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PNG in the News
Kanawi slams unwise spending of cash for sex -- http://giaman.com/pg/?c192f8
Legal eagles have landed -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/17318
Somare seeks to dismiss misconduct probe -- http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/10/3160485.htm
PNG Tribunal to continue despite PM's attempts to shut it down -- http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=59289
Earthquake off PNG Coast -- http://giaman.com/pg/?ca19e9
Rudd wishes Little Kev happy 3rd birthday -- http://giaman.com/pg/?8d38c6
AFL begins with a bang -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/17373
Origin Energy is planning to link its mooted large hydro-electric project in PNG to Queensland -- http://giaman.com/pg/?8caa93
Clinic Offers Free Service -- http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20110315/news02.htm
PNG Images
Kokopo market, East New Britain -- http://giaman.com/pg/?9f5e78
PNG Landing - Fane -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oB73Z767S8
Ukarumpa Bird -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_png_scotts/5498403041
Port Moresby -- http://www.weather-forecast.com/locations/Port-Moresby/photos/824
MAF - landing at Kafa, PNG -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=766T6LRUfM8
Goroka Village -- http://www.corbisimages.com/Enlargement/JF003458.html
Mt Hagen House -- http://www.lonelyplanetimages.com/search/119451?keywords=stand
Rabaul -- http://giaman.com/pg/?17e336
Dance group Huri Duna -- http://giaman.com/pg/?697d39
Misc PNG Links
Battle of the Milne Bay Museum -- http://giaman.com/pg/?022f3a
Index Mundi is a website that is devoted to being the most up to date on world statistics, maps, and country profiles -- http://www.indexmundi.com/papua_new_guinea
Teachers Savings and Loan Society -- http://www.tsl.org.pg
Nasfund Contributors' Savings & Loans Society -- http://www.ncsl.com.pg
AFL PNG -- http://www.afl-png.com
Post PNG -- http://www.postpng.com.pg
Morning Goroka -- http://www.pngaa.net/Library/MorningGoroka.html
Evangelical Lutheran Church of PNG -- http://www.elcpng.org
Finance Corporation -- http://www.fincorp.com.pg
Christian Books Melanesia -- http://www.cbmpng.org.pg
PNG Country Tours -- http://www.countrytours.com.pg
Diving PNG -- http://matadornetwork.com/trips/diving-papua-new-guinea
Kokopo Beach Bungalows -- http://kokopotours.com -- http://kokopobeach.com
PNG Blogs
Malum Nalu -- http://malumnalu.blogspot.com
Expat Blog -- http://giaman.com/pg/?40015a
PNG DTS Outreach -- http://giaman.com/pg/?1a7015
Chad Wells Family Blog -- http://chadwellsfamily.com/pngblog
Boat Trips in Port Moresby -- http://giaman.com/pg/?6661b0
Ken and Una in PNG -- http://giaman.com/pg/?ec6616
Surfing on our Doorstep -- http://giaman.com/pg/?db32bd
The Giant 'Avatar' like Trees of Sohano Island -- http://giaman.com/pg/?f83bb4
Tembari Children Care -- http://tembari.blogspot.com
My beautiful country -- http://pngbeauty.blogspot.com
Matt in PNG -- http://mattinpng.com
A well travelled cheque -- http://giaman.com/pg/?ad391e
News Items
MAF Anniversary
Almost sixty years ago year Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) started flying in PNG. The first flight was on the 7th of May 1951 by Harry Hartwig in an Auster Autocar taking off from Madang. In 2011 MAF is serving in 35 countries worldwide and it is estimated there is an MAF plane taking off every six minutes.
2010 MAF Statistics -- http://www.michie.net/balus/maf-png.html
Sorcery Laws
The laws regarding sorcery and sorcery related killings are to be reviewed. This is an attempt to either repeal the Sorcery Act or make alterations to the Act by Parliament to make it more enforceable, and to help the courts deal appropriately with such cases.
