#Marape Government

[duncangabi]

How many bad decisions can PNG take?

By Hon Allan Bird East Sepik Provincial Member I spent 5 years in government as a nice flower pot, a decoration of Parliament. I disagreed with many bad decisions of government. But you can only say so in caucus, otherwise you are not a team player.Government operates by the PM getting what he wants, the Ministers getting what they want and the back benches getting what they want.Most MPs can’t…

[zvaigzdelasas]

[NYTimes is US Private Media]

The prime minister of Papua New Guinea on Thursday declared a two-week state of emergency in the capital, Port Moresby, and suspended the Pacific island nation’s chief of police after violent protests left the city shellshocked.

The unrest began on Wednesday after police, defense officers and other public servants appeared to walk off their jobs to protest what they said was an unexpected pay cut. The government blamed the error on a computer glitch and promised to fix the problem, but the situation in Port Moresby devolved quickly.[...]

More than a dozen stores were set on fire, and there were reports of widespread looting as the unrest lasted into the night. There were also reports of fatalities in Port Moresby, the capital, and in Lae, the nation’s second-largest city, but the authorities did not release any official figures.

The violence came amid the backdrop of high unemployment and a rising cost of living in the country of about 10 million people.

About 1,000 special forces troops were on standby to prevent further unrest, Prime Minister James Marape said during a news conference on Thursday, as he announced an investigation into the crisis. In addition to David Manning, the commissioner of police, Mr. Marape also suspended the heads of the government’s finance, treasury and personnel management departments.[...]

Mr. Marape, who has pushed for closer ties with the United States and Australia, while also maintaining economic links with China, suggested the unrest had been orchestrated by his political opponents.

11 Jan 24

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RNZ Pacific 1118 22 May 2024

9700Khz 1100 22 MAY 2024- RNZ PACIFIC (NEW ZEALAND) in ENGLISH from RANGITAIKI. SINPO = 45333. English, pips and news @1100z anchored by Lydia Lewis. The French Ambassador to the Pacific has condemned violence in New Caledonia calling it an unacceptable means to an end. Véronique Roger-Lacan says you can not justify deadly protests just because one group fails to 'use their political power to convince the assembly and the senate' against a controversial constitutional reform. French President Emmanuel Macron is making a surprise trip to New Caledonia to resume talks with local leaders and find a "political solution" to the ongoing crisis. The Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape says his government "remains steadfast and undeterred" amid the threat of a vote of no confidence next week. The opposition has indicated that it is likely to file a motion next week after unsuccessful attempts to do so in a brief parliamentary session in February. The Cook Islands is set to ban imitation tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes, and will raise the smoking age from 18 to 21. Importing and distributing imitation tobacco products could result in an NZD$100,000 fine or up to three months in prison for an individual. Fiji Nationals serving in the UK military. Sports. @1109z "Pacific Waves" anchored by female announcer. Backyard fence antenna w/MFJ-1020C active antenna (used as a preamplifier/preselector), Etón e1XM. 100kW, beamAz 325°, bearing 240°. Received at Plymouth, MN, United States, 12912KM from transmitter at Rangitaiki. Local time: 0600.

[beardedmrbean]

MELBOURNE, Australia -- At least 26 combatants and an unconfirmed number of bystanders were killed in a gunbattle between warring tribes in Papua New Guinea, police said Monday.

A tribe, their allies and mercenaries were on their way to attack a neighboring tribe when they were ambushed Sunday in Enga province in the South Pacific nation's remote highlands, Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary Acting Superintendent George Kakas said.

Police Commissioner David Manning later described the clash as a “gunbattle between warring tribes.” An unconfirmed number of villagers also were killed. Police reinforcements were sent to the scene of the battle, Manning said.

“At this point, it’s not clear exactly how far we have moved into the conflict there,” Manning told Australian Broadcasting Corp. “But the intent is to regain control or have a significant presence in that conflict area and then work ... our way through our procedures in dealing with this type of incident.”

Kakas initially said 53 combatants had died. But security forces later revised the death toll down to 26.

