Sheikh Mohammed donates his plane to send aid to Papua New Guinea

 by Siobhan Downes, whatson.ae
April 3, 2018

The Dubai ruler has once again used his private jet to do some good.
Not everyone who has their own plane uses it for selfless activities – but then not everyone is H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The vice president of the UAE and ruler of Dubai has sent his private cargo jet to Papua New Guinea, which was hit by a devastating 7.5 magnitude earthquake in February.
According to the UN World Food Programme, the aircraft donated by Sheikh Mohammed departed the UN Humanitarian Response Depot in Dubai on Monday morning, carrying more than 80 metric tons of life-saving, nutrient-dense biscuits.

ALSO READ: The UAE is officially the most generous country in the world

The food aid is expected to reach those in need within days, benefiting 60,000 people in the southwest Pacific nation.
“We are grateful for Sheikh Mohammed’s generosity in rapidly providing this plane. His support is crucial to deliver humanitarian assistance to those most affected by this natural disaster,” said Stefano Peveri, head of the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot in Dubai.
The airlift was facilitated by the International Humanitarian City, which is chaired by HRH Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, Sheikh Mohammed’s wife.
Princess Haya, who is also a United Nations Messenger of Peace, shared some pictures of the operation to her Instagram.

اليوم، قام برنامج الأغذية العالمي بنقل أكثر من 80 طناً من المساعدات الإغاثيّة الضرورية من المدينة العالمية للخدمات الإنسانية إلى بابوا غينيا الجديدة التي تعرّضت لهزّة أرضية مؤخراً. طائرة المساعدات الإغاثيّة – التي تبرّع بها صاحب السمو الشيخ محمد بن راشد آل مكتوم – حملت طعاماً يكفي لسدّ حاجة حوالي 60 ألف شخص من الذين تضرّروا جرّاء الهزة الأرضية ‏ #WFP today airlifted more than 80 metric tons of life-saving, relief items from International Humanitarian City in Dubai to Papua New Guinea ‏The plane, generously donated by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed, carried enough food to feed approximately 60,000 people affected by the earthquake

It’s not the first time Sheikh Mohammed has freed up his private jet, either. In October 2016, the ruler famously loaded the 747B-400 with Dhs1.3 million worth of emergency supplies to send to cyclone-hit Haiti.
Princess Haya was also onboard the jet to ensure everything was distributed to plan.
And last year, Sheikh Mohammed ordered an emergency airlift bridge be set up to create a connection between the UAE and the more than 500,000 Rohingya refugees who fled from violence in Myanmar to southern Bangladesh.
The UAE has been named the world’s largest donor of official development aid, relative to its national income.
In 2016, the UAE spent 1.21 per cent of its gross national income on development aid – which totalled Dhs15.57 billion.
The United Nations recommends economically-advanced countries spend at least 0.7 per cent of their gross national income on aid, which shows the UAE really has gone over and above.

Australia's Oil Search resumes operations at Kutubu complex in Papua New Guinea

 By Christina Martin, reuters.com
April 3, 2018

(Reuters) - Australia’s Oil Search Ltd said on Tuesday that operations have resumed at a facility closed in the wake of a major earthquake in Papua New Guinea in February, with oil output under way from a number of wells in the Kutubu field.
Production has resumed at an initial rate of about 4,000 barrels of oil per day, the company said.
 Oil output from the array of Kutubu complex fields is expected to be restored gradually through April.
The company said its condensate handling facilities at Kutubu, connected to a giant Papua New Guinea liquefied natural gas (LNG) project operated by Exxon Mobil, were also ready to receive LNG condensate once the project resumes gas production.
Oil Search did not give any further information about the resumption of gas production, or the status of LNG operations at Exxon’s Hides gas processing.
Exxon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday and has previously said it expected to resume production within two months of the Feb 26 quake.
Oil Search said it will release revised guidance for production, as well as operating and capital costs in 2018, when it reports its first-quarter results on April 17.
Shares of the oil and gas explorer dropped as much as 1.7 percent to their lowest in more than two weeks against a 0.1 percent decline in the broader market.

