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PNG in the News
PNG rival ridicules Somare's return -- http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/01/18/3115817.htm -- Betha Somare says the Prime
Minister will step down once the chief justice sets up a tribunal.
Dead babies found in dumps in NCD -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/15787
PNG government accused of lying over vice-regal appointment -- http://giaman.com/pg/?71c5c5
Customs too demanding on oil tanker, says owner -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/15759
Police swoop on Barrick employees -- http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20110118/news03.htm
McIlwain committed to National Court -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/15799
Doctor flees Enga -- http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20110120/news01.htm
PNG targets rebel camps along Indonesian border -- http://www.radioaustralianews.net.au/stories/201101/3116666.htm
Tackling clan conflict -- http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=91559
Misc Links
After six months of posting bugger all -- http://www.trupela.com
NEW - PNGBD.com chat room -- http://www.pngbd.com/chat.php
PNGBD.com - Advertiser -- http://www.pngbd.com/advertiser
Office of Tourism, Arts and Culture -- http://www.otac.org.pg
Around the World in 365 days -- http://giaman.com/pg/?70f8e9
History of the Montevideo Maru -- http://www.montevideomaru.org
PNG List - http://pnglist.com
Dept of National Planning -- http://www.planning.gov.pg
Calendar -- http://www.skerah.com/2011/2011_eventsfest_cal.pdf
New Stamps -- http://www.postpng.com.pg/philatelic.htm
Scuba Diving in PNG -- http://giaman.com/pg/?43afad
Public Sector Reform -- http://www.publicsectorreform.gov.pg
PNG Blogs
Have bilum and will travel -- http://giaman.com/pg/?3584e3
Expat Blog -- http://giaman.com/pg/?40015a
West Sepik police deny knowledge of border operation -- http://giaman.com/pg/?313b67
Teenager fights for life after storm -- http://giaman.com/pg/?b08f37
PNG DTS Outreach -- http://giaman.com/pg/?1a7015
Chad Wells Family Blog -- http://chadwellsfamily.com/pngblog
Finding Joy in PNG -- http://joyellen.wordpress.com
PNG Images
Madang -- http://giaman.com/pg/?d5df29
Madang Highway -- http://giaman.com/pg/?897224
Trupela Tok - Madang -- http://giaman.com/pg/?927b6f
Cannibal Tours - slow moving 1989 classic ecotourism critique -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKbZjcJOPFc
Wigmen -- http://ozebook.com/wordpress/?p=4459
Paplieng tribe - Kavieng New Ireland -- http://giaman.com/pg/?1bcc24
News Items
PNG Paralympics
The PNG Paralympics Committee has received a K100,000 boost for its 2011 programmes as part of its three year sponsorship commitment from BSP. The presentation was witnessed by more than 70 athletes following the end of a successful PNGPC Athletics and Power lifting program.
Air Niugini
Orion Project Services (OPS) has signed a multimillion kina deal with Air Niugini, the National Flag Carrier, for the provision of personnel movement in support of Orion's activities with the PNG LNG project and other major clients.
-- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/15723
Fire prevents flight touch down -- http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20110125/news07.htm
Table Tennis
Ten junior players from Tubusereia village just outside Port Moresby along the Magi Highway will compete in the Table Tennis at the Arafura Games in Darwin, Australia from the 7th to the 14th of May. This will be the first international competition for all bar one of the players who competed in China in 2008 on an Oceania TTF sponsored trip.
Somare Returns
Sir Michael Somare has returned to office as Prime Minister a month after stepping aside to answer allegations of official misconduct. He claims that he was only on leave - away on holidays - with no mention of the leadership tribunal. This goes against a press release released on the 13th of December (2010) saying he was standing aside to face a tribunal based on an Ombudsman Commission's investigation.
-- http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/01/17/3114983.htm
Lae Port Development
PNG has received a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) towards the cost of constructing Lae Port Development (Tidal Basin) Project. An Invitation to Bid has been put out by the ADB for the necessary work. The work will be carried out for the Independent Public Business Corporation (IPBC) of PNG. The major works components of the contract will involve the construction of a tidal basin (700 x 400 meters), a multipurpose berth, and terminal works including all buildings, storage areas, roads, drainage, water, electricity, and sewerage services, with built-in flexibility to increase the capacity further in a cost-effective manner.
For more details -- http://giaman.com/pg/?cbfa1b
Malaria Hits Chimbu
Malaria, reported as killing a million people a year, has hit Chimbu's Karimui district due to a shortage of malaria drugs. Many of the people affected are too weak to walk to the nearest health centre for treatment. Because malaria has not been previously seen in the area the people have little or no immunity to it.
According to health research, the emergence of malaria in the Highlands region was a result of climate change. In the past the highlands areas were considered low-risk for malaria due to the cold climate.
See also -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/15791
New threat as Chikungunya virus heads to Australia -- http://giaman.com/pg/?f41bba
Yet more - new malaria drug -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/15884
Abau Cashews
A pilot cashew plantation has been set up at Launakalana in the Rigo district of Central province. Cashews when taken care of can produce for between 80 and 100 years.
See an older news item -- http://pnggossip.com/news/g030616.html#cashews
Nautilus Minerals
PNG has granted Nautilus Minerals a lease to develop gold and copper mine 1.6km under the sea surface. Nautilus said the 20-year lease covers an area of nearly 60 square kilometres around its Solwara 1 project in the south-western Pacific.
