PAC - Pacific Islands Broadcasting Association articles from October 2003

PAC - Pacific Islands Broadcasting Association archives from October 2003

Tuna convention delegates face huge challenge.
October 1, 2003... 01 OCTOBER 2003 RAROTONGA (Pacnews) --- Delegates at the fifth preparatory conference for implementation of the Western and Central Pacific Tuna Convention meeting in Rarotonga, Cook Islands have been reminded of their challenging...

Australia to continue to help improve revenue collection in Fiji.
October 1, 2003... 01 OCTOBER 2003 SUVA (Pacnews) --- Australia's Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Christine Gallus, has announced that the Australian Government will fund a study to help Fiji increase its ability to collect taxation...

Nursing graduates can't find jobs.
October 1, 2003... 01 OCTOBER 2003 SAIPAN (Pacnews) --- While Northern Marianas College (NMC) is trying to attract more foreign students, graduates are finding it hard to get a job at the Commonwealth Health Center, (CHC) Marianas Variety reports. In the next two...

US$1.8 million study set on aircraft carrier for Islands.
October 1, 2003... 01 OCTOBER 2003 HONOLULU (Pacnews) --- The US Pacific Fleet is spending US$1.8 million over the next year to look at basing an aircraft carrier and air wing in Hawai'i in yet another sign that the navy could move one of the battle groups to the...

Palau to increase taxes on cigarettes.
October 1, 2003... 01 OCTOBER 2003 KOROR (Pacnews) --- Palau is planning a fourfold increase in its tax on cigarettes. Radio Australia reports: "The Palau Legislature has proposed a US$55.2 million US budget for the 2004 financial year which includes an...

PACNEWS DIGEST - The views expressed in PACNEWS DIGEST are those of agencies contributing articles and not necessarily those of PIBA and/or PACNEWS.
October 1, 2003... Future looks bright for young Jiofiliti Now in its twelfth year of operation, Operation Open Heart Fiji has transformed the lives of many. For 18-month-old Jiofiliti Saubuli the visit by the Operation Open Heart surgical team has meant a...

Disabled Association closes doors, suspends services.
October 1, 2003... 01 OCTOBER 2003 SUVA (Pacnews) --- As of 12 noon today (01 Oct) the Fiji Disabled People's Association (FDPA) in Suva has closed its doors, suspending all services due to the insufficiency, delay and unavailability of government funds. In...

Pepson to lead team for aid talks.
October 1, 2003... 01 OCTOBER 2003 PORT MORESBY (Pacnews) --- Papua New Guinea's Foreign Affairs Secretary Gabriel Pepson will lead a team of senior Papua New Guinea Government officials in discussion with their Australian counterparts on the K700 million (US$211...

Hundreds of police special constables stood down in Solomon Islands.
October 1, 2003... 01 OCTOBER 2003 HONIARA (Pacnews) --- Just over 300 police special constables in Solomon Islands have been sent home. Inspector Special Constables coordinator, Nelson Nahus said the decision came from the government through the police...

Papua military exercise opposed.
October 1, 2003... 01 OCTOBER 2003 JAYAPURA (Pacnews) --- A four-day military exercise which began on Monday (29 Sept) in Papua's Biak Numfor regency, Papua has sparked protests from students and a human rights group in Jayapura, the capital of the troubled...

Cook Islands party hopping can be stopped says committee chairman.
October 1, 2003... 01 OCTOBER 2003 RAROTONGA (Pacnews) --- A prominent Cook Islands lawyer says he's disappointed that Cabinet has rejected proposals to end party-hopping though he believes there are other ways to achieve it. Iaveta Short, who was the...

Solomon Islands dropped from CMAG agenda.
October 1, 2003... 01 OCTOBER 2003 NEW YORK (Pacnews) --- The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) has dropped Solomon Islands from its agenda - following the achievements of the Royal Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) At its meeting...

Fiji tries to improve shipping to remote islands.
October 1, 2003... 01 OCTOBER 2003 SUVA (Pacnews) --- Shipping services to remote island communities in Fiji are set to improve following Cabinet's decision to set up a Government Shipping Corporation (GSC) to manage the continuing operations of the Shipping...

Parliamentary speakers from around the region meet in Suva.
October 1, 2003... 01 OCTOBER 2003 SUVA (Pacnews) --- Three Parliamentary Speakers meet this week to discus whether to set up an independent office for the Forum Presiding Officers Conference (FPOC) - a regional body comprising Parliamentary Speakers from the...

