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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

☆ Solomon Islands PM returns from Beijing, calls Australia 'unneighbourly'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 17 (Reuters) - Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manesseh Sogavare returned to Honiara on Monday after a week-long official visit to China, telling reporters Beijing would provide more budget support, and that criticism by Australia was "unneighbourly". The United States, Australia, New Zealand and Solomon Islands' opposition party have called for Sogavare to publish details of a policing deal signed in Beijing last week, amid concern it will invite further regional contest. read moreSogavare told a press conference on Monday in Honiara that Australia and the U.S. should not fear China's police support for Solomon Islands , ABC Television reported. China had agreed to provide budget support for Solomon Islands, he added. Australia has historically been Solomon Islands' largest aid donor and security partner.

Persons: Manesseh Sogavare, Sogavare, Kirsty Needham, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: Solomon Islands, ABC Television, Thomson Locations: Solomon, Honiara, China, Beijing, Australia, United States, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, U.S

☆ Solomon Islands says Chinese police to assist cyber, community security
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In a statement on Friday, Sogavare's office said the Pacific Islands nation was broadening its security partnerships, and the Chinese police will add to the existing Australia and New Zealand policing support. Riots in the capital Honiara in 2021 exposed gaps in the islands' policing, it said. Opposition leader Matthew Wale said in a statement "policing is different in democracies than in communist countries and democracies must uphold human rights and due process". The issue was not China's supply of security equipment, but the compatibility of Chinese and Pacific policing, said Meg Keen, director of the Lowy Institute's Pacific Islands programme. Solomon Islands has a population of 700,000, across an archipelago that occupies a strategic position in the Pacific Islands, and was pivotal to the U.S. move west across the Pacific to liberate the Philippines in World War Two.

Persons: Manasseh Sogavare, Sogavare's, Penny Wong, Wang Yi, Sogavare, Matthew Wale, Meg Keen, Lowy, Wale, Kirsty Needham, Lincoln Organizations: SYDNEY, Solomon Islands, Australia's, Islands Government, Royal Solomon Islands Police Force, New Zealand, China's Global, Initiative, Global Security Initiative, Thomson Locations: Solomon, Australia, Beijing, Pacific, China, U.S, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Jakarta, Islands, Honiara, Philippines, Taiwan, Washington, Canberra

☆ Solomon Islands signs China policing deal in upgrade of ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

China and the Solomon Islands on Monday signed a deal on police cooperation as part of an upgrade of their relations to a “comprehensive strategic partnership,” four years after the Pacific nation switched ties from Taiwan to China. “In just four years, the relationship between China and the Solomon Islands has developed rapidly, and we can now say that it is very fruitful,” Li told Sogavare. China will continue to provide assistance to the Solomon Islands to enhance its law enforcement capacity, according to a joint statement released by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency. China has long supported so-called South-South cooperation, which refers to cooperation between developing nations as equals for mutual benefit. Chinese telecoms giant Huawei is already building a cellular network in the Solomon Islands, financed by a $66 million Chinese EXIM bank loan.

Persons: ”, Manasseh Sogavare, Premier Li Qiang, Sogavare, Solomon, ” Li, Washington “, ’ Sogavare, Xi Jinping, ” Xi, Xi Organizations: Solomon Islands, Premier, “, US National Security Council, Xinhua, Huawei, “ Sports, Pacific Games Locations: China, Solomon Islands, Pacific, Taiwan, Beijing, United States, Australia, Taipei, Solomon, Japan, Britain, Honiara

☆ China, Solomon Islands sign policing pact in upgrade of ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] Flags of Solomon Islands and China flutter near the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, China July 11, 2023. "In just four years, the relationship between China and the Solomon Islands has developed rapidly, and we can now say that it is very fruitful," Li told Sogavare. The official added that the U.S. was committed to a strong relationship with the region and strengthening longstanding bonds with the people of Solomon Islands. Xi told Sogavare China supports more of its firms investing in the Solomon Islands and will continue to provide economic and technical assistance "without political strings attached". Chinese telecoms giant Huawei is already building a cellular network in the Solomon Islands, financed by a $66 million Chinese EXIM bank loan.

