Links
Warning: PNG web sites seem to come and go. The fact of life is that it costs money to host a web site (try -- http://pngwebhost.com -- for an excellent, reliable but cheap deal) and there is not much return on the outlay to most businesses in PNG. If you do click on a link and use the services or even have some comments to make then please contact the people at the relevant web site and let them know so they at least know that someone has gained some value from their efforts. If you are so inclined then mention that you heard about them from this web site. -- The PNG Gossip Newsletter.
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 send an email to -- pngnewsqueue @ pnggossip.com
PNG Law
pngInLaw imprint -- http://www.niumedia.com/pnginlaw/
Pacific law databases -- http://www.paclii.org/databases.html#PG
Swamp Ghost
The Swamp Ghost has been the centre of much controversy over the attempted movement of the old World War II Boeing B17E Bomber from what should have been its final resting place to overseas. Read about the history of the aircraft by visiting -- http://theswampghost.com/
The Drum
The famous Post Courier Column "The Drum" has been in the electronic age for sometime now. For all of those people who are familiar with The Drum you can now email titbits of gossip to thedrum@spp.com.pg or you can still send a facsimile message to +675 320-1781. For those not familiar with The Drum then I suggest taking a look at the Post Courier website located at -- http://www.postcourier.com.pg -- and follow your nose to "The Drum".
Christmas
As Christmas is just around the corner and PNG is Christian country here are a few links to religious websites that deal with PNG.
Diving
The following is sample of some of the web sites dealing with diving in PNG. It is not a complete list and if you would like your organisation mentioned in this newsletter please let me know.
Dive Discovery -- http://www.divediscovery.com//png/
Mike Ball Dive Expeditions - Scuba Diving the Great Barrier Reef, diving... -- http://www.mikeball.com/
Diving Liveaboards and Diving Resort Packages in Papua New Guinea ... -- http://www.divingtravel.com/png.htm
Scuba diving Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea. Liveaboard dive charters, PNG. -- http://www.png-diveboat.com/
Diversion Dive Travel -- http://www.diversionoz.com/en/png.htm
Peter Hughes Diving, Star Dancer -- http://www.peterhughes.com/star/Star_dancerindex.shtml
Merchant Vessel FeBrina -- http://www.febrina.com
http://www.underwaterphotos.com/tiata2.htm
http://www.cathychurch.com/png.html
http://www.worlddive.com/phgal/png/pngpix.htm
http://www.blueseacharters.com
Email Contacts
* Tailors
Kokoda Tailoring and Kokoda Collection can be contacted at -- kokodatailoring{@}daltron.com.pg
PNG tailoring -- pngtailoring{@}daltron.com.pg
Bismil Trading -- bismil{@}datec.com.pg
* Printers
Star Printing -- starprinters{@}thenational.com.pg
Times Printing -- timesprint{@}daltron.com.pg
Treid Print -- sales{@}treidpacific.com.pg
PNG Aviation
Aviation Safety Database -- http://aviation-safety.net/database/country/country.php?id=P2
Air Niugini, National Airline of PNG -- http://www.airniugini.com.pg
Airlines of PNG -- http://www.apng.com
Airlink -- http://www.airlink.com.pg
Bill Purcell's Site -- http://www.billpurc.com/aviation.htm
MAF Australia (PNG Info) -- http://www.maf.org.au
PNG Unofficial PNG Aircraft Register -- http://michie.net/balus
North Coast Aviation -- http://www.nca.com.pg
Online Airline schedule -- http://www.pngbd.com/travel/flights.php
PNG Balus Project -- http://www.balus.gov.pg
TNT Air Cargo -- http://www.tnt.kenmore.com.pg
Regional Aviation -- http://www.regionalaviation.com
Tourism Offices
http://www.tourismmorobe.org.pg -- Morobe Tourism site
http://www.milnebaytourism.gov.pg -- Milne Bay Tourism Site
http://www.pngtourism.org.pg -- Main Government Tourism Site
http://www.pngbd.com -- Papua New Guinea Tourism and Business Directory
http://www.eastnewbritain.com -- East New Britain Tourism Promotion Web Site
http://www.tourismwestnewbritain.org.pg -- West New Britain Tourism Promotion Web Site
Tourism Web Site -- http://www.png.aqualagoon.com/
News Items
Papuans Evicted
Almost 200 West Papuans living just outside the National Capital of Port Moresby at Nine Mile have been evicted after occupying the land for over 20 years. The settlers have no where to go as they fled from their own country and now have had to resort to camping on the side of the road. The settlers had built homes and a church and raised their children on the land they were occupying.