Bodies were collected from the battlefield, roads and the riverside, then loaded onto police trucks and taken to the hospital. Authorities were still counting “those who were shot, injured and ran off into the bushes," Kakas said.

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape said he had “great concern” about the violence in Enga and urged the warring tribes to lay down their weapons.

“If there are community disputes, there are ways to deal with the community disputes,” Marape said.

“Lay down your arms. A lot of disputes will be resolved. One killing or two killings doesn't solve the problem. It contributes towards more problems,” he added.

John Luther, a leader of Akom village whose warriors were among those ambushed, talked down the prospect of an escalation of the violence in retaliation for the deaths.

“We’ve lost a lot of lives. I don’t feel we should be able be to retaliate. We’re already weak in numbers," Luther told the AP.

“I don’t think I would allow my people to go fighting again,” Luther added.

The villagers were ambushed from a school building while on a mission to avenge the death of a woman killed in a neighboring allied village, he said.

Luther also accused the military of aiding and arming his enemies in the ambush. He had been told the death toll was 44.

But Papua New Guinea government lawyer Oliver Nobetau said he expects more lives will be lost in retaliatory violence.

“There’s a big concern that this will continue on. Revenge killings tend to be a normal thing that happens,” said Nobetau, who is on temporary assignment to the Sydney-based international policy think tank Lowy Institute.

He said although tribal violence is common, it has never happened on this scale and that police have limited resources to cope.

“Tribal violence is something that is prevalent and the government with its limited resources will try to deploy the police wherever they can to try to curb the security issues,” he said.

Papua New Guinea is a diverse nation of 10 million mostly subsistence farmers speaking 800 languages. Internal security has become an increasing challenge for its government as China, the United States and Australia seek closer security ties to the country in a strategically important part of the South Pacific.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government was ready to assist Papua New Guinea, which is Australia's nearest neighbor and the largest single recipient of Australian foreign aid.

“That is very disturbing the news that has come out of Papua New Guinea,” Albanese said before the death toll was revised down.

Tribal violence in the Enga region has intensified since elections in 2022 that maintained Prime Minister James Marape's administration. Elections and accompanying allegations of cheating and process anomalies have always triggered violence throughout the country.

Enga Gov. Peter Ipatas said there were warnings that tribal fighting was about to erupt.

“From a provincial perspective, we knew this fight was going to be on and we (alerted) the security forces last week to make sure they took appropriate action to ensure this didn’t occur,” Ipatas said.

Scores of people have died in tribal fighting in the Enga region in the past year.

Port Moresby's Post-Courier newspaper has reported that high-powered firearms used in the recent fighting made it risky for police to enter the battlefields.

Police said they were assisted by the military in protecting the general public and government property.

[warningsine]

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-monitoring-situation-papua-new-guinea-after-day-looting-arson-2024-01-10/

SYDNEY, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Papua New Guinea's prime minister declared a state of emergency on Thursday, suspending government and police officials after 16 people were killed in rioting in the Pacific island nation.

A police and public sector protest on Wednesday over a pay cut that officials blamed on an administrative glitch descended into lawlessness.

Television footage showed thousands of people in the streets of the capital Port Moresby, many of them carrying what appeared to be looted merchandise as black smoke billowed over the city.

Nine people were killed in the rioting in Port Moresby and seven were killed in Lae, in the north of the gold and copper-mining country, Australian state broadcaster ABC reported on Thursday, citing police.

Prime Minister James Marape told a press conference he had suspended Papua New Guinea's chief of police and top bureaucrats in the finance and treasury departments while the government conducts a review into the cause of the riots.

"There was evidence of organised rioting that took place," he told reporters, adding that the review would ensure "we secure democracy, we secure rule of law."

Some 1,000 military personnel were on standby to ward off further unrest, he said.

Violence in the capital subsided on Thursday, with the government flying in extra police to maintain order.

The United States embassy in Port Moresby said police had returned to work, but that tensions remained high.

"The relative calm can change at a moment's notice," it said in a statement, adding it had received reports of violence in several other areas of the country.

