Links
PNG Blogs
Madang Lighthouse -- http://interiordesignroom.blogspot.com/2008/06/madang-lighthouse-papua-new-guinea.html
Educational Resources Needed -- http://pngfords.blogspot.com/2008/06/educational-resources-needed.html
Little Bit of Madang -- http://reaganroundtheworld.blogspot.com/2008/06/little-bit-of-madang.html
Landowners at Marengo and Ramu Nickel -- http://mignet.blogspot.com/2008/06/research-notes-landowners-at-marengo.html
Nancy Sullivan -- http://giaman.com/pg/?d1b986
Across a crowded room -- http://rabauldailyphoto-jules.blogspot.com/2008/06/across-crowded-room.html
Jac & John's PNG Adventure -- http://www.offexploring.com/jrosenthal/blog/papua-new-guinea/kundiawa/
Raun Raun Close-ups -- http://rabauldailyphoto-jules.blogspot.com/2008/06/raun-raun-close-ups.html -- and -- http://rabauldailyphoto-jules.blogspot.com/2008/06/raun-raun-theatre.html
Misc Links
Goroka General Hospital web site -- http://www.ggh.org.pg/
Goroka General Hospital and Open Source -- http://www.trupela.com/blog/2008/06/23/goroka-general-hospital-and-open-source/
Jac & John's PNG Adventure - http://www.offexploring.com/jrosenthal
Mibu Ministry -- http://mibu-ministry.blogspot.com/2008/06/upcoming-translation-check.html
History of Rabaul, East New Britain -- http://rabaul.history.googlepages.com/
Kaikuali Theatre Dance Group -- http://www.jupacami.net/adventures/png/kaikuali.htm
Marking the Battle of the Coral Sea by Keith Jackson AM -- http://asopa.typepad.com/asopa_people/2008/06/marking-the-battle-of-the-coral-sea.html
The Two Kina Hold-Up -- http://www.trupela.com/blog/2007/04/11/the-two-kina-hold-up%e2%80%a6-written-8407/
Is there such a thing as an "environmentally friendly mine"? -- http://themelanesian.org/?p=9
Australian Patrol Boat Completes Western Pacific Mission -- http://giaman.com/pg/?ba45bc
World Surfaris - PNG -- http://www.worldsurfaris.com/PNG
Major drug bust on highway -- http://www.missionandjustice.org/major-drug-bust-on-highway/
Reflections on PNG by Gary -- http://everything-everywhere.com/2008/06/23/reflections-on-papua-new-guinea
Cycling in PNG -- http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1258818
News Items
Fuzzy Wuzzy Medals
Australia may soon issue medals and provide financial support to the "fuzzy wuzzy angels" of PNG. The Koiari people along the Kokoda Track earned the nickname during the 1942 battles against invading Japanese forces, when they carried Australian supplies and equipment and helped evacuate wounded soldiers.
see -- http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23916176-29277,00.html -- for full story.
Miss PNG Red Cross
The National Chairman of the PNG Red Cross Society Winston Jacob announced that the Miss PNG Red Cross Charity Quest will be held on September 20. The winner of the Miss PNG Red Cross Charity Quest 2008 will represent Papua New Guinea at the Miss South Pacific Pageant 2008 in Pago Pago, American Samoa on the October 24.
Smoke Free Workplaces
The World Health Organisation has called on the PNG government to introduce legislation to create smoke-free workplaces. Currently PNG doesn't have any laws to establish a smoke-free environment to protect public health, although it has ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
In PNG smoking is often combined with the chewing of beetle nut causing an extra risk for cardiac conditions.
Gold Coast Reunion
Funds raised from a PNG reunion recently held on the Australian Gold Coast will buy a set of birthing instruments for Mt Hagen Hospital. The Hagen hospital sees the same number of births each year as the Gold Coast, Tweed and Murwillumbah hospitals combined.
see -- http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2008/06/20/12673_gossip-news.html
Finance Probe
Sir Michael Somare has lost a court bid to stop an investigation into his personal finances. Sir Michael is under investigation by PNG's ombudsman over his alleged failure to return personal finances.
