To achieve its task, Sandline was reported to have ordered an arsenal of weapons, including helicopters armed with rockets and machineguns.

ECONOMIST: Papua New Guinea

The crisis was sparked when Brigadier-General Jerry Singirok, the army chief, denounced the Sandline deal and called on Sir Julius to resign.

ECONOMIST: Papua New Guinea

Apparently shaken by disturbances on the streets of Port Moresby, Sir Julius appointed a second replacement commander and announced a judicial inquiry into the Sandline deal.

ECONOMIST: Papua New Guinea

He says he will stand down until the report of the Sandline inquiry, expected in three weeks, and will try to bring forward a general election that was due in June.

ECONOMIST: Papua New Guinea

But nobody, the government now says, thought to mention Sandline's activities, or the investigation, to a foreign secretary known throughout his department for having put control of arms sales at the centre of his newly ethical foreign policy.

ECONOMIST: Ethics man