“Here at Koroba LEP Centre, we see women, men, boys and girls, displaced by tribal violence,” shares Alice Bibe, coordinator of the Koroba LEP Centre in Hela Province. And they bring their troubles and concerns with them.” The psychological impact of prolonged exposure to violence and insecurity, and of abuse and neglect, is all too apparent for community leaders and responders to violence in Hela Province. The provision of quality mental health services is a growing concern for service providers, who see addressing mental health as key to breaking cycles of violence in the province. “During, and following conflict, people are living with a lot of trauma,” said Mapera Angu, Project Coordinator for the Melanesian Institute. “We have been bringing some great training in the area of peacebuilding but still the perpetrators and survivors go back, and that trauma builds. So, the peacebuilding training alone cannot solve these issues.” To address the need for quality mental health services, UNFPA and UN Women are partnering with local organisations to deliver a Mental Health and Psychosocial Services project in the Highlands Region. Alice and Mapera were part of an initial stakeholder workshop with partners from Hela on August 2-3 to better understand the existing mental health needs and services. Merilyn Tabagua from Rural Women’s Development Foundation said that in her work with the Family Support Centre (FSC) “when there is a woman who has been abused, they have a lot of trauma, and we send them back home. Sometimes, they end up killing themselves.” “My catchment area is the urban area in Tari but we have the Hela Council for Women reaching out in other areas. The community needs to be trained so we can impart knowledge about mental health. This is really important and this is something we need for Hela.” The MHPSS project being implemented by UNFPA and UN Women is starting small in Hela Province. This introductory workshop permitted stakeholders to share what they want to see from a MHPSS program and established how UNFPA and UN Women would work with local networks to achieve the best impact from this pilot project. “This workshop will help us to utilise the training that is to come,” said Alice. “We have anetwork of women and youth in our electorate. We can train women leaders and youth leaders who can then go back and train the women and youth in their community.” In consultation with the representatives from Hela, it was clear that interventions should work within existing referral pathways in order to be successful. However, stakeholders also emphasised that counselling needs to be understood as a professional skill set and that those offering counselling services need to be trained and qualified. The two-day workshop included a presentation from UNDP on the Highlands Joint Programme, a partnership between UNDP, UN Women, UNFPA and IOM to support humanitarian response and peacebuilding in the region. “I really appreciate UNFPA and UN Women for starting the MHPSS program in Hela,” said Mapera. “This is a good start. Together we will bring peace to Hela.”  

Olivia Newton- John who gained worldwide acclaim for her starring role in "Grease," died Monday morning at age 73, according to her family. "Dame Olivia Newton-John (73) passed away peacefully at her Ranch in Southern California this morning, surrounded by family and friends," her family wrote in a statement shared on social media. "We ask that everyone please respect the family's privacy during this very difficult time." "Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer," the statement continued. Originally diagnosed with breast cancer in the '90s, Newton-John was in remission for more than 20 years before it returned in 2013. She revealed in 2018 that the disease returned and metastasized to her spine. A singer, songwriter, actress and activist, Newton-John, the granddaughter of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Max Born was born in 1948 in Cambridge, England. When she was 5, her family relocated to Melbourne, Australia, and by her teens, she'd landed her big break, winning a talent contest on the TV show "Sing, Sing, Sing." By 1966, Newton-John had signed a deal with Decca Records, but her major breakthrough wouldn't come until 1973, with the country-flavored hit "Let Me Be There." That same year, the Academy of Country Music named her its most promising female vocalist, and in 1974, the Country Music Association agreed, crowning her its female vocalist of the year. The next year, the singer's career would gravitate more toward pop, as she released one of her signature songs. "I Honestly Love You," which won Grammys for record of the year and best female pop vocal performance in 1974. Generations of fans -- particularly young girls -- would come to identify with Newton-John as she took on her most iconic film role in 1978, playing Sandy alongside John Travolta's Danny Zuko in the big-screen adaptation of the musical "Grease." The two would become one of cinema's most beloved couples, performing the duets "You're the One That I Want" and "Summer Nights" together. Newton-John added to her solo staples with "Hopelessly Devoted to You." "My dearest Olivia, you made all of our lives so much better," Travolta wrote on Instagram following Newton-John's death. "Your impact was incredible. I love you so much. We will see you down the road and we will all be together again. Yours from the first moment I saw you and forever!" In 1980, Newton-John teamed with the legendary Gene Kelly for the roller-skating fantasy "Xanadu." The movie became a cult classic, and also gave the actress another chart-topping hit from its double-platinum soundtrack. Newton-John and Travolta rekindled their onscreen romance for "Two of a Kind" in 1983, and while the film wasn't successful, once again, the actress' music was. The soundtrack went platinum and "Twist of Fate" was a top-five hit. On the small screen, Newton-John would become a music-video pioneer, turning her super-sexy single "Physical" into a campy romp through saunas, aerobics and workout rooms, alternating ultra-fit male models with an out-of-shape every-man who could lose a few pounds. The clip propelled the song to 10 weeks at the top of the chart, and "Physical" won the 1982 Grammy for video of the year. Newton-John charted many No. 1 hits throughout her career and sold more than 100 million albums, continuing to work right up until the recurrence of her cancer forced her postpone her 2017 tour. Earlier, she staged a well-received Las Vegas residency at the Flamingo for two years, starting in the spring of 2014. In her own eyes, Newton-John saw her family and her humanitarian work as her greatest accomplishments. She and her former husband, actor Matt Lattanzi, welcomed their daughter Chloe in 1986, and Newton-John later helped establish the "Healthy Child, Healthy World" organization after the daughter of Newton-John's friend died of a rare form of cancer. During her battle with breast cancer, Newton-John worked to raise awareness for the disease and established the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Center in her hometown of Melbourne in 2012. In 2020, she launched the Olivia Newton-John Foundation to fund research for treatments and therapies to cure cancer. ​​"There are lots of ideas on how we can help people with cancer and treat cancer, but there's been no real science behind the studies," she told "GMA" at the time. "So the idea is to raise money to fund the research on the other kinds of things that are kinder, including a lot of plant medicine." Newton-John is survived by her husband John Easterling, daughter Chloe Lattanzi, sister Sarah Newton-John, brother Toby Newton-John and her nieces and nephews. Source: ABC News

