Nutshell

The

News

In A

Nutshell

Guam Air Crash

Eorly-six people died when a Lockheed Plectra aircraft crashed just after takeoff from Guam airport on June 4. There were no survivors among the 45 passengers and crew. The 46th casually was a truck driver, who died when the flaming wreckage ploughed into his vehicle. The aircraft carried a crew of 12 and 33 Filipino workers who were on the way from Wake Island to Manila. The aircraft landed at Guam to refuel.

Png Decentralisation

Provincial governments have been ap proved for four of the country's provinces, Fast New Britain, East Sepik, Eastern Highlands and Central. Prime Minister Mr Somare said, after the Executive Council meeting which approved the measure, that provincial governments would be established when provinces were ready for them. The four provinces con cerned had completed the necessary steps and were ready to start work. An in ter-departmental committee would be responsible for co-ordinating all major policy issues on provincial government.

The committee would work out details of how provincial governments would operate.

Nz Radio Reprieve

Radio New Zealand’s short-wave radio service to the South Pacific and South-east Asia has had a reprieve.

It was abandoned as an economic measure by the NZ Government without more than a few days’ warning, and then reinstated just as suddenly.

However, instead of special

programmes, the short-wave link will broadcast Radio New Zealand’s national programme. Since this includes news and current affairs, it may well be as accep table to listeners as anything that has gone before.

Certainly its coverage of the Olympic Games in Montreal and the All Black Rugby tour of South Africa will be most welcome among Kiwis living overseas.

While many people felt inadequate reasons were given for killing the short wave service two months ago, even fewer explanations have been given for its re instatement.

Klo,Ooo Spree

American movie actor William Holden and television actress Stephanie Powers have been on a shopping spree in Papua New Guinea, spending close to K 10,000 on traditional-style village art. The art includ

ed carvings, religious symbols, symbolic

weapons, shields, masks, ancestor boards (a type of coat of arms) and traditional carvings of crocodiles and pigs. The buying expedition was in connection with a PNG

artifact promotion being planned by the

New York department store Bloomingdale. Holden and Miss Powers had the approval of the PNG Prime Minister, Mr Somare, for their buying lour and the order is being handled by the marketing division of the Office of Cultural Affairs. The artifacts —just over 300 of them were bought in the Western Province and in the Sepik River area.

Premier Accused

The normally-placid Cook Islands

Legislative Assembly erupted at its last

session when the Leader of the Opposition, Dr Tom Davis, accused the Premier, Sir Albert Henry, of hiding Philatelic Bureau money.

The assembly was debating a tax amendment bill covering tax exemptions on salaries of specially-appointed overseas employees. The member for Penrhyn, Mr Tangaroa Tangaroa, spoke about the ac counts and profits of the bureau, at which the government claimed he was out of order, as his remarks were irrelevant to the bill. Sir Albert said the bureau was a private concern, which was helping the Cook Islands through financial aid to the old-age pension scheme. It had nothing to do with the bill, and he did not intend to delve into the bureau’s affairs.

Dr Davis, supporting Mr Tangaroa, at first accused the government of hiding the bureau’s money. After a point of order, he accused Sir Albert of hiding the money.

This led to a heated debate, with the

assembly eventually telling Dr Davis to

either "put up” or “shut up” prove his statement or withdraw. Dr Davis final ly agreed to withdraw and apologised to Sir Albert.