Neu: 2001-09-21 Contents of this issue: 1. Plane Deal Off 2. End Of Line? 3. Tickets Please 4. Jaunty Tune 5. WEATHER WATCH ======================================================================== September 21st, 2001 1. Plane Deal Off: China has turned down a request from Niue for a $NZ2million soft loan to start up a national airline, reports Radio Australia. The new Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand and Niue HE Chen Mingming vsited Niue last week on a courtesy call. Premier Sani Lakatani has confirmed to Radio Australia that the loan request has been rejected. The island's leader earlier was confident of getting the loan for an investment in a national airline and said he hoped to establish formal diplomatic ties with China. A previous attempt by the Premier to establish an airline crash landed after a $400,000 deal with an undischarged bankrupt New Zealand airline consultant and the American company Raytheon went wrong. Niue hoped to get two Beech 19C aircraft to fly between Niue, Tonga and Rarotonga but the country lost its deposit after pulling out of a deal which a report into the affair later described as an "absurd business plan." Its understood New Zealand, a constitutional partner with Niue was unaware of the loan application. New Zealand has traditionally encouraged Niue not to accept foreign loans because of the island's lack of natural resources which restrict its ability to make repayments. 2. End Of Line? Officials are negotiating with scores of asylum seekers refusing to leave an Australian navy ship off Nauru, while others went ashore, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. About 230 Iraqis and Palestinians had told migration officials that they would not leave HMAS Manoora unless it took them to Australia. Since then, just 13 of this group have left the ship. The refugees claim they paid people smugglers thousands of dollars each to take them to Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald said. The Iraqis and Palestinians were one of two groups of asylum seekers aboard the troop carrier HMAS Manoora, which arrived at Nauru on Tuesday after almost three weeks at sea. The other group consisted of 433 mostly Afghan asylum seekers who were rescued from a sinking Indonesian ferry by the Norwegian cargo ship late last month. This group has been going ashore.(Pina Nius Online). 3. Tickets Please: Niue's new movie theatre Fale Kifaga is offiially open. Local shareholders gathered in the theatre with friends to see the first screening of wide screen dvd movies on the island. The board has announced that the new manager of the venture is Mrs Jury McCoy, a former teacher at Niue High School. The theatre will be open three nights a week and will screen childrens movies on Saturday afternoons. The business has been totally funded by the investors without outside assistance or loans. 4. Jaunty Tune: The Royal Corps of Musicians Band of the Tonga Defence Services recently returned to the Kingdom after a successful fund raising tour of the United States. The band raised more than $200,000 during a seven-week fund raising journey through California, Utah, Nevada and Hawai'i. Captain Ve'ehala said most of the money was raised during concerts presented to Tongan communities in California and Hawai'i. He said, the money will be used by the band to prepare for and make arrangements to take part in the Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2002, scheduled for next July and August. "The Royal Corps of Musician will be accompanied by a dancing troupe to the event next year. . .and preparations are well under way," said Captain Ve 'ehala.(PIR). 5. WEATHER WATCH: THIS WEEK brisk spring breezes ushered in enough showers Wednesday and Thursday to stifle the risk of forest fires - at least for a few days. Unofficially, 10-20mm of rain fell across the island, sprayed by east winds gusting to near gale force Thursday. A ridge of High Pressure slowly retracted to the east as a weak trough tried to form from Fiji south from mid-week. Temperatures stayed seasonal with highs in the mid 20's. Wednesday morning was the last chilly, dusty one for awhile. THE WEEKEND could continue to see variable cloudiness with occasional brief showers. Winds near 25kts Friday should diminish 5 kts per day and slowly turn NE by Monday. Comfortable temperatures and mild nights with minimums in the upper teens and a bit damp by sunrise. Only a couple mm of rain expected in the rain gauge. Spring officially begins on Sunday. NEXT WEEK a bit of convergence, a passing upper-air disturbance and a finale of cooler air from the west signal an unsettled finish to September. A weak Low could form, according to the MRF model to the south of Niue along an approaching cold front from the west. The front is predicted to have crossed Niue by late Tuesday with the Low moving rapidly SE away from us. Showers and possible thunderstorms should accompany the front and could spread as far north as Niue from the south on Monday and Tuesday. By Wednesday a southeast change should freshen as a new area of High pressure spreads over us from Australia. The week should finish dry with a chance of more showers next weekend. Temperatures and humidity should edge up then drop with the cold frontal passage. Wednesday through Friday could see the return of brisk SE trades and minimal clouds with cool nights.(Supplied by Darrell Spatz private forecaster resident on Niue). __END__