Re-elected member for Madang Open and Allegiance Party Leader, Bryan Kramer, assured the Madang Open election officials prior to declaration that their unpaid allowances will be paid soon. Kramer before signing the writs, announced yesterday evening, to the polling and counting election officials that their grievances over unpaid allowances have been submitted to the National Treasury Department and will be sorted out soon. He, however warned them stating that they have breached an election law when they suspended counting for the past weeks. He stressed that the law restricts counting officials to suspend or disrupt counting for any reason as they will be arrested and charged according to the law. “No one has the right what so ever to disrupt or suspend the an election process and will face the consequences. We will carry out investigation into this matter and if found guilty with interfering with the election, you will be arrested and charged.” Kramer explained to the officials at the Marape Hall at Tusbab Secondary School that scrutineers have the right to stop counting to conduct scrutiny but not the officials. He stated under section 128, that is a breach of the Law and that serious consequences will be faced. “Investigations will take place in each counting center to fins those accountable and that those involved will be questioned including the Returning Officer as well as the Assistant Returning Officer." He again assured them that they will still be paid but must understand that there is a process to follow. He explained that it is the Returning Officer’s job that the list of names for the polling and counting officials must be submitted to the Electoral Commission first before payments can be made. This way, every official is paid accordingly. Despite this, Kramer said it was a privilege to serve the people of Madang district for a second term, as he is the first member for Madang district to be re-elected for the second term since 1987. Furthermore, Kramer thanked the people of Madang for the trust they gave to him to serve them for the next term of parliament.

Governor-elect for Northern Gary Juffa is happy that his people of Northern Province have re-elected him for the third term so he can change his province. Mr Juffa said upon arrival on Friday that his fundamental concern was reforms. “This was something I wanted to undertake in the second term but I couldn’t do so because I was in the opposition. “I had to work together with other like-minded members of parliament to remove an oppressive government and we are firmly in charge. “We were able to carry out the work that needed to be done and that includes, major reforms continuing, our work with the major conservation programmes, in Afore, Kokoda and Tufi. “We intend to develop another conservation area in Kokoda and a marine biodiversity project in Tufi. “These are major programmes that we are going to progress with our development partners and international organisations,” he said. Mr Juffa said another area was law and order in Northern which plans to address. Also a new project is the connect Oro programme linking the forgotten places. “We are already punching a road through to Musa, Kira will be next followed by Ioma. “We can do this now because we are part of the James Marape government and we are proud of that. “He is a leader who listens, who is considerate of the concerns of all leaders and is concerned about his country and that’s why we support him.” “The country needs to give him the benefit of a full term so he can answer a lot of the critics.” Commenting on his victory Mr Juffa said: “I feel good, I want to thank the people of Oro, we ran a peaceful safe election.” “Despite frustrations and difficulties, the security forces, the administration, the electoral commission did a magnificent job.” Mr Juffa, on the 44th exclusion collected 1,942 to reach 24,283 past absolute majority of 21,969. Runner-up Jean Parkop collected 1,830 votes and her final tally was 19,654. [caption id="attachment_25013" align="aligncenter" width="1500"] Northern governor-elect Gary Juffa with the small welcome party from the Oro community at the airport upon his arrival on Friday.[/caption]    

NCD Police responded swiftly and quelled a nasty clash between two warring factions at Sabama today. This fight stemmed from a crime incident yesterday in which a Hela man was chopped with a bush knife and his phone stolen by thugs at the Sabama car wash. The relatives of the crime victim retaliated and attacked a Goilala youth at the Sabama market today. The goilala youth was taken to the hospital and treated for his injury. Staff Officer to Commander NCD/Central was among a police team dispatched to stop the fighting. He is seen here appealing to the aggrieved settlers to refrain from fighting. Police are now monitoring the situation.

