new Guinea

The Morning Star flag (Indonesian: Bendera Bintang Fajar or Bendera Bintang Kejora, Dutch: Morgenstervlag) was a flag used in Netherlands New Guinea for official purposes in addition to the flag of the Netherlands. It was first raised on 1 December 1961. The territory would come under the administration of the United Nations Temporary Executive Authority (UNTEA) on 1 October 1962 and would be transferred to Indonesian control on 1 May 1963. Today, the flag represents the Republic of West Papua, a proposed country consisting of the Western New Guinea region, which is currently administered as part of Indonesia in the continent of Oceania.

The flag is used by the Free Papua Organization and other independence supporters. Under Papua's Special Autonomy Law, ratified in 2002, the flag may be raised in Western New Guinea (West Papua) region so long as the flag of Indonesia is also raised, with the latter raised higher than the Morning Star flag. (Full article...)

Samuel Tei Abal (born 26 June 1958) is a Papua New Guinean politician. Abal, who previously served as Foreign Minister from August 2007 to December 2010, became the Deputy Prime Minister of the country in a cabinet reshuffle by Michael Somare on 7 December 2010. He further became acting Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea on 13 December 2010, when Prime Minister Somare stepped down from office to face a tribunal regarding allegations of financial mismanagement. His tenure as acting Prime Minister ended on 2 August 2011, when Peter O'Neill won a parliamentary vote to be appointed as Prime Minister. Since October 2021, he is the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Papua New Guinea to Japan. (Full article...)

Severe Tropical Cyclone Rewa affected six countries and caused 22 deaths on its 28-day journey across the South Pacific Ocean in December 1993 and January 1994. Cyclone Rewa developed from a tropical disturbance on 28 December south of Nauru. After forming, Rewa moved southwest through the Solomon Islands, crossing the 160th meridian east from the South Pacific basin into the Australian region. The cyclone began to strengthen steadily and turned southward, paralleling the eastern Australian coast through 31 December. Rewa reached its initial peak intensity as a Category 4 tropical cyclone on 2 January. It maintained this intensity for about 12 hours before an increase in wind shear induced its weakening by 3 January. The cyclone turned southeastward and moved back into the South Pacific basin on 4 January, before it passed over New Caledonia between 5–6 January. After affecting New Caledonia, Rewa weakened to a tropical depression and turned northwestward before re-entering the Australian basin on 10 January.

Over the following days, the cyclone showed signs of restrengthening and executed an elongated cyclonic loop to the southeast of Papua New Guinea. Rewa subsequently entered a phase of quick intensification while proceeding southeastward, peaking in intensity as a Category 5 severe tropical cyclone. It recurved toward the southwest while gradually weakening for several days. Although forecasters had predicted Rewa to make landfall near Mackay, Queensland, the cyclone began interacting with an upper-level trough on 18 January, causing it to divert to the southeast and move along the Queensland coast. Rewa transitioned into an extratropical cyclone on 20 January, with its remnants bringing heavy rain to New Zealand three days later.

The cyclone caused the deaths of 22 people on its course, affecting parts of the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Eastern Australia, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and New Zealand. Nine people in a banana dinghy en route to Rossel Island went missing at the height of the storm; they were presumed drowned after wreckage from their boat turned up at the island. In Queensland, three people died in traffic accidents caused by the storm, and another fatality occurred when a boy became trapped in a storm pipe. One death took place in New Caledonia, while flooding caused eight drownings in Papua New Guinea. Because of the severe impacts that Rewa brought, the name was retired. (Full article...)

The History of Western New Guinea refers to the history of the Indonesian western half of the island of New Guinea and other smaller islands to its west. This region was previously named Irian Jaya. The eastern half of the island is Papua New Guinea.

Human habitation is estimated to have begun between 42,000 and 48,000 years ago. Trade between New Guinea and neighboring Indonesian islands was documented as early as the seventh century, and archipelagic rule of New Guinea by the 13th. The Netherlands made claim to the region and commenced missionary work in nineteenth century. The region was incorporated into the Indonesian republic in the 1960s. Following the 1998 commencement of reforms across Indonesia, Papua and other Indonesian provinces received greater regional autonomy. In 2001, "Special Autonomy" status was granted to the region, although up to 2006, implementation had been partial. The region was divided in 2003 into the provinces of Papua and West Papua. In 2022, the new provinces of Central Papua, Highland Papua, South Papua, and Southwest Papua were created. (Full article...)

Bomberai Peninsula (Indonesian: Semenanjung Bomberai) is located in the Western New Guinea region. It is south of the Bird's Head Peninsula, and Bintuni Bay separates the two peninsulas. To the west lies the Sebakor Bay and to the south Kamrau Bay. On the southeast Arguni Bay lies between the peninsula and the Bird's Neck Isthmus.

Sabuda island lies off the western tip of the peninsula, and is separated from the mainland by Berau and Bintuni straits. (Full article...)

The Trans-Papua Highway (Indonesian: Jalan Raya Trans-Papua) refers to 12 road segments, some under construction, across Western New Guinea in Indonesia, located in the island of New Guinea. The roads stretch from Sorong to Merauke with a total length of 4,325 km (2,687 mi). As of March 2017, 3,850 km (2,390 mi) of roads had been completed and construction on all the roads was predicted to finish in 2018, but construction was delayed in late 2018 due to armed conflict.

The completed road segments include 884 out of Indonesia's 1,068 km border road with Papua New Guinea. As of May 2017, the remaining parts of the road, including 7,000 meters of bridges, were planned to be completed in 2017 and 2018, although not all of the road has been layered by asphalt. As of October 2020, the road was only 200–300 km from completion. (Full article...)

James Marape (born 24 April 1971) is a Papua New Guinean politician who has served as the prime minister of Papua New Guinea since May 2019. He has been a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea since July 2007, representing the electorate of Tari-Pori Open in Hela Province in the New Guinea Highlands. He has held Cabinet Posts as Minister of Education (2008–2011), Minister of Finance (2012–2019), and Minister of Foreign Affairs (2023–present). Marape entered the 2022 elections under the banner of the Pangu Party and won more seats than any other party. He was therefore entitled to form the government. His new government was elected unopposed by the new parliament. (Full article...)

Morobe Province is a province on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital and largest city is Lae. The province covers 33,705 km², with a population of 674,810 (2011 census), and since the division of Southern Highlands Province in May 2012 it is the most populous province. It includes the Huon Peninsula, the Markham River, and delta, and coastal territories along the Huon Gulf. The province has nine administrative districts. At least 101 languages are spoken, including Kâte and Yabem language. English and Tok Pisin are common languages in the urban areas, and in some areas pidgin forms of German are mixed with the native language. (Full article...)

The Battle of Rabaul, also known by the Japanese as Operation R, an instigating action of the New Guinea campaign, was fought on the island of New Britain in the Australian Territory of New Guinea, from 23 January into February 1942. It was a strategically significant defeat of Allied forces by Japan in the Pacific campaign of World War II, with the Japanese invasion force quickly overwhelming the small Australian garrison, the majority of which was either killed or captured. Hostilities on the neighbouring island of New Ireland are usually considered to be part of the same battle. Rabaul was significant because of its proximity to the Japanese territory of the Caroline Islands, site of a major Imperial Japanese Navy base on Truk.

Following the capture of the port of Rabaul, Japanese forces turned it into a major base and proceeded to land on mainland New Guinea, advancing toward Port Moresby. Heavy fighting followed along the Kokoda Track, and around Milne Bay, before the Japanese were eventually pushed back towards Buna–Gona by early 1943. As part of Operation Cartwheel, throughout 1943–1945, Allied forces later sought to isolate the Japanese garrison on Rabaul, rather than capturing it, largely using air power to do so, with US and Australian ground forces pursuing a limited campaign in western New Britain during this time.

By the end of the war, there was still a sizeable garrison at Rabaul, with large quantities of equipment that were subsequently abandoned. In the aftermath, it took the Allies over two years to repatriate the captured Japanese soldiers, while clean up efforts continued past the late 1950s. Many relics including ships, aircraft and weapons, as well as abandoned positions and tunnels, remain in the area. (Full article...)

The New Guinea Volunteer Rifles (NGVR) was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. It was initially raised as a unit of the Militia from white Australian and European expatriates in New Guinea upon the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, before being activated for full-time service following the Japanese landings in early 1942. NGVR personnel then helped rescue survivors of Lark Force from Rabaul in February and March 1942. Between March and May, the NGVR monitored the Japanese bases which had been established in the Huon Gulf region, being the only Allied force in the area until the arrival of Kanga Force at Wau in May. The battalion subsequently established observation posts overlooking the main approaches and reported on Japanese movements.

Later, it inflicted significant casualties on the Japanese in a series of raids, and led them to believe that they faced a much larger opposing force. On 29 June, the NGVR and the newly arrived 2/5th Independent Company carried out a highly successful attack on the Japanese garrison in Salamaua, killing at least 113 men. When the focus shifted to the Milne Bay and Kokoda Track battles of August and September, the NGVR continued to man its posts overlooking the Japanese base areas. The Japanese were subsequently defeated in the Battle of Wau in January and February 1943, relieving the pressure on the NGVR. The battalion was disbanded in April 1943 due to attrition.

In the years immediately following the war the Australian Army considered re-establishing a military presence in Papua New Guinea (PNG), although there was some opposition among white settlers to the raising of native units. As an interim measure, the re-establishment of the NGVR was approved in July 1949. The unit reformed as the Papua New Guinea Volunteer Rifles (PNGVR) on 16 March 1951, initially as a whites-only reserve unit of the Citizen Military Forces (CMF). In March 1951 a PNGVR detachment assisted in relief operations following the eruption of Mount Lamington, which killed 3,466 people and left more than 5,000 homeless. Between 1951 and 1953 PNGVR elements were established in all the main centres of Papua New Guinea. (Full article...)

The Mamberamo (Indonesian: Sungai Mamberamo) is the second-longest river on the island of New Guinea, after Sepik River (1,146 km) and the third largest in Oceania by discharge (5,500 m³/s) volume after Fly River (7,500 m³/s) and Sepik (7,000 m³/s). It is located in the Indonesian province of Papua. It is the second largest river in Indonesia by volume of discharge after Kapuas River (6,500 m³/s) and also the widest.

The river is formed from the confluence of its upper tributaries, the Tariku and Taritatu Rivers in the Lakes Plains region, an interior basin with extensive freshwater swamp forests and grasslands. It flows northwards between the Van Rees Range (Pegunungan Van Rees) and Foja Mountains through a series of rapids and gorges. The last 160 km of the river are navigable. In the coastal lowlands, the river is lined with marshes and forms a broad river delta. The Mamberamo discharges into the Pacific Ocean at the northern point of Point D'Urville or Cape Narwaku (Tanjung Narwaku).

The river's huge valley is home to various uncontacted peoples and incredible biodiversity. In the 1990s, the Indonesian Government had plans to construct a large hydroelectric dam on the Mamberamo that would have submerged much of the area. This plan was shelved after the Indonesian financial crisis from 1998 to 1999, but there are concerns by environmental groups that it could be resurrected sometime in the future. At present, the Mamberamo remains the second largest river in the world to be completely unfragmented by dams in its catchment, behind only the relatively nearby Fly. (Full article...)

Religion in Papua New Guinea is dominated by various branches of Christianity, with traditional animism and ancestor worship often occurring less openly as another layer underneath or more openly side by side with Christianity. The Catholic Church has a plurality of the population. The courts, government, and general society uphold a constitutional right to freedom of speech, thought, and beliefs. A secular state, there is no state religion in the country, although the government openly partners with several Christian groups to provide services, and churches participate in local government bodies.

A large majority of Papua New Guineans identify themselves as members of a Christian church (96% in the decennial 2000 census); however, many combine their Christian faith with traditional indigenous practices, known as religious syncretism.

Other religions represented in the country include the Baháʼí Faith, Hinduism and Islam. (Full article...)

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Papua New Guinea face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Male same-sex sexual activity is illegal, punishable by up to 14 years' imprisonment, but the law is not enforced. There are no legal restrictions against lesbian sex in the country.

Attitudes towards LGBT people are greatly influenced by Christian churches, as a majority of Papua New Guineans are Christian. Historically, gay men had certain societal roles. They would take on traditional female roles such as cooking and would participate with women in traditional festivals. However, some tribes were observed to have practiced ritual homosexuality such as the Etoro people and the Sambia people.

A lot of the attitudes towards LBGT people are also influenced by Australia's early occupation of Papua New Guinea. The Australian criminal law, originally derived from the Queensland Criminal Code created during British colonization, was extended to Papua New Guinea. Despite the Australian states starting to decriminalize same-sex sexual activity in 1975, Papua New Guinea retained this provision due to gaining independence in the same year, resulting in the continued criminalization of such activity there. (Full article...)

Manokwari is a coastal town and the capital of the Indonesian province of West Papua. It is one of only seven provincial capitals of Indonesia without a city status. It is also the administrative seat of Manokwari Regency. However, under proposals currently under consideration by the Indonesian Parliament, it is planned to split Manokwari town off from the regency and turn it into a separate city. The majority of Manokwari residents are Christians and the town is one of the seats of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manokwari–Sorong. (Full article...)

The West New Guinea dispute (1950–1962), also known as the West Irian dispute, was a diplomatic and political conflict between the Netherlands and Indonesia over the territory of Dutch New Guinea. While the Netherlands had ceded sovereignty over most of the Dutch East Indies to Indonesia on 27 December 1949 following an independence struggle, it retained control over its colony on the western half of New Guinea. The Indonesian government claimed this territory as well, on the basis that it had belonged to the Dutch East Indies and that the new Republic of Indonesia was the legitimate successor to the former Dutch colony.

During the first phase of the dispute (1950–1954), Indonesia pursued bilateral negotiations with the Netherlands. During the second phase (1954–1958), Indonesia attempted to raise support for its territorial claims in the United Nations General Assembly. During the third phase (1960–1962), Indonesia pursued a policy of confrontation against the Netherlands which combined diplomatic, political, and economic pressure with limited military force. The final stage of the confrontation with Indonesia also involved a planned military invasion of the territory. The Indonesians also secured military weapons and political and military support from the Soviet Union, which induced the United States to intervene in the conflict as a third-party mediator between Indonesia and the Netherlands. Following the New York Agreement on 15 August 1962, the Netherlands, under U.S. pressure, handed West New Guinea over to a United Nations Temporary Executive Authority, which subsequently handed the territory over to Indonesia on 1 May 1963. Following a controversial plebiscite in 1969, West New Guinea was formally integrated into Indonesia. (Full article...)