Guam pursues Approved Destination Status (ADS) with China.
October 1, 2003... 01 OCTOBER 2003 HAGATNA (Pacnews) ---Guam's Governor Felix Camacho has met with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing to discuss Guam's application for The People's Republic of China's Approved Destination Status (ADS), according to a press...

NZ names new High Commissioner to Solomons.
October 1, 2003... 01 OCTOBER 2003 WELLINGTON (Pacnews) --- New Zealand's next High Commissioner to Solomon Islands will be career diplomat Brian Sanders, Foreign Minister Phil Goff announced today (01 Oct). "Mr Sanders will take up his position at a time of...

American Samoa Senate wants more senior officials investigated.
October 1, 2003... 01 OCTOBER 2003 PAGOPAGO (Pacnews) --- American Samoa governor, Togiola Tulafono, has been asked by a Senate Committee investigating public corruption and white-collar crime, to launch a new probe into the activities of two senior government...

Royal Tongan Airlines may start flying to US.
October 2, 2003... 02 OCTOBER 2003 NUKU'ALOFA (Pacnews) --- Royal Tongan Airlines may start flying to the United States within the next two months, under the Multilateral Agreement on the Liberalisation of International Air Transportation (MALIAT). Tonga's...

Proposed Pacific Village to host three CROP members.
October 2, 2003... 02 OCTOBER 2003 SUVA (Pacnews) - Fiji's Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials have submitted a budget proposal to Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase to kick-start what's expected to be the Pacific's largest infrastructure projects in the coming...

Niue Telecom maintains tough line on Internet Users Society's Wi-Fi service.
October 2, 2003... 02 OCTOBER 2003 ALOFI (Pacnews) --- Niue Telecom says it is not trying to shut down the Internet Users Society (IUS) wireless Internet service, says the head of Niue Telecom, Richard Hipa. Last month, Telecom, which is 100 percent...

Researchers map waters surrounding Guam and Northern Marianas for first time.
October 2, 2003... 02 OCTOBER 2003 HAGATNA (Pacnews) --- For the first time, there will be a semi-comprehensive and accurate map of the waters surrounding Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, according to researchers. Guam is the last stop for the National...

Three more airports to be renovated.
October 2, 2003... 02 OCTOBER 2003 PORT VILA (Pacnews) --- The year 2004 will be marked by a great deal of work on the airports of Vanuatu. After the signing of a contract to build a brand new international terminal for Pekoa airport last month, three smaller...

NZ aid focuses on education for all Solomon Islands children.
October 2, 2003... 02 OCTOBER 2003 HONIARA (Pacnews) --- New Zealand's Foreign Minister, Phil Goff, says ensuring all Solomon Island children have access to basic education is a core aim of New Zealand's aid programme. He says Solomon Islands is now New...

Fiji and Australia sign historic customs MOU.
October 2, 2003... 02 OCTOBER 2003 SUVA (Pacnews) - Fiji Customs chief, Solomone Kotobalavu, today signed a co-operation document with his Australian counterpart, Lionel Woodward - a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at strengthening customs intelligence....

International airline strike still unsolved.
October 2, 2003... 02 OCTOBER 2003 NOUMEA (Pacnews) - A strike by staff of New Caledonia's international flag carrier, Air Caledonie International (AirCalin), which has been disrupting flights to and from New Caledonia for the past week, shows no sign of...

Disabled Association reopens thanks to donor.
October 2, 2003... 02 OCTOBER 2003 SUVA (Pacnews) --- The offices of the Fiji Disabled People's Association (FDPA) have opened again today, thanks to a generous donor who came forward this morning with a cheque to cover the association's rental payments for the...

Palau bans foreign ships from fishing for sharks.
October 2, 2003... 02 OCTOBER 2003 KOROR (Pacnews) -- Palau has barred foreign vessels from fishing for sharks in its waters, a bold move for a developing island nation balancing the need to generate tax revenue with environmental protection, Guam Pacific Daily...

PIANGO board sacks associate director.
October 2, 2003... 02 OCTOBER 2003 PACIFIC (Pacnews) - The board of the Fiji-based Pacific Islands Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (PIANGO) has sacked the organisation's associate executive director, Neil Netaf, a Ni-Vanuatu. The sacking has caused...

