Sites to visit
After mentioning a few recipes in last weeks newsletter I am now attempting to direct people to sites with information about food eaten and grown in PNG.
Betel Nut
Information can be found on betel nut at http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/a/areca056.html.
Yam
The humble yam appears to have magic properties when it comes to PMS. Perform a search on the scientific name for a yam (dioscorea alata) and it reveals pages of information on natural progesterone made from plant compounds found in wild yams (dioscorea).
For the yam that is commonly eaten in PNG visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dioscorea
Water Spinach - Kang Kong
Information can be located at http://www.agric.nsw.gov.au/Hort/Fmrs/Asian_veg/water.htm
Aibika
Many recipes in Papua New Guinea use Aibika - here is an explanation of what Aibika is.
Aibika Hibiscus (Abelmoschus) manihot, Aibika also known as, Bele (Fiji) Pele (Polynesia) and Ailan kapis (Vanuatu)
A perennial in the tropics or an annual in cooler climates Aibika bears edible leaves on plants reaching 2 metres (6 feet) in height. Pale yellow flowers 15 centimetres (6 inches) across with dark centres make Aibika another attractive background plant. The leaves have a high level of leaf protein, iron, potassium, magnesium and calcium. They are eaten raw as salad, or mixed with other vegetable in a stew or as a cooked green vegetable. Aibika should not be cooked longer than 5 minutes and turned only once. The flavour is sweet and mucilaginous. Flower buds are consumed either raw or cooked.
Give aibika a sunny location and moist soil, and it will be happy. As summer heats up, aibika will flourish.
Wet Season
It would appear that the Port Moresby dry season has started. The smoke from grass fires is ever-present hanging over the capital.
Royal PNG Constabulary
The Chinese government has donated computers and accessories to the value of K20,000 to the police force. The Chinese government expects to be able to donate more computers later in the year.
Squash
The number one women's PNG squash player has won the Australian Northern Territory Open Championship. Naluge Guy then moved to be a firm favourite to win the squash gold medal at the Arafura Games which she did. She was the only member of the squash team who was successful at the games held in the Northern Territory.
Forestry
The World Bank has said that there is a need for an independent body to help both the National Forest Board and the National Forest Service to vet new timber permits.
Public Officers Superannuation Fund
It has been widely reported that the government owes the POS Fund an amount nearing K80 million in back dated contributions. Its share of the public servants contributions.
Mantles
Hot on the heels of the kerosene lamp explosions it has been revealed again that many of the mantles used in high-pressure kerosene lanterns contain radioactive thorium and pose a danger to the people using them. The first warnings weer issued in the early 90's but nothing seems to have been done about the problem. The only supplier, so far, to be able to demonstrate that their mantles are safe is Coleman. The Primus and Freedom brands have been voluntarily withdrawn from sale.
PMV Fares
The fares charged by the Public Motor Vehicles are set to rise. Some rumours mongers are tipping that the fares will go as high as K1.00 per trip. The way the Price Controller has pegged the price of petrol, airfares and electricity to artificially low prices my tip is that 60 toea might be closer. If this happens I wonder if the drivers will stage a full-scale strike in protest.
Mushrooms
A new buyer of wild mushrooms in the Wau area of Morobe province is looking for sellers of the product. The buyer is also teaching locals about the edible species that may not already be aware of.
Cloned Baby
An 84-year-old man from Australia says he has received genuine offers from two women in PNG to be the surrogate mothers for a clone baby.
Sogeri National High School
Several students have reportedly been suspended from classes for the illegal brewing of alcohol on the school grounds. Sogeri National High is renowned for its annual cultural day, which from memory, is held in August each year. Perhaps the students were just getting ready for the expected influx of locals and overseas visitors during the cultural day?
Laloki High School
The school had been cut off from the electricity supply for three weeks recently. The school is in a bad financial state owing money to stationery suppliers and businesses that supply food for he boarding students.
Harbour City
Anderson's Foodland are the first to move onto a prime piece of real estate next to the new yacht club at the bottom of the freeway in Konedobu. The site is destined to be the premium residential site in Port Moresby and Anderson's are getting in early by starting work on a large supermarket and offie complex which is reported to be worth approximately K5 million. The freeway connects Port Moresby town with the Airport at Jackson's, seven mile.
University of PNG
Eda Ranu, the company responsible for the supply of water in Port Moresby, has waived water charges for a new residential hall complex at the university campus to the value of K80,000.
Morobe Province
Local level government leaders in Morobe province would like to split the province into two. This view has already been raised in parliament by the MP for Kabwun, Ginson Saonu.
Sankwep Bridge
Floods have washed the Sankwep Bridge in Morobe Province away. This has severed the link from the Nawae district to Lae.
First Aid
Students from St Josephs School in Port Moresby have recently attended a three-day first aid course. The students learnt resuscitation skills and how to tie different slings for broken bones. The students also learnt about the structure and functions of the body.
USA politics
It seems that the politics of the United States is following the example set by PNG. Election results are being decided by mere hundreds of voters and individual politicians are controlling the balance of power by switching parties.
Walter Enuma
One of the soldiers at the heart of the Sandline crisis has been cleared on charges of escaping from lawful custody. Soldiers sympathetic to the Rausim Kwik cause in fact forcefully removed him from Boroko police station against his will. Now if only PNG would adopt the US dollar!