Persons: Florence Lo, Xi, Manasseh Sogavare, Premier Li Qiang, Sogavare, Solomon, Li, Washington, China's, Xi Jinping, Ethan Wang, Ella Cao, Ryan Woo, Kirsty Needham, David Brunnstrom, Himani Sarkar, Robert Birsel, Mark Heinrich, Lincoln Organizations: REUTERS, Solomon Islands, Beijing, BEIJING, Premier, U.S . National Security Council, China's, Xinhua, Huawei, Pacific Games, Thomson Locations: of Solomon Islands, China, Beijing, Florence, Taiwan, Solomon Islands, Pacific, United States, Australia, U.S, Solomon, Japan, Britain, Honiara, Sydney, Washington

☆ Solomon Islands leader visits security partner China with focus on infrastructure
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SYDNEY, July 9 (Reuters) - Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare arrives in China on Sunday for his first visit since striking a security deal, pledging to "remain neutral" amid rising China-U.S. competition and prioritise his nation's development needs. Western analysts said Sogavare would be feted after signing the security pact that alarmed Washington and some Pacific Islands neighbours including Australia last year. China's foreign ministry said China and the Solomon Islands had "contributed to peace, stability and development in the region", and the two countries leaders would discuss international and regional issues. China has constructed the stadium, is advising on security, and will train 80 Solomon Islands athletes arriving in China this week. Solomon Islands has one of the closest relationships with China in the region, said Meg Keen, director of the Lowy Institute's Pacific Islands program.

Persons: Manasseh Sogavare, Sogavare, Graeme Smith, Meg Keen, Lowy, Kirsty Needham, Kim Coghill Organizations: SYDNEY, Solomon Islands, Papua New, Huawei, Pacific Games, Solomon, Australian National University, Thomson Locations: Solomon, China, U.S, Washington, Australia, Papua, Papua New Guinea, Britain, Honiara, Chinese, Honiara's, Beijing, Jiangsu, Guangdong, India, Gulf, Taiwan, Pacific, Japan

☆ Australian defence minister in Solomon Islands for security talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Richard Marles, on his first visit to the Solomon Islands as defence minister, was also expected to meet members of the Solomon Islands International Assistance Force, which includes Australian police deployed in 2021 at Sogavare's request to quell anti-government riots. Marles, in comments before he arrived in the capital, Honiara, said Australia's partnership with Solomon Islands was "more important than ever". Australia is a major aid donor and has a decades-long security relationship with the Solomon Islands. Chinese police have taken an increasing role in training and equipping the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force in recent months, the force has indicated in statements. Solomon officials said Marles would meet Sogavare after a meeting with Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele.

Persons: Manasseh Sogavare, Richard Marles, Sogavare, Xu Qu, Solomon, Marles, Jeremiah Manele, Kirsty Needham, Robert Birsel Organizations: SYDNEY, Pacific, Solomon, International Assistance Force, Australian, Royal Solomon Islands Police Force, Pacific Games, China Police, Thomson Locations: Solomon, China, Solomon Islands, Honiara, Australia, Canberra, Washington

☆ US opens embassy in Tonga in new pushback against China in Pacific
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) - The United States has opened a new embassy in Tonga, the State Department said on Tuesday, part of efforts to step up the U.S. diplomatic presence in the Pacific region to counter China. The United States "officially opened the U.S. Embassy in Nuku'alofa on May 9, 2023," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. Miller said the embassy would allow Washington to deploy additional diplomatic personnel and resources, including the potential appointment of a resident ambassador to Tonga, with which the United States has had diplomatic relations since 1972. Despite the diplomatic push, the Solomon Islands announced in March it had awarded a multi-million-dollar contract to a Chinese state company to upgrade an international port in Honiara. The United States and regional allies Australia and New Zealand have had concerns that China has ambitions to build a naval base in the region since the Solomon Islands struck a security pact with Beijing last year.