PACNEWS DIGEST - The views expressed in PACNEWS DIGEST are those of agencies contributing articles and not necessarily those of PIBA and/or PACNEWS.
October 2, 2003... WWF and CSIRO- Partners in promoting and protecting PNG forest industries 02 OCTOBER 2003 MADANG, PNG --- Two of the region's leading forestry research and development agencies, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Commonwealth...

Cellular network to go digital.
October 3, 2003... 02 OCTOBER 2003 RAROTONGA (Pacnews) --- Resident Cook Islanders will soon be able to use their cellphones while travelling overseas once the KokaNet is switched to a digital system. Telecom Cook Islands (TCI) has announced that it has...

Workshop to help reduce poverty and develop new eco-souvenirs industry.
October 3, 2003... 02 OCTOBER 2003 SUVA (Pacnews) --- Twenty-three women trainers and entrepreneurs from throughout Fiji participated in a three-day workshop on the design and manufacture of eco-souvenirs in a project aimed to assist in creating income-generating...

Telikom monopoly to stop with privatisation.
October 3, 2003... 02 OCTOBER 2003 PORT MORESBY (Pacnews) --- Telikom PNG's monopoly in the telecommunications industry in Papua New Guinea may end when it is partially privatised. Indications foreshadowed by Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare show the...

International donor community eager to help Solomon Islands.
October 3, 2003... 02 OCTOBER 2003 HONIARA (Pacnews) --- The international community has been encouraged by the recent developments in Solomon Islands, particularly in law and order, the economy and on the fiscal front. The Minister of Finance, Francis Zama,...

Chinese students arrive to study at new university.
October 3, 2003... 02 OCTOBER 2003 SAIPAN (Pacnews) --- Sixty-eight students from China arrived on Saipan last month to study at the newly opened Saipan University. Dr Julie Ulloa Heath, president of Saipan University, said the Chinese students are a combination...

SOPAC adopts gender policy at work.
October 3, 2003... 02 OCTOBER 2003 SUVA (Pacnews) - The South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) Governing Council has adopted the regional organisation's Gender Policy. SOPAC director, Alfred Simpson, had presented the amended policy paper at...

Senior woman public servant resigns after suspension notice.
October 3, 2003... 03 OCTOBER 2003 PORT VILA (Pacnews) - Vanuatu Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Deaconess Myriam-Wendy Himford, resigned from her position yesterday. Deaconess Himford resigned because Acting Deputy Prime Minister, Willy Posen,...

Mass measles vaccination planned in Samoa after three deaths.
October 3, 2003... 03 OCTOBER 2003 APIA (Pacnews) --- Moves towards mass vaccination against a rubella outbreak in Samoa have begun following the deaths of three children from the disease. The Ministry of Health has announced that up to 135,000 people will...

First pacific regional conference on educational aid to be held in Nadi.
October 3, 2003... 03 OCTOBER 2003 SUVA (Pacnews) --- Government officials, teachers, educators, community workers, students, development experts and academics from throughout the Pacific Islands gather in Fiji this month to discuss ways of rechanneling aid to...

RAMSI will pursue corruption in government.
October 3, 2003... 03 OCTOBER 2003 HONIARA (Pacnews) --- The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) will pursue corruption with its first step to audit all government ministries. Speaking on the national broadcaster's "Talking Truth"...

Village pilots international water project.
October 3, 2003... 03 OCTOBER 2003 SUVA (Pacnews) ---Positive actions and consistent community commitment are needed to protect Fiji's environment considering its significance for human survival, Fiji Environment Minister, Mataiasi Ragigia said at Vunisinu...

Tonga among first to arrive for RWC.
October 3, 2003... 03 OCTOBER 2003 RWC (Pacnews) - The Tongan national rugby team is one of the first teams to arrive in Australia for the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Tonga, along with the Italians, are Group D rivals. Italy's second match will be against Tonga in...

Lawmakers inspect crowded jail.
October 3, 2003... 03 OCTOBER 2003 HONOLULU (Pacnews) - A Lingle administration effort to replace the overcrowded state jail won new converts yesterday as key legislators toured the Kalihi facility in Hawaii. The Oahu Community Correctional Centre holds 1,130...

