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PNG in the News
Disasters grip PNG -- http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20090305/news01.htm
Dead fish and coral bleaching raise concerns -- http://www.cdnn.info/news/eco/e090302.html
The annual world day of prayer service -- http://kingscorecord.canadaeast.com/newswithaview/article/589694 -- see also article below
Local students face housing shortage at PNG university -- http://giaman.com/pg/?74e653
Saving Kangaroos -- http://giaman.com/pg/?de14a4
Facing a New Life in PNG -- http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/2512077
Drug shortages put patients at risk at POM General -- http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=83156
Hidden Valley Incorporates Modular Technology -- http://giaman.com/pg/?fc98b5
PNG’s Sunday Chronicle Goes Online -- http://garamut.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/pngs-sunday-chronicle-goes-online/
Air Niugini set to order the 787 for delivery in 2015 -- http://giaman.com/pg/?a23076
PNG Blogs
Kundiawa, PNG -- http://giaman.com/pg/?74d4d2
Front Yard - Fine Fishing -- http://giaman.com/pg/?60d3ae
Tidal flooding destruction around Peter Johnson’s house in Wewak -- http://giaman.com/pg/?4bb97a
12 photos of Rabaul -- http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danharriet/1/1235736000.html
Volcanic Rabaul -- http://giaman.com/pg/?203048
4 degrees south of the equator - Rabaul -- http://qe2worldcruise2008.blogspot.com/2009/02/rabaul-papua-new-guinea.html
Andrew and Natalie VanderHeide -- http://giaman.com/pg/?117ee4
Time to flatten Genoka in Goroka -- http://malumnalu.blogspot.com/2009/02/time-to-flatten-genoka.html -- and -- http://malumnalu.blogspot.com/2009/02/flush-out-raskols.html
PNG Weather
Misc Links
Kokoda Mode Trek and Tours -- http://www.kokodatrekmode.com.pg
Vanimo offertory procession -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgkIW4qrod8
PNG Gossip Advert -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuEcs4ANOfg
Saving Kokoda -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT93r0Vf488&NR=1
Rapid Deforestation -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aJZB2jNHRY
Land of the Unexpected -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w2G0fl_Iyw
Policing PNG by Shane McLeod -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azSY8jQKOgo&feature=related
PNG Sunday Chronicle -- http://www.sunday-chronicle.com/
Gerehu Seventh-day Adventist Church - home page -- http://gerehu.spdwebministry.org/
News Items
Medecins Sans Frontieres Update
One of the men responsible for the recent attack on staff from the Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) in the Southern highlands has been sent to jail for two years for assault. The medical workers were providing free medical help at the Tari hospital in the Southern Highlands province. The hospital had been out of operation for a decade.
Dream City
National Capital District (NCD) Governor Powes Parkop has a dream that Port Moresby will become the best city in the Pacific. He hopes to be able to build Port Moresby into a city which not only our people in PNG can be proud of but all the people of the Pacific can see as their own. He imagines a city where all the modern facilities are available, where people will flock to shop instead of thinking about Singapore, Bangkok and Hong Kong.
Port Moresby has often rated in the top ten worst cities in the world.
Moresby Hospital
The Port Moresby General Hospital is suffering a shortage of nursing staff due to industrial action. The hospital has 88 vacancies and is calling for community health workers and nurses to apply for the vacant positions.
see -- http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20090303/news02.htm
and -- http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=45118
Striking nurses to lose pay -- http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20090305/news02.htm
Ok Tedi Mine
It is estimated that Ok Tedi Mining Limited will spend US$90 million over the next 20 months under its environmental management programme to minimise mining impact on the river system. The project is part of OTML's extensive environmental management programme which included monitoring and sampling of water, plants, and fishery stocks and among others.
Women MPs
Seventy-nine women who submitted their names for the three nominated women's reserved seats in Parliament have been shortlisted to six. Parliament will now need to vote in this session of parliament, the first for the year, on the issue and an absolute majority of 83 votes will be needed to pass the vote and this will depended entirely on how many MPs were in attendance and supported the bill. An independent human resource firm has screened applications.
Cement Factory
The Gulf Provincial Government plans to build a multi-million-kina cement factory. The proposed factory is part of its preparation to be an active participant in the multi-billion-kina liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects.
PNG already manufactures cement in Lae using imported materials from Korea.
New Goroka Guesthouse
The Research and Conservation Foundation (RCF) has opened a 30-bed guesthouse in Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province. The guesthouse will provide accommodation for researchers and participants of workshops on environmental-focused skills training as well as being available for visitors to Goroka.
New Gas Discovery
Extensive testing has confirmed the newest gas discovery at Antelope-1 as being one of the largest vertical hydrocarbon column heights encountered in an onshore well in all of Asia at more than 2600 feet. The discovery now ranks PNG along with Australia as one of the top sources of quality gas hydrocarbons in the world and positions the country to be the next major supplier for decades to come.
Drunken Attack
A PNG Nurse living in Bendigo, Australia under a permanent humanitarian visa has been placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond and ordered to pay the court $300. The National reports that she bit a security guard at a night club while the Bendigo Advertiser says she bit one police officer on the leg and kicked out at another as she was restrained and placed in the holding cell in Bendigo.
