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PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (PNG Post-Courier, Feb. 28) - The first payment of school subsidies in Papua New Guinea for this year are being paid this week.

Education Minister Michael Laimo said the Papua New Guinea government had appropriated a total of PGK43 million [US$14.8 million] for education in the 2006 Department of Education budget.

Of this amount, PGK21.5 million [US$7.4 million] was released last month by the Finance Department for distribution as the first payment.

The balance will be released in the second half of the year and administered as the second payment.

Laimo said the Department of Education will pay out PGK16.5 million [US$5.7 million] to all school levels as Schools Infrastructure and Maintenance Grants beginning this week.

Another PGK5 million [US$1.7 million] will be for the Education Quality Control Program, which caters for inspectors’ advisory visits to schools, curriculum development, examinations, and...

HONIARA, Solomon Islands (SIBC, Feb. 28) - Thousands of eligible voters in Baegu-Asifola on Malaita have expressed concern that their names are not on the final list of voters in their constituency.

[PIR editor’s note: Malaita island is located northeast of Guadalcanal island – where Solomon Islands’ capital of Honiara is situated.]

A spokesman for the voters, Allan Taloga, says the concern people have raised the issue when their names did not appear after the list came out.

Taloga says the people had to fill in a form, hoping that their names would appear in the final list.

However, he says the people were disappointed when the final voters’ list came out last week because their names were not on it.

Taloga says the group is now seeking legal clarification on the matter.

He says if nothing positive comes out from the legal consultation, the people will boycott the April 5th national elections.

March 1, 2006

Solomon Islands...

By Liberty Dones

SAIPAN, CNMI (Saipan Tribune, March 1) – Japan Airlines wants to fly back to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands - not to the capital island of Saipan but to nearby Tinian island.

Commonwealth Ports Authority officials disclosed yesterday that a team from Japan Airlines visited Tinian last week to inspect airport facilities.

"They [JAL] are planning to fly to Tinian," said Tinian port manager Ike Perez during yesterday's board meeting.

He said, though, that no specific timeline was mentioned.

"They're interested but we don't know when. They're still doing research," said Perez.

CPA executive director Lee Cabrera said JAL's visit is "exploratory."

"Our Tinian director met with JAL and showed them the airport. They are looking at the airport facility," said Cabrera.

JAL terminated its 28-year flight service to Saipan last October, resulting in a sudden plunge in the number of tourist arrivals in the...

PALIKIR, Pohnpei (Federated States of Micronesia Information Service, Feb. 28) – The Supreme Court of the Federated States of Micronesia announced that Chief Justice Andon L. Amaraich has been selected to the executive committee of the region’s new judicial development program.

During the recent conference of the Pacific judiciary heads in Auckland, New Zealand, the chief justices of the Pacific Island countries formalized the establishment of a Pacific Judicial Development Program, which would advocate judicial education and court service improvement programs along with providing support to the Pacific island nations’ judiciaries.

To spearhead the new program, the justices selected a seven-member executive committee to guide the development of judicial education programs for court officials and staff along with capacity building programs for the court systems of the pacific island countries.

The executive committee is composed of three chief justices, a...