<![CDATA[PNG Facts - International News]]>Tue, 02 Jun 2026 19:17:45 +1000Weebly<![CDATA[PNG Calls for Peace as Israel-Iran War Escalates in Middle East]]>Wed, 18 Jun 2025 07:58:10 GMThttps://www.pngfacts.com/international-news/png-calls-for-peace-as-israel-iran-war-escalates-in-middle-eastPictureIsrael unleashed a new wave of attacks against Iran on Monday, targeting missile sites after Tehran carried out deadly overnight strikes and both sides threatened more devastation. [Photo by Independent Co]
​Papua New Guinea’s Foreign Affairs Department has urged for peace and dialogue as the conflict between Israel and Iran intensified over the weekend, sparking global concern. Secretary Elias Wohengu called on citizens to unite in prayer and reaffirmed PNG’s commitment to peaceful solutions and the protection of human life.

The war erupted after Israel launched a series of airstrikes on Friday targeting Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities, ballistic missile sites, and key military and intelligence figures, according to international media. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the offensive as a "targeted military operation" aimed at neutralizing threats to Israel’s survival.
Iran retaliated with a barrage of drones and ballistic missiles, striking major Israeli cities including Tel Aviv. The exchange of fire has now extended into its fourth day.

According to Iran’s health ministry, over 220 people have been killed in Israeli strikes so far, as reported by the Associated Press. Meanwhile, Israel has reported 24 deaths resulting from Iranian counterattacks.

Wohengu confirmed that all PNG diplomatic staff based in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem have been instructed to remain in secure bunkers. He assured the public that he remains in contact with PNG’s Ambassador to Israel, Henry Mokono, to monitor the safety of all diplomats and their families.

The escalating violence between the two nations has fueled fears of a wider conflict that could engulf the Middle East and potentially spark global ramifications.

Also read

]]><![CDATA[​Donald Trump Elected US President in a Stunning Comeback Four Years After White House Exit]]>Thu, 07 Nov 2024 08:56:06 GMThttps://www.pngfacts.com/international-news/donald-trump-elected-us-president-in-a-stunning-comeback-four-years-after-white-house-exitPicture​Donald Trump Elected US President in a Stunning Comeback Four Years After White House Exit
Donald Trump has been elected President of the United States, marking a historic return to power just four years after he was voted out. His win signals a shift in American leadership that could challenge domestic democratic institutions and reshape international relations.

The 78-year-old former president clinched the victory on Wednesday by surpassing the required 270 Electoral College votes, according to Edison Research projections. His campaign, characterized by strong rhetoric, heightened the nation’s divisions, with his success secured in part by winning the key swing state of Wisconsin. Trump accumulated 279 electoral votes, while his opponent, Kamala Harris, trailed with 223 votes as of 5:45 a.m. US Eastern Time (10:45 GMT), with additional states yet to report.
In the popular vote, Trump led Harris by approximately five million votes. Addressing a jubilant crowd at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in Florida, Trump, accompanied by his family, declared, “America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate.”

Trump’s victory marks a dramatic revival for a political career that seemed unlikely to recover after the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots, when supporters, spurred by Trump’s unfounded claims of election fraud, attempted to overturn his 2020 defeat. However, he outmaneuvered rivals within the Republican Party and ultimately defeated Democratic candidate Kamala Harris by focusing on public concerns about inflation and what he described as increased crime due to immigration, though without evidence.

Harris did not address her supporters gathered at Howard University, her alma mater. Her campaign co-chair, Cedric Richmond, briefly spoke after midnight, stating that Harris would address the public later on Wednesday and noting, “We still have votes to count.”

In other election developments, Republicans secured a majority in the U.S. Senate, though control of the House of Representatives remained uncertain, with Republicans maintaining a narrow advantage. According to Reuters/Ipsos polls, voters identified jobs and the economy as their primary concerns, with many Americans feeling the impact of rising prices despite strong stock markets, wage growth, and low unemployment rates. A majority indicated they trusted Trump more than Harris to tackle these issues.