Oxfam and New Zealand supports Papua New Guinea beekeepers


‘It’s my dream to continue this work’
by Eilish, oxfam.org.nz
April 2, 2018 


“To the Australians and New Zealanders who are donating their money to support this work, it’s really touching the lives of the rural people. And that’s what I like to see. When you support people it brings joy to your heart."

Photo: Patrick Moran/OxfamAUS

Oxfam is working alongside Kelly Inae, who owns Mountain Honey, and supporting him to provide training, advice and affordable equipment to rural beekeepers as part of a four year livelihoods project in Papua New Guinea.
“In a year of working with Oxfam I’ve trained almost 80 people. I supply them with my bee boxes and train them. They can bring their honey to me and I pay them in cash. This is greatly helping their living standards.
"I have managed to help all of these people through the support that Oxfam has given me. I am happy about this.”
The support that Kelly provides beekeepers across PNG means that many of them now generate enough of an income to support their families’ and save for the future.
"It motivates me to look at families and friends who have been able to build houses. It’s my dream to continue this work. In the future someone will say, ‘This house was built from honey money’ and I will love hearing that.
“Honey money giving people a house, honey money giving people an education, and honey money uplifting their living standards.
“I would like to say thank you to the Oxfam team who are supporting work in Papua New Guinea. I have been able to travel with Oxfam into areas where they are working here and I have seen a lot of things that are being done to help the community and it’s just amazing.”

This work is part of Oxfam’s HARVEST project – read more about it here.

*This project is partly supported by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Papua New Guinea's Wellington Albert stars: Widnes Vikings 6-28 St Helens

by Phil Cartwright, bbc.com

Super League: Widnes Vikings 6-28 St Helens

Widnes Vikings (6) 6
Try: Albert Goal: Gilmore
St Helens (16) 28

Tries: Morgan, Percival 2, Barba, Makinson 2 Goals: Richardson 2

St Helens maintained their four-point lead at the top of Super League with a six-try win at neighbours Widnes.
Ryan Morgan and Mark Percival put the visitors 10-0 up but injury-hit Vikings were rewarded for a spell of pressure when Wellington Albert crashed over.

Mark Percival took his tally of Super League tries in 2018 to nine with his double against Widnes

Percival's second restored Saints' 10-point lead before the interval.
Ben Barba's controversial score and a double from Tommy Makinson, the second his 100th try for St Helens, sealed a comfortable victory.
Leaders St Helens looked on course for a convincing victory when they raced ahead early on, but the introduction of Papua New Guinea prop Albert from the bench inspired Widnes into a response.
Luke Douglas' yellow card early in the second period offered the hosts further hope, which was quickly snuffed out when full-back Barba stepped through the Vikings' back line to score his 10th Super League try of the season.
However, it should not have stood as slow-motion replays showed the Australian had lost control of the ball in the act of grounding it over the line.
A young Widnes side emerged from the defeat with credit, despite winger Makinson twice finishing acrobatically in the corner to reach his personal milestone and increase the margin of victory.

Widnes: Craven; Marsh, Chamberlain, Runciman, Ince; Heremaia, Gilmore; Gerrard, Johnstone, Chapelhow, Olbison, Wilde, B Walker.

Replacements: Burke, Leuluai, D Walker, Albert.

St Helens: Barba; Makinson, Morgan, Percival, Grace; Fages, Richardson; Amor, Roby, Thompson, Peyroux, Taia, Wilkin.

Replacements: Smith, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Douglas, Knowles.

Referee: Chris Kendall

UN food aid to benefit 60,000 people in earthquake-hit Papua New Guinea

news.un.org
April 2, 2018

The United Nations emergency food relief agency has airlifted over 80 metric tonness of vital nutritional supplements – enough to feed approximately 60,000 people in earthquake-hit Papua New Guinea.
According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the aircraft carrying the nutrient-dense, high energy biscuits, departed the UN Humanitarian Response Depot in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Monday morning, and its life-saving cargo will reach those in need within days.

UNICEF/Bell: People affected by the earthquake in Papua New Guinea take shelter under a tent. Across the island nation, over 270,000 remain dependent on humanitarian assistance in the aftermath of the disaster and a series of devastating aftershocks.