The Solwara one site, as it is known, is off the coast of New Ireland province and about 50 kilometres north of Rabaul.
Books for PNG
Marilyn van Wegen, from the Sunshine Coast of Australia, has collected 40 cases of books for PNG. She sent off the cases of new and second-hand reading material just before Christmas to Alotau in Milne Bay province. Since then she said the Coast response has included collecting some replaced play equipment from Buderim and shipping it off for the Alotau youngsters to play on.
Rescue Mission
The Australian Reef Pilots helped rescue 39 people at the weekend after their ship sank in four metre swells in Milne Bay.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?6e93bb
EU Fisheries Agreement
The European Parliament (EP) has approved a trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and PNG. The economic partnership agreement provides for the elimination of tariffs and more flexible rules of origin for various food products, such as fishing. That is, the fishery resources of PNG will have to meet less stringent conditions for export to the EU.
Illness Hits Oro
The Upper Musa area in Oro (Northern) province has been hit by an unknown disease. An unconfirmed number of people have been affected by the disease and 8 people are believed to have died from the illness. Oro villages affected are Dimehubi, Avekaru, Boinonu, Nomu, Wowosi, Mariana, Aufe, Doua One and Doua Two.
Doctor Flees Kompiam
An expatriate medical doctor at the Kompiam Health Centre, who used his own money and resources to provide health care to an entire population in Enga province, has fled in fear of his life after he was nearly killed in a surprise attack in his home
Full story -- http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20110120/news01.htm
Confidence Falls
"A leadership that shuts down its Parliament as much as it can, and has been officially pulled up for not declaring income, hardly inspires confidence it can spread the new petroleum wealth wisely and fairly."
Full news item -- http://giaman.com/pg/?f8cb87
Villagers in Darkness
Villagers from Lealea village just outside Port Moresby in Central province have had to endure spoiled freezer goods and the inability to recharge their mobile phones due to a lack of electricity supply. The National newspaper reports that when they contacted PNG power the response was "power should be restored by the end of the week as they were still investigating the matter".
-- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/15746
LNG Works at a Standstill
Work on the multi-billion kina liquefied natural gas (LNG) project at Hides in Tari, has stopped. Over 1000 angry landowners staged a peaceful sit-in protest at the gates of the proposed LNG conditioning plant site at Para village.
-- http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20110119/news01.htm
Stop work at Hides into third day -- http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20110120/news03.htm
Tasmanian Premier
The first female premier of Tasmania (Australia), Lara Giddings - a career politician, made history as the youngest woman elected to an Australian parliament as a 23-year-old in 1996. She was born in Goroka, Eastern Highlands province in 1972, Ms Giddings spent much of her childhood outside of Australia. Ms Giddings becomes Australia's fifth female premier, after Carmen Lawrence (WA), Joan Kirner (Victoria), Anna Bligh (Queensland) and Kristina Keneally (NSW) - all Labor.
Top 10 Beers
Lonely Planet's Tony Wheeler has come up with the top 10 beers of the world. In the list is South Pacific Lager from PNG. The beers are in no particular order.
-- http://giaman.com/pg/?d28ede
Mum Gets Life
A women charged with the murder of her children has been sentenced to life imprisonment in the Mt Hagen National Court. The woman coldly and with premeditation drowned all four of her children in the Kum River near Mt Hagen in the Western Highlands province.
-- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/15806
Raffles of the Pacific
The PNG NASFUND (50%) and Lamana Developments Ltd (25%) have signed on with the Fiji National Provident Fund (25%) to rebuild Suva's Leading Lady of Hotels - the Grand Pacific Hotel of Fiji. The hotel was built by The Union Steamship Company in 1914 to serve the needs of passengers on its transpacific routes. It has been a popular place to stay for many famous guests such as Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, Somerset Maugham, James A Michener and Queen Elizabeth II.
Interplast Team
The Interplast team will visit Madang and Port Moresby between the 21st of February and the 4th of March 2011. The visit will focus on hand injuries and deformities and debilitating burn injuries. Recently over 120 patients attended Interplast clinics in Mt Hagen and Port Moresby hoping to receive treatment. Some of the patients walked barefooted for two days to receive treatment.
AusAID provides funding to Interplast Australia and New Zealand to provide surgical and allied health services in developing countries in the Asia Pacific region by providing free medical treatment and training.
-- http://www.interplast.com.au/papua-new-guinea
World Cricket League
The PNG team competing in the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 3 has beaten the USA team by seven wickets with 44 overs to spare. PNG won the toss and had USA on the mat immediately, with Hitolo Areni sending Lennox Cush back for a duck.
-- http://www.espncricinfo.com/wcldiv3/content/story/498258.html
Coming Events
Note: please verify any date mentioned as dates do change and events can sometimes get cancelled.
Interplast - 21st of February and the 4th of March -- http://www.interplast.com.au
International Women's Day (IWD) - 8th March 2011 - The first IWD was run in 1911 so 2011 sees the IWD Global Centenary.
National Surfing Titles - 16th to 25th March
National Game Fishing Titles - 16th to 25th March
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 - 5th July
National Mask Festival 6th - 9th July
Malagan Show - New Ireland 22nd - 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
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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