World Bank

Financial consumer protection ‘involves laws, regulations and institutional arrangements that safeguard consumers in the financial marketplace’, as defined by the World Bank.

According to the Second National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2016 – 2020, the Bank of Papua New Guinea will be taking the lead in developing the framework.

Development of the framework will focus on three areas. They are: Regulatory; Financial Service Providers; and Consumers.

Michel Kerf will oversee the World Bank's regional portfolio which includes 55 projects across 13 countries worth more than one-billion-US-dollars.

He thanked his predecessor Franz Drees-Gross for his work over the past three years which he says helped broaden engagement in many areas in the Pacific including disaster resilience, fisheries and connectivity.

RNZ reports the "Reducing Vulnerabilities" report predicts a stable growth outlook for East Asia and the Pacific up until 2018.

But it says the Pacific countries are particularly vulnerable given their small economies which are susceptible to external shocks from the global economy as well as from the high risk of natural disasters in the region.

Historically, these industrial monoliths have been functional eyesores -- often inciting resentment and "not in my backyard" protests from local residents.

But as cities generate more trash -- the World Bank predicts global rubbish disposal will triple to 4 billion tons a year by 2100 -- the need to change our attitudes to waste is becoming more urgent.

RNZ reports last week the runway required additional temporary patching on top of what was done in March and April.

The Bank's acting Pacific director, Lasse Melgard, said the latest problems are in a new area that had not been identified for emergency repair work earlier this year.

That work has been financed by the bank which is providing an interest free loan of $US59 million for a more permanent overhaul of the runway, lighting upgrades and other facilities.

He said they hope to be inviting bids for this work by October.

World Bank president Jim Yong Kim said the new Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEF) will accelerate global and national responses to disease outbreaks that threaten large populations and fragile economies.

He said the PEF, a combination of catastrophe insurance and bonds, is a direct reaction to the sluggish donor response to the outbreak of Ebola, which killed thousands and shut down economic activity for months.

"The recent Ebola crisis in West Africa was a tragedy that we were simply not prepared for. It was a wake-up call to the entire world," Dr Kim said.

It says this could create up to 15,000 jobs by 2040.

Called 'The Pacific Possible: Tuna Fisheries report' it has been released at a meeting of Forum Fisheries committee in Port Vila.

Released today, the 'Precautionary Management of Deep Sea Mining Potential' report recommends that Pacific countries supporting or considering deep sea mining activities proceed with a high degree of caution to avoid irreversible damage to their ecosystems.

It also stresses the need for strong governance arrangements to ensure that appropriate social and environmental safeguards are in place.

The Minister for Public Utilities and Infrastructure Jotham Napat said the government's in negotiation with the institution to give the airport a full Code E runway.

RNZI reports that would allow larger aircraft such as Boeing 787s and Airbus A330s to land in Port Vila.

RNZI reports short-term repair work has been carried out after safety concerns about the runway in January led to the suspension of all Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand flights.

The Bank made available a $US59 million loan to cover both the just-completed short term and long-term upgrades of the runway.