☆ China firm wins tender to redevelop Solomon Islands port
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"This will be upgrading the old international port in Honiara and two domestic wharves in the provinces," Qaqara said. The Solomon Islands and China have denied the security pact would allow a naval base, however. Delegations from China and the United States are visiting Honiara this week, competing for influence in the strategically-located Pacific islands nation. "This will see the rehabilitation of the old Honiara international port and construction of the Honiara domestic port and two provincial ports," the government said in a statement. Writing in the Australian Foreign Affairs this month, Connolly noted that ADB infrastructure contracts in the Pacific islands had been dominated by Chinese state companies who offered the lowest bids.

☆ China firm wins Solomon Islands port project as Australia watches on
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Solomon Islands and China have consistently denied that their security pact would allow a naval base. The Solomon Islands Infrastructure Development Ministry has said that there will be no expansion of the port for dual use," a spokesperson for Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on Wednesday evening. Delegations from China and the United States are visiting Honiara this week, competing for influence in the strategically-located Pacific islands nation. "This will see the rehabilitation of the old Honiara international port and construction of the Honiara domestic port and two provincial ports," the Solomon Islands government said in a statement. "It is not about bases it is about access," Connolly, a former military officer, said, referring to the security pact between Honiara and Beijing.

☆ Opposition in majority in key Solomon Islands province after anti-China leader ousted
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WELLINGTON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The opposition has taken a majority in the assembly of the most populous Solomon Islands province after Daniel Suidani, a vocal critic of the country's relationship with China, lost a no-confidence vote, an adviser to the ousted leader said on Wednesday. Celsus Talifilu, the adviser, said in an interview if a new government is formed in Malaita province, it would back the federal government's pro-China stance. Suidani is a long-time critic of the country's deepening relations with China and vocally opposed the Solomon Island’s switching recognition from Taiwan to China in 2019. A government spokesperson in Honiara said that following the no-confidence vote on Tuesday, those who had voted against Suidani were now in talks to propose a new leader. However, Suidani and his supporters boycotted the vote as they were waiting for the court to hear an application to delay the vote, Talifilu said.

☆ Solomon Islands ousts official critical of close relations with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Daniel Suidani, premier of the South Pacific nation's Malaita province, is a longtime critic of the country's deepening relations with China, which culminated in a security pact signed last April. Malaita's provincial assembly ousted Suidani in a unanimous vote on Tuesday, said the ABC. Suidani and his supporters boycotted the vote, ABC said, adding he had not yet spoken to the media about the results. Flights are delayed in Auki, the capital of Malaita, the ABC reported. Residents of Malaita opposed the decision by Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's government in 2019 to formally recognise China instead of Taiwan.

☆ U.S. opens embassy in Solomon Islands to counter China
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

An aerial view of ships and boats anchored at the harbour in Honiara, Solomon Islands. Gilmore Tana | iStock | Getty ImagesThe United States opened an embassy in the Solomon Islands on Thursday in its latest move to counter China's push into the Pacific. The embassy in the capital, Honiara, is starting small, with a chargé d'affaires, a couple of State Department staff and a handful of local employees. The U.S. State Department notified lawmakers early last year that China's growing influence in the region made reopening the Solomon Islands embassy a priority. The Solomon Islands switched allegiance from the self-ruled island of Taiwan to Beijing in 2019, threatening the close ties with the U.S. that date to World War II.

☆ U.S. opens embassy in Solomon Islands, Blinken says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The United States has opened an embassy in the Solomon Islands after a 30-year absence as it seeks to boost diplomatic relations in the Pacific as a counter to China. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced plans to open a diplomatic mission in the Pacific island nation during a visit to the region last year. The last U.S. embassy in the Solomons closed in 1993 amid post-Cold War budget cuts and the United States was represented there by an ambassador based in Papua New Guinea. In a statement on Wednesday, Blinken said the State Department informed the Solomon Islands' government that the opening of the new embassy in the capital Honiara became official as of Jan. 27. The reopening of the embassy in the Solomons comes as Washington has been negotiating the renewal of cooperation agreements with three key Pacific island nations, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau.