Several Chinese citizens were lightly injured, with Chinese owned-stores subjected to vandalism and looting, the Chinese embassy said.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the country's high commission was monitoring the situation, and Canberra had not received any requests for help from Papua New Guinea, which it regularly supports in policing and security.

"We continue to urge calm at this difficult time. We haven't had any requests from the PNG government at this time but ... our friends in Papua New Guinea, we have a great relationship with them," he said.

Police in Papua New Guinea have struggled with a surge in violent crime over the past year. Marape has said boosting security would help to attract foreign investment in PNG's gold and copper resources.

Police went on strike on Wednesday morning after discovering a reduction in their pay packets.

The government circulated messages on social media denying that a new tax had been imposed on police, and Marape said any administrative error that had caused the pay shortfall would be fixed.

An official told local radio FM100 on Wednesday that without police the city had "lost control".

[reasoningdaily]

The Guardian: Port Moresby rocked by deadly riots as police strike over pay – video

[yessadirichards]

Biden's Papua New Guinea no-show deals blow to U.S. credibility in Pacific

SYDNEY

U.S. President Joe Biden's cancelled visit to Papua New Guinea, which had declared next Monday a public holiday in honor of his arrival, has dealt a blow to U.S. credibility in the Pacific island region, analysts say.

Biden's planned visit to a nation of 9 million just north of Australia had been viewed as a major step to build trust in a region where China has sought a greater security presence.

An unfolding crisis over the U.S. debt ceiling prompted Biden to postpone plans to visit Papua New Guinea and Australia, cutting short an upcoming Asia trip so he can return to Washington.

"For Papua New Guinea this was a very big deal and they will be disappointed," said Mihai Sora, a Pacific islands analyst with the Lowy Institute think tank in Sydney.

The cancellation was also a "blow to U.S. credibility in the region as a consistent partner", he added.

"Up until now Pacific islands leaders have been giving the U.S. the benefit of the doubt over its ability to re-engage."

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape told a radio audience a day earlier that his government was preparing to sign a major defense pact with the United States and a security agreement allowing U.S. Coast Guard vessels to patrol it waters. He made no public comment about Biden's cancellation.

Some Opposition party politicians had criticized the pact as potentially upsetting China, a major infrastructure donor.

Biden had also been scheduled to meet 18 Pacific island leaders in the three-hour visit to the PNG capital Port Moresby.

Asia Society Policy Institute senior fellow Richard Maude said the cancellation of what would have been the first visit by an American president to an independent Pacific islands nation could be a setback for relations.

"The mantra in the region is all about turning up. Turning up is half the battle. China turns up all the time, and so the optics aren't great," Maude, a former Australian intelligence chief, said.

The visit also had a personal dimension for Biden. Two of his uncles were based in PNG in World War Two as airmen, including one who died in a plane crash in 1944, Biden recalled in 2016.

The Pacific islands span 40 million square km of ocean, where vital sea lanes and submarine cables link the United States to its allies Australia and Japan. But leaders there had complained to the U.S. of being seen as "fly over" countries.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has visited the region three times, including a 2018 visit to PNG.

Beijing last year struck a security pact with the Solomon Islands, where a Chinese state company will rebuild the international port. China has continued to lobby for a bigger role in the region, after failing to sign 10 nations to a security and trade deal.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Pacific island leaders in Port Moresby on Monday, and New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said he will also travel to PNG.

[thxnews]

Blinken Visits HIV/AIDS Clinic and Meeets PM in Papau New Guinea

  Transcript of the Lawes Road Urban Clinic Speech

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Good morning, everyone.  This was a real privilege to be here at Lawes Road at this clinic, where quite literally our partners are saving lives, changing lives, every single day. The United States – we’ve been a committed partner in helping to deal with HIV/AIDS for many years, particularly through the PEPFAR program, and we are powerfully committed going forward because here in Papua New Guinea, unfortunately, we’ve actually seen HIV rates rising, not falling. It’s hugely important to continue to work to get ahead of that. I had an opportunity to talk to some of the clinicians but also some remarkable people who have been living with HIV/AIDS but are now helping in their own communities to spread the word about the treatments available and encouraging people to come forward.  

