“Government must be sensitive to Mainstream Media roles and responsibilities before drafting a National Media Development Policy.” These were the comments made by Deputy Governor of New Ireland Province Sammy Missen after sighting a draft copy of the National Media Development Policy which has been circulating for the public to see. Speaking on behalf of the New Ireland Government, he noted that the Department of Digital Transformation, Media and Communication would be overseeing  monitoring and evaluation of the media industry through regular data collection and monitoring media content. He said, “While it was important for the Media is to be responsible in its reporting, it should not be made to feel restricted or oppressed and forced to fit into a mold created by the government.” “The mainstream media, especially news organisations are already self-regulating and have code of ethics for Journalists to follow.” “If there is a greater time for the Media to be more vibrant and speak out about the state of the country, that time is NOW,” said Missen. He said the role of the Media as the fourth estate in a democracy should not be undermined and must bear equal standing as the Executive arm, Legislative and Judiciary. “Media being the fourth Estate acts as a Watchdog over our Constitution. It plays a crucial role in ensuring there are checks and balances in all areas of society. When we formed this country, the media was with us from day one. Thanks to institutions like the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) a thousand tribes united to the beat of one drum, One song, to form one nation, one country,” said Missen. He further added that it does not make sense that an institution that is the mouthpiece of the Government and covers almost all Government programs and events should be stripped off of funding and still be expected to carry out its expected roles and responsibilities. “If anything, mainstream media should be left alone and more focus put into regulating the general distribution of information on social media sites and applications.” “More awareness and education is needed for ordinary Papua New Guineans who are not familiar with the ethics and consequences using such social media platforms for improper conduct or malicious reasons.” The New Ireland Governor Sir Julius Chan had fallen victim to the malicious use of social media where persons with ill intent had intentionally released false information about him, leading to undue distress to his family, his supporters and the general public. Missen further urged the Government to direct its attention to other areas like the Office of Censorship which is currently governed by an outdated Act 1989, that does not regulate the internet and other forms of modern technology incl

Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) is building a cancer centre that can treat all cancers and people have a higher chance of having their cancers cured if diagnosed early. The Mammogram machine was purchased by Kumul Petroleum Holdings as their support towards the PMGH Modern Cancer Centre. Port Moresby General Hospital has been providing free breast screening for women since the Mammogram was installed last year. After visiting the Port Moresby General Hospital on Monday, the Secretary for the Department of Personnel Management Ms Taies Sansan encouraged women 40 years and over to go for a free breast screening at PMGH. “I’d like to encourage a lot of women out there, our public servants, especially those over 40 years of age, even though they are not feeling anything in their breasts, it’s good to come and have a check-up just to be on the safe side.” “The reason I came to have this breast check-up here at Port Moresby General Hospital is because I am in my mid-40s so I thought it was the right time to come and have a breast check-up.” “I have been given the all-clear by the doctors here at Port Moresby General Hospital so I am very happy indeed.” 56 mammograms have been conducted so far and most of them were confirmed as having breast cancer. Meanwhile, PMGH Chief Executive Officer Dr. Paki Molumi said that it is estimated that 600 women are diagnosed per year which means 2 women a day a diagnosed with cancer. “If you are over 40 years of age and you feel lumps or pain in your breasts, you can come for a mammogram and also have a scan to correlate.” “If you are under 40 and have similar symptoms, you will be sent to have an ultrasound and you will be managed from there.”