Western Highlands
In an incident, which sounds similar to the release of Walter Enuma from the cells at Boroko, a prisoner was forcefully released from the Mount Hagen police cells by warders of the Baisu jail recently. The Divisional Police Commander intervened and gave the warders until close of business to return the prisoner or else he would send his men in to find the "escapee". It is believed the man, a warder at the Western Highlands Baisu Jail, was returned before the deadline.
Honiara Gambling
I have heard rumoured that a casino in the Solomon Islands is attempting to lure gamblers from PNG perhaps for weekend gambling sprees? First Money Rain now Casinos - what next?
International Crime
The Police Commissioner has said that law enforcement agencies in the Pacific region must collaborate to effectively combat the trend of criminal syndicates in the region. Officers in six countries were recently appointed to dismantle a syndicate operating in Fiji dealing in people smuggling and drug trafficking between various countries.
Madang
The Director of the Madang Emergency and Disaster office has said that his office has been operating without cash for the last five months.
Matupit Island
Mount Tavurvur is rumbling again and villagers around the volcano in East New Britain have been warned to be on alert and prepared to evacuate at short notice. At night lava flows are clearly visible with heavy ash emissions visible during the daytime. Meanwhile activity at PNG highest volcano, Mt Ulawun has slowed down after an eruption between April the 26th and 30th.
Power Outages
Once again Port Moresby has been plunged into darkness with little explanation from the electricity company. I think it is becoming a matter of not whether or not you need a UPS for home but rather what size UPS do you require. Even if you have a generator you still need to cover your computer whilst the generator is starting and spinning up to speed.
UPS Power Supplies
The best value for money in UPS's comes from Computers and Communications who offer a 650 VA unit.
Some price comparisons, which may be dated, show that on a toea per VA scale the following can be expected
Computers and Communications 46 toea per VA
Enertec 58 toea per VA
http://www.enertec.com.pg
Daltron 58 toea per VA
http://www.daltron.com.pg
Milne Bay
The Milne Bay Provincial Government has purchased a 25 percent share in the new Alotau International Airways Hotel.
Tourism Sites
Accommodation Sites
- Kanges Hotel, Mount Hagen Fax - +675 542 2463
Travel Prices
Leisure Holidays and Travel (+675 320 0999) have advertised the following prices from Port Moresby. All prices exclude Value Added Tax (VAT) and other taxes and are the lowest starting price.
- Auckland K1954
- Beijing K3217
- Delhi K2768
- Hong Kong K2270
- London K3525
- Manila K1666
- Melbourne K1478
- Rangoon K2656
- Shanghai K3217
- Round the World K4088
The Port Moresby Flight Centre has advertised the following prices with similar conditions to that of Leisure Holidays.
- Brisbane K595
- Cairns K710
- Durban K3535
- Hong Kong K2275
- Manila K1690
- Paris K3535
- Singapore K1790
- Sydney K695
- Wellington K1860
Sites to Visit
Please take a look at the following sites if you are interested in Bougainville.
- http://www.geocities.com/edbooth_1
- http://members.tripod.com/Ed_Booth/Ed_Booth_Web_Page_HTML.html -- Postwar History Of Bougainville
- http://www.members.tripod.com/~Ed_Booth -- Jungle Patrols
Port Moresby Weather from YAHOO
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.png-gossip.com for instructions on how to join the list.
Articles for this newsletter
If you think you have a PNG page worth mentioning then please send email to PNGNews@png-gossip.com. If you are looking for websites about PNG then you can try a search of a site located at http://www.michie.net/pnginfo/pnglinks.html, which lets you add your own PNG related site, and also lets you search for keywords of other sites or for a bigger PNG related search take a trip to http://www.pngnetsearch.com. The PNG Business Directory is also in the process of compiling a very good list of PNG orientated websites. It is located at http://www.pngbd.com
To send a message for submission to the PNG Gossip Newsletter queue please e-mail your contribution to pngnews-queue@png-gossip.com
This newsletter is being written and sent via e-mail at no charge. I expect to write one new issue on more or less a fortnightly basis. However, life sometimes interferes, and the need to earn a living may create an occasional delay.
Remember that this mailing list was originally intended for people who have an interest and already know a little bit about the people and geography of Papua New Guinea. The Papua New Guinea Kina (PGK), which is mentioned from time to time, is currently worth somewhere around 30 - 31 United States cents but varies on a daily basis.
If you really want to find out what the Kina is worth on the world market then you can find a currency converter for most world currencies located at http://www.michie.net/pnginfo/moni.html - another currency converter, with a local flavour, is located at the Papua New Guinea Business Resources Directory http://www.pngbd.com.
For those who are not so familiar with the geography of Papua New Guinea I suggest taking a look at the following link http://www.michie.net/pnginfo/pom-map.html.
Important Note: - all people reading this newsletter must remember that the accuracy of the information in this newsletter should not be relied upon - it is, after all, a gossip newsletter.
PNG media related sites
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.png-gossip.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 send e-mail to giaman@png-gossip.com.
To send a message for submission to the PNG Gossip Newsletter queue please e-mail your contribution to pngnews-queue@png-gossip.com
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