HIV Stigma

One of the biggest challenges that we know from our experience around the world, and we see here is that the antiretroviral treatments are incredibly effective, and people live full lives with HIV/AIDS if they’re on an antiretroviral. But because of stigma that people impose upon themselves or that their communities may impose, they may be reluctant to come forward.  It is so important to come forward to seek treatment.  It’s simple, it’s easy, and it works. And now there is also a treatment that is prophylactic – in other words, that can actually prevent the transmission – that’s 99 percent effective called PrEP. And for people who are particularly at high risk, this is a very, very effective means of preventing the transmission, and here at Lawes Road they are able to share that as well. So part of my reason for coming here today is just to help in our own way to put a spotlight on this because it remains a real challenge in Papua New Guinea.  

US Government Support

We want to help.  I am so grateful to my colleagues at USAID who are leading this effort with our partners here in Papua New Guinea.  This support has made a huge difference, but it can make more of a difference if we can continue to get people to come forward, and particularly the communities themselves. This is the most effective way to share information, to educate people about what’s available, and to have people come forward.  

Gender-based Violence

The other thing that’s very powerful here is that this clinic is also dealing with gender-based violence and helping victims of gender-based violence get the psychosocial services they need, work through the legal system, get other support. And that too is hugely, hugely important for people to come forward, to get the support that you can get here. In our own home country we’ve had this challenge, and I can say that one of the things that President Biden is proudest of in his career in the United States Senate, as Vice President, now as President, in all that time the thing that he’s probably the most proudest – proud of is the fact that he wrote the law, the Violence Against Women Act. That made violence against women a federal crime but also put in place a remarkable system for people to get help, national hotlines for people who were at risk or who had been victimized by gender-based violence.  So this is something that he feels very strongly. It was inspiring to meet the clinician here, who’s working every day to help people who are victimized by gender-based violence. The United States is proud to be a partner with the government, with our local implementing partners.  It’s something we’re deeply committed to. And I just wanted to put a little spotlight on that today because it remains a big challenge here, but one that we can overcome working together and especially with the remarkable people here at Lawes Road who every single day are saving lives and changing lives. Thank you.    

Transcript of the Meeting Between the Prime Minister and Secretary Blinken

  PRIME MINISTER MARAPE:  Thank you all for coming by.  USA is a important partner to PNG.  We’ve stood shoulder to shoulder on many occasions even (inaudible) living memory 1945, right up until our independence in 1975, and even up to today you remain very much an important bilateral partner, a big part of our nation’s history. That’s why across (inaudible) country we are here to get to develop our country to be better developed and not where we are today.  And we appreciate the help you have given us thus far and for you coming here representing your president, representing the great people of the United States of America. We look forward to this historic meeting amongst ourselves.  More importantly, we bring our combined conversations into our Pacific Island leaders dialogue that is – that is organized for – to take place after our engagement is complete. And welcome to Port Moseby and Papua New Guinea one more time.   SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Prime Minister, thank you so much.  And again, as I said before, we’re so grateful for not just your hospitality but your flexibility.  The President, again, asked me to extend his warmest greetings to you as well as his regret that he was not able to be here for the reasons that you know well. But we had the extraordinary, I think genuinely historic summit at the White House and throughout our government, and I think that was for him such an important and powerful moment that he wants to continue to build on. And in fact we’d like to invite you and all of your colleagues to a second summit in Washington this fall.  We will find the right time to do that. But meanwhile, it was particularly important for me to be here at the President’s request and with your great hospitality, both to see you and all our colleagues from PNG but also to see colleagues from throughout the Pacific Islands region. So I very much look forward to that conversation and pursuing the very important – more than dialogue, the very important work that we’re doing in Washington all together. But like PNG, our own country is incredibly diverse in its population, I think we’re all optimistic in our outlook, we have a strong appreciation for the past.  And as you said, Prime Minister, we have a deep and rich shared history. But I think your other point was even in a sense more important because it’s living history, and the work that we’re doing together to try to shape the future could not be more important, could not be more timely. I’m honored to join you for the signing of some very important agreements that we’ve been working on together for some time which we’ll have a chance to talk about later, but also just to deepen our own partnership across the board – something that we very much welcome.  So I look forward to this conversation, and again thank you for your hospitality today.   Sources: THX News & US Department of State. Read the full article

