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PNG in the News
Locals in PNG's Raicoast district want consultations over Ramu NiCo project -- http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=53366
Papua New Guinea keen to recruit Bangladeshi workers -- http://giaman.com/pg/?8b3632
Passengers die in Papua New Guinea bus smash -- http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=626484
Queen's Baton 2010 Delhi visits Papua New Guinea -- http://giaman.com/pg/?61ba97
PNG woman living with AIDS urging those with disease to take medication -- http://giaman.com/pg/?32d888
PNG Blogs
Woodlark Island brings fond memories of WWII -- http://giaman.com/pg/?e30a44
Western Highlands Province: Help needed to save life -- http://giaman.com/pg/?8bca2e
PNG My Land My Country -- http://tingtingblokantri.blogspot.com/
Serving an Awesome God... in Lae, PNG: Why I love Saturdays -- http://anvanderheide.blogspot.com/2010/05/why-i-love-saturdays.html
Johns Land -- http://giaman.com/pg/?2a0062
Papua New Guinea Adventure: Our first Trip to Madang -- http://giaman.com/pg/?3df972
Malum Nalu: Rugby union alive and well in Kavieng -- http://giaman.com/pg/?46cfb8
Banana Bana Bo Bana -- http://giaman.com/pg/?b6908d
Misc Links
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has recently updated its Smartraveller advisory service for PNG -- http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/Papua_New_Guinea
Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery & Listings of all people who are buried there. -- http://www.pngbd.com/forum/showthread.php?p=87341
PNG Embassy in Canberra Australia -- http://www.pngcanberra.org
Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papua_New_Guinea -- and -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tok_Pisin
YouTube PNG Links
Madang Airport -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YectzcnbxmQ
Flying Foxes of Madang -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exq-QpUU8wQ
From Mount Wilhelm to Kundiawa -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw4DgHOvf6A
Alotau Market, Milne Bay -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc16JACPbyo
Doini Island Plantation Resort -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGbQ1gyZfMI
Vulkan Tavurur, East New Britain -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EfpZ5jP-1g
Lihir Island -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i87MN3zY5HA
News Items
Highlands Malaria
World Heath Organisation expert, Dr Zaixing Zhang, has revealed climate change has contributed to the emergence of malaria in the PNG Highlands. Dr Zhang said Highlanders were another group of people classified as most vulnerable to malaria apart from pregnant women and children under five years because the disease had not been in the region in the past and the people had little or no immunity and were likely to get ill or die if bitten by an infected mosquito.
Full story -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/8637
RAM Bed Nets
Rotarians Against Malaria's (RAM) five-year programme to distribute insecticide treated bed nets to remote villages has begun recently. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) project operator, Esso Highlands Limited (EHL), will provide helicopter and road transport for the distribution of the nets to remote villages in the project impacted areas of Southern Highlands, Gulf, Western and Central provinces. The programme is supported by the Health Department under the national malaria control programme. EHL recently provided bed nets to staff in recognition of World Malaria Day.
Air Niugini
Air Niugini made a profit of K68 million in 2009. The company will acquire two new generation Dash 8-Q400 series and a Boeing 767 in June and September respectively.
QantasLink
QantasLink direct flights from Cairns to Port Moresby are expected to start in a matter of months.
Qantas says the announcement of the schedules and the future of the code sharing arrangement with Air Niugini will be made in July.
The Air Niugini board is considering how to maintain its Cairns service if Qantas ends the current code sharing arrangement.
Census Awareness
The 2010 census awareness program will shortly get underway in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. 90 people will go out into villages to carry out a listing and mapping exercise. Material to help for 2010 has not arrived in the province so material from the 2000 census will be used to help educate the general population.
Henganofi Hospital
Work has begun on the new K5 million rural hospital to be built at Henganofi station in the Eastern Highlands province and is expected to be finished this year. The hospital will be equipped with modern an operating theatre, maternity and child care ward, emergency ward, dental care, dispensary, in and out patients wards and general health care. It will help to relieve the load on the Goroka Base hospital.
Prepaid Water Meters
Eda Ranu in Port Moresby is investigating the introduction of pre-paid water meters by implementing a pilot project. Customers will be able to pay for their water in advance similar to Ezi-Pay from PNG Power. The pilot project will be introduced at the National Housing Corporation, the Port Moresby General Hospital, Koki Wanigela village and the Oro settlement at 7-Mile.
Earth Day
More than 1,000 volunteers and participants started arriving at Ela Beach in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea (PNG), just before 8:00 a.m. on April 24 to join the Earth Day cleanup. For the fourth year, the U.S. Embassy and National Capital District (NCD) of Port Moresby have teamed up to highlight the importance of protecting the environment.
full story -- http://giaman.com/pg/?2046a1
Airline News
Vector Aerospace Corporation, one of the world's leading independent providers of aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services is pleased to announce that Vector Aerospace Engine Services-Atlantic has signed an engine management program (an hourly engine management program) with South Pacific Carriers Airlines (PNG) based in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, and Skytrans Pty. Ltd. (Skytrans) out of Cairns, Australia.
