New Judges
Four new judges were sworn in recently after their appointments. They are Justice Catherine Davani, who becomes the first woman judge of PNG, Justices Panuel Mogish, Ellenas Batari and Salatiel Lenalia. This increases the number of judges of the National and Supreme Courts to 18.
Security
A group of ex-prisoners has won a contract to provide security to the Department of Social Welfare and Development. The guards would be paid a monthly allowance of k1500 per month which would be used to pay individual members and help maintain a vehicle they would use.
East New Britain Police
Under a special police operation the police in East New Britain have been able to return 13 escapees to Keravat jail. One of the escapees had been on the run since 1993 and two others escaped in 1997.
Port Moresby Police
A warning has been issued to all motorists not to leave valuables in their vehicles as stealing from vehicles was becoming common in public parking areas in the city. There has, however, been a drop in the number of major crimes being reported in the city.
Wewak Police
Wewak police have recaptured 10 prison escapees, who were part of a group of 30 that broke out of Boram jail at the end of last year, in a special police operations carried out in East Sepik province recently.
Tari Police
Policemen in the southern highlands province have threatened to quit in protest over extremely poor living conditions. The Health Department has condemned the police barracks.
Manus Police
Ten single policemen in Manus are now living in a guesthouse after the roof was blown off their single quarters recently. The roof was thrown 50 metres away from the building.
Manus - Lombrum
A Defence report has said that the Lombrum naval base in manus should be abolished and the functions brought to Port Moresby. The same report also said that the Arava aircraft used by the Defence Force should be sold and the maintenance of other aircraft outsourced to commercial firms.
Eastern Highlands Police
Suppliers of fuel to the Eastern Highlands police force have been asked to be patient when waiting for payment for goods and services. The Deputy Commissioner of Police said that police operations had always depended on credit facilities.
Defence Force
A proposal has been made that the Defence Force Engineering Battalion should be abolished and its functions incorporated into the existing infantry battalions under a new look Defence Force.
The same report reported in The National online - http://www.thenational.com.pg -- on the 7th of March also had the following to say -- "basically all Defence force units were at a complete standstill in terms of training and operational capacity because almost none of the PNG Defence Force's equipment was working. Not an aircraft was flying, only one patrol boat was functioning, there was no border patrol capability at all, much of the engineering equipment and vehicles were unserviceable, limited training activity was taking place at Goldie River and none at Lae."
Visas
The PNG Ambassador to Seoul has placed a ban on issuing tourist visas from Korea. It has been claimed that people from Asia are travelling to PNG on a tourist visa and then conducting business.
Kavieng School Children
School children from 13 schools in New Ireland are struggling after thieves stole 13 boxes of educational materials in a recent raid on the old Government stores
Rabaul Power
It has been claimed that due to corrosion and other volcanic related problems the Kaivuna Hotel in Rabaul wastes approximately 25 watts a day on leakage to earth of electricity. It was expected that other establishments would have similar problems that need to be rectified.
Western Highlands
The province of the Western Highlands owes Telikom k68,000 in outstanding charges. The bill was initially K88,000 but had been reduced by K20,000 recently.
Air Niugini
As rumoured in previous editions and mentioned in the last edition Air Niugini -- will be introducing direct flights to Sydney very soon. Special fares have been announced and matched by Qantas. The advance purchase economy class fare for the direct flight has been listed as K699 excluding Australian and PNG government taxes. The fares must be purchased at seven days in advance and the passenger must stay away for a minimum of 3 days and a maximum of 30 days. The special advance purchase business class fare has been quoted as being K1999 excluding taxes.
Air Niugini hopes to cash in on some the rugby crowd by offering the cheaper fares. Fans will be able to see Marcus Bai play against the Parramatta Eels in Sydney at the end of the month.
Air Niugini has also advertised for nationals interested in joining a pilot basic training scheme to be held in Australia.
Other Airfares
Flight Centre have advertised the following deals on return airfares recently. Remember these are starting prices and only go upwards from here. For example they do not include VAT and arrival and departure taxes anywhere.
- Cairns K707
- Brisbane K716
- Sydney K1054
- Melbourne K1503
- Kuala Lumpur K1794
- Christchurch K1945
- Hong Kong K2313
- Honolulu K2691
- Madras K2772
- Rome K3283
- Athens K2516
- New York K4223
- Rio de Janeiro K4228
Aviation Websites
For those interested in aviation, apart from visiting the above sites paying a visit to http://aviation-safety.net/database/country/P2.shtml might prove to be interesting. Air Niugini rates a couple of mentions.
Second Hand Books
The friends of the National Library plan to have a second hand book sale at the National Library on the 7th of April.
Travelodge
It has been rumoured that the Islander Travelodge will become a Holiday Inn and the newly renovated and renamed Port Moresby Parkroyal will become a Crowne establishment.
Condoms
A new brand of condom called "karamap" have disturbed many pidgin English speakers because the word karamap describes one of their favourite foods. Karamap is the pidgin word for cooked food that has been wrapped in leaves. One of the more appropriate names for the condom has been dabol skin. Can you imagine what the poor eater of karamap will have on his or her mind as they bite into their favourite food!
Prices
Milne Bay
The Culture and Tourism Minister Samson Napo has chosen Milne Bay to launch a pilot project to lure tourists to the country. It is said that the reefs, beaches, islands, waters and a wide range of fish, coral and other marine species make Milne Bay's marine habitat one of the most diversified and richest in the world.
Port Moresby Roads
The roads around Moresby are fast disappearing. The rain has seen many small potholes become canyons. To make matters worse many roads are being reconstructed and the rain has washed much of the work away.
The work on the lower section of Healy Parade between Koki and Lawes road will see that section closed off until the road works are completed. The residents will be forced to use Le Hunte Road and Koki Street as a to way road
PNG newspaper sites
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