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Wed
01
Jan

KOSRAE SHIPYARD BEGINS FLEET OVERHAUL

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 01/01/2003 - 00:00

TOFOL, Kosrae (Marianas Variety/PINA, Dec. 31) - Semo-Micronesia, the lone shipyard of the Federated States of Micronesia, has begun a major project overhauling a fleet of fishing boats.

The eight-month agreement, with Micronesian Longline Fishing Corporation, calls for the repair of 10 fishing vessels.

Welders, machinists, engineers, carpenters, and fiberglass workers of Semo- Micronesia are due to continue with work on the boats after the holidays.

Semo-Micronesia Inc. is a joint venture established by the Kosrae government and Semo Co. Ltd. from Korea. Its flagship businesses are shipbuilding and repair, construction, fisheries, and tourism.

The shipyard started its operations in 1998 with the propeller repair and overhaul of the national police patrol vessel Independence.

Over the ensuing years it has repaired and serviced many other ships of Micronesia, both government vessels and privately owned craft.

Robert Weilbacher, vice...

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Wed
01
Jan

PNG URGED TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST PAPUA REBELS

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 01/01/2003 - 00:00

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (RNZI, Jan. 1) - Government officials in Papua New Guinea have warned the Somare administration that failure to take action against the separatist Free Papua Movement or OPM could result in serious repercussions.

The Post Courier reports Border officials saying that the continued presence of OPM militants from Indonesia’s Papua province in PNG could lead to more that just an official protest from Jakarta.

The government sources say that an attack against Jarkarta troops in early December was the work of OPM rebels who are living in camps on the PNG side of its shared border with Indonesia.

They claim also that the Christmas Eve attack on the family of the human rights activist, John Bonay, involved separatist rebels.

The officials say that the government must make a firm stand now as the OPM is using PNG as a shield to launch their attacks against Indonesia.

They say that Papua New Guineans living near the border are...

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Wed
01
Jan

HAZARDS OF INDOOR AIR POLLUTION A MAJOR THREAT

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 01/01/2003 - 00:00

HONOLULU, Hawaii (East-West Wire, Jan. 01) -- Indoor air pollution from cooking and home-heating with polluting fuels such as wood and animal dung kills 1.6 million people a year and causes 3 percent of total diseases around the world.

This form of air pollution was recently ranked by the World Health Organization as the fourth biggest health risk in least-developed nations, after malnutrition, unsafe sex and unclean water and sanitation.

Yet outdoor air pollution, which kills far fewer people and is ranked much lower as a health risk, receives virtually all the attention and funding.

"It occurs mostly in poor rural homes in developing countries and it’s nobody’s priority," said Vinod Mishra, a population and health researcher at the East-West Center in Hawaii. "Women and young children are exposed to pollution levels many times greater than the levels recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and WHO on a daily basis."

Mishra, who recently...

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Thu
02
Jan

CREW WANTS PAY BEFORE SOLOMONS RESCUE

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 01/02/2003 - 00:00

HONIARA, Solomon Islands (Paoa FM/PINA, Jan. 2) – The crew of a Solomon Islands Police patrol boat are reported to have demanded to be paid before they sail to the cyclone-hit islands of Tikopia and Anuta.

News of the pay problem came amidst continuing delays in the departure of the patrol boat to take officials and medical and relief supplies to the remote islands.

The Australian High Commission earlier provided money to buy fuel for the boat to leave, with the Solomon Islands Government facing a continuing financial crisis.

National Disaster Management Office officers then said they were waiting for money from the government. They said they needed this to buy food supplies to take for the islanders, with all food crops on the islands almost certainly destroyed.

The questions over the patrol boat crew's pay come amidst regular confrontations between public officers and the government over overdue and unpaid salaries.

Tikopia and Anuta faced the...

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Thu
02
Jan

COOKS DRAW NEARLY 72,000 VISITORS IN 2002

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 01/02/2003 - 00:00

AVARUA, Cook Islands (Cook Islands News/PINA, Jan. 1) - Total visitor arrivals to the Cook Islands in 2002 will fall short of 2001 record figures. But the total will run close, officials say.

Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and the collapse of the Canada 3000 airline, government predicted a 13.6 percent drop in visitors to the Cook Islands in the first quarter of 2002.

But visitor arrivals through November were recorded at 66,834, about 2000 below the same period the year before.

With an approximate 6,000 additional visitors expected in December, the 2002 total is anticipated at around 72,000.

2001's visitor numbers hit a record 74,575, while the figure was just under 73,000 the previous year.

New Zealand was the most dominant market in 2002 with around 40 percent of visitors to the Cook Islands, followed by Europe with 26 percent.