[xtruss]

Debt Drama at Home Dents US Diplomacy, Role as 'Global Leader'

— Nebojsa Malic | May 20, 2023

A slogan is pictured at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in a protest against the upcoming Group of Seven (G7) Summit, in Hiroshima, Japan, May 17, 2023.(Photo: Xinhua)

It was supposed to be another "historic first" the US establishment is so fond of: a sitting president visiting a Pacific island nation, and during the Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, no less! White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre positively gushed last week, announcing that Joe Biden would stopover in Papua New Guinea, right after the G7 summit in Hiroshima.

On Tuesday local time, however, Jean-Pierre had to walk it all back. Instead of proceeding to Port Moresby and on to Australia, for a meeting of the "Quad" of countries seeking to box in China, Biden will return to the US to hold last-minute negotiations with congressional leaders on raising the national debt limit.

Biden was supposed to receive a lavish welcome in Port Moresby, with portions of the city put on lockdown so he and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi could move about safely. On Monday, Prime Minister James Marape had declared the day of Biden's visit a public holiday, urging the Papuans to get out of the way of the foreign guests and "share in the excitement of this historic occasion" by watching the visit on TV or online.

While canceling this glorious display of American "global leadership" - as Washington likes to put it - was no doubt painful, the debt crisis still is not considered enough of an emergency for Biden to skip the G7 summit in Japan. Calling that off would have been a clear distress signal.

Biden's Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has already argued that not raising the debt limit would cause Washington to default on its obligations by June 1. That's not true, strictly speaking. The US government has enough revenue to cover the debt and interest payments, even at $34.4 trillion. That would require balancing the budget, however, and not spending hundreds of billions on various social engineering programs beloved by the current US government.

As it is, the ruling establishment is likely to leverage the Papuans' presumed disappointment to mount even more public pressure on Congress to rubber-stamp yet another debt ceiling increase, in the guise of protecting the US' international prestige and reputation.

Arguably, that reputation has already been dented by the cancellation of the Papua and Australia trip. It's hard to claim that the US is an all-powerful leader of the "democratic world" and enforcer of the "rules-based international order" when it can't seem to get its own house sorted out.

Nor is the debt drama the only domestic political issue hampering US efforts to project power overseas. The culture war, which Washington sees as absolutely vital to getting and keeping power, is increasingly spilling over into foreign policy. The current government has been very clear that it values these beliefs more than any alliances - and in fact has sought to redefine America's alliances as being primarily based on "values," not common interests. This has already antagonized a variety of countries whose values are based on traditional morality, from the Arabian Peninsula to Africa.

In the interview with Bloomberg, former US Treasury secretary Lawrence Summers quoted someone from a developing country as saying, "What we get from China is an airport. What we get from the US is a lecture."

US politics are currently at such a stage that Washington is unable to prove the naysayers wrong by simply building a hospital. It's far more likely to send over an activist official to deliver a lecture on how lectures are a good thing, actually.

— The author is a Serbian-American Journalist.

[duncangabi]

The Proposed Direct Flights from Guangdong Province to PNG

PNG Loop News. 27/07/23 The potential opening of direct flights between Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province of China and Papua New Guinea (PNG) should raise eyebrows due to its connection to the Frieda River Gold and Copper Mine project. The proposed mine, operated by PanAust Ltd., is owned by Guangdong Rising H.K (Holding) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Guangdong Rising…

[zvaigzdelasas]

The Panguna mine in Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea, closed in 1989 after pollution sparked a local rebellion. As many as 20,000 people, close to 10 per cent of the island’s population, died in the civil war that followed.

Once controlled by Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto, Panguna has been the subject of intense interest from speculators and smaller companies for more than two decades, but only in recent months has resuming copper and gold mining looked achievable.