Representative stars Nicho Hynes and Joey Manu join high-profile Broncos recruit Reece Walsh as the big names who will miss Round 1 of the new Telstra Premiership season through injury. Reigning Dally M Medal winner Hynes, who was the best player on the field in the NRL All Stars clash in February, picked up a calf injury at training last week and joins prop Royce Hunt (elbow) as the major omissions for the Sharks. The Roosters and Broncos meanwhile have opted not to risk their backline talents, who both suffered facial fractures recently. But it is believed the approach is a cautious one and both Manu and Walsh are good chances of taking the field in week two. While those established players will miss the start of the season for their respective clubs, a rising star will get his first chance in the big time at Suncorp Stadium, when the Dolphins host the Roosters in their first ever NRL match. In what promises to be a memorable debut regardless of the result, Isaiya Katoa has been named to be the club's inaugural No.6 ahead of veteran Anthony Milford, following an impressive couple of games for the club in the Pre-season Challenge. Manly custodian Tom Trbojevic will play for the first time since Round 11 last year, after an off-season which included time spent in America with renowned injury specialist Bill Knowles to strengthen his troublesome hamstring. He joins a Manly side which includes new signing Kelma Tuilagi in the second row and former Storm squad member Cooper Johns, who is in a injury replacement for Josh Schuster. After talk that he could be rushed into the side in similar fashion to the way Lote Tuqiri was in 2010, Wests Tigers recruit John Bateman will sit out their opener against the Titans after arriving in Australia last week. The new-look Knights spine will be rolled out for the first time in Wellington against the Warriors, with the much-discussed move of Kalyn Ponga to five-eighth and the first outings for new signings Jackson Hastings and Lachlan Miller, who will line up at halfback and fullback respectively. They'll take on a Warriors outfit who have named seven new faces who weren't at the club last year. Some of the other positional battles of interest saw Hayze Perham win the fullback job at the Bulldogs, Sebastian Kris beat Jordan Rapana to the vacant No.1 jersey at the Raiders and Bryce Cartright named to make his first NRL start since September, 2021. Source: NRL.Com

Twitter has laid off at least 200 staff in another round of cuts, according to reports in the New York Times. It said the tech giant had cut 10% of its current workforce, which it estimated at 2,000 people. This is the latest round of job losses at Twitter since chief executive Elon Musk sacked about 50% of its 7,500 employees when he took over in October. As staff learned of their fate, Mr Musk tweeted: "Hope you have a good Sunday. First day of the rest of your life." Esther Crawford, chief executive of Twitter Payments, who oversaw the Twitter Blue verification subscription model, said she was "deeply proud of my team" in a tweet after being among those released. And senior product manager Martijn de Kuijper, who founded newsletter tool Revue which Twitter acquired in 2021, said he found out he had lost his job after being locked out of his work emails. It's been a while since my phone blew up on a Sunday because of news about Twitter - not because there hasn't been any, but because we've all got used to it. More divisive user-experience changes to the platform, more provocative tweets from its owner Elon Musk... we are familiar with that drill. But nobody was expecting Esther Crawford, who had established herself as an influential figure in so-called Twitter 2.0, to be laid off. In November, she shared a picture of herself lying down inside a sleeping bag and wearing an eye mask on the floor at Twitter HQ. She has tirelessly cheerleaded the firm's path under Mr Musk. Some thought the product manager might even become the company's next chief executive. Mr Musk said weeks ago that he would stand aside in the role as soon as he found a replacement. It demonstrates once again this new brutal environment in which even the most loyal are unprotected. It will be familiar to many in the commercial sector and it's increasingly the way big tech is going as budgets start to bite. Esther herself tweeted that it was "a mistake" to think that her "optimism and hard work" had been a bad decision. "I'm deeply proud of the team for building through so much noise and chaos," she wrote. She probably wouldn't have called it "noise and chaos" this time last week. Source: BBC

Police in Ecuador have found almost 8.8 tonnes of cocaine in a shipment of bananas bound for Belgium. Police commander Fausto Salinas said the drugs would have been worth an estimated $330m (£275m) had they reached their destination. Ecuador has become one of the main transit countries for cocaine produced in neighboring Peru and Colombia. Last year, more than 200 tonnes of the drug were seized in the Andean country, much of it in the port of Guayaquil. With Ecuador the world's largest exporter of bananas, smugglers often try to hide their illegal consignments among the fruit which is shipped from Guayaquil to destinations all over the globe. This latest haul was found inside a container full of banana cases destined for Belgium. The seizure coincides with a visit by Belgium's Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden and European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson to Ecuador and Colombia. The two officials want to strengthen cooperation with the two South American nations in the fight against drug trafficking. Belgium has become the country where the largest quantities of cocaine have been seized within the European Union in recent years, with the port of Antwerp the main entry point for the illegal drug. The director of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Alexis Gosdeel, said earlier this month that the "growing flow of cocaine now threatens the entire European Union". "I am deeply concerned that the expanding EU cocaine market is bringing a rise in violence and corruption on public institutions and governance," he warned. In Ecuador, violence linked to drug smuggling has skyrocketed as powerful Mexican cartels have infiltrated local gangs to gain control of the lucrative business. Prisons are overflowing and fights between rival gangs behind bars have left scores dead. Source: BBC