Regional presiding officers adopt findings.
October 3, 2003... 03 OCTOBER 2003 SUVA (Pacnews) - A Pacific Islands Forum select committee has considered the findings of a feasibility study on the establishment of an independent and stand-alone Forum Presiding Officers (FPOC) secretariat. The committee,...

Hospital crisis hits cancer kids.
October 3, 2003... 03 OCTOBER 2003 MELBOURNE (Pacnews) - Children needing cancer treatment and surgery at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital are being forced to wait for medical attention as the institution faces a financial crisis, its chief executive said...

Weathercoast food distribution completes first stage.
October 3, 2003... 03 OCTOBER 2003 HONIARA (Pacnews) - The National Disaster Management Office in Solomon Islands says stage one of providing food aid to communities on the Weathercoast of Guadalcanal is nearly complete. Office Deputy Director, Martin...

Procurement chief behind bars.
October 3, 2003... 03 OCTOBER 2003 KOROR (Pacnews) - American Samoa's former Chief Procurement Officer, Faau Seumanutua, has not been able to post bail of USD$100,000 and remains behind bars in the Tafuna Correctional Facility. Mr Seumanutua faces 18 counts of...

IRB to host US sevens rugby tournament.
October 3, 2003... 03 OCTOBER 2003 LA (Pacnews) - Los Angeles will host an International Rugby Board (IRB) Sevens tournament for the first time. The event will be held at the magnificent Home Depot Centre stadium in Carson City, LA on 14 and 15 February 2004. ...

PACNEWS DIGEST - The views expressed in PACNEWS DIGEST are those of agencies contributing articles and not necessarily those of PIBA and/or PACNEWS.
October 3, 2003... Pacific bird conservation APIA, SAMOA - How serious is the decline of bird populations? What causes the decline in bird population? What can be done to save the birds of the Pacific? The regional organisation, South Pacific Regional...

Australian aid in action in Fiji.
October 3, 2003... 03 OCTOBER 2003 --- Australia's Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Chris Gallus, is reportedly seeing the difference Australian aid is making to some civil society projects in Fiji. Ms Gallus is visiting Fiji and has met with Fiji...

EPA notes Pacific's aggressive coral reef protection strategies.
October 3, 2003... 03 OCTOBER 2003 SAIPAN (Pacnews) --- The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has noted the Pacific jurisdictions' aggressive local strategies in protecting coral reefs, as over 120 officials and guests from the Northern Marianas, Guam,...

New Foreign Service Act in the pipeline.
October 3, 2003... 03 OCTOBER 2003 PORT VILA (Pacnews) --- Vanuatu's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs is undertaking consultation with the State Law Office to finalise the drafting of the country's first Foreign Service Act to go to...

Freeze on visas; businesses reeling.
October 3, 2003... 03 OCTOBER 2003 PORT MORESBY (Pacnews) --- Business leaders are reeling from the government's sudden move to freeze renewal of work permits for expatriates. Many have already complained to their chambers of commerce and industry, says Port...

Concerns on over survey of Pacific Ocean.
October 3, 2003... 03 OCTOBER 2003 SUVA (Pacnews) - There is a major concern that a large amount of data on many years of survey on the Pacific Ocean is either lost or difficult to identify. The director of the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission...

UN committee rebukes NZ over child smacking.
October 6, 2003... 06 OCTOBER 2003 WELLINGTON (Pacnews) --- The United Nations (UN) has called for the smacking of children to be outlawed in New Zealand. The Geneva-based UN Committee on the Rights of the Child says it is deeply concerned that New Zealand...

Nauru gets loan of over US$2 million US from China.
October 6, 2003... 06 OCTOBER 2003 YAREN (Pacnews) --- Nauru has accepted a loan worth about US$2.4 million from China. The loans appear to reaffirm diplomatic ties between the tiny South Pacific island nation and Beijing, rather than rival Taiwan. ...

Samoan receives media award for stance over Holmes 'cheekie darkie' comment.
October 6, 2003... 06 OCTOBER 2003 AUCKLAND (Pacnews) --- Samoan journalist Paul Yandall was honoured at the Pacific Island Media Association's Media Awards in Auckland last night (05 Oct) with a special 'Toa' Award for his stance over racist comments made by...

