Tagata o te Moana. 2013-04-13. 17:30-18:00.

News from the Pacific presented by Don Wiseman of Radio New Zealand International.

In this week’s programme:

1. Police in the autonomous Papua New Guinea province of Bougainville are trying to negotiate with armed kidnappers to release a badly wounded woman who needs treatment at the province's main hospital in Buka. The kidnappers had accused a group of four women of sorcery following the death of another school teacher.

2. The Pacific Islands Forum's Ministerial Contact Group has told the Fiji government that the international community has clear expectations about the lead up to elections in September next year.

3. Authorities in the Cook Islands say the country's regulatory framework for offshore trusts is better than in most places in the world.

4. The spokesperson for New Caledonia's Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front, or FLNKS, Victor Tutugoro has been elected to be the next Melanesian Spearhead Group chairman.

5. Former Fiji Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase has defended himself from accusations that he alienated native land while in Government.

6. A women's business group in Samoa hopes an exhibition next month will raise awareness about the need to improve the quality of fine woven mats.

7. There are hopes a new investment office planned for Bougainville will weed out entrepreneurs trying to make a quick buck out of the region's rich resources.

8. A director for the environmental organisation Pew says other Pacific Island countries are drawing inspiration from the New Zealand model of dialogue over marine conservation.