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☆ Papua New Guinea to recruit Australia police in security deal - minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape will travel to Canberra on Thursday to sign the security agreement, his office said. "The security arrangement is in the best interest of Papua New Guinea and also for Australia and its regional security interests," Marape said in a statement on Tuesday. The Australian Federal Police and the defence minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the security agreement. "Its a big issue and Australia can help us out considerably," said Tkatchenko, who began negotiations with Australia on the deal last year. They will be contracted officers reporting directly to the police commissioner of Papua New Guinea and they will be under all the laws of PNG.

Persons: James Marape, Lillian Suwanrumpha, Marape, Justin Tkatchenko, Tkatchenko, Kirsty Needham, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Guinea's, APEC, APEC Business, Economic Cooperation, Rights, Papua New Guinea, Australia, U.S, Reuters, Defence, Australian Federal Police, PNG Royal Constabulary, CID, Australian, Thomson Locations: Papua, Asia, Bangkok, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, biosecurity, Papua New, Canberra, United States, China, Solomon Islands, Australia, France

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The eruption of Papua New Guinea’s tallest volcano subsided Tuesday, but thick ash still billowed into the sky and coated roofs and palm trees nearby. The Volcanic Ash Advisory Center in Darwin, Australia, reported volcanic smoke rising as high as 15,000 meters (50,000 feet) on Monday. The nearest large town is Bialla, which is established among palm oil plantations on Ulawun’s slopes 47 kilometers (29 miles) to the southwest, the division said. Hargy Oil Palm Ltd., a company based in Bialla, did not immediately respond to an email request for comment. The division said heavy coatings of black ash were causing leaves to droop in palm oil plantations near the volcano and were accumulating on roofs.

Persons: Ulawun, Mount Ulawun Organizations: Pacific, Guinea’s Geohazards Management, Ash Advisory, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, Ltd, World Bank, Papua New, ” Locations: CANBERRA, Australia, Papua, New Britain, Darwin, Papua New Guinea, Mount, Port Moresby, Honiara, Solomon, Bialla, Japan, ” Papua New Guinea

☆ Armed men spring Guinea's ex-junta leader Camara out of prison - minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-04 | by ( Saliou Samb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 4 (Reuters) - The former head of Guinea's 2008 military junta, Moussa Dadis Camara, was sprung from prison by heavily armed men in Conakry in the early hours of Saturday along with three other high-ranking officers, Justice Minister Charles Wright said. "It was around 0500 (0500 GMT) that heavily armed men burst into the Central House of Conakry. They managed to leave with four defendants in the trial of the events of Sept. 28 including Captain Moussa Dadis Camara," the minister said on the radio. Residents near Kaloum said shots were first heard around 4 a.m. local time after which security was tightened on the streets and the entrance to Kaloum was blocked. writing by Alessandra Prentice; editing by Jason Neely, Alexandra Hudson and Giles ElgoodOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Moussa Dadis Camara, Charles Wright, Camara, Mmah Camara, Mamady Doumbouya, Alessandra Prentice, Jason Neely, Alexandra Hudson, Giles Elgood Organizations: Local, Reuters, Central, Thomson Locations: Conakry, Guinean, Kaloum, Tombo, Guinea, West, Central Africa, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Gabon

☆ Guinea ex-junta leader sprung from jail - minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-04 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PoliticsGuinea ex-junta leader sprung from jail - ministerPostedHeavily armed men have sprung the former head of Guinea's 2008 military junta, Moussa Dadis Camara, from jail in Conakry, according to Justice Minister Charles Wright. Lucy Fielder has more.