Trump’s win was also supported by Hispanic and low-income voters, groups traditionally aligned with Democrats, who have been especially affected by inflation and played a critical role in his electoral success.

Also read
]]><![CDATA[Micronesia asks Solomon Islands Not to sign a Security Pact With China]]>Fri, 01 Apr 2022 10:42:24 GMThttps://www.pngfacts.com/international-news/micronesia-asks-solomon-islands-not-to-sign-a-security-pact-with-china​The leader of the Federated States of Micronesia has urged the Solomon Islands not to sign a security pact with China, saying he had "grave security concerns" and feared the Pacific could become embroiled in a war between China and the United States.
The prime minister of the Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare, said on Tuesday a security agreement with China was ready for signing but he did not disclose its details and he rejected concern by Australia, New Zealand and the United States that it would undermine regional security."
My fear is that we - the Pacific Islands - would be at the epicentre of a future confrontation between these major powers," Micronesia's president, David Panuelo, wrote in a letter to the leader of the Solomon Islands, according to a copy seen by Reuters on Thursday.
But he said the security pact Sogavare was preparing to sign was unprecedented and could fuel fragmentation of the Pacific islands so they became tools of great power rivalry.
The problem of climate change would be replaced by "all-too-real concerns about a war in our backyards", he wrote, pointing to the conflict in Ukraine.
Despite the plea, China and Solomon Islands moved closer to their pact, the two countries said on Thursday, with their officials initialling a framework agreement on bilateral security cooperation.
Reuters

​Next : Tongan MP And Former MP Sentenced To Six Years Jail
]]><![CDATA[Tongan MP and former MP sentenced to six years jail]]>Fri, 02 Jul 2021 22:33:45 GMThttps://www.pngfacts.com/international-news/tongan-mp-and-former-mp-sentenced-to-six-years-jailPictureTongan MP 'Akosita Lavulavu. Photo: RNZI/Koroi Hawkins
A convicted Tongan government minister, 'Akosita Lavulavu, and her husband 'Etuate Lavulavu have each been jailed for six years.

They were sentenced today in the Supreme Court after being found guilty on charges of obtaining money by false pretences.

The couple owned and ran the educational institution 'Unuaki 'o Tonga Royal Institute. They obtained state funding for the training facility, but kept the money.
Supreme Court judge Justice Nicholas Cooper said the couple had a 'highly devised plan', which they committed over about three-years, Matangi Tonga reported.

He said the public money was intended to benefit the children.

The judge said while 'Akosita Lavulavu had no previous offences and had pleaded for mercy, she had shown no remorse.

'Etuate Lavulavu was first elected to parliament in 2002, but was convicted of bribery in 2016 and forced to resign.

His wife then stepped into his parliamentary shoes.

Source : Radio New Zealand

​Next : New Caledonia Ministers Again Fail To Elect President
]]><![CDATA[New Caledonia ministers again fail to elect president]]>Tue, 02 Mar 2021 09:34:31 GMThttps://www.pngfacts.com/international-news/new-caledonia-ministers-again-fail-to-elect-president​New Caledonia's 11 newly elected ministers have again failed to elect a new president.
 
Like two weeks ago, none of the three candidates managed to secure the support of at least six ministers.
 
At this morning's meeting called by the French High Commissioner Laurent Prévost, the anti-independence Future with Confidence coalition's Thierry Santa won four votes.
 
The two pro-independence contenders Louis Mapou and Samuel Hnepeune secured three votes each.

The Caledonia Together minister again abstained.
 
Without a president, the government is not properly constituted and the previous government, which fell a month ago, will remain in a caretaker capacity.
 
A date for another election attempt is yet to be set.
 
A budget needs to be passed before the end of the month for the territory to avoid being placed under French stewardship.

