A 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck off eastern Papua New Guinea on Sunday, the United States Geological Survey said. The quake hit at a depth of 19 kilometres (12 miles) at 0205 GMT in the Solomon Sea, around 200 km off the southern coast of New Britain island, according to the USGS. There were no immediate reports of damage or tsunami warnings. Papua New Guinea sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, which is a hotspot […]
Tag: PNG
Magnitude 7 quake hits Papua New Guinea
A strong magnitude 7 quake shook Papua New Guinea on Friday, July 17, sending residents scrambling from buildings in the capital Port Moresby but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The quake was 79.8 kilometers deep and its epicenter was located 114 kilometers north northwest of Popondetta, Papua New Guinea, the US Geological Survey said. It was located in a remote region near the eastern coast around 150 kilometres from Port […]
JUST IN: Major 6.9 earthquake hits Papua New Guinea, tsunami warning issued
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Papua New Guinea Friday, rocking residents across the pacific nation, the US Geological Survey reported. The quake struck at a depth of 85 kilometers (51 miles) near the eastern coast around 150 kilometers from the capital, Port Moresby, it said. People scrambled from office buildings in the capital after being jolted by the quake, which hit around 12:50pm local time (0250 GMT). Reports said the […]
Papua New Guinea bans travellers from all ‘Asian ports’ due to coronavirus scare
PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (AFP) — Papua New Guinea shut air and seaports to all foreign travellers coming from Asia on Wednesday, in a desperate bid to prevent the deadly coronavirus from reaching the impoverished Melanesian nation. In a note to airlines and boat operators, the ministry of immigration said “all citizens originating from the Asian ports will be refused entry to the country effective today”. The ministry also announced that Papua New Guinea’s […]
Papua New Guinea PM Peter O’Neill resigns amid gas deal tensions
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill resigned on Sunday following a string of high-profile political defections that threatened his leadership. O’Neill — who had been in power since 2011 — handed over the reins to veteran politician Julius Chan, who has twice been prime minister. “I will be stepping down as prime minister in the coming days, when I visit the governor-general… (to) pave way for a new government,” O’Neill told reporters in 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 […]
Pence says US to partner in Papua New Guinea military base
PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (AFP) — The United States said Saturday it will join forces with Australia in the development of a new naval base in Papua New Guinea, a project seen as a move to curb China’s influence in the Pacific. Australia, which has long-standing military ties with the US, has already announced plans to redevelop PNG’s Lombrum Naval Base on Manus Island. China’s desire to build a military facility on Fiji’s […]
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 […]
APEC summit host urges respect for trade rules
PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (AFP) — The leader of Papua New Guinea, host of this year’s APEC summit, Friday urged respect for international trade rules by “countries large and small” as spats between the US and China threatened to overshadow the gathering. As leaders from Asian Pacific nations prepared to fly in to Port Moresby for their annual meeting, Prime Minister Peter O’Neill appeared to call his guests to order on damaging trade rows. […]
Duterte arrives in Papua New Guinea for APEC Summit
(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte arrived in Papua New Guinea on Friday, Nov. 16, to attend the 26th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) from Nov. 17 to 18. The President, who had just come from a four-day stay in Singapore for the 33rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit, arrived at the Jacksons International Airport in Port Moresby. He is slated to meet with members of the Filipino community this afternoon. In an interview […]
Polio returns to Papua New Guinea after 18 years: WHO
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – An outbreak of polio has been confirmed in Papua New Guinea, the World Health Organization and the government said, with the virus detected in a child 18 years after the Pacific nation was declared free of the disease. The WHO said there was one confirmed case — a six-year-old boy with lower limb weakness from Morobe province — with the disease detected in late April, and paralysis associated with the virus […]
PHL extends sympathies to quake-hit PNG
(Eagle News)– The Philippines on Friday expressed its sympathies to Papua New Guinea (PNG), which was struck by a 7.5-magnitude earthquake on February 26 and a 6.8-magnitude aftershock on March 7. “We express our condolences to the government and people of (PNG) and pray that last night’s aftershock would be the last,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said in a statement on Friday. Cayetano made the statement days after President Rodrigo Duterte expressed solidarity […]