A New Zealand-based media research and publication group has called for an “urgent rethink” on Papua New Guinea’s draft media development policy, saying its proposed regulation plan for the country’s media council and journalists threatened a free press. The Asia Pacific Media Network Inc. (APMN), publishers of the research journal Pacific Journalism Review, said in a statement that it supported the Community Coalition Against Corruption (CCAC) plea for more time to be granted for public consultation. The CCAC is a loose coalition of NGOs chaired by Transparency International-PNG and the PNG Media Council and is supported by churches, chambers of commerce, the Ombudsman Commission and the Office of the Public Solicitor. While noting that the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology had initially granted an extra week following the original 12 days for submissions on the draft National Media Development Policy 2023, the APMN said this was still “manifestly inadequate and rather contemptuous of the public interest”. “In our view, the ministry is misguided in seeking to legislate for a codified PNG Media Council which flies in the face of global norms for self-regulatory media councils and this development would have the potential to dangerously undermine media freedom in Papua New Guinea,” the statement said. The statement was signed by the APMN Chair Dr Heather Devere; Deputy chair Dr David Robie, a retired professor of Pacific journalism and author, and a former head of journalism at the University of Papua New Guinea in the 1990s; and Pacific Journalism Review editor Dr Philip Cass, who was born in PNG and worked on the Times of Papua New Guinea and Wantok newspapers. “The draft policy appears to have confused the purpose of a ‘media council’ representing the ‘public interest’ with the objectives of a government department working in the “national interest’,” the statement said. Risk to PNG media freedom “If the ministry pushes ahead with this policy without changes it risks Papua New Guinea sliding even further down the RSF World Press Freedom Index. Already it is a lowly 62nd out of 180 countries after falling 15 places in 2021.” The statement made reference to several principles for media freedom and media councils, including Article 42 of the Papua New Guinea Constitution, the M*A*S systems of media accountability and ethics pioneered by Professor Claude-Jean Bertrand, and the 2019 declaration for press freedom of the Melanesian Media Freedom Forum. It said the ministry needed to consult more widely and take more time to do this. The APMN called on the ministry to “immediately discard” the proposed policy of legislating the PNG Media Council and regulating journalists and media “which would seriously undermine media freedom in Papua New Guinea”. It also asked the ministry to extend the public consultation timeframe with a “realistic deadline to engage Papua New Guinean public interest and stakeholders in a meaningful dialogue”. It added that “essentially journalism is not a crime, but a fundamental pillar of democracy as espoused through the notion of a Fourth Estate and media must be free to speak truth to power in the public interest not the politicians’ interest”. Source: Asia Pacific Report

Broncos prop Thomas Flegler will fulfil his contract with the club until the end of the 2023 season. Broncos Coach Kevin Walters said: "Tom has made his decision and I respect that - he has spoken to me and has assured that he will be ripping in for us for the rest of the season. Broncos prop Thomas Flegler will fulfil his contract with the club until the end of the 2023 season. Broncos Coach Kevin Walters said: "Tom has made his decision and I respect that - he has spoken to me and has assured that he will be ripping in for us for the rest of the season. Source: Brisbane Broncos. com.au

The first trial match between the SP PNG Hunters and the Central Queensland Capras at the Santos National Football Stadium ended with the Capras defeating the Hunters. This was the first home game for the Hunters since the start of the pandemic, which saw the Hunters having to base in Australia for the duration of the pandemic period. The hunters were leading at halftime with 8 points to 4; however, the Capras fought back in the second half and scored 3 tries. Benji Kot scored a try in the second half but the boys couldn’t manage to score any more tries so the they lost the match 12-20 to the CapraThe SP PNG Hunters coach Stanley Tepend said that the boys were really looking forward to the game yesterday. “Even though it’s a trial game, we’ll go back and work on areas we need to before round 1.” “I haven’t seen any of those injured players yet, so hopefully they are all minor.” Coach Tepend said that they had to rest some of their players due to injury so they didn’t have a full-strength team. He said now they will go back to training and preparing for the Hostplus Cup season to start in 2 weeks time.