Persons: Moussa Dadis Camara, Charles Wright, Lucy Fielder Locations: Guinea, Conakry

During the three-day meeting, the U.S. will announce diplomatic recognition for two Pacific islands, promise new money for infrastructure, including to improve Internet connectivity via undersea cables, and honor regional leaders at an NFL game. SOME SKIP SUMMITSolomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, who has deepened his country's ties with China, will skip the summit. The White House in 2022 said the U.S. would invest more than $810 million in expanded programs to aid the Pacific islands. She added that Pacific island countries "welcome the U.S. re-engagement with the region, but don't want geopolitical tussles to result in an escalation of militarization. "Vanuatu Prime Minister Sato Kilman will also not attend the summit, his office told Reuters.

Persons: Manasseh Sogavare, James Marape, David Kabua, Fiame Naomi Mata'afa, Joe Biden, Biden, Washington, Sogavare, Meg Keen, Sato Kilman, Kilman, Ishmael Kalsakau, David Brunnstrom, Trevor Hunnicutt, Kirsty Needham, Don Durfee, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Solomon Islands, Guinea's, Samoa's, U.S ., NFL, White, Coast Guard, Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts, Solomon, Biden, Pacific, Australia's Lowy Institute, USAID, Vanuatu, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Solomon, Papua, Marshall, U.S, WASHINGTON, Washington, Papua New Guinea, Asia, United States, Cook, Niue, Baltimore, Pacific, China, Beijing, Congress, Australia, The U.S, Vanuatu, Fiji, Kiribati, Hawaii, Palau, Micronesia, Sydney

☆ Guinea junta leader denounces Western democracy amid wave of coups
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Guinea's President Mamadi Doumbouya addresses the 78th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, U.S., September 21, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Acquire Licensing RightsDAKAR, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Guinea's military leader Mamady Doumbouya told the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday that the Western model of democracy does not work for Africa, as evidenced by a recent wave of coups. Doumbouya took power in a coup in 2021, which was one of eight in West and Central Africa in the last three years. The coups have been strongly condemned by the United Nations and Western powers such as the U.S. and France, which have urged democracy to be restored as soon as possible. Doumbouya took power by overthrowing Alpha Conde, Guinea's then 84-year-old president who had changed the constitution to run for a third term, sparking widespread protests.

Persons: Mamadi Doumbouya, Brendan McDermid, Mamady Doumbouya, Doumbouya, Alpha Conde, Guinea's, Bate Felix, Nellie Peyton, Alex Richardson Organizations: General Assembly, REUTERS, Rights, General, United Nations, ECOWAS, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Africa, West, Central Africa, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Gabon, France, New York, Russia

☆ Counting the cost of contagion fears from Africa coups
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Libgeorge Marc Jones | Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Gabon coup leader General Brice Oligui Nguema is sworn in as interim president during his swearing-in ceremony, in Libreville, Gabon, September 4, 2023. The putsch not only sent Gabon's bonds tumbling 10%, but also hit those issued by a number of other countries including neighbouring Cameroon, as jittery investors scanned for who might be next. The apparent coup trend is adding to other major concerns deterring many investors from Africa - a wave of debt crises, tense geopolitics and an extreme vulnerability to climate change. "Nearly all markets in that region are paying some price in terms of rising cost of debt," said Sergey Dergachev, portfolio manager at Union Investment. There have been scores of coups and attempted coups in recent decades including in Thailand, Ecuador, Egypt and Turkey.

Persons: General Brice Oligui Nguema, Stringer, Sergey Dergachev, Paul Biya, Macky Sall, Denis Sassou Nguesso, Eamon Aghdasi, Fitch, Moody's, Thailand's, Ravi Bhatia, Bongo, Simon Quijano, Evans, Libby George, Marc Jones, Karin Strohecker, Emelia Sithole Organizations: REUTERS, UNDP, Union Investment, Investors, Reuters, General Assembly, Burkina, P Global, Reuters Graphics, Monetary Fund, Central, CFA, Peace, Thomson Locations: Gabon, Libreville, Africa Mali, Guinea, Africa, Cameroon, Mali, Thailand, Ecuador, Egypt, Turkey, crackdowns, Senegal, Congo Republic, New York, Niger, Burkina Faso, Kenya

