Neu: 2001-08-29 Contents of this issue: 1. I'm Fit 2. Noni Crisis 3. Officials Elected 4. Problem Resolved ======================================================================== August 29th, 2001 1. I'm Fit: All Black back Christian Cullen is confident about his match fitness after being recalled for the deciding Tri-Nations rugby test against Australia in Sydney on Saturday night. Niue rugby fans gathering in clubs and bars on the island will be watching the game live on tv. Cullen's inclusion on the bench at the expense of reserve back Doug Howlett is the only change from the team that defeated South Africa 26-15 in Auckland last weekend. Cullen has missed the All Blacks' six previous tests this season because of knee surgery and his re-selection comes after two National Provincial Championship matches for Wellington. He said he came through those two outings "not puffed at all" and would have been happy to start the test. "There's a huge gap between the NPC and test rugby," he said. "But if I'm not fit enough, I shouldn't be here." Against Waikato last weekend, Cullen kicked with his left foot, but said nothing should be read into that. "It was just the way the ball came to me, really." Coach Wayne Smith said Cullen had been chosen in the reserves to allow him to be eased back into the test arena after his layoff. "It's important we look after Christian," he said.(NZPA). 2. Noni Crisis : A tax adjustment on Morinda Corporation, the main company producing and exporting Tahitian noni juice, has put all Tahitian noni production in a state of crisis. Based in Utah (United States), the Morinda corporation is challenging a 250 million French Pacific francs tax adjustment (about US$2 million) decided by the government of French Polynesia. The government says the adjustment concerns mostly the value-added tax and annual sales figures tax. Noni, a natural product, is the third main export of French Polynesia. The noni (or nono) fruit comes from the morinda citrifolia. It is sold mashed or as a juice and has long been used in traditional medicine. Morinda sells this product in the United States under the name "Tahitian Noni". According to one of Morinda's representatives in Tahiti, "our American partners do not want to pay this adjustment and, if needed, they will find noni elsewhere than in French Polynesia ". Since August 11, Morinda representatives have not bought any noni from Tahitian producers.(PINA Nius Online). 3. Officials Elected: Long time Niue yacht club supporter Wally Saunders has been re-elected commodore.Other officers elected at the annual general meeting were: Patron, Ernie Welsh; vice commodore, Joe Wright; secretary, Trudy Culling; treasurer, Mary Saunders; committee, Ian Gray, Graham, Marsh Terry Coe. 4. Problem Resolved: Voters at Fiji's Western Division polling stations breathed a sign of relief yesterday after streamlining eased the election process. The big lines during the first two days of elections seemed to be a thing of the past as voters returned to their homes within about a half an hour's time. Reports received from the various polling stations indicated that the voting went quite smoothly yesterday with hardly any complaints from the voters and the political parties as well. Also a visit by the Daily Post to a number of polling places saw decreases in the number of voters turning out. Earlier this week political parties registered a lot of complaints, expressing disappointment with the manner in which voting was being conducted, particularly the long wait in lengthy queues.(Fiji Post). __END__