An earthquake has shaken parts of Wales, with tremors felt for 100 miles. The British Geological Survey (BGS) said the 3.7 magnitude quake was at 23:59 GMT on Friday and was 2.2 miles (3.6 km) under the Earth's surface. The epicentre was north of Brynmawr, Blaenau Gwent, and west of Crickhowell, Powys, but people on Twitter reported feeling it as far away as Birmingham. Gwent Police said it received multiple calls overnight but it was "business as usual" for the force. BBC journalist Alex Humphreys said she felt the "mini earthquake" in Cardiff, 30 miles (50km) away. "My whole bed shook," she tweeted. Others described it as a "scary" experience. Brian Baptie, BGS head of seismology, said it was the largest earthquake in south Wales since a 4.6 magnitude quake about 25 miles (40km) west, near Swansea, in February 2018. He added that, on average, Britain only gets about one earthquake with a magnitude of 3.7 or greater each year. The largest earthquake ever recorded in the UK was in the North Sea on 7 June 1931, with a magnitude of 6.1. The epicentre was in the Dogger Bank area, 75 miles (120km) north-east of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. Wales' most powerful quake was on the Llyn Peninsula, Gwynedd, in 1984 - measuring 5.4, it began at a depth of more than 12 miles (20km). The BGS said smaller quakes were not unusual in Wales, with 70 measuring more than 3.5 between 1727 and 1984. A 5.2 magnitude earthquake in Swansea in 1906 was one of the most damaging British earthquakes of the 20th Century, with damage to chimneys and walls reported across south Wales. In Ebbw Vale shoppers said they had been left shaken and stirred. Gerald Davies called the moment "strange", adding: "It freaked me out a bit but I didn't realize it was an earthquake until this morning when I heard people taking about it on the buses. "We're not used to feeling earthquakes here." Alison Stephens said: "I live in a house that house that has a cellar underneath and I thought something in the cellar had collapsed. "But my daughter and husband were in the living room and went, 'oh my god did you hear that?' "Then everyone was out in the street going, 'oh my God, was that an earthquake'?" She said it was "quite a rumble". Caroline Davies thought nothing of it until people started messaging on Saturday. "My husband was sat on one sofa and I was sat on the other... and it just wobbled," she said. Listeners told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast that they felt the "earth shake" in Ebbw Vale, which brought people out of their homes and into the streets. Robert Griffiths, from Rhiwbina, Cardiff, said he had just sat down to watch TV after a night out when "all of a sudden the whole house shook". "The ceiling creaked, we immediately turned the television off and thought 'what on Earth was that?' "It was kind of like 20 trucks had driven in front of the house so it was most unusual and quite strange." Stephanie Palfrey from Blackrock, near Abergavenny, said she "thought the mountain right behind the house was sliding down". "Other villagers came out of their homes to see what the noise was," she said. "We live in an old cottage. You could hear it rattling. It was quite something." Geoffrey Davies described an "almighty bang" at Llangattock, near Crickhowell. "Initially we didn't know what to think. It was the sort of bang I had never heard," he added. "When someone says 'it shook you to the core', it was that kind of feeling." Elsewhere, Cat said she "thought we were going mad" in Blaenavon, Torfaen, as her "bed and house shook side to side". Dr Ian Stimpson, a senior geologist at Keele University, in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, said such events "happen relatively infrequently" in the UK. "They are a big shock. An earthquake of this size, probably the UK has about three of them a year on average," he said. "These earthquakes are way smaller than the Turkish earthquake for example - that was a million times more powerful than the earthquake last night." Other recent earthquakes in Wales were much smaller than Friday's. The BGS reported a tremor with a magnitude of 0.9 in Llwynmawr, near Chirk, Wrexham, on 4 February, one of 1.1 at Llandybie, Carmarthenshire, on 20 January and one with a magnitude of 2 at Llanbedr, Powys, on 27 December.   Source: BBC