SOURCE: RNZ PACIFIC/PNG Facts

Next : Obama Blames US President Trump For Inciting Violence At Capitol Hill

]]><![CDATA[Obama blames US president Trump for inciting Violence at Capitol Hill]]>Thu, 07 Jan 2021 02:38:51 GMThttps://www.pngfacts.com/international-news/obama-blames-us-president-trump-for-inciting-violence-at-capital-hillFormer US president Barrack ObamaFormer US president Barrack Obama
Former US president Barrack Obama has blamed President Trump of inciting violence with continues baseless lies about the outcome of lawful election.
Mr.Obama released  the following statement. 

"​History will rightly remember today’s violence at the Capitol, incited by a sitting president who has continued to baselessly lie about the outcome of a lawful election, as a moment of great dishonor and shame for our nation. But we’d be kidding ourselves if we treated it as a total surprise. 
For two months now, a political party and its accompanying media ecosystem has too often been unwilling to tell their followers the truth — that this was not a particularly close election and that President-Elect Biden will be inaugurated on January 20. Their fantasy narrative has spiraled further and further from reality, and it builds upon years of sown resentments. Now we’re seeing the consequences, whipped up into a violent crescendo.
Right now, Republican leaders have a choice made clear in the desecrated chambers of democracy. They can continue down this road and keep stoking the raging fires. Or they can choose reality and take the first steps toward extinguishing the flames. They can choose America. 
I’ve been heartened to see many members of the President’s party speak up forcefully today. Their voices add to the examples of Republican state and local election officials in states like Georgia who’ve refused to be intimidated and have discharged their duties honorably. We need more leaders like these — right now and in the days, weeks, and months ahead as President-Elect Biden works to restore a common purpose to our politics. It’s up to all of us as Americans, regardless of party, to support him in that goal.

Next : Chinese COVID-19 Aid To The World : An International Nanny Covering For Her Lies

]]><![CDATA[Chinese COVID-19 Aid to the World : An International Nanny covering for her Lies]]>Tue, 31 Mar 2020 11:17:30 GMThttps://www.pngfacts.com/international-news/chinese-covid-19-aid-to-the-world-an-international-nanny-covering-for-her-liesFirst China denied that COVID-19 was a virus found only in animals. China then denied that it was transferable from human to human, and then China lied about the numbers of infected people and death tolls. Not only did China lie: China destroyed initial test results, chastised doctors and scientists who raised concerns of a new virus, and some even mysteriously went missing.

China allowed 5 million people to leave Wuhan, taking the virus with them before closing it down. China did this because it claimed the virus was contained. As the world caught on fire, China stepped on to the world stage to provide leadership, and atone for her lies and present herself as caring international nanny. That in short is the summary of China’s benevolent aid to Spain, Italy and other countries.

Would you rather be told the truth about the virus so you either stop or quarantine people coming from China, and save your people? Or would you be content to be lied to by a country responsible for the outbreak, a country that irresponsibly lets it spread to other countries, and then gives you aid to fight the virus? Think about that the next time you praise Chinese efforts.

This is part three of “Debunking Covid-19 Conspiracies.” Many of you who read the first two articles might think I am contradicting myself by pushing a viewpoint that seems like a conspiracy itself. However, the difference between the first two articles and this one is that, this is based on facts. Facts that China will admit to. China did lie in all of the assertions made above. And it cost the world thousands of lives. This a collection of several articles, news reports and interviews, but mainly draws from the Nines Network’s 60 Minutes on Sunday evening. Many of you may have watched it. The latter part of the article is also based on another article.

The Nanny lies, kills, and shifts blame.

According to China’s only independent media outlet, Caixin Global, people in Wuhan area started displaying SARS-like symptoms in mid-November 2019. It began in Hua’nan “wet-market.” Its called wet-market because they salughter live animals, snakes, bats, rats, and every living thing they consider eidible. COVID-19 may have come from one of the animals. Note that SARS (2002), which killed 774 and H7N9 (2012), which killed 1223, were attributed to Chinese eating habits. Any SARS-like symptom should be of concern as it has a record of killing nearly 800 people between 2002 and 2003. China’s own medical doctors raised these concerns, and Chinese laboratories confirmed the similarities.