☆ No tsunami warning for Solomon Islands after 7.0 earthquake off coast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Authorities in the Solomon Islands said no tsunami warning would be issued after two earthquakes on Tuesday afternoon, including one with a magnitude of 7.0 just off the southwest coast. The Solomon Islands Meteorological Service said there is no tsunami threat to the country, but warned about unusual sea currents in coastal areas. Widespread power outages are being reported across the island and the Solomon Islands Broadcasting said in a statement on Facebook that all radio services were off air. The National Disaster Management Office said it has received reports that people felt the quake but are waiting for reports of damage. Seismology Fiji said the quake did not pose an immediate tsunami threat to the archipelago nation roughly 2,000 km to the southeast.

☆ Solomons 'unfairly targeted' since recognizing China, its president tells U.N.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare addresses the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 22, 2017. In an address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Manasseh Damukana Sogavare said the Solomons had been "unfairly targeted" and "vilified" in the media. The Pacific islands region has become a new theater of geopolitical competition between China and the United States and its allies. This competition intensified this year after China signed a security agreement with the Solomon Islands, prompting warnings of a militarization of the region. read moreSogavare has since repeatedly appeared to snub the United States, heightening Washington's concerns.

☆ Mai mult de 100 de bombe neexplodate din Al Doilea Război Mondial, descoperite în curtea unei case din Insulele Solomon
▼ + stars: | 2021-05-19 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +2 min

Peste 100 de bombe neexplodate din Al Doilea Război Mondial au fost descoperite în curtea unui case din Honiara, capitala Insulelor Solomon din Pacificul de Sud, informează The Guardian. "Un bărbat din Honiara a găsit peste 100 de obuze din Al Doilea Război Mondial în grădina sa, în timp ce săpa o gropă pentru o fosă septică", a scris Lachlan Strahan, Înaltul Comisar australian pentru Insulele Solomon, pe Twitter. "Expertul australian în îndepărtarea dispozitivelor explozive Ian Percy ajută poliția din Insulele Solomon să se ocupe de această moștenire teribilă a celui de-Al Doilea Război Mondial". Mii de bombe au fost lansate asupra insulelor din Pacific, inclusiv Insulele Solomon, iar multe nu au explodat. La începutul lunii mai, doi bărbați au fost uciși în Honiara de explozia unei bombe din Al Doilea Război Mondial.

Persons: Insulele Solomon, Ian Percy, Clifford Tunuki Locations: Honiara, Insulelor Solomon, Pacificul de Sud, Insulele, Pacific, Insulele Solomon

☆ Peste 100 de bombe neexplodate din al Doilea Război Mondial au fost descoperite în curtea unei case din Insulele Solomon
▼ + stars: | 2021-05-19 | by ( ) www.jurnal.md time to read: +2 min

Sursa foto: actualidad.rt.comPeste 100 de bombe neexplodate din al Doilea Război Mondial au fost descoperite în curtea unei case din Insulele SolomonPeste 100 de bombe neexplodate din al Doilea Război Mondial au fost descoperite în curtea unui case din Honiara, capitala Insulelor Solomon din Pacificul de Sud, informează The Guardian. Poliția a fost chemată și a îndepărtat 101 proiectile americane de 105 mm, acestea urmând să fie distruse. „Expertul australian în îndepărtarea dispozitivelor explozive Ian Percy ajută poliția din Insulele Solomon să se ocupe de această moștenire teribilă a celui de-Al Doilea Război Mondial". Mii de bombe au fost lansate asupra insulelor din Pacific, inclusiv Insulele Solomon, iar multe nu au explodat. La începutul lunii mai, doi bărbați au fost uciși în Honiara de explozia unei bombe din Al Doilea Război Mondial.

Persons: Insulele Solomon, Ian Percy, Clifford Tunuki Organizations: Poliția Locations: Insulele Solomon, Honiara, Insulelor Solomon, Pacificul de Sud, Insulele, Pacific

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