Articles Search

By Lindablue F. Romero

SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands (January 29, 1999 - Saipan Tribune)---Claiming that this is the only way to stave off federalization of the minimum wage and immigration, Saipan Chamber of Commerce president Kerry M. Deets yesterday said she now favors the imposition of a three-year limit on the stay of non-resident workers.

In an apparent change of heart, Deets urged the Chamber members to reexamine their position so that they can help the CNMI government in making a decision on whether they would allow the Northern Marianas to be dependent on non-resident workers.

"We have a very important social decision to make. Are we going to focus on objecting to a three-year limit locally because it saves us a few dollars or should we work on a long term goal by being more concerned with staving off a federal takeover?" asked Deets.

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio has yet to act on the bill imposing a three-year limit on the residency of guest...

By Veronica Hatutasi

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (January 30, 1999- The Independent)---Despite the highly politicized background of the Bougainville issue, life goes on and it is business as usual for the majority of Bougainvilleans who are more concerned about receiving services such as education, health, better roads and transportation and other basic amenities.

This is apart from the peace efforts which are being pursued from the family and community levels upwards.

With the present state of affairs in the efforts to establish a reconciliation government for Bougainville, concerns have been raised from a wide section of the community on the Bougainville Constituent Assembly's (BCA) membership composition.

The women -- who are the silent yet a vital force within the social hierarchy on Bougainville -- have expressed concerns that they are not taking an active part in the assembly, thus in the vital decision making machinery on the affairs of the...

GUINEA

JAKARTA, Indonesia (January 29, 1999 -AFP/Kabar-Irian)---U.S. mining giant Freeport McMoRan Gold and Copper, Inc. must double the royalties it pays to the Indonesian government in return for higher output at its mine in Irian Jaya province, a report said Friday.

"The government wants the royalties from Freeport to be increased by up to two times," director general for general mining, Rozik Budioro Sucipto, was quoted by Bisnis Indonesia daily as saying.

Freeport’s local subsidiary now pays 1.5 to 3.5 percent of the value of its copper output as royalties, depending on the metal’s spot price in world market. The royalty on gold runs at 1.0 to 3.0 percent depending on gold prices, the daily said.

PT Freeport Indonesia, the subsidiary of Freeport McMoRan, is seeking to increase its copper ore output from its giant mine in remote Irian Jaya province from the current 160,000 tons to 300,000 tons per day

Freeport McMoRan chief executive officer...

PACIFIC ISLANDS NEWS ASSOCIATION (PINA) Suva, Fiji Islands

NEWS RELEASE January 29, 1999

This year’s Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) convention will be held in Suva on the Fiji Day weekend in October, a Fiji organizing committee meeting decided in Suva today.

The convention, "the main annual meeting of the Pacific Islands news media," will be October 8 to 11, the meeting decided.

It brings together executives and journalists from radio and TV stations, newspapers, magazines, and national associations of news media practitioners in 21 Pacific Islands countries and territories.

Francis Herman (General Manager, Public Broadcasting, Island Networks) and William Parkinson (Managing Director, Communications Fiji) were appointed co-chairpersons of the Fiji organizing committee.

The convention was awarded to Fiji during the 1998 PINA convention in Papeete, French Polynesia. Previous PINA conventions or conferences in Fiji were in 1985 and...