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Authorities have ‘sufficient evidence’ to prosecute accused

By Rosalyn Albaniel-Evara

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (PNG Post-Courier, May 2, 2013) – In Papua New Guinea, Madang police and warders conducted a dawn raid on a village on Karkar Island on Tuesday and arrested four prime suspects involved in the recent rape of an American scientist.

However, five of the nine suspects, including perhaps a grade five student, are still on the run, according to police.

The four arrested suspects were put on a boat and ferried to Kubugam, a boat-stop outside of Madang town before being loaded onto police vehicles and driven into town under heavy police escort late Tuesday night.

The suspects, all in their 20s and have been identified as Kadaman Nanui, Muluk Panuluang, Timothy Damusop and Kabiang Lod, all from Gamog village.

They were formally charged at the Madang police station yesterday for...

Human resources reviewing legitimacy of ‘second job’

By Joyetter Feagaimaalii-Luamanu

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa (The Samoa News, May 1, 2013) – Close to 20 police officers are disappointed with the move by American’s Samoa’s Department of Human Resources (HR) to hold off on paying their overtime for the period of December 2012 and January 2013 for the Underage Drinking Enforcement, which was to be paid from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) funding.

Fred Scanlan, Federal Highway Safety Coordinator with Department of Public Safety, confirmed that the funding which was mandated to pay for these enforcements has been approved by the grantors; however the hold up is with HR Director Le’i Sonny Thompson.

Scanlan noted these enforcements also included the "Click It or Ticket" and the "Don’t Drink and Drive" campaigns. According to Scanlan, if the funding is not used in a timely manner, including paying the officers, this will have an...

Sato says government must consider limits of resource

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Radio New Zealand International, May 2, 2013) – A former Solomon Islands parliamentarian Yukio Sato has warned that the recent lifting of a ban on harvesting and exporting beche-de-mer, or sea cucumbers, may hurt the long-term sustainability of the marine resource.

The government lifted a three-year ban in March for a period of three months and Mr. Sato, a prominent businessman, says there has been a mad rush to export the product because international demand is so high.

He says while the demand for copra and cocoa has dropped, beche-de-mer is likely to fetch good prices for years to come because of the reliable market in China.

Mr. Sato says even though the government may only allow for exports over short periods it still needs to look at limits, as many Solomon Islanders rely on the product for food and income.

"Still we need certain control of the harvest otherwise...

Dr. Mudd says environmental damage should be addressed

By Jemima Garrett

MELBOURNE, Australia (Radio Australia, May 2, 2013) – Scientists say mining group Rio Tinto will have to improve its environmental record if it plans to reopen its mine on the Papua New Guinea island of Bougainville.

In the 1980s development of the mine sparked a decade-long civil war which left more than 10,000 people dead.

But now the Bougainville government is looking for new development opportunities.

A study by Rio subsidiary Bougainville Copper says the mine is economically viable and could be reopened in as few as six years.

A mining expert, Gavin Mudd, told Radio Australia there is a lot of damage on Bougainville that needs cleaning up before new mining can take place.

Dr. Mudd is a senior...