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PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (The National, Jan. 3) – Multi-million kina investments in the Wau-Bulolo area of Morobe province are under threat of being cut off from Lae and the rest of the world by a troublesome river.

[PIR editor’s note: Wau and Bulolo are cities south of Lae on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea’s mainland peninsula.]

Those likely to be worst affected are PNG Forest Products in Bulolo and the new gold mine project at Hidden Valley in Wau.

The Kumalu River in Mumeng, between Bulolo/Wau and Lae, is threatening to destroy a newly-built bridge and has changed course, running on a section of the Wau-Bulolo Highway.

The river carries tons of boulders, gravel and mud every time it floods and forced the Mumeng government station to close two years ago. Schools, churches, hospital, police station, local level government offices and agriculture offices have all closed their doors and moved to higher grounds near the Zenag chicken farm....

MELBOURNE, Australia (Radio Australia, Jan. 4) – Former Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Sir William Skate, has died in an Australian hospital, aged 52.

Sir William, popularly known as Bill Skate, suffered a heart attack in Port Moresby last week and was airlifted to the eastern Australian city of Brisbane on Saturday.

Bill Skate grew up in a poor Port Moresby settlement and was prime minister from 1997 to 1999.

His term as prime minister was cut short when he was ousted while PNG was facing an economic crisis.

Bill Skate's aide, Susuve Laumea says Sir William will be remembered fondly by the people of Bougainville.

One of his biggest legacies was the brokering of the Bougainville peace accord he laid the foundations for that for eventual peace on Bougainville. He's very well respected by the Bougainvilleans for what he had done for eventual peace to come to Bougainville.

January 4, 2006

Radio Australia:...

SUVA, Fiji (Oceania Flash, Jan. 3) – Sydney-based P&O's "Pacific Star" cruise liner has received this weekend a New Year's Eve, red carpet welcome in New Caledonia's capital Nouméa for what was its inaugural call in the French Pacific territory.

Passengers and crew were Saturday welcomed on the main wharf by a host of tourism professionals and entertainers, who sang and danced and formed an arch of balloons and flowers to greet the new ship on its first call.

Visitors also received boxes of chocolates, courtesy of Nouméa's and the Southern Province's tourism offices.

Pacific Star skipper Captain Graham Goodway also received a plaque from Nouméa Harbour Master Edmond Martin.

The luxury liner has a capacity of some 1,400 passengers and 600 crew.

The introduction of the Pacific Star on this Melanesian tour comes as another P&O liner, the Pacific Sky, prepares to fade out of the South Pacific seas, where it has kept a triangular route among...

By Gerardo R. Partido

HAGATNA, Guam (Marianas Variety, Jan. 4) – Philadelphia-based military contractor DZSP 21, the new base operation support contractor for the Navy on Guam, is being awarded $42.8 million by the Pentagon after modification of its previously awarded "cost-plus-award-fee" contract.

According to the Department of Defense, the money is being released to exercise the first option period for base operations support services for the U.S. Naval Forces Marianas command.

The current total contract amount after exercise of the option will be $60.3 million with the work expected to be completed by Dec. 2006.

DZSP 21’s basic contract was competitively procured via the NAVFAC e-solicitation website with seven proposals received and award made on Dec. 20, 2004.

The potential total contract amount is $407,221,937 if renewed yearly for up to 10 years.

The work to be performed provides for base services, including general management and...