Dede Sophie

The Papua New Guinea (PNG) Governor General has finally accepted a request by the PNG Electoral Commissioner, to extend the date for the Return of Writs, from the 29th of July to the 12th of August 2022. Grand Chief Sir Bob Dadae in a statement, says that he has agreed for the extension, because the electoral commission will not be able to complete all counting by this Friday. Sir Bob also says that an extension is necessary, because it will save time and resources, if it is declared a failed election, and new elections are called again in the near future. He also adds that the PNG Electoral Commission must look at what it had done wrong leading into the 2022 election, and start planning as early as 2023 for the 2027 elections. The Governor General has also called for the introduction of the biometric voting system, which he says will avoid all the problems the country has gone through in the 2022 election. Meanwhile, the Governor General  has also appealed to all Papua New Guinean’s t

Ford Ireland is again supporting the annual Defence Forces Band Concert which will be held in the City Hall in Cork on Friday 24 February, writes Brian Byrne. The concert is in aid of the Defence Forces Benevolent Fund, and Ford has been involved since 1989. The event was last held in 2020 and has been absent in the last two years because of Covid restrictions. This year’s concert will feature personnel from the Bands of 1 Brigade, 2 Brigade and the Army No. 1 Band. As is traditional, the concert will also feature Defence Forces pipers and drummers, who are always very popular with the Cork audience. The guest artiste will be soprano Rachel Croash. Pictured at the launch for the concert recently in Collins Barracks Cork were General Officer Commanding 1 Brigade, Brig Gen Brian Cleary and Market Lead for Henry Ford & Son Ltd John Manning.