papua new guinea

In its report, the Oxford Business Group said the February 26 earthquake – along with its series of aftershocks – that struck the central-western Hela Province was the most significant event of the year, causing the deaths of around 200 people and severely damaging much of the country’s industrial infrastructure.

“As a result, major developments such as the $19bn ExxonMobil-led PNG LNG project and Pogera gold mine were halted for several months, delivering a major blow to the economy.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Rimbink Pato, who attended the ACP-EU Joint Ministerial Trade Meeting in Brussels, Belgium, on 26 October, signed the ACP Administrative Cooperation Agreement (ACA).

This makes it possible for PNG to enter into intra-ACP trade relations with the cumulation of the rules of origin.

Under this WTO multilateral trading rule, countries within the same Trade Agreement region could cumulate rules of origin.

The latest series of violence occurred in the Pureni area, where three people died from gunfire in separate incidents since early last week.

One of the victims was a Grade 8 school student.

Hela province has been plagued by an upswing in bouts of tribal fighting in the past two years.

Fighting spiked again amid mass displacement of people after February's devastating 7.5 magnitude earthquake in the province, leaving dozens of people dead.

However, they still went on to top off Group A with a 4-0 win over Papua New Guinea yesterday afternoon.

New Zealand managed the change in conditions and stadium well – all things – considered although their opponents were much more at home climate-wise.

After having their bench completely obliterated by suspensions following the match against Tahiti, Papua New Guinea were left with just two substitutes, including reserve keeper Baxter Morris, for their game against the defending champions.

The women were tortured in the Kewabi area of Southern Highlands province after angry villagers accused them of using sorcery to kill a man in the village.

The three woman, aged between 30 and 40, were tied-up and placed on top of a heated aluminium sheet.

An eye witness said they were repeatedly tortured while being interrogated about the role they were accused of playing in the man's death.

He said police were unable to intervene at the time.

The three women were later taken to hospital in the provincial capital Mendi.

And few academics like John Kasaipwalova are of the view that riding on technology would greatly address this need.

Paradise Publishing House is going digital with its Paradise digital books.

With hardcopies, the challenge is the accumulated cost when it reaches shelves of bookshops throughout the country.

Kasaipwalova says sending hardcopies to 11 thousand schools throughout the country is very difficult.

But if these books are reduced into a digital format, the outcome is the big reduction in price and the ease of transportation. 

The quake's epicentre was 156 kilometres south-south-west of Kokopo in East New Britain province.

It was in the same area as last week's 6.6-magnitude quake.

The USGS reports that tsunami waves of up to one metre are possible for coastal areas of PNG and up to 30 centimetres for coastal areas of the Solomon Islands.

Dellie Minding, a receptionist at the Rabaul Hotel in the east of New Britain, told Reuters news agency the earthquake had been felt, with many guests running outside, but there had been no damage.

The quake struck about 10.51pm New Zealand time, 180km west of the town of Rabaul on New Britain Island, at a depth of 40km, the USGS said.

It is the latest in a series in the region over recent days.

There had been no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

There was no immediate tsunami warning.

It said the quake, which struck after 11pm local time on Saturday, was measured at a depth of 60km.

In a brief statement, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said: "Based on all available data, a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected."

Chairman of FGE, Dr. Fereidun Fesharaki, says this is expected in the short term while the medium to long term looks promising with global prices expected to stabilise.

In his Global Energy Industry overview during the 2nd Petroleum and Energy Summit on Monday (March 19), Dr.  Fesharaki said the recent earthquake in the highlands affected the potential revenue to be made from the increase in LNG prices currently experienced.

He, however, had further bad news, saying the estimated resumption of the PNG LNG Project could come at a time when sport prices were also falling.