Shanghai

Gov’t plans for Shanghai-POM direct flight

Prime Minister James Marape made this announcement recently when welcoming the Bank of China officials in Port Moresby.

He told visiting officials from the Bank of China, that amongst our highest trade priorities is the immediate arrangements for direct flights from Shanghai to Port Moresby.

“Our Government is looking for a Chinese Airline that can service the route under a Code Share arrangement with our national airline, Air Niugini.”

China announces largest city-wide lockdown

The city of Shanghai will be locked down in two stages over nine days while authorities carry out Covid-19 testing.

The important financial hub has battled a new wave of infections for nearly a month, although case numbers are not high by some international standards.

Authorities had so far resisted locking down the city of some 25 million people to avoid destabilising the economy.

But after Shanghai recorded its highest daily number of cases on Saturday since the early days of the pandemic, authorities appear to have changed course.

ANG defers Shanghai flights

In a statement, the airline said: “Air Niugini is committed to ensuring the highest quality, on time service to all passengers and will continuously review its business to improve efficiencies.

“Our partners and the airline have invested heavily in setting up operations to achieve our goal of opening the Chinese market to Papua New Guinea. It is our desire to complete this venture at the earliest possible opportunity. 

Shanghai to trial unisex toilet to cut queues

The toilet, in a busy park in Pudong New Area, will have 10 unisex stalls, plus some urinals and a stall for disabled people.

The opening on 19 November will coincide with World Toilet Day.

Unisex facilities will spare officials having to decide how to share out male and female stalls, say reports.

"It is an apparent problem that women have to wait in lines for toilets," Fu Liping, an official involved in the project, was quoted as saying, by the Xinhua news agency.

Typhoon hits China with heavy rains; 1.1 million evacuated

The storm made landfall in Zhoushan, a city east of the port of Ningbo in Zhejiang province, dumping more than 100 millimeters (4 inches) of rain since late Friday, China Central Television and the Xinhua News Agency reported. 

Xinhua said no deaths or injuries had been reported by Saturday evening.