Missing Cash
Police in Australia and PNG are investigating the disappearance of more than $US190,000 in cash while it was being flown from Sydney to Port Moresby. The cash was being flown to PNG aboard an Air Niugini flight, via Brisbane through cargo services operated by Qantas. Both airlines, three security companies and two freight companies are interviewing staff to try to determine what happened to the cash before Australian and PNG police investigations start.
see -- http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23913746-38196,00.html -- and -- http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23918054-2,00.html
PNG Swimming
The PNG swim team had to endure sun. wind and falling snow to compete at the 7th Oceania Swimming Championships recently held in Christchurch, New Zealand.
The two PNG swimmers to compete in the 2008 Olympic Games will be Ryan Pini and Anna Liza Mopio. Ryan will swim in the 100m freestyle, 100m butterfly and the 200m freestyle. Anna Liza will compete in the 50m freestyle event. Congratulations to both swimmers and good luck in their events.
Elizabeth Wells from PNG has been elected to the position of Hon Treasurer of the Oceania Executive Committee for 2008 - 2012.
Lae Port Upgrade
More than 3,000 people will be relocated to allow for a $US150 million expansion of Papua New Guinea's biggest export terminal in Lae. As mentioned previously the Asian Development Bank is backing the project with a $100 million loan. The current port is at capacity, and the planned expansion will double its capacity.
Sepik Iron Man
The Ela Motors team has taken out first place in the Sepik Iron Man competition in record time. The Bunbun family came in second and Tawa Spiders took out third place.
see -- http://video.aol.com/video-detail/sepik-ironman-promo/3831500931?icid=acvsv4
InterOil
InterOil, the Canadian company working in PNG, has sold 43.13% of retention lease PRL4 and 28.57% of PRL5 in the western sector of the country to Horizon Oil Ltd. in Sydney, Australia. InterOil said its move will allow it to concentrate on development of its potentially huge gas discoveries at Elk-Antelope in the eastern highlands.
Electrical Power
A Finnish company has won an order to deliver two power plants to a mine and refinery in PNG. The plants will have a combined electrical output of over 90 megawatts and help power the Ramu nickel mine and refinery in Madang Province. The order was placed by China ENFI Engineering Corporation.
see -- http://giaman.com/pg/?ce0edd
Bee-killing Parasite
A tiny mite discovered in the Eastern Highlands last month and also sighted in Madang and Morobe provinces has Australia's research body the CSIRO worried. The tiny parasite has destroyed bee populations around the world. The mite has spread into every major country except Australia, and has almost crippled New Zealand's honey industry. Bees are essential to food production including coffee because of their essential role in the pollination of plants.
Kokoda Track Woes
It appears that a deal by the PNG and Australian governments to protect the Kokoda track from mining has had an adverse effect on people living away from the trail who will now miss out on the benefits promised by the company that was also going to mine an area near the track. The company, Frontier Resources, had its eye on Mount Victoria about three kilometres to the west of the Kokoda Track. These landowners want a similar infrastructure and development package offered to the Kokoda track people by the PNG and Australian governments.
Lae Colleges Robbed
The Post Courier reports that two educational institutions in Lae City were the targets of thieves recently. Lae Technical College along Milfordhaven Road and Unitech Timber Training College at Buimo Road lost goods and valuable items in the thefts.
see fully story -- http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20080618/news03.htm
PNG University Games
Radio Australia reports that Australian university athletes are travelling to PNG for the university games, despite a series of setbacks ahead of the start to the week-long event.
see full story at -- http://giaman.com/pg/?9f61d7
Highlands/Momase Games
Madang is gearing up to host the joint Highlands/Momase Region Athletics Championships. Over 400 athletes are expected to attend the event. It is reported to be the biggest athletics event on the PNG calendar.
