PNG gives Rio mine stake to Bougainville after outrage

SYDNEY: Papua New Guinea's prime minister Wednesday sought to sooth anger about his government's increased stake in a mine at the center of a decade-long civil war in Bougainville by giving part of it to the local community.

The huge Panguna mine on Bougainville island is one of the South Pacific's largest mines for copper and gold but has been shut since 1989 after continuous attacks by secessionist rebels in a conflict that has cost an estimated 10,000 lives.