Updated: Australia urges EU to send one million COVID-19 vaccines for PNG amid fresh outbreak
Updated: 5:30pm (AEDT)Canberra, AustraliaReuters Australia said on Wednesday it will ask the European Union to release one million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine to help Papua New Guinea battle a dangerous outbreak that authorities fear could spread to other parts of the region. The request could inflame existing tensions between Canberra and Brussels amid claims […]
Papua New Guinea faces coronavirus crisis as infections rise
Sydney, AustraliaReuters The Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea is facing a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections around the capital Port Moresby, which neighbouring Australia and aid groups fear could overwhelm the country’s small and overstretched health system. The Pacific Friends of Global Health warned if health services are overwhelmed by COVID-19 the treatment […]
Papua New Guinea farewells “grand chief” at state funeral
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Papua New Guineans gathered in their thousands to pay respect to their “grand chief” at a state funeral on Friday for Michael Somare, the former Prime Minister who led the Pacific archipelago to independence. Somare died on 26th February, aged 84, just weeks after he was diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer. He served […]
Record number of women candidates hope to make inroads in Bougainville polls
Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaThomson Reuters Foundation A record number of women candidates are contesting polls in the South Pacific archipelago of Bougainville this month, government officials and analysts said, hoping to build on a “milestone” election for women’s political representation in 2015. The general election is the first since Bougainville, which has a 250,000 population, voted […]
Updated: Bougainville overwhelmingly votes for independence from Papua New Guinea
Last update: 10:40am, 12th December, 2019Sydney, AustraliaReuters The South Pacific islands of Bougainville have overwhelmingly voted to be independent from Papua New Guinea, the referendum commission said on Wednesday, in a historic poll that will embolden separatists as they start negotiating the terms of their sovereignty. Almost 98 per cent of the 181,067 votes cast […]
Gunmen massacre 18, including children, in Papua New Guinea attack
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Gunmen have massacred as many as 18 people including women and children in a remote village in Papua New Guinea, apparently the latest victims of a tribal feud, and Prime Minister James Marape vowed on Wednesday to hunt down the killers. Violence has long ravaged the poor but resource-rich Pacific Ocean nation, but […]
Critic of major gas deal becomes new Papua New Guinea PM
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Former finance minister James Marape, a critic of a major global gas development deal, was elected by parliament as the new Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea on Thursday after weeks of turmoil over the handling of the South Pacific nation’s resource riches. Marape became Prime Minister by an overwhelming majority of 101 […]
Political chaos results in fall of Papua New Guinea PM
Updated at 5.20pmSydney, AustraliaReuters Prime Minister Peter O’Neill quit on Wednesday after losing the confidence of parliament during weeks of political turmoil in the South Pacific nation, but government supporters in parliament hoped to be able to retain power. O’Neill was met with applause when he announced to parliament in Port Moresby that he had […]
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister quits after weeks of turmoil
Updated: 4.30pmSydney, AustraliaReuters Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill announced his resignation on Sunday after seven years in the top job following weeks of high-level defections from the ruling party. O’Neill had resisted calls to resign for weeks but said recent movements in parliament showed a “need for change”, ABC News reported, handing over the […]
Violence and landslides block aid access to Papua New Guinea quake victims
Thomson Reuters Foundation Violence rooted in tribalism and frustration at the slow response following earthquakes in Papua New Guinea was blocking efforts to reach those in need, aid workers said on Thursday. Three temblors have hit Papua New Guinea, one of the world’s poorest countries, since the remote, mountainous highlands region was rocked by a […]