Team PNG's silver medallist Morea Baru has been announced as the country's Flag Bearer for the Closing Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games scheduled for today. Baru won the silver medal in the Men’s 61kgs division of the Weightlifting competition, outclassing his rivals bar one. The Closing Ceremony takes place today commencing 8pm UK/5am+1 PNG time Chef de Mission Michael Henao congratulated Baru on his appointment. "What a privilege it is to carry the Flag of a thousand tribes, and what a privilege it is for the Team to be led by you", said Henao as he congratulated Baru. Baru is no stranger to Commonwealth Games success.   In 2018 he won a silver medal at the Games on the Gold Coast and has represented Papua New Guinea at numerous world and regional Weightlifting competitions including the Olympic Games. In a small gathering held by Team PNG General Management Team on Saturday, Baru was acknowledged for his achievement and given the honours of cutting the cake on behalf of the team. All athletes and officials were also presented commemorative medals by the Commonwealth Games Federation for their participation at the games. The little ‘kibung’ was also used to thank the Team Assistants / Volunteers assigned to Team PNG. “Our team assistants were very helpful during our entire time at Birmingham assisting the General Management Team and the respective sports. They have made it easy for us throughout our stay and we thank them for that,” said Henao.

The SP PNG Hunters and Sunshine Coast Falcons fought it out in picturesque conditions at Sunshine Coast Stadium on Sunday, with the home side coming out on top 44-6 winners. From the opening set it was clear this was going to be a physical contest. Hunters’ forward Sylvester Namo came off the back fence from the kick-off and launched himself into a wall of Sunshine Coast defenders, leaving multiple bodies in his wake including Falcons’ prop Max Bailey who was forced from the field. With the tone set, both sides got to work as the Sunshine Coast locals watched on. Both sides had early scoring opportunities following the fiery start but neither was able to convert those chances into points. The Falcons forced a drop-out with a smart grubber down their left edge but couldn’t score in the repeat set, and then the Hunters earned attacking field position themselves but were barreled into touch when searching down a short side on Sunshine Coast’s line. The Falcons’ swiftly turned defense into offence. Three quick hit-ups through the middle earned a six again and before they knew it the home side was attacking the Hunters line courtesy of a linebreak from Luke Polselli. From the ensuing play-the-ball, the Falcons swung it right to Jack Howarth who crashed over to open the scoring with a big right foot step. There was a little more luck involved in the home side’s next points when an early exit kick found the grass and took a wicked bounce, beating Hunters’ fullback Tyler Han and landing straight in the lap of Sualauvi Faalogo to score under the posts.

Leaders of the political parties in the last Pangu-led coalition remain firm on their resolve to form government on Tuesday, 9 August 2022, to once more work together for Papua New Guinea for the next five years. Prime Minister Hon. James Marape announced this today (07/08/22) in anticipation of his Pangu Pati being invited by the Governor-General to form the next government in the 11th Parliament of PNG consistent with requirements of Section 63 of the Organic Law of Political Parties and Candidates. He said: “All leaders of coalition parties who are here with me have signed the MOA for a new coalition. With the inclusion of New Generation Party, this brings our coalition to 17 parties. United Resources Party stands as the second biggest with 11 Members. “We are also embracing some parties that are now coming into the fold as well as more Independent candidates. We are an inclusive government, presently, cultivating what we will do together for our people. “ At the moment, in the physical headcount, we have 82 MPs in our retreat and at present indications from the count that is still going on, our coalition candidates are now leading in 13 of the 14 seats where counting is still going on. "We are ready to form government; the number is here and there is no split in Pangu or our coalition partners. We are set for the election of Speaker and Prime Minister after all our Members of Parliament are sworn in." PM Marape said the team has been in government and will continue the work of the last three years which includes stabilizing and growing the Economy, sustainable debt-financing and the installation of key programs in systems of government - Education, Health, and Law & Order as well as connecting PNG, and unbundling the country’s full economic potential especially in rural PNG. “We have shown the nation our ability and capability. Despite the ravaging impact of a global hundred-year pandemic, and global tension induced imported inflation, we have kept the nation's heads above water and survived some of the most trying times in recent history" said the Prime Minister. " We will not be wasting time. We are hitting the ground running with a care taker cabinet and a full cabinet at the earliest. " The Government's full To Do List will be announced on the 7th of September and a Supplementary Budget will be delivered on the 8th of September. "This is the benefit of having a continuing government because we have started the work of reconstructing our country over the last three years and we are looking very much forward to building on this. " I want to ask one thing of our people. Have faith and trust in Pangu and our coalition partners to complete the work started in the last three years. You have given us your mandate and for that we will not let anyone or any place behind; we will do our best to make our country great," said PM Marape.

