International Day for Tolerance

By U.S. Ambassador Walter North

On November 16th the world community will observe the 19th International Day for Tolerance. While we are reminded of the security and human rights implications of intolerance (which often takes the form of stigma and discrimination), this day also provides an opportunity to highlight the vital contribution of tolerance and acceptance to achieving important public health objectives and impact, especially those focusing on groups living on the margins of many societies.

The U.S. Government is proud to partner with the people and Government of Papua New Guinea to implement the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and help achieve an AIDS-free generation. In recent months and in collaboration with other stakeholders, we have worked hard to align our resources and programmes with both the Papua New Guinea government's priorities and PEPFAR's commitment to delivering the right things, in the right places, at the right time. This also involves careful planning to ensure that we are reaching the right people with urgently needed programmes, resources, and funding.

Here in Papua New Guinea, basic tolerance of all human beings is key to providing access to care for people who are at high risk of either acquiring or transmitting the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It is only by providing accessible prevention and care services to those groups who are most vulnerable that HIV will be controlled. Among other groups, this includes women and men who engage in sex either for money or for goods and services such as food, clothes, or school fees; men who have sex with men (MSM) or with both men and women; transgender persons; and women who have been subjected to rape or domestic violence. Current laws in PNG notwithstanding, programs and policies must recognise that eliminating stigma and discrimination is critical to ensuring that all people feel safe accessing HIV/AIDS care and treatment services. Programmes that treat people with dignity and respect will have the greatest impact.

When trying to achieve an AIDS-free generation, intolerance and hatred only create barriers that keep the most vulnerable from accessing essential services and thus lead to considerable loss of life. The PNG National AIDS Council also stresses the importance of stopping discrimination and being able to access services by making this year's World AIDS day theme: "Stop discrimination. Access to services is my right."

Tolerance requires treating everyone, even those who are different, with dignity and respect. This extends to all people regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. As President Barack Obama recently declared, "the struggle to end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons is a global challenge, and one that is central to the United States' commitment to promoting human rights."

On this International Day for Tolerance, let us affirm that all persons - sex workers, MSM, transgender persons as well as the wider LGBT community, and any group that suffers the negative health effects of discrimination such as persons with disabilities - should also be free to access and receive essential health services from providers who treat them with dignity and respect.

I call on all partners in our shared goal of controlling HIV in Papua New Guinea to practice tolerance in all aspects of service delivery. The goal of an AIDS-free generation will remain unfulfilled until every Papua New Guinean feels that he or she will be treated with tolerance and respect when seeking services to preserve health if already infected; to prevent infection of others; and to be free of the risk of rape or sexual violence.

Join me in reaching out in tolerance to everyone in need so that together, we may achieve that longed-for goal of an AIDS-free generation in Papua New Guinea.

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Papua New Guinea beat Hong Kong in three-day match

CricketEurope
Andrew Nixon
13 November 2014

Papua New Guinea and Hong Kong have ended their series of matches in Australia with PNG winning the concluding three-day match today in Townsville.
With no experience of matches of this length in the Papua New Guinea side, with the exception of England wicket-keeper Geraint Jones, few would have expected them to have done as well as they did in their first innings. Openers Lega Siaka and Tony Ura put on 88 before Ura was out for 58.
Siaka went on to score 51 before getting out, before Assad Vala and Vani Morea put on 164 for the third wicket. Morea was that third wicket, getting out for 90. Vala was next out, just short of his century on 98. Geraint Jones failed with the bat, only scoring four, but Kila Pala scored 57 before the close of play.
Closing on 411-6, Papua New Guinea continued batting on the second morning. Captain Chris Amini declared once he'd brought up his 50 with the PNG total on 469-7.
Hong Kong's reply started slowly, with openers Jamie Atkinson and Waqs Barkat both out cheaply. Anshuman Rath, who turned 17 just last week, was their top scorer with 72 before he was the fifth man out with the score on 120. Kinchit Shah and Babar Hayat were the only other batsmen to go past 15 as Hong Kong were bowled out for 205.
Papua New Guinea opted not to enforce the follow-on and batted again. They were unable to repeat their first innings performance though, and had lost four wickets by the close of the second day, only scoring 58.
Things didn't go to plan at the resumption on the third morning either, as Papua New Guinea collapsed to 69-8. Assad Vala scored 40 from just 13 balls to help them get to 114-8 before their second declaration set Hong Kong a challenging target of 379.
Anshuman Rath and Aizaz Khan opened for Hong Kong in their run chase, but that didn't stop both openers again being dismissed cheaply. Jamie Atkinson, who has got County Championship experience, was able to score 63, but Hong Kong were unable to bat out the day for the draw.
Norman Vanua took 5-36 as Hong Kong were bowled out for 245, losing by 133 runs. Hong Kong will now prepare for their tour of Sri Lanka where they will take on Nepal in a T20I series and a one-day match before two three-day matches against local sides. Papua New Guinea's next action will be the East Asia Pacific T20 championship.
Papua New Guinea beat Hong Kong by 133 runs
Tony Ireland Stadium, Townsville, 11-13 November
Papua New Guinea 469-7d (104 overs, A Vala 98, V Morea 90, T Ura 58, Nadeem Ahmed 4-114)
Hong Kong 205 (67.5 overs, Anshuman Rath 72, K Shah 38*, CJ Amini 3-34)
Papua New Guinea 114-8d (23 overs, A Vala 40*, Haseeb Amjad 3-35, Nadeem Ahmed 3-38)
Hong Kong 245 (71.5 overs, J Atkinson 63, Waqas Barkat 39, K Shah 36, N Vanua 5-36)

