weeks “have shown all too clearly that Atlanta is not immune from this unacceptable trend.” The most recent shooting took place Saturday evening at an apartment complex when two teens…
Kiribati’s transport boss says his ministry aims to re-establish air service connections to the Line Islands. The Minister of Information, Communication and Transport, Tekeeua Tarati, said part of the work is to upgrade the runways in Fanning and Washington islands. Radio Kiribati reports the minister saying the Ministry for Line and Phoenix Islands Development has said it will assist to clear trees and cut the lawn on the islands’ airstrips. Once these runways are certified by relevant authorities, the government will send one Twin Otter aircraft to station on Christmas Island. Meanwhile, the Government’s new barge has undertaken its maiden domestic…
The highly anticipated “Avatar: The Way of Water” took in $134 million at the US box office, giving director James Cameron his first $100 million opening weekend — despite falling short of analyst predictions. Although notching the second highest world-wide opening this year didn’t quite match expectations, the film’s ultimate success will depend on its long term appeal, a notable attribute of many of Cameron’s movies. “Avatar: The Way of Water” has so far earned $435 million at the global box office. Though Cameron hasn’t revealed exactly how much it cost to make the “Avatar” sequel, one answer isn’t in doubt:…