Instead of informing the world, as is the norm, China, more interested in protecting its totalitarian regime’s reputation ordered the lab results and samples destroyed. Dr Li Wenliang of Wuhan's Central Hospital, who first reported the virus, and his colleagues – were forced to sign confessions admitting they had lied. You must know that the Chinese government did not report the disease. The doctors and scientists did, and they paid the price.

Instead of containing the virus in China, President Xi – fully aware of the fact that he would be unleashing what in mid-January was still a local health emergency in Wuhan, onto the world – allowed over five million people from Wuhan alone were allowed to travel to destinations within China and around the globe without being tested for coronavirus. That is how the virus spread.

Cunny Nanny shifts the blame!

As a cunning nanny would do, China now tries to shift the blame. China now blames the incompetence of Wuhan medical authorities for the spread of COVID-19. But they did their part. Their doctors reported it. Their scientists confirmed it. They were humiliated, and all laboratory evidences destroyed. The Wuhan authorities did not do this to the doctor and the scientists, the Chinese Communist Party and President Xi did that. Two weeks ago, another doctor, Dr Ai Fen, went public saying she had been disciplined and silenced in December 2019 after alerting her superiors to the unknown virus afflicting her patients. President Xi ordered her interview erased from the internet. Dr Ai Fen herself has disappeared, whereabouts unknown.
The Nanny lied again

In December 2019, death toll begins to rise, and a clear human-to-human transfer pattern emerged. China denied it, and asserted it had the situation contained and controlled. When it became obvious, China admitted to average of 400 people being infected every day (could be higher). Foreign journalists were expelled. All your information comes from state owned media.

The Nanny steps-up as compassionate world leader

China is sending medical supplies and protective equipment such as face masks to dozens of countries and has given US$20 million ($35 million) to the World Health Organisation's COVID-19 appeal.
"You throw a peach to me, and I give you a white jade for friendship,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang told reporters last week.
Among the countries it is helping are Pakistan, Laos, Thailand, Iran, South Korea, Japan, Cambodia, the Philippines, Egypt, South Africa, Iraq, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Cuba and Chile.

China has also been aiding countries in Europe, the region with the largest number of COVID-19 cases at the moment, notably Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Serbia, and the wider European Union.

The aid range from money, medical experts and relief supplies, with ventilators, monitors, protective gear and essential medicines among the supplies (Italy). China has given Spain 500,000 facemasks and has sent 1 million masks to France. The wider EU will receive 2 million surgical masks, 200,000 N95 facemasks and 50,000 testing kits. Pakistan has received about 15,000 testing kits, while Japan has received 100,000 facemasks. South Korea has been sent 5 million facemasks.

Nanny changing the narrative: propaganda

As China sends aid to countries struggling with a disease that started in China, and spread because of China’s lies and irresponsible handling, it tries to play the victim. In a press conference US President Donald Trump referred to the virus as “Chinese Virus.” The liberal left in the US said calling the virus “Chinese Virus” is racism. China picked up on this line and said this is a form of stigmatizing China. Note it is not unusual to call a disease after the place it originated from. Some of the disease called after the place origin include:
  • Spanish flu killed 50 million people
  • Ebola virus epidemic (Ebola River in Western Africa)
  • Zika - Zika River Uganda
  • African Swine Fever - Aftica
  • Lyme - Lyme in Connecticut
  • MERS - ME for Middle East

China even tried to spread the conspiracy that COVID-19 was created by US and taken to Wuhan by a US soldier. To see how difficult it is for humans to create a virus, see “Debunking COVID-19 Conspiracy theories Part TWO”. Earlier this month, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian took to Twitter to suggest COVID-19 originated in the United States, parroting a conspiracy theory that is gaining traction on Chinese social media.

Do you think China should be held accountable for lying and being irresponsible?

