Papua New Guinea

How many Facebook accounts and pages claim to belong to Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape? Between 20 and 35, depending on the point in time and your definition, none verified by the platform. Plenty of other suspicious and unverified channels, encompassing both Facebook Pages and

Reactions to the security agreement between Solomon Islands and China were swift and relentless. Much of the rhetoric is creating needless anxieties. It demonstrates that an unwritten rule exists in the practice of Pacific diplomacy. Supposedly sovereign Pacific states must choose wisely who they do

Papua New Guinea’s parliament has approved the creation of seven new districts just weeks ahead of the national elections scheduled for 11 June. This is the first time since the country’s independence in 1975 that the parliament has conducted such redistricting but the rush in this instance has

In June, five million voters will go to the polls in Papua New Guinea’s elections. Despite many challenges facing the nation – spanning the economy to the environment – none of these are likely to feature in people’s minds as they cast their ballot. Local first Parochial issues tend to

Digital divide El Salvador ranks only 89th on the latest index of cryptocurrency adoption around the world, but it may be at the frontline of one of the fascinating global financial questions this year. Will it be nervous investors or nervous financial regulators that play the key role in

In June this year, officials announced Papua New Guinea’s participation in the delayed Expo 2020 in Dubai. The PNG delegation, headed by the Department of Foreign Affairs (PNGDFA), requested government support, arguing that the event is an investment in promoting PNG. In recent decades, PNG has

After another year of global uncertainty and disruption, spare a thought for the people of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, the majority (97.7%) of whom voted for independence from Papua New Guinea in a 2019 referendum. Despite the convincing result, a key plot twist is that the vote was non

When can the Supreme Court interfere in the activities of the parliament in Papua New Guinea? This question was answered in the 1994 case brought by then opposition leader Christopher Haiveta against Paias Wingti, prime minister at the time, in which the Court ruled that the affairs of the

Through thickly vegetated jungle paths, teams of doctors hike for hours to reach Fiji’s most remote villages. Travelling ahead of them, as reported in The Guardian recently, are packhorses carrying ice-chests filled with AstraZeneca vaccines.  Fiji is no

It seems fitting that the progressive political party that helped Papua New Guinea to independence 46 years ago, and has been the ruling party for the past two years, should have the country’s first-ever female president, Erigere Singin. It’s a bold step and one in the right direction for Pangu

News that Australia’s Telstra could be a buyer of the Pacific Island region’s prominent mobile network and media player Digicel has put communications technology in the spotlight. The Australian government is set to underwrite the deal which some reports suggest could be worth up to A$2 billion

A little more than a year ago, 19-year-old Jenelyn Kennedy’s bruised and battered body was found outside the Port Moresby General Hospital’s emergency room. Kennedy’s alleged killer – and father of her two children ­– has been charged with her murder. It might have been just another case

Papua New Guinea will conduct its tenth national election in 2022. A by-election held this week for the Port Moresby North West (MNW) electorate provides a preview of what to expect next year. In PNG, a by-election is required when a vacancy occurs more than a year before the return of writs

A video recently surfaced on social media in Papua New Guinea, featuring a group of about 20 men, gathered around their apparent leader, declaring war on Indonesia. “People of East Sepik,” the leader says, referring to one of the two provinces which stretch along PNG’s northern coastline

When we look at progress in decentralisation in Papua New Guinea over the last 20 years – the sole continuous and overriding policy priority of successive governments – many challenges remain to improve downstream service delivery. Programming for “social accountability” shifts the focus

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a profound impact globally, with more than 114 million cases and 2.5 million deaths. With 1365 cases and 14 deaths, Papua New Guinea has fared better than most, even though experts believe the infection rate is much higher than reported. The recent rise in reported

Each week, it seems we hear about new cases of violent killings linked to tribal warfare in Hela Province, in the heart of Papua New Guinea. Reports emerged last week of 19 dead, including a mother and her child, with thousands more displaced. This is just the latest of a series of gruesome

Another season of turmoil has swept politics in Papua New Guinea. The Supreme Court has ruled the recent budget sitting to be unlawful, ordering the parliament to resume on Monday while the prospect a no confidence motion in Prime Minister James Marape hangs in the air. But for all the raucous

F.R. Stockwell was a British officer of the old school, the grandfather of a friend of mine who writes historical crime novels. Stockwell had a wonderful maxim about political meetings: Decide before you have a meeting whether it is meant to achieve anything substantive. If it isn’t, hold it in

  That late November 2020 would herald a period of potential political instability in Papua New Guinea was a given. It has been 18 months since James Marape ousted Peter O’Neill as the country’s prime minister, and a grace period protecting Marape from a vote of no confidence is due to

The Maseratis are still collecting dust in sheds on a wharf in Port Moresby, but the sun has started to shine on at least one of the major deals Papua New Guinea gained from hosting the APEC Leaders Summit back in 2018. The PNG Electrification Partnership committed the leaders of Japan, the United