Grand Chief up and about

By JEFFREY ELAPA
FORMER prime minister Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare is out of his sick bed and is reco­vering well but it could be several weeks before he returns to PNG, according to a reliable source.
The source close to the Somare family said Sir Michael was now able to speak and eat after more than three months.
However, the source said doctors in Singapore were keeping a close watch on him and also looking at when he would be well enough to fly back to the country.
The source said doctors would not allow him to fly back yet but Sir Michael should be in the country within the next few weeks.
The source said the good news was that Sir Michael was able to talk to his family and eat which he had never done since he went into surgery.
However, the source could not confirm when Sir Michael had revealed any plans to return to politics or retire to allow his health to improve.
It is also not known if the two doctors from the country who had been appointed to prepare a medical report on him by the ousted government of acting prime minister Sam Abal had done so.