Or should China be forgiven for assisting the world?
]]><![CDATA[Debunking COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories : Did the US create COVID-19 to destroy China?]]>Tue, 31 Mar 2020 11:12:40 GMThttps://www.pngfacts.com/international-news/debunking-covid-19-conspiracy-theories-did-the-us-create-covid-19-to-destroy-chinaPicture
This is part two of the article on Debunking COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories, refuting the conspiracies that are circulating on social medial that China or US created the virus to destroy the other, economically, and politically.

Part one of the article “Debunking COVID-19 Conspiracies PART ONE: Did China Create COVID-19 for Political and Economic Supremacy?” generated interesting debates under the comment section. Of the comments that were made, the one that stood out was by someone by the names of ‘Hatsire’ on Facebook. Here are his comments:

“If you know anything about RNA and virus evolution, you would know that viruses evolve a thousand times faster than other organisms which means they keep mutating all the time without any external manipulations by humans. 90% of the time, the mutations have no effect or they end up making the virus less functional. It's only in very few cases that the virus becomes deadly to humans after a chance mutation. Also, current DNA editing tools used like CRISPR are still in their infancy and it is highly unlikely that such tools can be used to manipulate a biological virus to get it to behave the way you want it to....even supercomputers could not predict the behavior based on the shape. It's not an easy task to manipulate a biological virus. But don't just believe what I'm saying. Go do some background research yourselves.”


Simply put, the technology in the world does not have capacity to create a virus. It takes complex natural mutation that is impossible to manipulate using even the advanced technology.

Another person, Bradley LW Gewa, who is a member of the Academa_Nomad (you can become one by clicking the like button), provided this short but concise comment:

“A well-respected ecologist has just written "natural evolution is more skilled in virus creation than humans". I think that sums it up for me.”

He makes the point that viruses are not easy to create, and nature alone can do it. Science is yet to catch up with the art of creating viruses possessed by nature. And that should settle the debate: that COVID-19 is not manmade.

But we should not take the words of these two gentlemen, as Hatsire says in his comments. Independent research will show reputable scientists and scientific journals/websites saying the same thing. You can look up:

https://www.sciencenews.org/…/coronavirus-covid-19-not-huma….

It provides a summary of the views of scientists and doctors working to COVID-19.

This should settle it. But the question is: even if China or US did develop the virus, would they use it on each other for political and/or economic gains? In Part One we presented reasons why Chinese creation of the virus to destroying US fails stand scrutiny. Here we’ll provide a much shorter version for why even if US created the virus, it would not use it against China.

First, it is inconceivable to suggest that US would release contagious disease that would, at the time of writing this article, killed 2000 Americans, and infected 124, 000. And experts say the worst is yet to come.

Second, lets say the US is heartless leviathan, who would kill its own citizens and throw the world into havoc just to destroy Chinese economic power. This is the most unintelligent of all conspiracies, and those Papua New Guineans who are debating of Facebook that US created the virus to destroy Chinese economic power should be ashamed for being world’s dummies. Three million (3 million) Americans lost their jobs due to Coronavirus, and 3.3 million people who lived their own lives four months ago have now filed for unemployment from the government. US stocks lost 2000 points on 24 March 2020 alones. This translates into trillions of US dollars lost in a single day. All of this carnage is going on, and your best-researched theory is US created the virus to destroy China? You got to be the most illogical human alive. If US is smart enough to create the virus, US should be smart enough to predict some degree of chaos with certainty.

Here is another point for those economic conspiracy theorists to ponder: Chinese economy had already begun to decline past 2010. Its 30 year 10% GDP growth from the 1970s ended in 2005, moving China from being the 6th largest economy to being the second largest economy behind US. In recent years, with Trump’s tariff wars, Chinese economy was negatively affected as Chinese exports to US. China was already slowing, why want to destroy a slowing economy? Chinese economy is second to US only on GDP terms, but on GDP per capital terms, it is China is 79th in the world! GDP is the wealth created in a year, GDP per capita is the measure of how much each person in the country would get if the wealth was equally divided.

