papua new guinea

Chimbu Governor says much more drought aid needed

Much of the Highlands region has been affected by drought and frost which have destroyed food gardens.

The PNG Government started rolling out food aid several weeks ago but the Chimbu Governor Noah Kool says it is not enough.

He says Port Moresby has to under a proper assessment of the number of people affected and the help they will need for a drought expected to extend into 2016.

Security at Indonesia-PNG border must be tightened

The RI-PNG border remains prone to drug smuggling, although some suspected individuals illegally crossing the border have been arrested.

Security officials have frequently arrested people possessing marijuana while attempting to illegally cross the PNG border to enter Jayapura, Papuas provincial capital; however, drug smuggling activities continue to thrive along the border.

NZ soldiers help build a new road in PNG

For the past month a 20 strong contingent of New Zealand army engineers and tradespeople has been mentoring PNG soldiers in road building techniques.

The gravel road, from the highlands to the north coast, will link over 100 remote mountain villages, cutting through dense forest and crossing the Bismarck mountain range.

Lieutenant Leroy Judge says the team has been teaching road building techniques, basic maintenance, and safety procedures.

PNG ravaged by fires

Phil Shearman from the University of Papua New Guinea's Remote Sensing Centre says satellite imagery is showing numbers not seen since the drought of 1997 and '98.

Dr Shearman says the current dry period has led to a high fire risk.

"It's possible to set fire to things that weren't able to set fire to before so we've been seeing in the last three months a five-fold increase in the number of fires that are occurring. Judging by what happened in the '97-'98 El Nino period you would be expecting to see an increased expansion of that."

PNA happy with ‘finalist’ selection in industry competition

The finalists for the prestigious industry award were unveiled last week at the sixth edition of Seafood Expo Asia in Hong Kong. Dawn Martin, President of SeaWeb, was joined by Suzanne Gendron, Director of the Ocean Park Foundation in Hong Kong and a 2016 Seafood Champion Awards Judge, to make the announcement to a crowd of seafood industry professionals and media.

Hopes for new Australian climate policy appear remote

The leaders of Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea and Fiji have expressed hope that Mr Turnbull, who was this week sworn in as prime minister after ousting Tony Abbott as Liberal Party leader, could be a champion for Pacific countries battling rising sea levels and intensifying weather systems.

The change in Canberra came a week after the Pacific Islands Forum meeting highlighted a growing chasm between the Pacific countries and Australia and New Zealand on the issue of climate change.

PNG warns West Papua activists

And already, the host country Papua New Guinea has refused entry for West Papuan activist, Benny Wenda, an indication of the controversy that surrounds the issue ahead of the 46th annual summit of Pacific Leaders in Port Moresby.

In Fiji, the Secretary General of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua, Octovanius Mote was ‘quietly’ asked to leave the meeting of the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF).

Next tier of Pacific rugby nations Oceania Cup

Cook Islands won the biennial event two years ago but will not defend their title, choosing to focus their limited resources on November's Olympic Sevens Qualifier.

Newcomers American Samoa open proceedings against Solomon Islands at Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, followed by hosts Papua New Guinea against Tahiti, in the first round of matches.

The General Manager of Rugby PNG, Frank Genia, says pride and silverware aren't the only things on up for grabs.

Cult crocodile is a big highlight of National Gallery's PNG exhibition

It was carved more than a century ago from a single piece of wood in a remote Papua New Guinea village. It has never been seen in Australia before.

Curator of Pacific Art Crispin Howarth said, “There are only 10 or 15 of these known in the world and this is the most fantastic.”

It had “aspects of male and female" to it and was collected in 1959 by an Australian patrol officer, he said.

The cult crocodile was carved from a single piece of wood without the use of metal tools and dates back more than a century.

PNG men go down to New Caledonia in basketball

The visiting team showed class in the close encounter but with the home crowd on their side PNG fought hard in the first and second quarter.

In the first quarter, New Caledonia took the lead 17-15.

In the second quarter, the combination of brothers James and Allan Wright helped PNG level the score at half time 38-38.

New Caledonia fought back in the second quarter with great three points shots from Stephane Saminadin put New Caledonia in the lead 60-52 at the third quarter break.