Public Accounts Committee
A member of the PAC (Public Accounts Committee) has been told recently to not investigate the Sepik Highway trust account. The PAC has learnt that K1.2 million from the Sepik Highway trust was received by the Jubilee University. It is believed that the money was transferred to the University under the direction of the Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare as the former finance secretary, Thaddeus Kambanei, has produced two letters from Sir Michael to him as the then Finance Secretary for these transfers. The inquiry has been adjourned until the 15th of January, to seek legal opinion on the issues raised.
New Police Commissioner
Gari Baki has been nominated as the new head of the PNG Police Force. The head position has received a great deal of bad publicity recently with several people being appointed to act in the position while the government has taken its time to make a final decision. The Police ministry is now held by Finance Minister John Hickey.
New Anglican Bishop
At a 5th of December meeting of the House of Bishops and Bishop Appointment Committee, the Revd Peter Ramsden, currently Vicar of St. Bartholomew, Long Benton in Newcastle Diocese, Commissary of the Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea (ACPNG) was elected Bishop of Port Moresby, succeeding his namesake, Bishop Peter Fox, who returned to UK in July. The consecration date has been set for 25th March, 2007.
Moti Affair
The PNGDF (PNG Defence Force
) is conducting a new and independent inquiry into the Julian Moti affair. The inquiry will investigate any breaches of customs and quarantine regulations and any breaches of civil aviation regulations. The board of inquiry will be chaired by Justice Gibuma Salika and will be assisted by Brigadier General Tony Huai (retired). The Moti affair has gained much publicity in PNG, the Solomon Islands and Australia.
Diplomat Attacked
A French diplomat and other tourists have been attacked and robbed by thugs near PNG's Parliament House. The diplomat was attempting to visit the National Museum. On his arrival at the museum, he saw a group of men fighting near the museum and when he stopped his car behind another vehicle waiting for the museum gate to open he was attacked. The thugs had already robbed the occupants of the other vehicle and were fighting over how to divide up the spoils of the previous attack when they took the opportunity to rob the diplomat.
2007 Coffee Festival
The 2007 Coffee Festival has become the first casualty of the 2007 National Elections. The organisers have decided to cancel the 2007 event and plan for a bigger and better event in 2008.
Visa Fraud
It has been revealed that many Asians working in the country do not have original visa or work permit documents.
PNG Web Hosting
Interested in creating your own PNG Web Site or any web site for that matter? Worried about the cost? It may be cheaper than you think. Take a look at pricing offered at the PNG Web Hosting site -- http://www.pngwebhost.com -- Sites with space for 15,000 MB of data, 300 GB transfer per month and 24 hours a day / 7 day a week ticket / phone support for less than US$5.00 per month. The larger web-hosting plan at US$9.75 per month offers 25,000MB of disk space, 400GB transfers and the ability to host up to 10 domains and 32 sub domains on this one package. All sites come with a web site builder to make web site making easy! As an added bonus several PHP and MySQL options are available. The best way is to visit the web site and see for yourself. Oh, and by the way, DOT COM Domain Names are as little as US$9.00 per year.
Remember there is no need to spend hours and hours learning HTML code or graphics editing. No need to worry about details with PNG Web Hosting. Let the tools such as the Joomla! or Mambo Content Management System, help you on your way. If that seems too much effort then there is also a "fill in the gaps" html web site builder available free of charge. So if you are looking for a permanent home for even just your email address then take a look at -- http://pngwebhost.com
Young Scientist
A Papua New Guinean studying at a high school in Australia has been named as one of the New South Wales young scientists of the year. Rickystan Savaiko, 19, and Ian Cannon, fellow Grade 12 student at North Parramatta's Redeemer Baptist School, have been named the Science Teachers' Association NSW (STANSW) Young Scientist of the year. Earlier this year the pair won first prize in technical communication at the International Science and Engineering Fair in Indianapolis, USA.