☆ Rio Tinto shoulders Simandou iron ore bill as Chinese funds delayed - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Clara Denina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Anglo-Australian miner owns two of four Simandou mining blocks as part of its Simfer joint venture with China's Chalco Iron Ore Holdings (CIOH) and the government of Guinea, where the mine is located. CIOH is 75% held by Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco) and 20% by Baowu Steel Group, with China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) and China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) each holding 2.5%. Simandou's other two blocks are owned by the Winning Consortium Simandou (WCS), made up of Singapore-based Winning International Group, Weiqiao Aluminium - part of the China Hongqiao Group (1378.HK) - and United Mining Suppliers. Rio earmarked $800 million for its share of the development in 2023 and around $2 billion a year in 2024 and 2025. Reporting by Clara Denina; Additional reporting by Felix Njini and Amy Lv; Editing by Jan HarveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Chris Helgren, CIOH, CHEC, Simandou, Raphael Gnambalamou, Clara Denina, Felix Njini, Amy Lv, Jan Harvey Organizations: Rio Tinto, Developers Association of Canada, REUTERS, Ore Holdings, CIOH, Aluminum Corporation of China, Baowu Steel, China Railway Construction Corporation, China Harbour Engineering Company, Weiqiao, China Hongqiao, HK, United Mining Suppliers, Thomson Locations: Rio, Toronto , Ontario, Canada, Simandou, Guinea, China, Singapore

☆ Delay in security treaty with Australia as PNG consults 'domestic processes'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Lillian Suwanrumpha/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoSYDNEY, May 30 (Reuters) - Papua New Guinea said a proposed security treaty with neighbour Australia would be delayed as it consults "domestic processes", a week after signing a defence agreement with the United States that sparked student protests. Papua New Guinea (PNG), a few kilometres (miles) to Australia's north, is being courted by China and the United States amid rising tensions between the two major powers. PNG Prime Minister James Marape met with Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles on Monday on the sidelines of the Korea-Pacific Islands Summit in Seoul and discussed the "proposed bilateral security treaty", Marape's office said in a statement on Tuesday. Marape had "conveyed his apologies to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for the delay in formalising this proposed Treaty with Australia", it added. Marles has said Australia wants to strike an "ambitious" security treaty that will see navy, airforce and army personnel from each nation working alongside each other more often.

Afterward, he was to have been the first sitting U.S. president to visit Papua New Guinea. In Sydney, Biden had planned to attend a meeting of the four so-called Quad nations - the United States, Japan, Australia and India. White House spokesperson John Kirby said Biden would be able to meet Albanese and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi while in Hiroshima. Albanese said in a statement that Biden had apologized for not being able to visit Australia and that they would work to reschedule his visit at the earliest opportunity. “I'm sure the White House will find ways to make this up to partners in the short term.

☆ Guinea book festival hopes to turn the page on low literacy rate
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Souleymane Camara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The 15th edition of Guinea's "72 Hours of the Book" festival unfolded in venues across the capital Conakry, bringing together a wide array of writers, publishers, and readers from the West African country and across the continent. "We Guinean authors have mobilized strongly to come together and promote this event," Conakry-based author Bademba Barry said between bouts of signing copies of his works. Despite its low literacy rate, Guinea boasts a rich literary heritage and more than a dozen publishing houses. But Conakry's arena transformed into a haven this week for readers clamouring to meet their favourite local authors, writers seeking to expand their audiences, and budding creators who took part in workshops. Reporting by Souleymane Camara; Writing by Cooper Inveen; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Equatorial Guinea confirms 13 Marburg cases after WHO comments
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, March 29 (Reuters) - Equatorial Guinea has confirmed 13 cases of Marburg disease since the beginning of the epidemic, its health officials said on Wednesday after the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) urged the Central African country's government to report new cases officially. Marburg virus disease is a viral haemorrhagic fever that can have a fatality rate of up to 88%, according to the WHO. Marburg is passed on to people from fruit bats and is from the same virus family responsible for the deadly Ebola disease. "WHO is aware of additional cases and we have asked the government to report these cases officially to WHO," its director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said earlier on Wednesday. There is also an outbreak of Marburg virus in Tanzania, where eight cases including five deaths have been reported in the northwest Kagera region, WHO has said.