PAFCO to pay extra FJD$2 million to workers.
October 6, 2003... 06 OCTOBER 2003 LEVUKA (Pacnews) --- The Pacific Fishing Company (PAFCO) in Fiji will pay out an additional FJD$2 million (US$1 million) annually in wages, following an agreement to end the eight-week strike at the company's Levuka tuna...

FSPI explores mental health link to violence.
October 6, 2003... 06 OCTOBER 2003 SUVA (Pacnews) --- The Pacific now has the highest suicide rates in the world with an average of fifty out of every thousand youths aged between fifteen and twenty-one committing suicide annually. According to Foundation of the...

Vanuatu criticises Australian foreign policy.
October 6, 2003... 06 OCTOBER 2003 PORT VILA (Pacnews) --- Vanuatu's Opposition leader has criticised Australia's foreign policy in the Pacific claiming that Australia is using its retirees to fill top positions in regional organisations. Using Vanuatu as an...

U.S extends further assistance to protection of coral reefs.
October 6, 2003... 06 OCTOBER 2003 SAIPAN (Pacnews) --- Lack of financial and technical resources and global warming are two of the many issues faced by coastal areas seeking greater protection of their coral reefs. But federal agencies vowed during the 10th...

Nauru refugees placed on good behaviour.
October 6, 2003... 06 OCTOBER 2003 YAREN (Pacnews) --- A group of asylum seekers charged for rioting in an Australian-run detention centre in Nauru last Christmas Eve has been placed on good behaviour bonds, the Nauru government said Friday (03 Oct). The...

Chirac to visit Pacific again next year.
October 6, 2003... 06 OCTOBER 2003 SYDNEY (Pacnews) --- French President, Jacques Chirac, may visit Australia next year in a bid to shore up relations strained by his government's opposition to war in Iraq. A French Embassy spokesman in Sydney said President...

Fiji's electricity supplies a worry.
October 6, 2003... 06 OCTOBER 2003 SUVA (Pacnews) - Fiji's electricity supply worries continue to escalate as the water level at the country's largest hydro-powered facility drops further. Fiji Government officials have held talks with the executive...

PACNEWS OBITUARY - SAVENACA SIWATIBAU.
October 6, 2003... 06 OCTOBER 2003 SUVA (Pacnews) - Members of the Fiji media and the regional NGO community based in Suva as well as the USP family came to learn of the passing of Mr. Savenaca Siwatibau late on Friday afternoon. We of the PIBA family beg our...

Tongan official arrested in forgery probe.
October 6, 2003... 06 OCTOBER 2003 SALT LAKE CITY (Pacnews) - A member of the Tongan Parliament was arrested and booked into a US jail last Wednesday (01 Oct) for allegedly forging birth certificates and other documents that would aid foreigners in establishing...

Reserve Bank Governor forecasts good economy.
October 6, 2003... 06 OCTOBER 2003 SUVA (Pacnews) - Remittances from Fijians living and working overseas has quadrupled in the past three years in Fiji. Mr Narube placed figures at over FJD$230 million (US$125.925m) in 2002 from about FJD$45 million...

NZ continues search for missing Tokelau teenagers.
October 6, 2003... 06 OCTOBER 2003 TOKELAU (Pacnews) - The Royal New Zealand Air Force has sent a second Orion reconnaissance aircraft to the Tokelau Islands, to continue the search for three teenagers reported missing in a small boat. The youths - aged 13...

PNG considers multiple ownership for PNG Telikom.
October 6, 2003... 06 OCTOBER 2003 PORT MORSBY (Pacnews) - Papua New Guinea's National Government could end up with three companies taking interests in developing telecommunication systems in the country under the privatisation of Telikom (PNG) Limited. ...

University family shocked at VC death.
October 6, 2003... 06 OCTOBER 2003 SUVA (Pacnews) - As tributes continue to pour in following the death at the weekend of University of the South Pacific (USP) vice chancellor, Savenaca Siwatibau, USP Council members met today to discuss funeral arrangements and...

PACNEWS DIGEST - Pacific Island leaders discuss reef-management practices.
October 6, 2003... (The views expressed in PACNEWS DIGEST are those of agencies contributing articles and not necessarily those of PIBA and/or PACNEWS ) 06 Oct 2003, HAGATNA, GUAM ---The fight for marine preserves - parts of the reef where no fish can be...

