Violent ethnic clashes in Papua New Guinea’s port city of Lae have left up to nine people dead and forced the closure of many businesses in the vital hub, Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Peter O’Neill said.
The rioting, which damaged and destroyed homes, businesses and other properties, has also reportedly left 1,000 people homeless.
O’Neill, who took the reins of the impoverished, but resource-rich Pacific country in August, has ordered 120 extra police to the town and said he stood ready to impose a state of emergency if calm was not restored soon.
“Lae has been gripped by violence since Thursday, resulting in destruction to properties and loss of nine lives reported,” a statement from the prime minister’s office said on Sunday.
The rioting, which reportedly began after youths protesting against rising crime began fighting with other groups, saw police use tear gas and guns on thousands of rioters, Radio New Zealand International said.
“Basically, it was total chaos throughout the weekend,” the station’s correspondent in the city said. “A lot of people used things like iron rods and bush knives to attack each other.”
The PNG National newspaper said it had independently confirmed five dead and 26 injured, while the Australian Broadcasting Corp said at least two people had died.
O’Neill said Lae’s port was a vital link for many parts of the rugged mountainous country and a shutdown would not only cripple businesses, but affect the national economy.
“We must not allow our law-abiding citizens to be dragged into this and turn it into an ethnic conflict,” he said in a statement. “We must act to bring the situation under control. I call on leaders in each community in the city to control their people and stand up against violence. I would like to see life in the city return to normal ... and businesses allowed to open their doors.”
O’Neill said an inquiry would be established to investigate the cause of the violence in the country’s second-largest city.
Police reports on the ground suggest that 1,000 people from the remote Highlands have been left homeless after their dwellings on the outskirts of town were burned, police media spokesman Dominic Kakas told the AAP newswire.
On Saturday, the Australian government updated its travel advisory for Papua New Guinea to warn that “clashes” had occurred in Lae since Friday and warned that “further violence could occur in coming days.”
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was