Pacific Beat

Papua New Guinea has a new Governor General with parliament voting Kabwum MP and former accountant Bob Dadae into the role and Tuvalu becomes the first country in the Pacific - and one of the few in the world - to launch a national action plan on human rights.

The fallout continues after two PNG ministers are accused of profiting from an allegedly fraudulent land deal. A pilot program to reduce the number of child street vendors in Samoa. A community struggles to recover the bodies of two children buried by a landslide in south Bougainville.

Scientists search for a new test to reduce the diabetes risk for pregnant women in Papua New Guinea and the wider Pacific and the government in PNG's Hela province tells armed tribesman they have three weeks to surrender their guns.

A new Governor General for Papua New Guinea. The lawyer for an Iranian man detained on Manus Island who managed to get into Fiji slams Australia's treatment of asylum seekers.

In response to the ABC's decision to shutdown all shortwave transmission, South Australia Senator Nick Xenophon says he'll introduce legislation to force the ABC to reinstate the service. The government in Solomon Islands has promised to listen to the concerns of local communities before pressing ahead with plans to re-open the Gold Ridge mine outside Honiara.

We speak to UK High Commissioner to Winnie Kiap whose name has been mentioned as potential successor when the current Governor General steps down next month... And, Fiji's new coach Gareth Baber reflects on a successful week as his team goes down to South Africa in the final of the Wellington Sevens at the weekend.

The Solomon Islands government to reopen the Goldridge mine, but acknowledges risks remain. The man in charge of planning the APEC conference in Port Moresby rejects claims they may not be ready.

As lecturers at the University of Papua New Guinea's School of Medicine and Health Sciences stop work over five million kina in unpaid wages. And, he's difficult man to find - but we hear from Jimmy Joseph, the cultural director of Tanna, the Oscar nominated movie shot in Vanuatu.

Internationally respected stem cell pioneer Professor Alan Mackay-Sim is the new Australian of the Year. And, transparency International's annual index shows little progress has been made in Papua New Guinea to tackle corruption.

A new trade agreement for the Melanesian Spearhead Group is close to being put into practice and praise is heaped on Fiji's Coral Coast rugby sevens tournament by the visiting German team.