Tahiti’s AS Vénus are through to the semi-finals of the OFC Champions League 2022 after Kevin Barbe’s second-half header secured a tightly contested 1-0 win over 10-man Lae City FC. Both teams played their opening games of the tournament under blue skies at Ngahue Reserve but today was a different prospect as the heavens opened over Auckland. The result was a disjointed and at times tetchy affair as both teams struggled to come to terms with the conditions. Lae City had the best chances of the first-half, Philip Steven’s effort blocked brilliantly by Vénus defender Barbe, with Stahl Gubag wasting the follow-up. Alwin Komolong tested Vénus stopper Teave Teamotuaitau from distance on the stroke of half-time, the goalkeeper forced into shovelling his strike wide as tensions flared at the end of a scrappy opening 45 minutes – with players from both teams entering referee Matthew Conger’s book. Vénus captain Teaonui Tehau scored a hat-trick in their 3-0 win over Central Coast but the dangerman missed a golden opportunity to give his side the lead just shy of the hour mark, hitting a tame effort straight at Lae City goalkeeper Ronald Warisan when through on goal. Lae City’s challenge then became more difficult when they were reduced to 10 men, Obert Bika handed his second yellow card following a reckless challenge on Roonui Tehau. The Papua New Guinea side continued to look threatening, Gubag’s snapshot half-volley well palmed by Teamotuaitau. However, the Mahina-based side eventually took advantage of their extra man, the winner coming from an unlikely source with just 10 minutes remaining. It was the centre-back Barbe who scored the crucial goal, rising high to head Tauhiti Keck’s swerving corner-kick delivery past Warisan to secure the win and the Tahitian side’s place in the final four. Lae City now face a crunch decider against the team currently in second-place, Central Coast FC of the Solomon Islands, on Wednesday while Vénus take on Galaxy FC later the same day. Source: Oceania Football Confederation

Lae City FC plays its second match against AS Venus of Tahiti tomorrow - Sunday-07th August 2022, AS Venus currently leads the Pool with 1 win so far. Lae City FC has 1 draw from their first match and has to win this second match in order to stay in the competition. Head Coach Bob Morris is happy with his pack so far realigning from Game 1 and will submit his start list later today. So far lead up training in Auckland has been favorable with the team having enough time to acclimatize and have a good feel of the international standard synthetic soccer pitches. OFC has made it possible for Lae City FC to train in two different venues so far with classed facilities so as to get the team gel into the actual field of play. Former PNG international and New Zealand based Maurie Wasi now a local soccer coach in Auckland has come in to assist since the team arrived. Wasi has given his support both on and off the field, getting the team prepared for training and game day. He has also been supportive in providing logistical support as well as accommodating other needs that the team requires.

Air Niugini is pleased to advise travelers arriving into Papua New Guinea that all COVID-19 tests are no longer required, effective, Friday 05th August. PNG Pandemic Controller and Police Commissioner, David Manning issued the latest Pandemic Order no 2 this Friday, which removes all requirements for covid tests on arrival in the country. All Air Niugini inbound passengers from Australia, Asia and the Pacific can now travel into Port Moresby without having to do any covid-19 tests on arrival.

Rufina Peter not only became the first female governor for central province but also the first female to be voted into parliament in this 2022 NGE. Rufina Peter in her thank you speech thanked the people of Central for believing in her and giving her the opportunity to be the first female governor for the province. She told the people that she will bring all the experience she has to developing central province. “I want to thank the Central Provincial Administration for all that they have done to make sure this election moves forward.” “I look forward to working with the provincial administration as well the the district administrations to bring Central Province back to being a prominent province.” Governor Peter thanked the People’s National Congress Party for believing in her and supporting her during this election. “Now you can sit back and see what a woman political leader can do.” Central Provincial Administrator, Mr Francis Koaba in his remarks, congratulated Governor Rufina Peter and commended her for putting her hands up to lead the people of Central Province. “You’ve shown the people of Central Province that women can do anything.” “A female has now been elected as the governor of Central Province,” said the Central Provincial Administrator, Mr. Francis Koaba “Once all the formalities are done, the provincial administration is ready to work with you.” Mr. Koaba added that the people of central province must put aside all their differences and work together with the Governor and the provincial administration.