-- http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20110310/news03.htm
New Trucks Arrive
Forty trucks, worth over than K30 million, have arrived from the United States to be used to transport cargo to and from the liquefied natural gas project in the Hela region to Lae. The trucks were manufactured by Western Star Trucks USA and purchased through Western Star Trucks Pacific - a trucking company owned by the Wamp Nga Group of Companies based in Mount Hagen.
-- http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20110307/news02.htm
Air Niugini Fares
Air Niugini has recently increased airfares citing the increase in the cost of crude oil and jet fuel as the reason. Chief Executive Officer Wasantha Kumarasiri said most international sectors had increased from US$170 to US$190. Mr Kumarasiri said the current domestic fuel rate of K125 per passenger would remain except for Rabaul/Lihir and Port Moresby - Buka which had both increased to K135 per passenger.
Cannabis Cabbages
Police at the Western Highlands airport at Kagamuga have found cannabis hidden inside two cabbages bundled up with other vegetables ready for shipping via Airlines of PNG to Kiunga. Airport police will now check all shipments of vegetables Mt Hagen to other centres before they were loaded on to the aircraft.
School Computers
With the support of AusAID five schools in the Eastern Highlands have equally shared 100 new computers from the Eastern Highlands government. Kabiyufa and Henganofi secondary schools; Kamaliki and Basenenka Vocational Schools and Kami Primary School all received computers. The presentation, of the computers, was witnessed by senior public servants, staff of the education division and head teachers of the schools with students in Goroka.
Minor Flooding in PNG
Flooding has been reported in Manus and Wewak after high seas hit the north coast of PNG. The tsunami warning from the recent earthquake in Japan prompted the night time evacuation of Boram hospital in Wewak.
The Oxfam organisation has provided tarpaulins, food and water for the immediate assistance of patients from the Wewak hospital. The hospital suffered serious damage when it was flooded by waves. The assistance to the Boram Hospital is seen as critical due to extensive damage to the hospital kitchen.
Of the more than 100 patients in the hospital, around 50 were evacuated to the police station compound where most were forced to stay outside. Oxfam staff in Wewak were also able to help a young mother who had given birth just before the waves struck.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?712494
Boram shut, items worth K5mil lost -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/17457
Illegal Movies Burned
Over 70,000 DVD containing illegal movies have been burnt in a successful joint operation carried out by the PNG Censorship Board, customs and police in Lae.
-- http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20110314/news05.htm
Highway Fare Increases
Fares to travel in a public motor vehicle along the Highlands Highway in the Western Highlands have increased due to increases in costs to PMV operators. One operator indicated that fuel had increased from K3.50 to K4 per litre and other costs such as maintenance and loan repayments had also increased.
-- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/17405
Megan Washington
Who is Megan Washington? She is a PNG born singer-songwriter now living in Melbourne, Australia.
-- http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/mar/14/new-band-day-washington
Road Repairs Delayed
Road repairs from Korere to Tunnel Hill Junction in Rabaul have been put on hold due to the failure by the government to make monthly payments to the company performing the work. The project was awarded to Garom Limited by the Central Supply and Tenders Board.
Hiritano Highway
Second Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Project: environmental assessment (Vol. 2 of 2): Environmental management plan for Hiritano Highway rehabilitation (Inawabui - Bereina and Malalaua - Kerema).
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?ac2a27
New Britain Palm Oil
New Britain Palm Oil is to invest in a new food ingredients processing facility at its UK palm oil refinery. The PNG-based palm oil producer said the new facility will offer a complete range of high quality, affordable, margarines and bakery fats for use in pastries and cakes, puff and short crust pastry, as well as shortenings and bread fats, all containing sustainable palm oil and palm oil fractions from a fully traceable source.
-- http://www.sharecast.com/cgi-bin/sharecast/story.cgi?story_id=4103849
1 RPIR Anniversary
The First Battalion Royal Pacific Island Regiment (1RPIR) has celebrated its 60th anniversary.
-- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/17451
Central School Infrastructure
Australia will provide K9.7 million through the incentive fund to build secondary school infrastructure and construct a consolidated trade training centre for Kairuku and Goilala districts in Central province.
-- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/17354
Ramu Mine Gag
The Ramu Nickel Mine has made an attempt to stop the publication of photos taken at its mine site.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?79b834
RAMU NiCo, developers of the Ramu nickel project in Madang, have denied claims that there was "a serious chemical spill" at its Basamuk Bay processing plant
-- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/17269
PNG Languages
Several of the 800+ languages identified in PNG have already become endangered. A couple have already been lost. Global Recordings are attempting to record some of the languages.
For example -
Neo Melanesian - a written Tok Pisin Gud Nius Stori with illustrations -- http://globalrecordings.net/en/script/152 -- and a spoken sample of the Wedau Language, from Milne Bay. - Genesis 22-50 -- https://secure.globalrecordings.net/nl/program/C63379
PNG Country Index -- http://globalrecordings.net/en/country/PP
Simberi Mine Closes
Allied Gold limited has had to shut down its Gold/Copper mine at Simberi in the New Ireland province 135 kilometres east of Kavieng town due to a cyanide spill from one of its deep sea tailings disposal tanks.
-- http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20110309/news01.htm
Somare Continues During Tribunal
Prime Minister Michael Somare will continue as the country's leader while a tribunal considers his alleged misconduct in office. The tribunal investigating misconduct allegations against Sir Michael has declined to suspend him from office. Sir Michael maintains that he had always submitted his annual returns.
PM justifies his 1994-97 returns -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/17458
Government Agencies Accountability
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has heard that only 10 out of about 1,140 government agencies have accounted for their use of public money during 2009. The 10 entities made, kept, submitted and presented accounts, financial statements and necessary fiscal records to enable audit to occur and to satisfy the auditor-general that those records were reliable and gave a true and reliable summary of the financial affairs and operations of the entity.
-- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/17315
Madang Runway Repairs
The surface at Madang airport has had to be repaired after several cracks appeared. One crack, a metre wide and 200mm deep, was described to be "moving apart" due to the continuous seepage of water from recent rains with wheel rut imprints seen on the surface.
-- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/17309
Multiplex Cinema
Paradise Cinema costing close to K9 million is set to open later this year in Port Moresby. The cinema, located on the third floor of the Vision City shopping mall, will show international movies using advanced digital equipment ensuring customers have the best audio and video experience.
see also -- http://michie.net/pnginfo/drivein.html
Coming Events
Note: please verify any date mentioned as dates do change and events can sometimes get cancelled.
World TB Day - 24th March -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/16502
National Surfing Titles - 16th to 25th March
National Game Fishing Titles - 16th to 25th March
National Softball Championships - Easter in Goroka
Arafura Games - 7th to 14th of May -- http://www.arafuragames.nt.gov.au
Lik Lik Diwai Tourism Festival - 20th May
Wahgi Sing Sing - June
Warwin High School Cultural Day - 13th June
Kontu / Tembn Shark Calling, New Ireland - 29th June - 2nd July
Birding in Paradise, 12th - 22nd July -- http://giaman.com/pg/?8b315c
Warwagira Cultural Show, Kokopo - 29th June to 5th July
National Mask Festival, 6th to 9th July
Malagan Show, New Ireland, 22nd to 24th July
Crocodile Festival, Ambunti - 9th & 10th August
Mount Hagen Cultural Show - 13th & 14th August
Goroka Show - 16th to 18th September
Morobe Show - 15th & 16th October
Canoe and Kundu Festival, Alotau - 4th to 6th November
Full Pacific Games - New Caledonia 2011
National Elections - Scheduled for June 2012
2012 PNG Games - Kokopo, East New Britain
Olympic boxing qualifying tournament - April 2012
Pacific Mini Games - Wallis and Futuna 2013
Full Pacific Games - PNG 2015 -- http://giaman.com/pg/?081f78
Do you have an event that you want advertised? - Use the submission form located at -- ../misc/ctc.html
PNG Media
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Articles for this Newsletter
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