January 2, 2003

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Thu
02
Jan

HAWAIIAN AIRLINES TO GO "TICKETLESS"

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 01/02/2003 - 00:00

HONOLULU, Hawaii (Pacific Islands Report, Jan. 2) - Hawaiian Airlines, has announced that it will join most other U.S. airlines in eliminating all paper tickets from its distribution system in 2003.

The airline already defaults to electronic ticketing for all direct reservations and sales and is positioning itself to offer customers higher levels of convenience and value through greater use of available technology.

Consistent with other carriers that have converted to ticketless operations, Hawaiian will continue to offer paper tickets upon request for a fee of $25.00.

In its operations within Hawaii, the change will mean an end to Hawaiian’s production and distribution of interisland flight "coupons" effective Monday, January 6, 2003 and reliance on established published fares, which start at levels below the current market price for coupons. Existing coupons will continue to be honored.

John W. Adams, chairman and CEO, said, "As airlines seek every...

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Thu
02
Jan

FIJI WORRIES ABOUT AMERICAN SAMOA RESTRICTIONS

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 01/02/2003 - 00:00

SUVA, Fiji (fijivillage.com/PINA, Jan. 1) - American Samoa’s new immigration law scrutinizing residents from Fiji has been questioned by the Fiji Visitors Bureau.

In continuing criticism of the American Samoan Government’s anti-terrorism move, Fiji Visitors Bureau chief executive Bill Gavoka expressed worries about the repercussions for tourism.

"We are a cosmopolitan country and diversity is our strength, which makes us a very attractive country to visit. The danger is in generalization against an ethnic community."

Fiji’s inclusion in the American Samoan restrictions is believed to be because Fiji has a Muslim community.

Few people from Fiji visit American Samoa, apart from business people and people working on fishing boats. But there are worries in Fiji about the impact the listing will have on Fiji's image as a friendly tourism destination.

People from 23 countries on the list must get prior permission from American Samoan before traveling to...

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Thu
02
Jan

INDONESIAN MINISTER: NO INDEPENDENCE FOR PAPUA

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 01/02/2003 - 00:00

JAKARTA, Indonesia (PINA, Jan. 1) - Papua's independence movement was given a blunt New Year’s message by Indonesia's senior security minister, saying independence from Indonesia will not be tolerated.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said there was no room to hold a vote of self-determination like that in East Timor.

Susilo, a former general, was giving journalists his year-end news briefing, in which he spoke about Papua, a restive province of more than two million people.

Rebels in Papua, which borders Papua New Guinea, have been fighting for independence since Indonesia took over the former Dutch colony in the 1960s.

Amnesty International estimates that at least 100,000 Papuans were killed during the 1967-98 regime of former Indonesian President Suharto. Pro-independence groups claim more.

Indonesia's new democratic government introduced last year a special status for Papua. Under special...

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Thu
02
Jan

TIPOKIA SHREDDED BY ZOE, VICTIMS STILL BEYOND REACH

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 01/02/2003 - 00:00

TIKOPIA, Solomon Islands (News Interactive/AAP, Jan. 2) - A remote Pacific island was devastated by Cyclone Zoe and grave fears were held for many of its 2,000 residents, an eyewitness said today.

Independent New Zealand photographer Geoff Mackley, who was on the first plane to fly over the tiny island of Tikopia in the Solomon Islands, said it would have faced the full force of the cyclone which hit last Saturday.

"Every tree on the island has been blown over or shredded, the island is completely denuded of vegetation, almost every building has been damaged, a few remain intact, while others have been shredded, and the sea has come through some villages, burying them," Mr Mackley said in a statement posted on his website.

"I will not speculate on the likely casualties or fatalities, if it is not large it will be a miracle.

"This sort of destruction is normally seen only after a strong tornado or volcanic eruption, a number of people, maybe 20 came down...

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Thu
02
Jan

GUAM TANKER FIRES TRACED TO STATIC ELECTRICITY

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 01/02/2003 - 00:00

HAGATNA, Guam (Pacific Daily News, Jan 2) - A buildup of static electricity may be the cause of the fire at the commercial port tank farm in Piti that erupted when Supertyphoon Pongsona pounded the island Dec. 8.

The static electricity may have occurred inside the tank due to friction caused by extremely high winds rushing through the ventilation system, according to Guam Fire Department Capt. Darren Apiag.

For six days the fire burned, destroying three fuel tanks and leading officials to ban gasoline sales to the public, according to Pacific Daily News files. Roads were nearly deserted until officials lifted the restriction Dec. 15. On that day, long lines formed at service stations all over the island as residents waited, some for hours, to buy gasoline.

Apiag said the tank that first caught fire contained less than 15 percent of its total capacity of unleaded gasoline when the fire erupted. That situation, he explained, is considered to be unsafe in adverse...

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