☆ Australian university professor taken hostage in highlands of Papua New Guinea, prime minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

An Australian university professor has been taken hostage in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea's prime minister has confirmed. The Australian man is an archaeologist who works for an Australian university and was accompanied on a field trip by several Papua New Guinean students from a local university who were also taken hostage, two sources with knowledge of the incident told Reuters. Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape told local reporters on Monday that police and the military were on stand-by, and the government was working with missionaries who were acting as mediators. "There is no place to run, there is no place to hide," Marape added. A source in Papua New Guinea told Reuters on Monday morning the situation was in "a crucial moment" and they could not comment further.

☆ Equatorial Guinea quarantines 200 after unknown hemorrhagic fever deaths
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Amindeh Blaise Atabong | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] People wait to cross the border into Equatorial Guinea by car and by foot in Kye-Ossi, Cameroon, May 23, 2015. Authorities have restricted movement around the two villages that are directly linked, he said, and contact tracing was ongoing. Equatorial Guinea's neighbour Cameroon on Friday restricted movement along its border after the "unexplained deaths", its Health Minister Malachie Manaouda said in a statement. Equatorial Guinea said on Wednesday that it had registered the "unusual epidemiological situation" over the past weeks in Kie-Ntem province's Nsok Nsomo district that caused nine deaths in two adjacent communities over a short period. A Cameroon district health official near the border area said around 20 deaths had been recorded on Wednesday in villages in Kie-Ntem province, which borders Cameroon's Olamze district.

☆ TotalEnergies may buy green power from Fortescue in Papua New Guinea -regulator
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Fortescue Future Industries is in talks with TotalEnergies to supply power to the fossil fuel company's Papua LNG project from a series of proposed renewable energy projects that a senior official says recently completed feasibility assessments. "Fortescue Future Industries is exploring a range of energy supply and offtake agreements globally for the supply of green energy," said an FFI spokesperson in response to a Reuters query. Fortescue Metals Group (FMG.AX) founder Andrew Forrest signed a flurry of green hydrogen deals over 2020 and 2021 as the iron ore miner's wholly owned clean energy subsidiary looks to become a major green hydrogen producer. Feasibility studies for hydropower projects are also completed, with priority given to a project which could provide power to Papua LNG. He expected FFI would make final investment decisions for the hydropower and geothermal projects in 2023.

☆ Exclusive: Exxon to exit Equatorial Guinea amid wider Africa crude phaseout
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Sabrina Valle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The company last year pumped about 45,000 bpd in Equatorial Guinea, out of the country's total production of 93,000 bpd. For Middle East and African oil producers, cash has dwindled to 30% of global flows in the last two years, from 50% between 2010 and 2020. Much of the increase comes from the United States, Canada, Guyana and Brazil, some of the places where Exxon has increased spending on oil output. NAMIBIA AND NATURAL GASWhile crude oil production wanes in West Africa, the continent's liquefied natural gas (LNG) future is on the rise and fossil fuel output could grow elsewhere in Africa. Rising demand globally could result in a 30% rise in gas production in Africa by the end of the decade, Deloitte said.

☆ Equatorial Guinea president wins re-election, VP says on Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DAKAR, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema has won re-election with 95% of the Nov. 20 vote, his son Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue said on Twitter on Saturday. "The definitive results prove us right again," the vice president tweeted. The West African country of around 1.5 million people has had only two presidents since independence from Spain in 1968. Obiang has always been elected with more than 90% of the vote in polls that international observers have questioned. Critics say Obiang has done little to drag the country out of poverty despite great personal wealth.

