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Time to tax Tobacco: A dreaded killer in PNG

Smoking affiliated diseases range from cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, pulmonary diseases, lung cancers, oral cancers and many more.  Cigarette and tobacco smoking which is an addictive social lifestyle practice is truly a global dilemma in terms of healthcare burden and associated costs.

PNG's Supreme Court ruling does not mean Manus Island centre must shut: Dutton

 

The court ruled Australia's detention of asylum seekers was illegal, and ordered the PNG and Australian governments to immediately take steps to end their detention.

Last Friday night, PNG's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations Fred Sarufa told the United Nations the court ruling meant the centre would close.

He said PNG was working with Australia on the Manus processing centre "in the light of a recent Papua New Guinea Supreme Court decision to close the centre".

Canberra ignores PNG court, rules out return of detainees

Two weeks ago, PNG's Supreme Court ruled that Canberra's detention of hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers on Manus Island since 2013 was unconstitutional.

However, Australia has to date failed to act on the ruling, suggesting its detainees are PNG's concern.

In a radio interview, Turnbull said his government was in talks with Cambodia and other unspecified countries in efforts to find a home for the detainees.

He confirmed that he had been in talks with New Zealand which offered his and previous Australian governments to take 300 of the refugees.

Indian President pays respect to fallen Indian soldiers, places wreath

The President laid his wreath at the Bomana War Cemetery in Port Moresby.

It is also believed that about 426 Indian soldiers who were taken prisoner in Malaya and Hong Kong, and brought to New Guinea (then)  by the Japanese were buried at Lae War Cemetery.

Mukherjee arrived in Port Moresby this morning at around 11.40am and was welcomed at the airport by Deputy Prime Minister Leo Dion and other government ministers.

All eyes on Aus and PNG govts after court ruling

Yesterday, PNG's Supreme Court ruled Australia's regional processing centre on PNG's Manus island was illegal because it amounted to holding people against their will.

A five-judge bench ordered the PNG and Australian governments to immediately take steps to end the detention of 850 asylum seekers and refugees in the centre.

However, in the wake of the ruling Australia's Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said detainees on Manus would not be brought back to Australia.

No quick fix for TB in PNG, says WHO

It said while there can be no quick fix, work was being done to try and control the problem.

Thousands at risk because of lingering effects of drought

It is unclear how many people have died, but a teacher in one village told the ABC five people, including children, lost their lives, and another said locals felt forgotten.

Since the middle of last year, PNG has been experiencing its most severe El Nino-induced drought since 1997-1998.

Rain in many parts of the country helped fill waterways and replenish some of the subsistence crops villagers rely on for food, but aid groups and researchers have said the rain also triggered a dangerous phase of the drought.

PNG students invited to compete for US scholarship

This is a competition for students all over the world including PNG and is an initiative of the United Nations (UN) and Seton Hall University in the United States.

Finalists with the best ideas will win cash prizes and partial scholarships to attend Seton Hall University, a private Catholic school in South Orange, New Jersey.

The cash prize assists with the launching of the idea or creating awareness about SDGs.

Australia signs new aid partnership with PNG

The partnership will look to advance PNG's social and economic development, and deliver vital infrastructure including roads to ensure services reach more people and improve access to markets.

Women's economic empowerment will be a key focus of the partnership which also aims to address PNG's chronic family and sexual violence issues, enabling more women to break the poverty cycle.

These were central to discussion at last week's 24th Australia-Papua New Guinea Ministerial Forum in Canberra.

PNG tops Pacific in internet cost

Solomon Islands has the second most expensive internet service in the Pacific region.

According to them, the last updated report on internet access affordability on Pacific Islands was three years ago.

“Technological progress in Internet access is slowly but surely being felt in the Pacific.”

It states that ADSL and/or fixed wireless broadband is available in all the countries they have included in their analysis including newcomer Nauru.