Lae Tuna Plant
PNG has signed over US$30 million as its part of a joint venture with three Asian fishing and food processing firms in Port Moresby to establish a state-of-the-art and fully integrated tuna canning facility in Lae.
see -- http://giaman.com/pg/?51adcb
MAF - New Plane
MAF, Missionary Aviation Fellowship, has a new plane - P2-MAF. A Cessna Caravan (C208). See -- http://witwatw.blogspot.com/2008/06/new-caravan.html
Nickel Mine
One of China's biggest corporations admits that it has been on a steep learning curve since it began to build an $1 billion nickel mine in PNG. It has had to start addressing the same suite of issues that other PNG resource projects have faced: unhappy landowners, including different groups disagreeing among themselves; highly critical local politicians; influential church leaders and non-government organisations raising environmental and social issues; as well as the more usual array of unexpected technical concerns.
full story -- http://giaman.com/pg/?38632e
Gun Discharged
A hand gun on display as a District Court room exhibit has been discharged accidentally during handling causing witnesses, lawyers and the public to run for cover. The bullet left a hole in a courtroom wall.
New Zealand Aid
Radio New Zealand International has reported that the New Zealand aid and development agency, NZAID, will increase spending and give a greater focus on the Pacific, through to 2015. PNG, along with Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, is a key beneficiary, with around 18 million US dollars in aid this year.
Peace Agreement
After decades of ethnic and tribal violence in the southern highlands of PNG, thirty-two tribes have begun to sign a series of historic interim peace treaties, ahead of a big treaty-signing day on 16 September, the day the country achieved independence from Australia in 1975.
see -- http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/7358
Counterfeit Cigarettes
A container load of cigarettes labelled as being a Product of PNG have been seized by police in Port Moresby after two months of surveillance in an effort to stop the flow of counterfeit goods into the country. The counterfeit shipment came to Port Moresby from North Korea via China. The container was declared as containing cartons of baby diapers and toilet papers. Counterfeit cigarettes are not the only fake goods finding their way into PNG Counterfeit medicine, condoms, and electrical goods can be found being sold on the streets of Port Moresby.
Kundiawa
See what Britannica has to say about Kundiawa -- http://giaman.com/pg/?6a6f60 -- and then compare it with Wikipedia -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kundiawa
Gaire Laptops
30 pupils at a school in the rural community of Gaire - an hour's drive from Port Moresby in PNG - will be the latest to be given laptops by the Oceania One Laptop per child initiative.
see -- http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=40377
The children in Gaire will be able to access the internet from their new laptops thanks to an Australian-funded project that is setting up low cost, solar-powered satellite dishes in rural communities.
Trafficking Problem
In response to the recent report by the US State Department, police in PNG, while admitting to the problem of trafficking, say that it is not as bad as the report portrays.
see full story -- http://www.solomontimes.com/news.aspx?nwID=1951
Coming Events
http://www.ggh.org.pg/ -- The Goroka General Hospital web site is now online.
Tolai Warwagira Cultural Festival - July 9 - 15 2008 - Rabaul, East New Britain
14th National Mask Festival - July 16 - 19 2008 - Rabaul, East New Britain
PNG Tourism Expo -- September
Hiri Moale Festival -- September
PNG Independence Day Celebrations -- 16th September
16th September - NBC to launch its National TV Station.
Medical Symposium -- September 2008 -- http://www.medsymp.org.pg
Morobe Show -- 18th and 19th of October -- the Show is held on the weekend closest to the full moon in the month of October each year in Lae, Morobe Province. -- http://www.morobeshow.org.pg
Milne Bay Canoe Festival -- always held during the first weekend in November.
Anti Corruption Day - 9th December 2008
Arafura Games -- 9 - 17th of May 2009
Do you have an event that you want advertised? Send email to -- PNGNews[@]pnggossip.com
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