The plane used for the airlift was provided by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and the Ruler of Dubai.
“[This] support is crucial to deliver humanitarian assistance to those most affected by this natural disaster,” said Stefano Peveri, the head of the Humanitarian Response Depot in Dubai.
More than 270,000 people remain dependent on humanitarian assistance across the Pacific island nation after it was hit by a devastating 7.5 magnitude earthquake in February.
The earthquake was followed by a series of severe aftershocks throughout March, causing widespread panic among communities.
In addition, Papua New Guinea already faced severe food insecurity and alarming malnutrition levels before the earthquake. WFP’s remote assessments estimate that approximately 37 per cent of the population, or 60,000 people, were severely food insecure before the earthquake.
The earthquake and its aftershocks have further impacted people in the most vulnerable areas of the country, destroying root crops and vegetable gardens; the primary food sources in the affected area, said the UN agency.

Tanker docks at ExxonMobil's Papua New Guinea LNG export terminal

reuters.com
April 2, 2018

SINGAPORE, April 2 (Reuters) - A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker has docked at ExxonMobil’s Papua New Guinea export plant, which has been shut since late February following a powerful earthquake, indicating that the facility is preparing to resume shipments.
The 172,000-cubic metre capacity LNG tanker Kumul, custom-built for the ExxonMobil-operated PNG LNG project, is currently moored at the terminal, Thomson Reuters Eikon shiptracking data showed.
It has a draft of 90 percent, suggesting it is nearly full, after leaving Indonesia’s Bontang on March 26.
This is likely the LNG cargo ExxonMobil purchased last month to keep its PNG plant cold, an industry source said, but that could not be verified.
Exxon officials could not be reached on Monday, a public holiday in Papua New Guinea.
LNG achieves its fluid status by being super-cooled to around minus 160 degrees Celsius (minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit).
A senior ExxonMobil executive said in March that the company was shipping in the cargo to keep the LNG export plant cool so it is ready to start production from the gas when it comes down from its Hides facility.
The company hopes to resume shipments from the export facility - one of its top performing assets in 2017 - by late April, or eight weeks after it shut following a 7.5 magnitude earthquake that killed dozens of people.
Led by Exxon, with a one-third stake, and its Australian partners Oil Search and Santos, PNG LNG is the impoverished nation’s biggest revenue earner.
Exxon and France’s Total plan to double their gas exports from Papua New Guinea to around 16 million tonnes a year at an estimated cost of $13 billion.

Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan Editing by Manolo Serapio Jr.

World Food Programme airlifts life-saving relief to people affected by Papua New Guinea earthquake

wfp.org
April 2, 2018

​DUBAI – The World Food Programme (WFP) yesterday airlifted life-saving, nutrient-dense biscuits from its UN Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) in Dubai to Papua New Guinea.
With a cargo of more than 80 metric tonnes of the nutritious high energy biscuits, the plane carried enough food to feed approximately 60,000 earthquake-affected people.
​More than 270,000 people continue to require humanitarian assistance following the devastating 7.5 magnitude earthquake which struck the country in February, and this airlift is part of WFP’s emergency response in the country.
The earthquake was followed by a series of severe aftershocks throughout March, causing widespread panic among communities.
The plane departed from Dubai early Monday morning and the biscuits will reach people within days.
 The plane used for the airlift was provided by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
“We are grateful for Sheikh Mohammed’s generosity in rapidly providing this plane. His support is crucial to deliver humanitarian assistance to those most affected by this natural disaster,” said Stefano Peveri, Head of UNHRD in Dubai.
“More than 60 percent of UNHRD transports originate from Dubai. This makes Dubai WFP’s largest humanitarian hub in the world, thanks to the excellent logistical facilities and ongoing Government support."
Papua New Guinea already faced severe food insecurity and alarming malnutrition levels before the earthquake.
Approximately 37 percent of the population, or 60,000 people, were severely food insecure before the earthquake, according to WFP’s remote assessments using mobile technology.
The earthquake and its aftershocks have further impacted people in the most vulnerable areas of the country, destroying root crops and vegetable gardens; the primary food sources in the affected area.
The airlift is facilitated by the International Humanitarian City (IHC), chaired by Her Royal Highness Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, which hosts WFP’s warehousing facilities in Dubai.
The Princess is a long-term supporter of WFP and currently serves as a United Nations Messenger of Peace.

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WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries.