International

64 dead in Papua New Guinea tribal violence

Published

2 years ago

February 19, 2024

Charles Flames

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by Wale Ewedimi

Sixty-four bloodied bodies have been found along a stretch of road in Papua New Guinea’s remote highlands, police said Monday, a gruesome escalation of long-running violence between local warring tribes.

The victims were believed to be tribal fighters who were ambushed by a rival group in the early hours of Sunday.

The incident occurred near the town of Wabag, about 600 kilometres (370 miles) northwest of the capital Port Moresby.

The rugged and lawless area has for years been the scene of tit-for-tat mass killings between rival Sikin, Ambulin, Kaekin and other tribesmen.

Graphic police images from the scene showed stripped and bloodied bodies lying by the side of the road and piled up on the back of a flatbed truck.

Some men had limbs hacked and were left naked by the road with beer bottles or cans placed on their chests.

Police on Monday said gunfights were ongoing in nearby valleys and bodies were still being recovered from bushland near the road.

“We believe there are still some bodies… out there in the bush,” Assistant Commissioner of Police Samson Kua said.

Clans have fought each other in Papua New Guinea’s highlands for centuries, but an influx of mercenaries and automatic weapons has made clashes more deadly and escalated the cycle of violence.

Kua said the gunmen had used a veritable armoury, including SLR, AK-47, M4, AR15 and M16 rifles, as well as pump-action shotguns and home-made firearms.

– Mass killings –

The province’s acting police commander Patrick Peka said many of the dead were believed to be mercenaries — men who roam the countryside offering to help tribes settle scores with their rivals.

“The police and government cannot do much when leaders and educated elites supply arms, ammunitions and engage the services of gunmen from other parts of the province,” Peka said.

Papua New Guinea’s government has tried suppression, mediation, gun amnesties and a range of other strategies to control the violence, with little success.

The military had deployed about 100 troops to the area, but their impact has been limited and the security services remain outnumbered and outgunned.

The killings often take place in remote communities, with attackers launching raids or ambushes in revenge for previous attacks.

– ‘Very disturbing’ –

Civilians, including pregnant women and children, have been targeted in the past.

The murders are often extremely violent, with victims hacked with machetes, burned, mutilated or tortured.

Police privately complain that they do not have the resources to do the job, with officers so badly paid that some of the weapons that end up in the hands of the attackers have come from the police force.

Opponents of Prime Minister James Marape’s government on Monday called for more police to be deployed and for the force’s commissioner to resign.

Papua New Guinea’s population has more than doubled since 1980, placing increasing strain on land and resources and deepening tribal rivalries.

Anthony Albanese, the prime minister of neighbouring Australia, on Monday described the incident as “very disturbing”.

“We are providing considerable support, particularly for training police officers and for security in Papua New Guinea,” he told public broadcaster ABC.

“We remain available to provide whatever support we can.”

International

FAO Food Price Index rises in February for first time in five months

International quotations for skim and whole milk powders increased notably amid strengthening import demand from North Africa, the Near East and Southeast Asia, while world butter prices registered their first monthly rise since reaching an all-time high in June 2025.

Published

2 hours ago

March 11, 2026

OCHEFA

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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported that the world food commodity prices rose in February, ending a five-month downward trend, as higher quotations for wheat, most vegetable oils and several meat types outweighed declines in cheese and sugar prices.

According to the new update released by the global food body, the he FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of globally-traded food commodities, averaged 125.3 points in February, up 0.9 percent from its revised January level while still 1.0 percent below its level a year earlier.

The FAO Cereal Price Index increased by 1.1 percent from January, driven primarily by higher world wheat prices reflecting reports of frosts in parts of Europe and the United States of America as well as ongoing logistical disruptions within the Russian Federation and the wider Black Sea region. International coarse grain prices also posted a modest increase, while the FAO All Rice Price Index edged up by 0.4 percent from the previous month, supported by sustained demand for basmati and Japonica varieties.The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index increased by 3.3 percent in February, reaching its highest level since June 2022.

International palm oil prices rose amid firm global import demand and seasonally lower outputs in Southeast Asia, while world soyoil prices increased on expectations of supportive biofuel policy measures in the United States of America.

The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index increased by 3.3 percent in February, reaching its highest level since June 2022.

Rapeseed oil prices rebounded, driven by prospects of stronger import demand for Canadian supplies. By contrast, sunflower oil prices eased moderately, partly due to rising export supplies from Argentina.

The FAO Meat Price Index increased by 0.8 percent from January, as ovine meat prices reached an all-time high and bovine meat prices rose on the back of strong import demand from China and the United States of America. Prices of pig and poultry meats edged up slightly from January.

The FAO Dairy Price Index declined by 1.2 percent, driven primarily by lower cheese prices.

The FAO Sugar Price Index was down by 4.1 percent from January and by as much as 27.3 percent compared with February 2025 amid expectations of ample global supplies in the current season.

International

Trump says U.S.will build $300 billion new refinery backed by India’s Reliance Industries

The new refinery, located at the port of Brownsville in Texas, will “strengthen our National Security, boost American Energy production, deliver Billions of Dollars in Economic impact, and will be THE CLEANEST REFINERY IN THE WORLD,” Trump said.

Published

2 hours ago

March 11, 2026

OCHEFA

12 Views

° U.S. President Donald Trump takes a question as he speaks during a press conference at Trump National Doral Miami in Miami, Florida, U.S., March 9, 2026.Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

President Donald Trump said that the U.S. will get its first oil refinery in 50 years, funded by investments from Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries.

“THIS IS A HISTORIC $300 BILLION DOLLAR DEAL — THE BIGGEST IN U.S. HISTORY,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, on Tuesday.

He thanked India’s largest privately held energy company, Reliance Industries, “for this tremendous Investment.”

Reliance owns the world’s largest oil refinery in Jamnagar, India, and has a market capitalization of $206 billion, according to LSEG data.

The refinery is designed to process 100% American shale oil and is being developed by America First Refining.

Source: CNBC

International

Global energy body plans to release strategic oil reserves

IEA member countries currently hold over 1.2 billion barrels of public emergency oil stocks, with a further 600 million barrels of industry stocks held under government mandates.

Published

13 hours ago

March 10, 2026

OCHEFA

21 Views

° An oil tanker unloads crude oil at a terminal at the port in Qingdao, in China’s eastern Shandong province on March 10, 2026. (Photo by CN-STR / AFP) / China OUT / CHINA OUT

G7 Energy Ministers met today, at the International Energy Agency (IEA) headquarters in Paris and discussed the situation in global oil and gas markets, which have been significantly affected by the conflict in the Middle East.

Following the assessment of the crisis, they want to make emergency stocks of their oil reserves available to the global market in order to ease the supply disruptions.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol , disclosed this in a statement after the meeting .

IEA member countries currently hold over 1.2 billion barrels of public emergency oil stocks, with a further 600 million barrels of industry stocks held under government mandates.

About 100 million barrels of oil are consumed globally every day.

The Paris-based IEA was created to coordinate responses to major supply disruptions after the 1973 oil crisis.

“In oil markets, conditions have deteriorated in recent days. In addition to the challenges of transit through the Strait of Hormuz, a substantial amount of oil production has been curtailed. This is creating significant and growing risks for the market,” he said.

“I have convened an extraordinary meeting of IEA member governments, which will take place later today to assess the current security of supply and market conditions to inform a subsequent decision on whether to ,” Birol added.

He said the G7 meeting addressed “all the available options, including making IEA emergency oil stocks available to the market”.

Italy’s Environment and Energy Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said that regarding the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, “countries have committed to showing solidarity by using stockpiled reserves in order to compensate for the lack of availability at the global level.”

Crude prices have seen sharp fluctuations due to supply disruptions, jumping 30 percent on Monday to nearly $120 per barrel before retreating later that day.

They fell further on Tuesday, reassured by US President Donald Trump stating Monday that the US-Israel war on Iran was “going to be ended soon”.

Nevertheless risks remain, with Iran vowing earlier Tuesday that not one litre of oil would be exported from the Gulf while the United States and Israel press ahead with their bombardment of the country.