Dede Sophie

By Sasha Pei-Silovo – Buka, AROB : FM 100  Counting for the North Bougainville Open Seat will proceed “as normal” and is due to begin this weekend in Buka. Bougainville Election Manger, Justin Pantumari spoke to FM100 News today to clarify the electoral process following the death of incumbent North Bougainviille MP and National Alliance candidate, William Nakin in Port Moresby on Tuesday. “We have policy and procedures regarding how to address any votes for a deceased candidate during scrutiny of the 2022 National Election. The instructions is very clear from the electoral commissioner. “The ballot paper that contains the vote of a deceased candidate is considered as a formal ballot and must be scrutinized and counted.” Mr Pantumari confirmed that according to PNG election laws “the ballot paper must be counted the same as, if the candidate was alive.” “The procedure for scrutiny, counting and exclusion remains the same and should p...

At RLWC2017, schoolgirl Gloria Kaupa was the youngest player in the Papua New Guinea Orchids squad and played just a handful of minutes against New Zealand in the team’s final match of the tournament. But she channeled her disappointment into motivation – and rose to become vice-captain of the team by the time of the 2019 test series against England. It has been a long journey for Goroka-based Gloria, who stars in the internationally released PNG Orchids documentary Power Meri, to persuade her community to support her playing rugby league as a woman (for religious reasons). She says the turning point was the Orchids’ match against England in 2019 in her hometown. “When we played in Goroka, it was the first time half of my church members, as well as my community came to watch…more than 50 people who knew me. After that, they were more supportive and started to take women in rugby league more seriously,” she says. Gloria has taken it upon herself to develop women’s rugby league in Goroka...

It is a 3000 acre estate comprising of tea gardens, coffee plants and native trees that is located just a few kilometres before Valparai, the unsung hill station of India . It is surrounded by the forests of the Anaimalai tiger reserve on all sides and it itself falls in the buffer zone of the Anaimalai Tiger Reserve. It is a great destination to spot diverse wildlife and birdlife and this specifically holds true for the lion tailed macaque, a primate species endemic to this part of the Western Ghats. I am talking about Puthuthottam Estate, the hidden gem of Anaimalai Tiger Reserve. Puthuthottam wakes up to its usual jungle music every morning. The Malabar whistling thrush whistles in all its glory. The black rumped flameback woodpecker’s drilling sound reverberates in the woods. And some times, you can even hear the gruff guttural calls of the Great hornbill and may be hear its iconic wing beat and see it as its flies overhead. As you excitedly wake up to these gorgeous sounds and s...