Links
If links in the newsletter do not work properly, copy and paste the URL into your browser and press Enter. Be sure to copy the entire link, as it may wrap to the next line. If this still does not work please send an email to the newsletter advising of the broken link.
Do you have a web site or link to a PNG related area on the WWW? If so do you want it mentioned here? Then use the submission form by clicking here
External links - while PNG Gossip Newsletter will not sell your email address to others many links on this web site lead to other sites that may may not have the same policy regarding your valuable email address. Be careful when handing over your email address.
PNG News Links
Keep calm and muddle through? -- http://giaman.com/pg/?113930
Morobe Province Struggles From Funding Delay -- http://giaman.com/pg/?280207
A life in limbo: the refugees who fled torture only to end up trapped indefinitely on Manus -- http://giaman.com/pg/?87df5d
PIDF looks to set tone for Forum meeting in Port Moresby. -- http://giaman.com/pg/?f5bfb0
Digicel powers 'Internet for Schools Programme' in PNG -- http://giaman.com/pg/?d1efea
Kingman church part of effort that sends medical help by air -- http://giaman.com/pg/?971fac
Zambia/South Africa: Mutapa Assembles 26-member squad for PNG -- http://allafrica.com/stories/201509031347.html
Misc. Links
Walk on the wild side with vivid scenes of drama and violence -- http://giaman.com/pg/?e9a70b
Civil Society Briefs: PNG -- http://giaman.com/pg/?31788d
PNG Images
Kokopo Town-East New Britain Province -- http://giaman.com/pg/?9bae1b
Port Moresby Daffodil Golf Event Raises over K100,000 -- http://giaman.com/pg/?eff1dc
Rice Development Looks Promising in PNG -- http://giaman.com/pg/?3ee593
Enhancing Community Policing in Lae District -- http://giaman.com/pg/?20ac76
News Items
Oil Search to Close Brisbane Office
Oil Search is set to close down its Brisbane office and has cut some jobs as part of a restructuring in response to low oil prices, as talk resurfaces that the PNG oil and gas player is set to become the target of a takeover approach from Woodside Petroleum.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?2c7085
Allonautilus Scrobiculatus
One of the "rarest creatures in the world" has been spotted for only the third time ever off the coast of Papua New Guinea by a US biologist.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?9e788a
PNG Win Oceania Cup
PNG has beaten the Solomon Islands 58-19 to seal the Oceania Cup rugby title. The Pukpuks finished unbeaten in their three games in Port Moresby to go one better than their runners-up finish two years ago.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?20122a
Soldiers Tune In
Two PNGDF soldiers have stayed at a Ground Self-Defence Force base near Tokyo to learn how to organize a brass band corps so they can create one of their own.
-- http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002375179
InterOil Resumes Drilling
InterOil Corp. announced that the PRL-15 joint venture has started drilling a side-track well at the Antelope-4 site, as part of its appraisal campaign on the Elk-Antelope gas field in PNG.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?a18b64
NRL Broadcast Rights
Digicel has recently bid and won the Broadcasting Rights for the Australian National Rugby League competition in PNG. This will see Digicel Play broadcast select NRL matches on the new TVWAN Rugby Channel.
This has upset many loyal NRL fans in the country who have become used to seeing the matches on free to air television.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?371ef7
UNDP readying for Drought
The United Nations system in Papua New Guinea says coping with a drought, expected to last into next year, will be a real challenge.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?53003a
Journalists Detained & Released
Foreign Journalists who were in PNG for the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) were detained because of problems with their visas but were later released without their passports.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?6e287c
51st Medical Symposium
The 51st Annual Medical Symposium has come to an end in Port Moresby. The theme for this year was Advancing Women's Health through Innovation.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?5c1173
Star Mountain Plaza
Work has begun on the first stage of the Star Mountain Plaza and involves a funding partnership between ANZ Bank and the State, Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC). Stage 1 consists of a 15 storey 212 room Hilton Hotel and a five-storey car park.
-- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/94154
Oldest Pottery Discovered
Archaeologists have discovered oldest known pottery in Papua New Guinea in a distant location in rough highlands. It is a piece of red glossy pottery, which is hundreds of years older than the oldest known pottery.
The discovery will assist archaeologists in reconstructing pottery techniques from Southeast Asia through the Pacific, and reveals more information regarding how technology spread throughout early civilizations.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?e42574
St John's Ambulance Service
After 58 years operating in the country the St John's Ambulance Service is winding up its operations. St Johns says the shutdown was prompted by the failure of PNG's National Department of Health to provide funding to operate.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?7d1fb7
-- http://www.stjohn.org.pg/ -- and -- https://www.facebook.com/SJAPNG
Commonwealth Games Dreams
Now that the Commonwealth Games Federation has opted to venture into new territory by awarding the 2022 Games to Durban in South Africa, where does that leave a future bid by PNG to host in 2026?
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?5170ee
Govt and Church Separation
A union leader has written to the Governor-General and the Prime Minister seeking regulation on the principle of separation of church and Government. He has highlighted moves by parliament speaker Theo Zurenuoc to remove prized cultural artefacts from parliament house as part of his ongoing campaign to reform the legislature.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?97d6a2
Drought and Frost
It is difficult to gauge a drought in PNG against previous figures. In 1970 there were 330 stations recording weather data, but during the last major drought in 1997, there were only about 30 locations recording rainfall details and now there are less than 10.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?27995e
Drought Deaths
Twenty-four people have been confirmed dead in Chimbu as a result of the prolonged drought in the Highlands province.
-- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/94051
Chimbu Governor says drought effects becoming severe -- http://giaman.com/pg/?81232a
Drought emergency call from Madang -- http://giaman.com/pg/?fb2509
New Border Command
PNG has announced a new police command to tackle increasing transnational crime on the border between Indonesia and Australia.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?5e7923
Tablets Rollout
The National Capital District Governor, Honourable Powes Parkop, has officially launched the tablet roll out programme for secondary schools in NCD at Kila Kila Secondary School which gives students the opportunity to access information online for academic purposes. A total of 10,500 tablets will be distributed to schools and will be used as online learning resources for students at the cost of K3.7 million.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?a38211
Lae Street Boys
Church leaders have taken in fifteen street boys to live on the property known as Back Road in Lae. Evidence of their transformation is clearly seen in the way these boys have taken in a deserted 18 month old boy named Noah. These street boys take turns in caring for him.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?2af1d5
Internet Rates Too High
Internet rates placed by internet service providers in Papua New Guinea are too high, says an internet expert. Former Telikom acting chief executive officer Noel Mobiha said there was still room for improvement in terms of provision of internet services.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?511522
Auditor General
The PNG Parliamentary Committee on Public Sector Reform and Service Delivery is to enquire into the affairs of the Office of the Auditor-General.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?660167
Torres Strait Treaty
The Australian government headed by Tony Abbott will reject a push by Port Moresby to make it easier for Papua New Guineans to travel across the Torres Strait into Australia, fearing the move could increase drug trafficking and the spread of tropical diseases. PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has called for the Torres Strait Treaty to be renegotiated to allow his citizens easier access to Australian islands and to stay for longer.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?07bd6b
Amphetamine Awareness Program
The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) has called on the government to draft new legislation to deal with the increase in illicit drugs, with particular reference to methamphetamine.