The Autonomous Bougainville Government sees the revival of the project as critical to the island’s economic destiny following a referendum in 2019 that almost unanimously backed independence from PNG. It has tried to resolve a legal dispute over who has the rights to mine Panguna. Bougainville Copper Limited, the Australian-listed historic operator of the mine that is now majority owned by the island’s government, is confident it will be issued a new exploration licence next year.

The island’s President Ishmael Toroama also appointed himself as mining minister in September. Advisers say he is determined to set Panguna on the path towards reopening ahead of elections set to take place in 2025 in order to show progress is being made towards independence.[...]

Reopening Panguna is seen as critical to making Bougainville economically independent as the island pushes to secede. The island’s vote for independence four years ago, part of a peace process agreed in 2001, was non-binding and must be ratified by the PNG parliament. 

James Marape, prime minister of PNG, told a Lowy Institute event in Sydney this month that ratification was “at the doorsteps”, but stressed he would not pre-empt the parliamentary process.[...]

BCL said it would require a larger partner to develop the site. Australian, US and Chinese mining companies are all active in PNG and Togolo said he would not rule out working with any partners.

“Geopolitics is a factor not just in Bougainville but in PNG and the Pacific,” he said. “For us it is about working with someone who will share the benefits with us all.”

PNG signed a bilateral security agreement with Australia this month, which followed a security pact with the US earlier in the year. Bougainville lies between PNG’s mainland and the Solomon Islands, which has forged closer ties with China in the past two years including a security agreement. 

Toroama, who wants to achieve secession by 2027, travelled to Washington in November when he met politicians and business leaders in what advisers said was a sign the government favours a North American or Australian partner for Panguna.

27 Dec 23

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RNZ Pacific 1114 20 May 2024

9700Khz 1059 20 MAY 2024 - RNZ PACIFIC (NEW ZEALAND) in ENGLISH from RANGITAIKI. SINPO = 45333. English, pips and news @1100z read by Lydia Lewis. An alliance of over two dozen Pacific non-government organisations has condemned France for what they say is a "betrayal" of New Caledonia's Kanak population. The Pacific Regional Non-Government Organisations (PRNGOs) has condemned "the Macron government for its poorly hidden agenda of prolonging colonial control over the territory". The members of the alliance are calling for the French Presidency to immediately withdraw its "unilaterally-imposed project of removing constitutional provisions that safeguard pro-independence voters". They also want the United Nations and Pacific leaders to send a neutral mission to oversee and mediate dialogue between all parties to the Noumea Accords and resulting political process. The Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape says his government is committed to being accountable and transparent to the people. He said he will make a statement to parliament on May 30, celebrating five years since coming to power. Marape said his administration has continuously provided opportunity for consultation, review, and freedom of expression on its decisions. Nearly 400 dengue cases have been recorded in Samoa from November last year to 12 May. Samoa's Ministry of Health announced 62 new cases of dengue-like illness, and 36 lab-confirmed cases, from 6-12 May. There were 68 cases of dengue-like illness for the previous week. Dengue cases are densely distributed in the Apia urban area and North West of Upolu. From November 2023 to 12 May, a total of 378 lab-confirmed dengue cases have been recorded. A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country's foreign minister and other officials apparently crashed in the mountainous northwest reaches of Iran on Sunday, sparking a massive rescue operation in a fog-shrouded forest as the public was urged to pray. The likely crash came as Iran under Raisi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel last month and has enriched uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. Taiwan inaugurated Lai Ching-te as its new president, installing a relative moderate who will continue the self-governing island democracy's policy of de facto independence while seeking to bolster its defences against China. Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory and has been upping its threats to annex it by force if necessary. Voting continues amid severe heat wave in India. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is widely expected to win a third term, but recent lower voter turnout has been a cause of concern for Modi's party. Sports. @1109z "Pacific Waves" hosted by female announcer. Backyard fence antenna w/MFJ-1020C active antenna (used as a preamplifier/preselector), JRC NRD-535D. 100kW, beamAz 325°, bearing 240°. Received at Plymouth, MN, United States, 12912KM from transmitter at Rangitaiki. Local time: 0559.