Africans lining up to oust McKinnon.
October 7, 2003... 07 0CTOBER 2003 WELLINGTON (Pacnews) --- Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon faces a Zimbabwe-inspired bid to oust him, The Times newspaper reported in London today. African members of the Commonwealth were said to be angry with...

Tongans march against changes to Constitution.
October 7, 2003... 07 OCTOBER 2003 NUKU'ALOFA (Pacnews) --- Thousands of people took to the streets of the Tongan capital, Nuku'alofa yesterday to demonstrate against plans to amend clause 7 of the country's Constitution. Radio and Television Tonga News says...

Australia accused of colonialism in take-over of Fiji controlled airspace.
October 7, 2003... 07 OCTOBER 2003 SUVA (Pacnews) ---The executive director of Fiji's Strategic Air Services Limited (SASL), Watisoni Nata, has described Australia's taking over of regional airspace as a form of 'colonisation.' Australia now controls some...

Weathercoast refugees urged to return home.
October 7, 2003... 07 OCTOBER 2003 HONIARA (Pacnews) --- Solomon Islands Police Commissioner Bill Morrell says hundreds of refugees from the Weathercoast region who left their homes at the height of terror attacks led by Harold Keke and his men, have been urged...

Security upgrade at Bangkok airport ahead of APEC forum.
October 7, 2003... 07 OCTOBER 2003 BANGKOK (Pacnews) --- Thailand's air force will roll out massive security around Bangkok's international airport this week in preparation for a world leaders' summit later this month. Leaders of the 21 member countries of...

Tinian airport renamed.
October 7, 2003... 07 OCTOBER 2003 SAIPAN (Pacnews) --- West Tinian Airport will now be known as Tinian International Airport after the Commonwealth Ports Authority's (CPA) board of directors adopted a resolution renaming the facility. In a meeting last...

Little prospect of McKinnon being toppled, says Goff.
October 7, 2003... 07 OCTOBER 2003 WELLINGTON (Pacnews) --- The possibility of a Zimbabwe-backed candidate toppling New Zealander Don McKinnon as Commonwealth Secretary-General is unlikely, Foreign Minister Phil Goff said today. African nations angry with...

PNG ranks fourth in AIDS epidemic list.
October 7, 2003... 07 OCTOBER 2003 PORT MORESBY (Pacnews) --- Papua New Guinea (PNG) is fourth on the list of countries in the Asia-Pacific region to have a general AIDS epidemic, according to the United Nations AIDS. Inter-Government Relations Minister, Sir...

US plan to transfer aircraft carrier to Guam or Hawaii criticised by North Korea.
October 7, 2003... 07 OCTOBER 2003 SEOUL (Pacnews) --- North Korea has accused the United States of military aggression for considering the transfer of an aircraft carrier to Guam or Hawaii. The charge comes amid a year-old standoff over North Korea's moves...

Chinese builders arriving soon.
October 7, 2003... 07 OCTOBER 2003 RAROTONGA (Pacnews) --- Chinese labourers are due to arrive on Rarotonga within a fortnight to start work on the new courthouse project. "There are seven workers due to arrive in the second or third week in October, pending...

Ship picks up drifting Tokelauans.
October 7, 2003... 07 OCTOBER 2003 WELLINGTON (Pacnews) --- Three teenagers drifting in a small boat near the Tokelau Islands have been rescued after a searching air force Orion found them yesterday. The trio were rescued by the launch MV Tokelau last night...

Billion-kina gold search in New Ireland province.
October 7, 2003... 07 OCTOBER 2003 PORT MORESBY (Pacnews) --- Troops and police in Papua New Guinea (PNG) have been despatched to a remote New Ireland mountaintop to check a claimed find of billions of kina in wartime gold. Cabinet reportedly directed that...

Australia backs Commonwealth head amid replacement rumours.
October 7, 2003... 07 OCTOBER 2003 MELBOURNE (Pacnews) --- The Australian government says it is not aware of any push by Zimbabwe to unseat the secretary general of the Commonwealth, Don McKinnon. It has been reported that Zimbabwe wants African nations not...

Bishop hopes march will lead to proposed constitutional changes being dropped.
October 7, 2003... 07 OCTOBER 2003 NUKU'ALOFA (Pacnews) --- The head of the Catholic Church in Tonga, Bishop Soane Foliaki, says he is hopeful the government will change its mind over planned constitutional changes which many believe will place curbs on media...