Rickystan comes from Itokama village in the mountains of the Afore District in Oro Province.
Wrecks and Reefs
"Wrecks and Reefs around Port Moresby" is a book that documents the history of early shipwrecks and World War II wrecks that lie in the waters around the capital of Papua New Guinea. This book is primarily intended to be a guide for scuba divers and it includes tales of cannibals, retribution for a ruthless Japanese submarine that took the lives of innocent citizens and the mystery of a lost airliner that disappeared along with thirteen unfortunate souls.
The books includes information on the history of diving in the Port Moresby area from the days of the early hard-helmet pearl divers to the modern self contained underwater breathing apparatus (scuba). For overseas scuba diving visitors there is a chapter on accommodation available in the area. The website for the book is located at -- http://www.datec.com.pg/~mecba.
World War II wrecks around the Kiriwina part of the Trobriand Islands - Latitude 8° 40' 0S Longitude 150° 55' 0E -- http://www.pacificwrecks.com/provinces/png_kiriwina.html
Hospital Charges
The Port Moresby Hospital, in a bid to recoup some of the costs it incurs, has been slammed for charging a K50 fee to those patients that have attempted suicide and are victims of domestic abuse. The Health Minister, Sir Peter Barter said "no hospital can turn away people in need of
medical attention regardless of their status or reason for the injury or sickness". Sir Peter said when hospital fees were introduced, there was an exemption for those who could not afford medical attention and the same applied until today. He said some hospitals charged higher rates for injuries sustained from tribal fighting, but he had never heard of a hospital turning anyone away for domestic violence, especially women or children, adding the matter would be investigated.
Air Niugini - Online Bookings
Air Niugini continues to struggle with its solitary Boeing B767 aircraft. Every time the aircraft is serviced in Hong Kong the airline experiences lengthy delays in the schedule causing inconvenience for passengers attempting to visit or leave PNG. It also throws connecting domestic into chaos as well as the hospitality industry due to the greater demand for accommodating disrupted passengers.
Air Niugini has finished tests on its online booking system and it is offering online bookings to selected destinations to a handful of corporate customers to ensure everything is 100 percent okay. It is believed that an official launch and opening up to all customers with either MasterCard or Visa will happen before the end of the year. (not much time left for that now - expected to be the 20th of December).
DataNets is continuing to increase sales of its GSM mobile phone top up cards via the -- http://www.esishop.com.pg -- web site. It is believed that all stock was sold out the other day.
Snake Bite
Research by David Williams, a postgraduate student at James Cook University in Australia, has shown that 200 people die of snakebite in PNG annually. This makes PNG one of the countries with the highest mortality rate from snakebite. In the Mekeo region of Central province 14 out of every 100,000 people die from snakebite making this region the third highest any where in the world. The majority of deaths in PNG are caused by the taipan. Most people believe that the Papuan Black causes the most deaths but there have only been two reported cases in recent years.
2007 Public Holidays
The following holidays have been gazetted for 2007
New Year's Day -- Monday, 1st January
Good Friday -- Friday, 6th April
Easter Saturday -- Saturday, 7th April
Easter Monday -- Monday, 9th April
Queen's Birthday -- Monday, 11th June
National Remembrance Day -- Monday, 23rd July
Independence Day -- Sunday, 16th September
Public Holiday in lieu of Independence day -- Monday, 17th September
Christmas Day -- Tuesday, 25th December
Boxing Day -- Wednesday, 26th December
Coming Events
32nd Gaming Fishing Association of PNG titles will be held from the 7th to the 16th of April, 2007
May Coffee Festival 2007 - cancelled due to 2007 National Elections.
PNG Independence Day Celebrations -- 16th September 2007
Morobe Show, Lae -- October 2007
The Milne Bay Canoe and Kundu (drum) festival is to be held in November
Do you have an event that you want advertised? Send email to -- PNGNews[@]pnggossip.com
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