[wantoktube]

𝗣𝗠 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗘 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗧 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧-𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗥 𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗨𝗦 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗝𝗢𝗘 𝗕𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗡’𝗦 𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗧

Prime Minister Hon. James Marape says he is very disappointed that the Post-Courier newspaper has reported on US President Joe Biden’s planned visit to Papua New Guinea when there has been nothing official from the US and PNG Governments on this. He said this in response to the Post-Courier reporting on its front page today about the planned visit of President Biden next month. “Both Government…

[hardynwa]

Archaeologist from Australia kidnapped in Papua New Guinea

An Australian archaeologist and several others have been kidnapped for ransom in Papua New Guinea, the country’s prime minister said Monday, warning the armed captors “there is no place to hide.” Police and government officials said a group including academics and guides from Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea were taken at gunpoint in the country’s rugged highlands early on Sunday. The captors issued a ransom demand of roughly US$1 million and a 24-hour deadline, which has since been rescinded and the cash demand has dropped substantially. Prime Minister James Marape said this was the first time such a ransom has been demanded. The government is “treating this very, very seriously, we don’t want it to be a precedent for the future”, he said. Papua New Guinea’s highlands are a sprawling expanse of jungle-cloaked hills where the central government and security forces have little sway. In recent years, the regions have seen an increase in tribal warfare and modern weapons. Marape added his government would “not tolerate” such criminality and “everything possible” is being done to free the group. “I just want to inform those who are engaged in this one, there is no place to run, there is no place to hide in our country,” he said. Local missionaries are said to be in contact with the captors and are negotiating the group’s release. Australia’s government refused to comment publicly. Canberra has previously argued that publicity around kidnapping cases can heighten the risk to those detained. Read the full article

[business-advantage-png]

What does Papua New Guinea business want from the new Marape government?

What does Papua New Guinea business want from the new Marape government?

With its majority established in Parliament and its ministry appointed, Papua New Guinea’s Marape government is now getting back to the business of running the country. Key business leaders tell Business Advantage PNG what they think its priorities should be. Foreign exchange availability continues to be a challenge for business in PNG. Credit: VM_Studio/iStock With 18 months before any potential…

[world-of-wales]

CONFIRMED ATTENDEES TO QUEEN ELIZABETH II'S STATE FUNERAL:

Foreign Royalty

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima 🇳🇱

Queen Beatrix 🇳🇱

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia 🇪🇸

King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía 🇪🇸

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako 🇯🇵

King Phillipe and Queen Mathilde 🇧🇪

Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Theresa 🇱🇺

King Tupou VI 🇹🇴

King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia 🇸🇪

Queen Margrethe II and Crown Prince Frederik 🇩🇰

King Harald V and Queen Sonja 🇳🇴

Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene 🇲🇨

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (Emir of Qatar)🇶🇦

King Jigme Khesar and Queen Jetsun Pema 🇧🇹

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Abdullah & Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku of Malaysia 🇲🇾

Hereditary Prince Alois & Hereditary Princess Sophie 🇱🇮

King Tūheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero VII

Sultan Haitham 🇴🇲

Sultan Hassanal 🇧🇳

Crown Prince Moulay Hassan 🇲🇦

Prince Faisal bin Turki Al Saud 🇸🇦

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan 🇦🇪

Crown Prince Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and 🇰🇼

King Letsie III 🇱🇸

King Abdullah II and Queen Rania 🇯🇴

Crown Prince Hussein 🇯🇴

King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa 🇧🇭

Deposed Royalty + Distant Family Relations

Margareta (Custodian of the Crown) and Prince Radu 🇷🇴

Queen Anne-Marie 🇬🇷

Crown Prince Palovs and Crown Princess Marie Chantal 🇬🇷

Crown Prince Alexander 🇷🇸

Prince Emanuele of Savoy

Tsar Simeon II 🇧🇬

Maximilian (Margrave of Baden), Prince Bernhard and Hereditary Princess Stephanie of Baden

Prince Philipp and Princess Saskia of Hohenlohe - Langenburg 

Prince Donatus (Landgrave of Hesse)