Worse still, the global trade interdependence means destroying Chinese economy would inevitable destroy US. In 2018, US made US$ 120.3 billion by exporting to China. For those PNG conspiracy theorists, that’s equivalent to K470. 3 billion. Taking the average annual K16 billion budget of PNG, K470 billion would sustain PNG for 30 consecutive years without the need for more loans! So no, US would not release the virus in Wuhan even if US had it.

Third, assuming US scientists had the ability to create the virus to destroy rising Chinese military power? US has just released US$ 2 trillion to fight COVID-19. Would you create a virus that directly results in US$ 2 trillion if your plan was to be a military superpower? For dates for which data is available online, US budgeted $689 billion in 2019 for its military, whilst Chine spent in $146 billion in 2016 (2019 data not available). In 2016, US spent $611 billion. See the difference? Where is the motive for US to destroy Chinese military power?

The only areas in which China is a threat to US is the number of people who could pick up a gun (if there are enough guns) because China has 1.3 billion people against US’ 400 million.

We could go on and on, but to what cause? The three points above is sufficient to make you question conspiracies.

As one of the guys said in the comment section of Part ONE, do you own research, do not believe Academia_Nomad’s take on this.

Source: Academia_Nomad

Next : Debunking COVID-19 Conspiracies:  Did China Create COVID-19 For Political And Economic Supremacy?

]]><![CDATA[Debunking COVID-19 Conspiracies:  Did China Create COVID-19 for Political and Economic Supremacy?]]>Tue, 31 Mar 2020 11:08:54 GMThttps://www.pngfacts.com/international-news/debunking-covid-19-conspiracies-did-china-create-covid-19-for-political-and-economic-supremacyConspiracy theorists look forward to world events, put their spin on it, masterfully and painstakingly, combine unrelated events to sew up theories that support their worldview. And in a world not lacking disasters and controversies, it’s the golden age of conspiracy theorists, from 9/11 to COVID-19.

The conspiracy theorists are not short of audience, especially in PNG. There is an abundant supply of hungry but ill-informed, non-critical population who would share conspiracy contents to on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media. The Coronavirus, which started in Wuhan, in China, in December 2019, has become another conspiracy theorists’ paradise. Some argue that the United States invented the virus and infected Wuhan with the sole purpose of destroying China. Others claim that China invented the virus to destroy US and basically any other country in the world with the exception of Russia and North Korea. In this article I attempt to debunk some of these conspiracies on both sides.

There are two parts: part one debunks the conspiracy that Chinese created the virus for political and economic gains. Part two will come later, debunking conspiracy that US created the virus to destroy Chinese economy.

Part ONE: China invents the virus to destroy the West and US

This conspiracy is almost convincing. The questions the anti-Chinese conspiracy theorists would ask to confuse you would go like this:

1. How is it possible that COVID-19 did not spread to Beijing, Shanghai, and more important Chinese cities that act as commercial hubs, administrative units and political centers?
2. How is it that it spread to rest of the world, but Chinese stunt allies like Russia and North Korea were preserved?
3. Why did the virus break out at the time Hong Kong protests were at their peak?
4. How is it possible that whilst all the world is struggling to control the virus, China is proceeding to close down isolation centers and hospitals?

They ask these questions to plant doubt in the minds of their readers, and then advance their ultimate goal of misleading unsuspecting readers. It would go something like this:

China invented the virus for three purposes. First, it was invented to create panic and stop Hong Kong protests, which may have led to destabilising the Chinese Communist Party’s rule. They point to the timing of the outbreak to substantiate their claims. Some even claim that China developed the virus to spread it among the Hong Kong protesters, to kill them.

