Dede Sophie

 As the country goes into its second day of polling for the 2022 National General Election, Police Commissioner David Manning has once again appealed to the people of Papua New Guinea for their cooperation in making this election free, fair, safe and corruption free. Photograph of the security operations launch [Supplied] “It is the mission of the members of the security forces to ensure we have a free, fair, safe and corruption free National General Elections 2022. But this responsibility is not solely ours alone but for every citizen of Papua New Guinea,” Mr Manning said. Mr Manning made this comment when he launched the 2022 National General Election Joint Security Task Force parade at the Sir John Guise stadium in the nation’s capital, Port Moresby, on Friday 24 June. Speaking from Tari, where he witnessed the one-day polling for the Hela Province yesterday (Monday July 4), Mr Manning said the commitment of the security forces for a free, fair and safe election is evident from the

Monsoon in the Western Ghats and waterfall holidays are synonymous. This wet season brings to life many waterfalls and streams and their tropical setting, lush environment and thunderous force simply absorbs all of your mental and physical stress. One such tropical waterfall is the Talasi Abbi falls that lies hidden in the Western Ghats between Mastikatte and Tirthahalli in the Malnad region of Karnataka. The place is so remote that you might lose your way a couple of times before you find the right path. And unlike the more popular waterfalls of the Western Ghats, there will be hardly any people here. At the maximum, there might be one or two groups in addition to yours. And unlike the bigger waterfalls, you can actually get close to this waterfall and enjoy a shower right under it. To me, Talasi Abbi falls is the perfectly hidden waterfall holiday during the monsoons. The green environment, the pristine waterfall, the mountain stream, the sounds of nature, the short tropical trek, th

UNESCO calls it ‘A remarkable example of viability and transmission of human being’s collective thoughts from different generations to the present one’. I am talking about the historical desert city of Maybod in the Yazd province of Iran. This ancient city that goes back to the pre-Islamic era is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site tentative list. It is known for its traditional architecture that can be seen through its ancient roads, old castles and other remnants of the historical city. Maybod was once the capital of Iran during the Mozaffarid period and is home to Narin castle, one of the oldest castles in Iran dating back to the Sassanid era. This mud-brick fort castle standing 130 feet high from its base incorporates mud bricks of the Medes, Archaemenid and Sassanid periods. Although built some 6000 years ago, it seems to have some kind of a plumbing system built into its massive walls. One can see more examples of such water works through other buildings housing underground wa

The beloved author of such immortal classics as Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen was born some 235 years ago today on Dec. 16. In the recent years, Austen has surged back into popularity with a host of movies and spin-off books arising from her romance novels. Sourcebooks, a leading publisher of Jane Austen fiction, is offering a unique deal to readers who want to celebrate Jane by reading special editions of all six of Austen’s beloved novels in a 21st century format. Special e-book editions of Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion and Mansfield Park will be available for free for *today and tomorrow* only. These celebratory editions include the full novels, plus the legendary color illustrations of the Brock brothers, originally created to accompany the books in 1898. In addition to the Jane Austen classics, readers can also enjoy these bestselling Austen-inspired novels: Eliza’s Daughter by Joan Aiken The Darcys & the Bingleys by