PX B757 takes off
 

AIR Niugini has announced the introduction into service of its Boeing 757-200.
The leased aircraft made its maiden flight to Honiara and Nadi, Fiji yesterday, chief executive officer Wasantha Kumarasiri said.
“The introduction of the Boeing 757 as Air Niugini’s second aircraft to operate international service will provide sufficient redundancy to the Boeing 767 to improve service reliability,” Mr Kumarasiri said .
He said it had been necessary for the airline to operate one wide body aircraft for the last 10 years until now to achieve financial sustainability.
Since Air Niugini had now come out of the financial difficulties, the shareholders, board and management have focused on improving service reliability, he said.

Employees warned of HIV/AIDS
EMPLOYEES of various business houses in Mt Hagen city are urged to look after themselves and avoid contracting the HIV/AIDS virus. This was a message delivered by the Anglicare Stop AIDS. Volunteers Thomas Keleya, a person living with HIV/AIDS, Davis Gai and Janice Hosea conducted awareness for the employees of Best Buy and Renbo Supermarkets. They told the employees that they were important people in the company and should be careful not to contract the virus. They said HIV/AIDS was like a time bomb and if people were not careful it would wipe out the entire population in the province.

EHP man stabbed to death
AN elderly man from the Fayantina area in Henganofi district, Eastern Highlands, was stabbed to death in Kainantu town after he allegedly cast a spell on another person. The assailant pulled out a knife and attacked the victim as he stood in front of a shop, scattering passers-by. Police had detained the man. They also advised the victim’s relatives and tribesmen to allow the law to deal with the matter. Former Kainantu mayor Segie Wako said villagers should not bring their disputes to the town.

Sape on political retreat
WOMEN leader Janet Sape has been invited by the Australian Labour Party to attend a political retreat in Cairns and Brisbane this week. Ms Sape said it would be an opportunity to learn from Australia how women MPs became successful in politics. She was keen on meeting with Australian women MPs and leaders and learn from them how the Woman’s Non Parliamentary Caucus works. She will also share her experiences with more than 100 women from the Asia Pacific region. It will also include a tour of the Australian Parliament House and other organised meetings.

Armed hold-up condemned
A YOUTH leader from Magarima district, Southern Highlands, condemned an armed hold-up at Hiri village recently. Daniel Wakinda said Hiri people were peace loving and were never involved in such criminal activities in the past. He said if it was true that 10 youths from his village held up a PMV bus and robbed K750 in cash from the passengers and steal other goods, he would make sure that the youths were apprehended and handed over to police.

Cr goes against Agiru
THE councillor of Nipa One has called on the Southern Highlands Governor Anderson Agiru to refrain from provoking the people of Nipa-Kutubu. David Navur, who claimed to represent more than 120,000 people of Nipa-Kutubu claimed that Mr Agiru made allegations in the media and through public speeches that the Nipa leaders had been telling youths to conduct illegal activities along the Nipa-Tari Highway.

Australian to appear in Waigani National Court today
AN Australian from Victoria is to appear in the Waigani National Court today for allegedly misappropriating A$50,000 (about K118,000) in a gold deal.
The Waigani Committal Court ruled last Tuesday that there was sufficient evidence to try Sinan Caglar, who faces three other charges.
The 55-year-old accused is alleged to have received the K50,000 from PNG Benefits Corporation to buy alluvial goal for the company between February and March this year.
The company, which is based in Port Moresby, claimed that Caglar put the money to his own use and subsequently had him charged under Section 383A (1) (a) of the Criminal Code Act.
On Sept 20, Caglar was charged with misappropriating another A$64,000 (about K153,000) following a complaint by Australian businessman Peter Muller.
The other charges related to the possession of pornographic material and staying in PNG illegally.

Power in Wewak restored
POWER supply to Wewak town consumers has been restored with one of the faulty machines fixed and back on again.
PNG Power acting chief executive officer Lawrence Solomon said a Machine 5, which generates 800KW, was fixed recently and this has brought the Wewak town power station’s total available generation to 2.7MW.
Mr Solomon said the total power demand for Wewak consumers were 2.25MW; however, if the consumers’ demand exceeds 2.7MW, load shedding would take place.
Meanwhile, he asked customers with standby generators to use them when this happens until power supply returns to normal.
The other two faulty generators are being fixed and they should be completed by the end of next month.
Construction work is also underway to bring in bigger base machines to alleviate the power supply demand.
The Wewak town power station has a generation capacity of 5.3MW but can supply only 2.7MW, which was enough to cater for the consumers demand of 2.25MW.

PX and pilots sign deal
AIR Niugini has announced the signing of the National Pilots Award last Friday to improve pilots’ remuneration, which includes salaries and other conditions.
The agreement will take effect from Aug 23 for three years.
“Air Niugini views this new agreement to be a key element in retaining our national pilots in Papua New Guinea,” chief executive officer Wasantha Kumarasiri said, adding that in the agreement, both the airline and the pilots were winners.