The second reason, they claim, is that the Chinese developed the virus in a laboratory, created vaccines, budgeted funds and identified areas to build hospitals, got the necessarily materials and equipment ready, and then released hell upon Wuhan. This explains the fast response the world witnessed when China rapidly built hospitals. It also explains the effective containment. It was preplanned and well executed. And when the world went into panic, and lock down, with the economy spiraling out of control, China emerged as the greatest winner, buying shares and companies at a cheaper prices.

Third, related to second one, but more political. China intends to destroy US hegemony (US superpower status) and be the world leader. They point to the fact that Chinese allies like Russia and North Korea are not being hit hard by COVID-19, as a reason to say China has strategically targeted the West. For supporting arguments they point to the ability of Chinese government’s control of the virus to say it was all pre-planned, and then executed.

Debunking Conspiracy One: Virus Created to Stop Protests in Hong Kong

The outbreak of COVID-19 did bring the ongoing protests in Hong Kong against their government who were sympathetic to mainland Communist government to an end. The streets were empty. The streets remain empty now. COVID-19 ended the protests in ways that both Chinese and Hong Kong authorities would not have imagined possible. But does that imply COVID-19 is a biological weapon designed to end the protests? Why was there a outbreak at the peak of the protest?

The answer is simple. It was a coincidence. Nothing else. COVID-19 outbreak happened by chance. Why do I say this? Because China is a hotspot of COVID-like viruses. Viruses break out in China all the time. It breaks out in times of peace. See the list below:

Asian Flu (1956) started in China, and killed killed 1-4 million people;

SARS started in China (2002), and killed 774 people;

H7N9 started in China (2012), killed 1223;

COVID-2019 started in China, killed 22, 000 and counting.

Most of these diseases are said to have come from Chinese obsessions with diets that involve bats, rats, snakes, etc. Unless China bans these sources of diet, new diseases will continue to come out of China.

Why didn’t COVID-19 wreck Chinese allies North Korea and Russia? These conspiracy theorists argue that North Korea and Russia are not reporting huge COVID-19 cases like those in South Korea, Italy, Spain, and the US because China strategically prevented the spread of COVID-19 to these countries. Russia shut down flights from China in January 2020 after the outbreak in December 2019, and minimized the number of infected persons as a result. It then proceeded to isolate, quarantine, and monitor until it subsided. North Korea is a country with very limited access. So there is no knowing how many cases there are in North Korea. We will never know. That does not equate to absence of COVID-19.

Debunking Conspiracy Two: Virus Created to Wreck World Economy (US and the West)?

For those who have read basic Chinese economic history, China’s exponential economic growth in the last 30 years, GDP growing at 10% from 1978 to 2005, would not have been possible without integrating into world economy. China joined GATT (predecessor to WTO) in 1948 and WTO in 2001. WTO has 164 members – so China had/has access to 164 countries. That’s 162 economies with billions of people. China relies on international trade. If the European Union market collapses, if the US economy collapses, if the 162 economies collapses, the Chinese economy will collapse. It’s a massive economy that relies on world trade.

It is unthinkable that China would intentionally plan the collapse of the world economy just to get ahead. Get ahead and then what? When demand for Chinese products drop across the world due to COVID-19 impact on world economy, so does the demand on Chinese products.

There are also claims that China is buying shares and companies of the West and US. There is no statistics/evidence that this is the case. If anything, smart businessman and women are buying shares in companies, not only Chinese. The Warren Buffets, the George Soros, the Charlie Mungers of the world are buying. Not necessarily Chinese.

Debunking Conspiracy Three: Does China seeks to break US hegemony, and lead the world?

Why was China so fast in bringing the virus under control? China, North Korea, and to some extent, Russia, can do things with such speed that is not possible anywhere else. The reason is because these countries (with a possible exception of Russia) are still very much authoritarian. They can shut down roads, place restrictions, allocate funds, and execute the will of the state with less resistance from the population. The communist government in China shut down Wuhan without any resistance. North Korea can do it without resistance. The oligarchy in Russia can do it with relative ease. That is the reason why China got what it wanted, when it wanted. Allocated state resources to building temporary hospitals, isolation stations, and manufacturing and sourcing test equipment. China was able to strictly lockdown Wuhan.

