“An aerial of the Ramu River showers the imagination with the lush green valley and its towering, misty peaks. This is where nature speaks. The air is fresh, the water fresher and the mud underfoot fertile to all kinds of produce. The mighty Ramu breathes life into the valley’s fertility. Elsewhere, the rainforest is an endless carpet of green, its biodiversity a respiratory playground of its human inhabitants, wildlife, flora and fauna.

“From the air, it’s breathtaking. In a bouncy little plane, like those trusty MAF-operated one-propellers, your heart beats wildly with the thud of the engine and your thoughts sway passionately with the wing span as the little rural taxi of PNG wings its way safely down to earth. Here, where there are no roads, the MAF balus is our lifeline to the outside world. The struggle is real. If you’re a true green bushman, like the ones that dot the Middle Ramu hinterland, you will know what survival means.”

MARAPE GOES PRACTICAL WITH INDON RELATIONS

PNG Business News reports that PNG prime minister James Marape is focusing on two important infrastructure objectives that bring a very practical approach and collaborative heft to his government’s relations with Indonesia. "Embracing the economic opportunities facilitated by Indonesia is a call to action for the people of PNG," Marape said. "Our joint endeavors encompass a range of strategic initiatives, including enhancing access to affordable electricity along the border and collaborating on essential road infrastructure."

The two governments are now moving forward on an electricity supply project between Vanimo and Jayapura. "While the Indonesia-PNG border historically represented a political divide, our commitment is now geared towards its transformation into a thriving economic hub,” Marape said. "Indonesia's surplus electricity stands to uplift communities in northern towns like Vanimo and Wewak, extending its impact to Kiunga and Daru in the south.”

GOLDEN SCHOOL DAYS HELPED BUILD A NATION

Eddie Kabuni writes a short but illuminating article on “the often overlooked contributors to our success” — those Papua New Guinean classmates, team mates, dormitory mates and others encountered in the educational journey. It’s worth noting here that the top secondary schools in PNG typically drew their student population from a broad selection of the country’s 850 language groups, each with its own cultural traditions. The trans-tribal relationships played an important role in PNG’s independence and the nation-building that has continued since those earlier days.

Eddie writes: “As we reflect on our achievements, let’s not forget the collective effort that brought us here. The classmates who helped decipher a challenging concept, the schoolmates who lent a hand during tough times, the dormitory mates who shared laughter and late night discussions, and the cube mates who brightened up monotonous days. These individuals left an indelible mark on our journey. They are a part of the tapestry of our success, woven with threads of camaraderie, mutual support and shared experiences.

WORRIED PACIFIC WON’T LET INDIA INTO APEC

The online journal, East Asia Forum, provides a regular feed of expert articles on the issues of the region, including occasional pieces on Papua New Guinea. The authors of a recent piece, ‘India renews its courtship with APEC’, reflect on India’s so far unsuccessful mission to join the 21-member Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation, rebuffed particularly by Pacific countries fearing that allowing India into APEC will create an imbalance favouring Asian over Pacific Islands countries

“India has tried to join APEC since the late 1990s,” say the authors, “but it remains an observer until today.” They conclude that, while the Pacific Islands argument has merit, India’s inclusion is justified because the group already includes major countries like China, South Korea and Japan. “APEC’s framework of unilateral liberalisation — coupled with regional peer learning, pressure and technical support — provides a pathway for India’s integration with the region. But India must still undertake reforms and muster support among APEC’s members if it is to secure membership.”

SORRY GUV, IT’S THE GENES WHAT DONE IT

Three unrelated research projects covered in a recent UK edition of the online journal, Medscape, indicate that sudden heart attacks, some smokers growing old without lung cancer and some elderly people having minds as sharp as tacks have a common cause – so why might that be?

Sudden heart attacks are defined as those occurring within an hour of the onset of symptoms. They take the form of a heart rate that soars to over 120 beats a minute with three or more irregular beats in a row. And they’re often the result of heart disease caused by hereditary factors. So, if there’s a sudden heart attack or unexplained sudden death at a young age, it could be due to heart diseases that affect the whole family.

Most of us know of a heavy smoker who has grown old and never developed lung cancer. My favourite example is the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards, a year older than I, knocking on the door of 80 and never seen without ciggie in hand. Spanish researchers investigating why some heavy smokers grow old without lung cancer and others die before they’re 50 say their most noteworthy finding so far is the significant genetic differences between the two groups, indicating that the genes we inherit determine whether the durries will kill us, and how quickly.

Even at an advanced age, some folks have the memory of people 20 or 30 years their junior. A new study shows that in ‘super-agers’, the age-related degeneration of grey matter - especially in those areas responsible for memory - develops much more slowly than in most older people. On average, these ‘super-agers’ had much better physical health, experienced significantly less depression and anxiety and remained socially and involved. Oh, and it seems there’s an additional factor at play, yep, genetic differences.