A Waihi Beach bach owner says the formation of the tornado which ripped roofs off houses and cut power to nearly 2500 properties was one of the most amazing things he's ever seen. The storm tore through the Bay of Plenty beachside settlement about 9am on Saturday. Mark Wright says he stood on the dunes as two water spouts merged into a twister and headed into shore. "I could just see debris and there was just all sorts going on in the sky, and there was just almost like an explosion of debris up in the air. There was just corrugated iron and objects and birds." Wright said he spoke to a resident who escaped uninjured from his home after his roof was torn off and was trying to contact a builder. "And we were just standing around, quite bewildered by what we had just seen, and the second water spout I had seen forming out at sea hit land as well, and we watched it go across the road. We just could not believe what we were seeing." Western Bay of Plenty mayor James Denyer said he was thankful no one was too badly injured. He said he rushed to the area soon after the tornado went through and had been speaking to locals near Seaforth Road where the first part of the storm hit. "I've seen roofs lifted off, tossed across the road - they're gone through power lines, which is why they're down. There's a little bit of shock, but they're coping and getting through." A second tornado landed south of Seaforth Road, felling trees and damaging cars in the area. Power supply has been disconnected for the safety of crews repairing the damage and a second outage has cut off properties in nearby Athenree. PowerCo hopes to address both faults by early evening.     Source: Radio New Zealand

Police in Kerowagi in the Simbu province have arrested and charged three suspects for wilful and unlawful damage to the windscreen of a 25-seater coaster bus.  The incident occurred on Sunday February 19 at Mingende in the Kerowagi District.  Simbu Provincial Police Commander (PPC) Superintendent Epenes Nili said intervention by police and the arrest of the suspects who are now in the Kundiawa Police Station cell, prevented a potential tribal conflict from erupting.  Mr Nili said the suspects were arrested and charged on Monday February 20. They were under the influence of alcohol when they were alleged to have stoned the bus.  The PPC said in retaliation the owner of the bus and his clansman attacked the suspects on Monday where a stone throwing battle took place. He said many people from both sides received minor injuries.  “Police intervened and went in for peace negotiation, but they also threw stones at police. Kundiawa Police Station Commander (PSC) Senior Inspector Himson Larmatam’s official police vehicle was also stoned, causing serious damage to the windscreen. It has been sent to the workshop for repairs,” Mr Nili said. He said the police calmed down the situation and called leaders from both sides within the Mingende community to assist in the peace process and surrender of the suspects to police. The suspects were identified, arrested, and charged. Mr Nili thanked the community leaders for their assistance in bringing in the suspects and for maintaining peace within their communities. He also called upon the people, especially young men, to refrain from excessive consumption of alcohol, whether homebrew or otherwise, as they can contribute to igniting problems as was recently witnessed.

The Dolphins have pulled off a massive coup by signing international centre Herbie Farnworth to a three-year contract. Farnworth will join the Dolphins for the 2024 season after completing his commitments with the Broncos later this year. The move should be a familiar one for Farnworth, who has lived in Brisbane since 2017 after relocating from England to chase his NRL dream. The Dolphins play seven matches each year out of Suncorp Stadium, the home ground they share with Farnworth’s current club. His signature is a true prize for the Dolphins, who attempted to sign the scintillating back for their debut season of 2023. But the 23-year-old will now play in red, gold and white until at least the end of the 2026 season. Dolphins’ chief executive Terry Reader said Farnworth’s signing was a huge coup for the new club, that will make its debut in the NRL in just over a week’s time. Farnworth stamped himself as a centre of true international class while playing for England at last year’s World Cup. There is no doubt that Herbie has been on our radar right from the very moment we started recruiting for this club at the end of 2021. Terry Reader “We made a big play to get him for 2023 and just missed out, so to now secure him on a long-term deal is a huge win for our club. “Herbie showed what a great player he can be in the NRL for the Broncos last year before injury hampered him. “To see him bounce back from that biceps injury at the end of last year and demonstrate what a world-class performer he is was amazing. “We are so excited about what he will do in Dolphins’ colours.” After playing in the under-20s for the Broncos and graduating to the Queensland Cup, Farnworth made his NRL debut in round 16 of the 2019 season. He has appeared in 53 NRL matches for the Broncos and played the first of his four Tests for England at the 2022 Rugby League World Cup. He will join the Dolphins when pre-season training for the 2024 season begins in November. Source:dolphinsnrl.com