Archduke Karl of Austria

Lady Pamela Hicks

Foreign Heads of State and Governments

President Joe Biden & First Lady Jill Biden 🇺🇸

President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Micheál Martin 🇮🇪

President Gitanas Nausėda and First Lady Dina Nausėda 🇱🇹

President Egils Levits and First Lady Andra Levite 🇱🇻

President Andrzej Duda and First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda 🇵🇱

President Isaac Herzog 🇮🇱

Jair Bolsonaro 🇧🇷

President Sergio Mattarella 🇮🇹

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa 🇵🇹

President Yoon Suk-yeol 🇰🇷

President Paula-Mae Weekes 🇹🇹

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier 🇩🇪

President Sauli Niinistö & Mrs Jenni Haukio 🇫🇮

Prime Minister Andrew Holness 🇯🇲

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 🇨🇦

President Ranil Wickremesinghe 🇱🇰

President Emmanuel Macron 🇫🇷

President Katalin Novák 🇭🇺

President Alexander van der Bellen and First Lady Doris Schmiedauer 🇦🇹

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern 🇳🇿

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese 🇦🇺

Prime Minister James Marape 🇵🇬

President Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦

President Hage Geingob 🇳🇦

President Zoran Milanović 🇭🇷

President George Vella 🇲🇹

Afioga Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II 🇼🇸

President Droupadi Murmu 🇮🇳

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina 🇧🇩

President Alar Karis 🇪🇪

President Zuzana Čaputová 🇸🇰

Prime Minister Petr Fiala 🇨🇿

President Ignazio Cassis 🇨🇭

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif 🇵🇰

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly 🇪🇬

President Salome Zourabichvili 🇬🇪

President Ali Bongo Ondimba 🇬🇦

President William Ruto 🇰🇪

First Lady Olena Zelenska 🇺🇦

Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene 🇲🇳

President Guðni Jóhannesson and First Lady Eliza Reid 🇮🇸

President Nicos Anastasiades 🇨🇾

Prime Minister Joseph Ngute 🇨🇲

President Halimah Yacob 🇸🇬

President Dame Sandra Mason 🇧🇧

Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth 🇲🇺

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and First Lady Fazna Ahmed 🇲🇻

President Nana Akufo-Addo 🇬🇭

Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama 🇫🇯

Governmental Representatives

Marcelo Ebrard (Secretary of Foreign Affairs) 🇲🇽

High Commissioner Ralph Goodale 🇨🇦

Ambassador Igor Pokaz 🇭🇷

Vice President Wang Qishan 🇨🇳

Foreign Minister Narayan Khakda 🇳🇵

Former President Dr Joyce Banda 🇲🇼

Captains Regent Oscar Mina and Paolo Rondelli 🇸🇲

Irene Marcos 🇵🇭

Governor Generals

Governor General Sir Patrick Allen 🇯🇲

Governor General Mary Simon 🇨🇦

Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro 🇳🇿

Governor General David Hurley 🇦🇺

Governor General Sir Bob Dadae ����🇬

Governor General Dame Froyla Tzalam 🇧🇿

Governor General Dame Cécile La Grenade 🇬🇩

Governor General Tofiga Vaevalu Falani 🇹🇻

Governor General Sir David Vunag 🇸🇧

Governor General Dame Susan Dougan 🇻🇨

Acting Governor-General Errol Charles 🇱🇨

Governor General Sir Cornelius A. Smith 🇧🇸

Governor General Sir Rodney Williams and Lady Williams 🇦🇬

International organisations

Charles Michel (President) 🇪🇺

Ursula von der Leyen (President of European Commission)

Jens Stoltenberg (Secretary General of NATO)

Earle Courtenay Rattray (Chief of Staff to UN Secretary General)

Baroness Scotland (Secretary-General of the Commonwealth)

Sir Don McKinnon (Former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth)

Religious Leaders

Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin 🇻🇦

Foreign Minster Archbishop Paul Gallagher 🇻🇦

Maybe attending -

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama 🇺🇸