Countries in the West cannot do that. The checks and balances mean that the executive is restrained in its ability to make decisions. Lock down in Italy required parliament’s approval (both sides of the house). PNG needed a state of emergency, but even parliament has to be called to enact an Act to make the SOE valid. That is why Belden Namah questioned its constitutionality. In the US, the President can make the decisions, the senate and House make theirs, and you need a consensus. This may delay response, but it ensures that even crisis does not translate into authoritarian rule by the prime minister or president.

Why did the virus spread abroad? Well, those foreigner who were in Wuhan flew out to their countries, taking the virus with them. That is a no brainer. It has nothing to do with Chinese strategy of spreading the virus everywhere except Beijing and Shanghai.

We need a critical generation in PNG. Ones that question information, seek validity of sources, be active consumers of information.

You are invited to be critical of this piece. I will be disappointed if you read this article without being critical, saying yes and amen to my arguments. You are not supposed to do that. BE INDEPENDENT. But be logical, and present evidence for your claims.

Parts Two of the article, we will look at the conspiracy from anti-Americans: Did Americans create the virus to destroy China?

Source: Academia_Nomad

Next : Air New Zealand Slashes More Flights To Australia, CEO Takes Pay Cut As Coronavirus Bites

]]><![CDATA[Air New Zealand slashes more flights to Australia, CEO takes pay cut as coronavirus bites]]>Tue, 10 Mar 2020 11:14:17 GMThttps://www.pngfacts.com/international-news/air-new-zealand-slashes-more-flights-to-australia-ceo-takes-pay-cut-as-coronavirus-bitesAir New Zealand Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand has withdrawn full-year guidance it downgraded just two weeks ago amid mounting disruption from the global coronavirus outbreak.
 
The carrier's chief executive has also taken a pay cut as it braces for a greater-than-expected hit from virus-related closures and travel bans that are hurting the wider aviation industry.
Air NZ in February predicted the COVID-19 hit to FY20 earnings would be in the range of NZ$35 million (AUD$34 million) to N$Z75 million (AUD$72 million) due to lower demand and capacity cuts.
 
The company on Monday said financial impact is now likely to be more significant than previously estimated.
 
“And with the situation evolving at such a rapid pace, the airline is not in a position to provide an earnings outlook to the market at this time,” Air New Zealand said in a release.
 
The company has already cut flights to Hong Kong, suspended Shanghai services until March, and Seoul flights from March to June.
 
Twenty-one people aboard a cruise ship that was barred from docking in San Francisco have tested positive for coronavirus, U.S. officials said on Friday, adding to the more than 100,000 cases of the fast-spreading illness across the world.
 
Total capacity into Asia has been slashed by 26 per cent, and total overall network capacity cut by approximately 10 per cent since the outbreak of COVID-19 started. New Zealand's flag carrier cut capacity on flights to Australia by 7 per cent.
 
Qantas on Friday announced it would cut more international flights as it too grapples with falling demand.
 
Qantas' latest cuts to destinations including Tokyo, Sapporo, Osaka, Hong Kong and Auckland are on top of its grounding the equivalent of 18 planes as it cut international and domestic capacity last month.
 
Air NZ on Monday also announced chief executive Greg Foran has voluntarily offered to reduce his base pay ofNZ$1.65 million (US$1.04 million) by approximately 15 per cent, or NZ$250,000(US$158,000), with the support of the board.
 
Air NZ's executive team will also extend their salary freeze that has been in place since May 2019
 
First half profit fell by 33 per cent to NZ$101 million (US$64 million) last month.
 
The carrier's ASX-listed share price has plunged more than 30 per cent so far in 2020. Air New Zealand shares slid 5 per cent on Monday to end the session at $1.88(US$1.19) against a broader market plunge of 7.3 per cent.
SOURCE: AAP/PACNEWS

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