See the Bendigo Advertiser news item -- http://giaman.com/pg/?f59773
and The National -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/030209/nation4.php
Mobile Web Access
Digicel has introduced mobile web services and one of the first to have mobile ready access is -- http://m.skerah.com -- it features include, dining and accommodation guide, What's On, local sports results, Top Deal, Skerah Tips draws, results and prizes and more. -- http://www.skerah.com
School Overcrowding
It has been reported that some (most?) primary schools in Port Moresby have classes with more than 50 students. Both Bavaroko and Coronation Primary Schools have classes with up to 80 students in each classroom. The Post Courier reports that at Bavaroko one teacher is teaching her assigned class of more than 80 pupils and also supervising two other classes of about the same size because the teachers assigned to those classes have not resumed duty.
see -- http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20090302/news02.htm
Deputy Police Commissioner Suspended
The Deputy Commissioner of Police and chief of operations, Geoffrey Vaki, has been suspended from duties for 21 days. Mr Vaki has been suspended as according to police reports Mr Vaki allegedly pushed his female friend from a moving vehicle after an argument. The victim reportedly suffered a dislocated hip and injuries to her backside and back.
More Buses
After the introduction of dedicated buses for school children the National Capital District Commission hopes to be able to provides more school buses to join the three seen ferrying school children around the city.
Medical Symposium
The Pacific International Hospital (PIH) is the major sponsor of the 2009 Medical Symposium to be held in the first week of September. Although mentioned at the bottom of this newsletter for many months this was officially announced last week at the launch of the event.
Didi Village Burned
The tiny village of Didi a few kilometres from Naswapum village in the Wain/Erap Local Level Government of Nawae District outside Lae city has been raided and burned to ashes by men allegedly from Busunum village (14-Mile) armed with knives, axes and stones. It has been claimed that the attack was related to an ongoing land dispute between the Didi and Busunum villagers.
Busunum is in the Wampar LLG (Markham district) while Didi is the first village of the Nawae district in the Wain/Erap LLG.
Cruise Ships
It is the season for cruise ships to visit PNG. Most (six) have called in to Rabaul and reports from passengers can be found in the PNG Blogs section above but the Rhapsody of the Seas: Nassau took time out to spend around nine hours in Port Moresby.
read more -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/030409/nation12.php
see also -- http://oriana2009.blogspot.com/2009/02/day-forty-four-rabaul-active-volcano.html
and -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/030509/nation11.php
Aitape Floods
In the Aitape district of Sandaun province over 50,000 people have been affected by flood waters after both the Raihu and Yalingi rivers burst their banks during heavy rains. Two bridges linking Aitape with Wewak have been washed away. The only way to reach Aitape is by helicopter or boat. A local doctor feared there will be an outbreak of dysentery over the coming weeks as water tanks have been washed away and wells have been contaminated.
Most parts of Port Moresby have also suffered from recent heavy rain. Several areas including Badili, Sabama, Kaugere, Manu, Three-Mile, East Boroko, Taurama Foodland and Hohola were submerged.
Flooded court shut -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/030509/nation10.php
Mt Hagen Fuel
It was hoped by the time this newsletter went out that a convoy of fuel tankers would have been able to reach Mount Hagen, Western Highlands, but another landslide in the Eastern Highlands has cut the road that was only just reopened. It is believed at least seven lives including four children, were lost in the landslide. Many others suffered injuries. The landslide measured about 200m in length and 20m wide and was believed to be between 5m and 10m deep. Search and rescue efforts are being hampered by heavy rain in the area.
PNG Power
Residents of Port Moresby have been told to expect long interruptions to the supply of electricity provided by PNG Power and people in all Highlands provinces, including Lae and Madang, can also expect the same for the next eight months due to a major rehabilitation project at the Ramu hydro station.
The Port Moresby problem, mainly due to the ongoing rehabilitation of aging equipment, could become worse as the National Government has banned the importation of the fuel needed to power the independently owned power station at Kanudi in the National Capital.
Power Outages costly -- http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20090305/news09.htm
World Day of Prayer
The 2009 World Day of Prayer
is focusing on Papua New Guinea.
The symbol chosen for this year's Women's World Day of Prayer comprises the Cross and a bilum. Bilums are hand-woven string bags, which are widely used among Papua New Guinean societies. They are very strong and used to carry everything from food to a baby (who can see out through the holes in the bag!). Sometimes a bilum is suspended on the branch of a tree and becomes a cradle for a sleeping baby. Men also use bilums to carry heavy loads. Where cultures are so diverse, this simple string bag is common to many. By placing the bilum on the cross in this symbol, the women of PNG seek a unity where they are not merely held together as though they were gathered into a string bag. They seek a vibrant unity where love is genuine, and where the many, many communities of Papua New Guinea are of one heart and soul.
Coming Events
National Agriculture Council meeting -- 23rd to 27th of March in Madang
Oceania Snooker and Billiards titles in Port Moresby from the 20th to the 29th of March.
PNG Institute of Engineers (IEPNG) national conference -- 2nd and 3rd of April. IEPNG chief executive officer Benedict Mick said the purpose of the conference was to help prepare people, government and the private sector to combat any possible detrimental impact of climate change on people's livelihood, businesses, and agriculture and government services.
34th Games Fishing Association PNG National Game Fishing Titles - Madang - from the 3rd of April to 13th of April - see -- http://giaman.com/pg/?b94786
PNG Kickboxing Association has postponed its world title fight -- 25th of April.
ANZAC Day - 25th of April
Arafura Games - 9 to 17th of May -- http://www.arafuragames.nt.gov.au/
The International Cricket Council (ICC) East Asia Pacific (EAP) Under 19 Cricket Trophy tournament will be held from the 1st to the 7th of June
5th National Tourism Conference -- June (date to be confirmed) - to be held at Madang Resort Hotel.
Tolai Warwagira from 8th to 14th July and Mask Festival from 15th to 18th July at Kokopo East New Britain
Trukai Olympic Fun Run -- 12 of July
PNG Remembrance Day - 23rd of July
45th Medical Symposium - Port Moresby - sponsored by the Pacific International Hospital from the 1st to the 5th of September.
31st October and the 1st of November - Morobe Show - see -- http://malumnalu.blogspot.com/2009/02/morobe-show-on-again.html
National Elections - June 2012
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