Pacific Waves

A PNG human rights group and a Canadian mining giant have differing accounts of a raid in which police are alleged to have burnt down houses and raped villagers.

Claims that Penang sugar mill shut down will sound death knell for Fiji's Rakiraki; FFA calls on Vietnam to take responsibility for its boats fishing illegally in the region; And there are conflicting reports in PNG of a raid in which police are alleged to have burnt down houses and raped villagers; A church leader in PNG says there is a need for strong measures against sorcery killings in the country; And the appetite for Pacific products in New Zealand's food and beverage industry is on the rise.

As Fiji's politicians debate the merits of shutting down the Penang sugar mill the town the town of Rakiraki is struggling to stay afloat.

The Forum Fisheries Agency is urging people to call the Vietnamese boats poaching coastal reefs across the Pacific 'reef robbers' and not just blue boats.

A PNG human rights group and a Canadian mining giant have differing accounts of a raid in which police are alleged to have burnt down houses and raped villagers; a Papua New Guinea church leader says strengthened laws and better law enforcement is needed to combat sorcery-related violence, ahead of a trial of more than 100 men charged over the killings of seven people they claimed were practising sorcery; an appetite for Pacific products in New Zealand's food and beverage industry is fast on the rise; calls for drastic action to save sick Cook Islands lagoon; no funding to fill hundreds of teacher vacancies in Vanuatu; a Solomons exporter of virgin coconut oil is downstreaming to create local jobs.

A Papua New Guinea church leader says strengthened laws and better law enforcement is needed to combat sorcery-related violence, ahead of a trial of more than 100 men charged over the killings of seven people they claimed were practising sorcery in Madang in 2014.

The appetite for Pacific products in New Zealand's food and beverage industry is on the rise.

Calls for drastic action to save sick Cook Islands lagoon; No funding to fill hundreds of teacher vacancies in Vanuatu; A Solomons exporter of virgin coconut oil is downstreaming to create local jobs; Papuan students thriving in NZ; Solomons govt seeking donor funding for craft market.

Efforts to save a once pristine lagoon in the Cook Islands are underway but many say it's too little too late.

A Solomon Islands business which has helped improve the lives of many communities by supplying them with the tools to extract virgin coconut oil is now downstreaming to create even more local jobs.