☆ China holds policing discussion with officials of Pacific island nations
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Nov 23 (Reuters) - China said it held a video meeting to discuss police cooperation with several Pacific island nations on Tuesday, with at least two nations telling Reuters their ministers and police commissioners were unavailable to attend. read moreThose concerns were first sparked when Solomon Islands struck a security pact with China in April. The video meeting, co-chaired with Solomon Islands Minister of Police Anthony Veke, took place after two powerful earthquakes struck Solomon Islands on Tuesday. A photograph posted to the Twitter account of the Chinese embassy in Fiji showed Veke as the only Pacific islands minister at the video meeting. read moreAt a White House summit in September, the United States pledged to boost aid and step up FBI training for Pacific islands including the Solomon Islands.

☆ Equatorial Guinea ruling party wins 99% of votes - early election results
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo attends the plenary session of the Paris Peace Forum, France November 12, 2019. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoDAKAR, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Preliminary election results released by Equatorial Guinea's government on Monday showed the ruling party winning over 99% of votes counted so far in presidential, legislative, and municipal elections held on Sunday. The tiny, authoritarian, oil-producing Central African state is run by President Teodoro Obiang, the world's longest-ruling head of state, who is seeking to extend his 43 years in office. Early, partial results showed Obiang's ruling Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE) and coalition with 67,012 votes out of 67,196 counted so far. Reporting by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Estelle Shirbon and Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: Renewables shift lays bare Africa's energy dilemma
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Bate Felix | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Besides the 678-km West Africa gas pipeline completed in 2008, linking Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana, few regional oil and gas projects exist to take products where they are needed. U.S. climate envoy John Kerry has cautioned against long-term oil and gas infrastructure investment in Africa, urging countries to turn to renewables instead. "Africa's track record for gas projects in this regard is not encouraging," the IEA said, citing delays in TotalEnergies' Mozambique project and in the Senegal-Mauritania gas project. "Funding requirements for the oil and gas industry in Africa far exceeds the capacity of any one individual country in Africa. Previous plans for major regional projects such as large-scale refineries have been thwarted by rivalries, ending in countries constructing small refineries that eventually failed, the expert added.

☆ Nigeria's Buhari, in last UN speech, slams 'corrosive impact' of leaders who cling to power
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

(CNN) Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday criticized fellow leaders who extend term limits to cling to power, saying this was having a "corrosive" effect, and promised free and fair elections when the country elects his successor in February. Some of Buhari's African counterparts are among the longest-serving leaders in the world. President Paul Biya of neighboring Cameroon has held onto power for nearly four decades, ranking behind Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang who has ruled the small Central African country for 43 years. Buhari, 79, who took office after defeating a sitting president in elections in 2015, will make way for a new leader in what would be another peaceful transfer of power, helping cement Nigeria's democratic credentials in a region prone to coups. Speaking at his last United Nations General Assembly, Buhari said Africa's most populous nation had invested heavily to ensure free and fair elections.

☆ Why a coup in Guinea was felt around the world
▼ + stars: | 2021-12-16 | by ( Timothyna Afua Duncan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A coup that took place in a coastal country in West Africa may hit closer to home than you think — with smartphones and power lines potentially being affected. These items all contain aluminum, and the world's primary source of aluminum is bauxite ore. And Guinea, the country where this coup occurred, has the world's largest bauxite reserves. Soldiers from the country's special forces had ousted President Alpha Conde, citing corruption as their motivation. In the process, the coup disrupted nearly a decade of political stability in the mineral-rich nation. Watch the video above to find out why a coup in Guinea was felt around the world, and what this latest blow means for consumers and businesses around the world.

Persons: Alpha Conde Organizations: London Metal Exchange, Markets Locations: West Africa, Guinea, Conakry

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