Xi to propose Pacific aid scheme, will not ignore Taiwan allies

By Ben Blanchard  /  Reuters, BEIJING

Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) will offer a broad aid package to Pacific island nations at a summit in Fiji next week, Chinese Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Zheng Zeguang (鄭澤光) said yesterday, adding that there is also room to work with six island states not invited to the meeting because of their ties to Taiwan.
The tiny states of the Pacific have been a source of diplomatic intrigue between Taiwan and China for decades, with each side accusing the other of using "dollar diplomacy" to win sovereign recognition.
China views Taiwan as a renegade province with no right to have diplomatic relations and over time, the number of states with ties to Taipei has dwindled to just 22, six of which are in the Pacific.
Xi will host the meeting of its allies in Fiji. The leaders of Fiji, Micronesia, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, the Cook Islands, Tonga and Niue will attend, Zheng told a news briefing.
Xi, who is to visits the region after trips to Australia and New Zealand, will give an "important policy speech" at the summit and announce "important steps" to help development, Zheng said.
"During the visit, China will sign a series of cooperative documents with the leaders, as well as business agreements. They will be in the areas of financing, education, training, infrastructure and such other broad areas," the deputy minister said, without elaborating.
While Taiwan's allies in the region — Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu — have not been invited to attend, this does not mean that China will ignore them, he added.
"China has all along had friendly interactions with the peoples of all the islands in the Pacific Ocean, and exchanges and cooperation continue to increase," Zheng said.
He also held out the chance of more benefits for countries of the region once they recognise China, rather than Taiwan.
"Under the framework of one China, relations in the future will develop even better. There is a lot of space for cooperation," Zheng added, referring to the 'one China' policy under which both sides acknowledge that there is only one China, with each having its own interpretation of what that means.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei said that they will be paying close attention to Xi's visit.
Taipei and Beijing have engaged in an unofficial diplomatic truce since signing a series of landmark trade and economic pacts in 2008.

Additional reporting by JR Wu in TAIPEI

‘51pc NBPOL stake ideal’

By MUHAMMED AHMAD
NEW STRAITS TIMES

SIME Darby Bhd will be satisified with having only a 51 per cent controlling stake in New Britain Palm Oil Ltd (NBPOL), which will allow it to secure control of the latter at the shareholder, board and management levels, says its president and group chief executive Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh.
He said the conglomerate was also willing to allow the Papua New Guinea (PNG) government to raise its stake in NBPOL to 30 per cent from 18 per cent upon conclusion of its takeover of NBPOL in a deal worth £1.07 billion (RM5.63 billion).
The acquisition is expected to be completed by December 19.
Sime Darby had on October 9 announced an offer to buy all of NBPOL shares through unit Sime Darby Plantation Sdn Bhd as part of the requirement to obtain a minimum 51 per cent of the voting rights in the global producer of sustainable palm oil.
"The PNG government has expressed interest to increase its stake to 30 per cent, and I think this is good because we would like to work with the authority to grow the business together.
For us, 51 per cent (stake) would be ideal (for Sime Darby)," he said after the company's annual general meeting, here, yesterday.
On the offer price that is fixed at £7.15 for every NBPOL share, a 55.7 per cent premium over its two-month volume weighted average price, Bakke said: "We have itemised the reasons and justifications for making an offer at that price, and we see value".
Sime Darby had said in a statement recently that the acquisition would be funded through internally-generated funds and external borrowings and that the rise in gearing would be managed through tight control of capital expenditure and proceeds from future corporate exercises.
NBPOL has about 135,000ha of land in PNG, of which 80,000ha are planted.
The proposed acquisition by Sime Darby Plantation fits well with the company's strategy to expand its landbank. Post-acquisition, the combined landbank of the two companies will be nearly one million hectares.