Full news report -- http://giaman.com/pg/?1dd394
Junior Rugby League
Rugby League great, Mal Meninga, has launched his junior football clinic programme at the birthplace of the game in PNG - Bulolo, Morobe province. The program is expected to spread to other centres around the country. It will complement the local schoolboys' rugby league programme and motivate and prepare the next generation of rugby league players with better skills and development programmes never experienced before in PNG.
Rugby league was first played in the Bulolo area by Australian miners involved in the 1920s gold rush.
Remote Site Housing
A Saudi Arabian based company has won a US$127.9 million (K352 million) contract to a build housing facility for the Liquefied Natural Gas project. Red Sea Housing Services (RSH), the world's leading provider of remote site housing, won the contract let by Chiyoda-JC Joint Venture (CJCV). The contract is specifically to build liquefaction and storage facilities and other housing facilities at Portion 152 near Papa and Lealea villages in Central province. Construction is expected to be completed next November and will accommodate the LNG project workforce.
Protest March
A peaceful march to parliament house has been held to protest over the amendments to the powers, functions and responsibilities of the Ombudsman Commission proposed by Moses Maladina. The metropolitan police chief Superintendent Fred Yakasa and Assistant Commissioner NCD Central Awan Sete have applauded the protest marchers against the "Maladina Bill" for holding it in an orderly, peaceful and responsible manner. A peaceful march was also held in Lae.
Full news report -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/8788
See also - Government defers Maladina bill -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/8786
NCD Schools Closed
Some schools in the National Capital District (NCD) have had to suspend classes due to reported cases of cholera being close to the schools. The schools are Badihagwa Secondary, St Michael's and Hagara Primary schools. The Department of Health has been urged to immediately set up a national response plan to counter a cholera outbreak in the National Capital District.
see -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/8736 -- see also -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/8690
See also - Cholera moves at rapid speed -- http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20100505/news06.htm
All schools in the NCD closed for a day due to the protest march to Parliament by members of the public, Non Government Organisations and civil society organisations, students and other interested groups. The march was to protest over a proposed amendment bill now before Parliament on the Organic Law on the duties and responsibilities or leadership and the Ombudsman Commission.
Alotau BSP Robbery
The Alotau branch of the Bank South Pacific (BSP) was held up recently by several armed robbers. Residents of the Milne Bay provincial capital are in shock that an event such as this could take place in their normally peaceful town. It is believed that two were caught soon after the robbery while several managed to escape.
Bill for Women
The proposed Women Bill for 22 reserved seats has been gazetted and may be introduced to Parliament in the current session. The necessary notice for the Bill was published in the National Gazette on the 23rd of April. According to a copy of the national gazette, the proposed law aims to improve the equality, participation and representation of women of PNG in Parliament and the provincial assemblies.
Pedestrian Statistics
The Motor Vehicle Insurance Limited (MVIL) have reported that 100 pedestrians have been killed per year for the past three years and at least 200 more have been injured per year over the last ten years. MVIL have said that PNG has a lax attitude towards road safety. A survey conducted by independent company StollzNow Research reports that 22% of the PNG population thought that death or injury on the roads for pedestrians or passengers of vehicles was just "part of life".
see -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/8728
Magic PNG Mushrooms
According to research being carried out by Stewart Wossa, a chemistry lecturer at the University Goroka researching as a PhD candidate at the Australian National University's research school of chemistry (ANURSC) mushrooms used in traditional medicine may provide clues to discovering new ways of fighting disease-causing bacteria that is becoming resistant to antibiotics.
Educating Females in PNG
Anglimp South Wahgi district education services adviser Erwin Us has said the number of girls attending schools throughout the country is low and males outnumber them. He said number of girls attending various schools in Jiwaka range from elementary to primary schools was lower than the number of boys as most of the girls were not completing their education and were lured as cheap labour by others in their communities. He also said some parents see girls as inferior beings and concentrate on their sons.
Ex Soldiers Die Penniless
Up to 2006 a total of 238 soldiers that retired from the PNG Defence Force between 1982 and 1989 have died while waiting for the entitlements they deserve. A total of 869 soldiers retired during 1982 and 1989.
full story -- http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20100505/news22.htm
Southern Highlands
The people of Southern Highlands have been given two weeks to abandon all activities that provoke and cause lawlessness by the police.
Full story -- http://www.thenational.com.pg/?q=node/8732
Coming Events
8th May, PNG Reunion, Gold Coast Australia -- http://www.pngreunion.com/png-reunion/more-info.php
World liquefied natural gas (LNG) summit - Mid 2010
Chimbu Plant Show - 4th of June
Morobe Yam Festival - 5th of June
PNG Census - 11th to the 17th of July
National Mask Festival, Rabaul - 14th - 18th of July
Malagan Show - 14th - 27th of July
Remembrance Day - 23rd July
Mt Hagen Show -- 13th - 15th of August
2010 Medical Symposium 29th of August to the 3rd of September. (Wewak)
Independence Day - 16th September
Goroka Show -- 17th - 19th of September
Morobe Agricultural Show - 19th - 23rd October
11th Mining and Petroleum Investment Conference - 6th to 8th December, 2010 - Hilton Hotel, Sydney -- http://giaman.com/pg/?aefb78.
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
Do you have an event that you want advertised? - Use the submission form located at -- ../misc/ctc.html.
PNG Media
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