KOKOPO, Papua New Guinea (AFP) — Papua New Guinea’s volatile Ulawun volcano erupted early Tuesday, sending a column of red lava shooting up into the sky and forcing the evacuation of recently returned residents. Mount Ulawan, situated on the remote Bismarck Archipelago chain, displaced between 7,000 and 13,000 people from their homes when it last erupted in June. Seismic activity started at midday on Monday before the volcano erupted at about 4:30am Tuesday, according to […]
Tag: Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea deploys army to help volcano emergency
KOKOPO, Papua New Guinea (AFP) — Troops have been sent to help thousands of people displaced by a volcanic eruption on a remote archipelago in Papua New Guinea, the prime minister said Friday, as a second volcano erupted. Lava and ash flows from Mount Ulawun — one of the world’s most hazardous volcanoes — have subsided, but between 7,000 and 13,000 people are believed to have been displaced and a state of emergency has been […]
Thousands flee erupting Papua New Guinea volcano
KOKOPO, Papua New Guinea (AFP) — An erupting volcano in Papua New Guinea that has blanketed a town in ash has forced around 5,000 people from their homes, officials said Thursday. Mount Ulawun — one of the world’s most hazardous volcanoes — began spewing lava and smoke high into the air on Wednesday. Chris Lagisa, a community elder, said people had gathered at a church hall to flee on lorries, trucks and 4x4s, clutching sacks […]
Fiery new Papua New Guinea PM questions vast Exxon, Total gas deal
PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (AFP) — Former finance minister James Marape was elected Papua New Guinea’s new prime minister Thursday and immediately issued a fiery nationalistic address that put foreign resource companies on notice. The former finance minister threatened foreign logging companies and vowed to “tweak” resource laws that underpin a recently inked $13 billion gas deal with Total and ExxonMobil. Hours after being elected, Marape told parliamentarians he does “not intend to chase […]
Papua New Guinea in crisis as PM stalls resignation
PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (AFP) — Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill stalled his announced resignation and took legal action to prevent a vote of no confidence Tuesday, deepening the country’s political crisis. The veteran leader launched what appeared to be a last-gasp bid to cling on to power, pressing the Supreme Court to thwart a planned parliamentary vote to remove him from office. Facing mounting criticism, O’Neill on Sunday announced that he […]
7.2 quake hits Papua New Guinea, no early damage reports
PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (AFP) — A powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake rocked Papua New Guinea on Tuesday at a depth of 127 kilometers (80 miles), officials said, although there were no immediate reports of damage. The quake struck 33 kilometers (21 miles) from the town of Bulolo at 2119 GMT according to the US Geological Survey, and was felt in the capital Port Moresby about 250 kilometres away. Because of the depth of the […]
Volcano erupts on remote Papua New Guinea island
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — One of Papua New Guinea’s most active volcanoes has erupted, authorities said Tuesday, pummelling villages on a remote island with volcanic rock before subsiding. Manam island is a volcanic cone that towers out of the sea north of the Papua New Guinea mainland and has a history of eruptions, with major activity in November 2004 forcing the evacuation of some 9,000 people. The volcano has erupted a number of times […]
PHL, Papua New Guinea sign 5-year MOA on agri cooperation, including tie-up on rice production
(Eagle News) — The Philippines and Papua New Guinea has signed a five-year Memorandum Of Agreement ( MOA ) for greater cooperation on agriculture, including a tie-up on rice and grain production, as well as coconut and coffee production. Other areas of cooperation under the agreement include the development of rice and grain hybrid species; production of cocoa, rubber, and palm oil; horticulture production; aquaculture and inland fish farming; post-harvest development; livestock breeding; and […]
Palace: Duterte to cut short PNG visit due to “urgent domestic developments”
Says the President will, however, attend all APEC-related events today (Eagle News)—Malacanang announced that President Rodrigo Duterte would be attending Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)-related events in Papua New Guinea on Saturday, Nov. 17. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo issued the announcement after he said Duterte would be cutting short his Papua New Guinea visit. These events the President would be attending, he said, include a dialogue before “prominent business leaders during the summit of chief executive officers […]
China’s Xi: No one wins from ‘cold war, hot war, trade war’
PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (AFP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping said Saturday that no one wins from military, political or trade confrontation, amid fears that rivalry between Beijing and the US could escalate. “History has shown that confrontation — whether in form of cold war, hot war or trade war — will produce no winners,” Xi told a business conference ahead of an APEC summit expected to be dominated by a tussle for influence […]
Duterte cuts short Papua New Guinea visit
(Eagle News)—President Rodrigo Duterte cut short his stay in Papua New Guinea, where he is attending the 26th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting. In an advisory, the Palace said Duterte left Port Moresby on Saturday evening (11:15 p.m. local time) instead of on Sunday evening. The Palace said Duterte’s Cabinet members will attend APEC events in his stead. Duterte was expected to arrive in Davao City early Sunday morning (3:15 a.m.). It was unclear […]
US, China rivalry to dominate APEC summit
by Andrew BEATTY / Richard CARTER Agence France Presse PORT MORESBY, Ppaua New Guinea (AFP) — Asian Pacific leaders fly into the unlikely venue of Port Moresby Saturday for a summit developing into a tug-of-war for regional influence between an assertive China and an increasingly withdrawn United States. Donald Trump is skipping the two-day APEC meeting, sending Vice President Mike Pence in his place, who is leaving after one day and staying in Australia rather […]