CLICK TV announces PNG’s first regional HD

Papua New Guinea broadcaster Click TV has launched its Port Moresby services announcing the country's first regional direct to home service spanning 100% of PNG, Melanesia and Polynesia.
In conjunction with its own channel PNG TV, the new digital broadcaster has launched the sale of PNG's first HD set top boxes with 25 channels launched to Port Moresby on Tuesday.
At its launch on Tuesday the broadcaster also announced a five-year lease of a transponder on the satellite Intelsat 19 to beam 30 channels of local, regional and international channels to Papua New Guinea with services to be launched into Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands and small island states in the South Pacific from December 14.
Its own local channel PNG TV will be available in the region and through its local and satellite footprints be available in all PNG cities and rural areas and will also be available to broadcasters and subscribers in parts of Australasia and the South Pacific.
In Port Moresby the company announced it had secured two retail channels for customers to acquire the necessary equipment to enjoy what the platform had to offer.
Included in its Phase 1 content plan are three free to view channels and 22 Pay TV channels including the broadcast of Hope Channel free to the Seventh Day Church of Papua New Guinea.
"We're excited to finally launch our platforms. Viewers will see an improvement in local content with PNG TV and it will provide to local producers and PNG citizens more opportunities to not only partner with us but more importantly foster real change in the community. We would like to play a major part in providing family oriented learning programs to the community", managing director Richard Broadbridge said.
Click has announced Rapid Fones and Datec Mega store as their initial retail channels with early paying subscribers receiving all their channels for free.
The broadcaster says all the Set Top Boxes will be broadcasting some content in HD with their devices having the capability to record content.
Click says they are the first broadcaster to offer HD with each Set Top Box having wifi capability meaning access to the internet using the subscribers TV screen.
"We're offering PNG what it deserves. We will raise the bar in terms of local programmes, a strong and trustworthy newsroom and both LIVE and delayed sport including the first ever Pacific Games in HD, exclusively Click TV's in Papua New Guinea.
Port Moresby Set top boxes go on sale from Tuesday with their national rollout using terrestrial transmitters will occur over the next few months.
Clicks satellite only customers to be able to access their Set Top Boxes from December providing access to 30 channels of TV to viewers in remote areas of PNG and the Pacific Islands.
   
SOURCE: PACNEWS

Papua New Guinea moves to allay asylum seeker safety concerns ahead of Manus Island releases

By Liam Cochrane
ABC

Papua New Guinea's immigration minister says refugees released on temporary visas will be safe on Manus Island, despite fears of further attacks after deadly riots in February.
The comments came as he announced the first 10 positive refugee determinations for those detained on Manus Island.
"They will have temporary visas for an initial period of 12 months called the refugee visa," immigration and foreign minister Rimbink Pato said.
"[This visa] will entitle them to move about Lorengau town and generally be absorbed in activities in the community," he said.
Mr Pato was in Sydney to meet with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Immigration Minister Scott Morrison.
In the past, asylum seekers have expressed fears of further attacks, after local police, centre staff and residents entered the detention centre in February, beating 24-year-old Reza Barati to death and injuring dozens of others.
Since the attacks, police have arrested two Papua New Guinean men and charged them with murder.
"Their relatives will kill us, piece of cake for them," one asylum seeker told the ABC from the Manus Island detention centre.
"There's no guarantee for our safety here."
PNG's immigration minister declined to guarantee the safety of refugees released into the community on Manus Island but said security would not be an issue.
"We have moved swiftly ... to address the breach of the law by having those concerned arrested and dealt with and the matter is pending in the courts," Mr Pato said.
"One of the reasons for the violence that occurred was the fact that there was no movement on the determination of the resettlement of refugees process, [and] information is now available and therefore there is an element of excitement."
Refugees to receive cultural, language and job assistance
The accommodation facilities for refugees on Manus Island are located at East Lorengau, on the outskirts of the island's main town.
The purpose-built centre cost Australia $137 million and can accommodate approximately 290 people.
While at East Lorengau, refugees will be offered lessons in English, Tok Pisin [language], and local culture. They will be assisted to find work elsewhere in Papua New Guinea.
Mr Pato said the centre would be entirely run by PNG officials.
"We have the resources, the police are empowered, the local staff are empowered and the facility is well secured and manned," he said.
The latest available statistics from the Australian Government showed 1,056 people were detained on Manus Island.
At that time, 104 Refugee Status Interim Determination assessments had been completed with 56 found to be positive and 48 negative.
The PNG government said they expect to make a further 10 refugee determinations each week.
However, a policy to guide the permanent resettlement of refugees is yet to be approved by the country's cabinet-like National Executive Council.

Thailand and PNG consider further agriculture and tourism exchange

During the week of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting Prime Minister Peter O'Neill held a series of bilateral meetings with the leaders of APEC partner governments.
In meeting with Thailand's Prime Minister, H.E. Prayut Chan-o-cha (pictured), the two leaders explored opportunities in the areas of agricultural cooperation and considered ways for increased people-to-people contact between Thailand and Papua New Guinea.
Speaking after the meeting, O'Neill said Thailand had significant experience in sectors where PNG was expanding into greater export markets.
"The relationship between Thailand and Papua New Guinea continues to grow with expanding trade and investment, and cooperation in areas such agriculture."
O'Neill also noted that the diversity of Thai culture, from the coastal areas and islands, to the inland areas, had some parallels to PNG when it came to tourism promotion. 
"There are lessons our tourism industry could learn from Thailand's experience in expanding their tourism sector," he said.
"Thailand has created a vibrant tourism sector with that is known throughout the world.
"When tourists visit Thailand they have the opportunity to experience a diversity of Thai culture, and it is interesting to observe how they have marketed this to the world market."
O'Neill said he invited Thailand's Prime Minister to visit Papua New Guinea when the opportunity arose.