An awareness program on amphetamine type stimulants (ATS) is currently being conducted by the RPNGC, Australian Federal Police, and Australian Aid. Amphetamine type stimulants such as methamphetamine are the second most-used illicit drug in the world, following cannabis.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?d036cc
Maternal Mortality
Four out of a 100 women die from maternal mortality every day in PNG and this statistics has put a huge strain on Medical Practitioners in the country.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?f1d263
UoG Student Not Shot
The police chief in Eastern Highlands has defended his officers firing at students during a protest in Goroka. Several people were hurt but the provincial police commander, Superintendent John Kale, said they were not shot as had previously been reported.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?d74fce
UoG Governing Council Suspended
The Minister for Higher Education, Research Science and Technology has suspended the Governing Council of the University of Goroka, in efforts to quell student protests, find what is happening and bring normalcy to the institution.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?c4d959
Pukpuks Receive Support
The Pukpuk 7s campaign to the Singapore 7s Tournament has received much needed assistance from InterOil to go towards their training preparations and travel.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?a65234
Aussies Told to Behave
Australians working in Papua New Guinea need to respect the country's laws, Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton says.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?a3d098
Oral Cancer Epidemic
An Australian surgeon says the high levels of smoking, alcohol abuse and betel nut chewing in Melanesia have elevated oral cancer rates to epidemic levels. He says Melanesia has the highest rates of oral cancer in the world, and he believes there are many more who haven't been diagnosed.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?42105b
Petrol Chaos
Motorists in the National Capital District are facing a critical shortage of petrol this week as supplier Puma Energy and the Government continue to wrangle over a K1.4 billion crude oil import tax bill.
-- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/93960
Puma Energy to stop supplies to customers -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/94047
PNG Liner Trade
A new generation of multipurpose cargo vessels has been commissioned by Singapore-based China Navigation Company to meet the exacting and evolving needs of scheduled services to PNG and western Pacific islands.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?d9f233
2018 APEC Summit
PNG is prepared and set to host the 2018 APEC World Economic Leaders meeting in Port Moresby despite negative perception, stenography and prejudice by international media especially Australia.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?a3e64e
GG Meets Xi
The PNG Governor-General, Michael Ogio, has met with President Xi of China. Xi stressed that China is willing to work with PNG to organize more exchanges and strengthen dialogue. He views the two countries' economies as highly complementary to each other, and suggested the two sides integrate their development strategies.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?bd038f
Hilton Port Moresby
Construction of a 16-storey, mixed-use tower in Port Moresby housing the 212-room Hilton hotel, along with office and retail space and 128 apartments, is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2015 and be completed by late 2017.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?95e64d
Coming Events
Note: please verify any date mentioned as dates change and events can sometimes get cancelled. Of course I may also put down a wrong date.
Pacific Islands Forum - 7 to 11 September
PNG in USA and Tribal Foundation Function - 11 to 13 September -- http://pnginusa.org
Goroka Show, September 2015 -- http://giaman.com/pg/?dad899
PNG Independence Day, 16 September 2015
Kutubu Kundu and Digaso Festival - mid-September 2015 -- http://giaman.com/pg/?03c25f
Encounter First Conference - 24 - 26 September -- pngencounterfirst@gmail.com
Morobe Show, October 2015
Alotau Canoe and Kundu Festival, November 2015
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, 25 November 2015
Christmas Day - 25 December 2015
Boxing Day - 26 December 2015
Trade Pasifika - 2016 in Port Moresby
2016 8th FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup tournament (Port Moresby) -- http://giaman.com/pg/?18525e
Pacific Mini Games - Vanuatu 2017
2018 - APEC summit to be held in Port Moresby -- http://giaman.com/pg/?a3e64e
Do you have an event that you want advertised? - Use the submission form located at --http://www.pnggossip.com/misc/ctc.html
PNG Media
Interested in having your own Web Site? Worried about the cost? It may be cheaper than you think. Take a look at pricing at the PNG Web Hosting site. Sites with space for unlimited data storage and data transfer per month start from less than US$5.00 per month. -- DOT COM Domains from US$9.00 per year. All plans come with 24 hour a day / 7 day a week ticket / phone support
If a friend has given or sent you a copy of this newsletter and you would like to keep receiving free copies then please visit -- http://www.pnggossip.com/news/index.html -- for instructions on how to join the list.
Articles for this Newsletter
If you think you have a PNG page worth mentioning then please click here and use the submission form
To send a message for submission to the PNG Gossip Newsletter queue please click here and use the submission form.
.gif)
.jpg)
View PNG Gossip Newsletter Archive