State of emergency

PNG's national executive council on Friday declared a State of Emergency for the province, and a call-out of the Defence Force in the following unrest in the provincial capital

A curfew has been imposed in Mendi between 6pm to 6am, our correspondent Melvin Levongo said there was also a heavy police presence in town.

He said none of the local politicians have spoken out about the incident and church leaders are trying to help reassure people.

Last Monday the government extended the state of emergency that has been in force since Cyclone Gita hit the country five weeks ago.

Police also said they would continue to enforce a curfew around the Nuku'alofa CBD.

Local operators and the Chamber of Commerce have complained about the negative financial impact on businesses and their employees.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni agreed the extension was holding the recovery back for some.

He said the government had not given a satisfactory reason for the move.

The state of emergency applies to the land and seas areas of Tongatapu and Eua.

The initial declaration was made on 12 February after Cyclone Gita hit the two islands causing extensive damage to infrastructure, homes and vegetation.

In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office said it is still necessary for emergency powers to be exercised in order to prevent or minimise loss of life, illness or injury, property loss or damage or damage to the environment.

Photo file supplied Caption: Damage at the domestic terminal in Nukua'lofa 

They said the state of emergency declared just after the category five storm is to continue.

The latest situation report from the National Emergency Management Office says 11 of the families in shelter are on 'Eua which is thought to have got the worst of the storm.

NEMO said electricity services are almost completely restored on Tongatapu, while all schools' water tanks on both islands have been purified.

In a statement, Acting Prime Minister Semisi Sika said due to destructive force winds and sea rises associated with the category four storm, it was necessary for emergency powers to be exercised in order to prevent or minimise loss of life or injury and damage to property and the environment.

Gita has brought destructive force winds and sea rises and is expected to be closest to Tongatapu by midnight tonight.

It is also expected to intensify into a category 5 cyclone with winds of over 200km an hours.

About 1,200 military personnel have been deployed to support emergency services responding to the flooding.

In a statement announcing the 48-hour state of emergency, the city of Montreal said forecasts suggested that the situation would not be short-lived.

Environment Canada was warning that water levels in the Rivière des Prairies were expected to rise by 20 centimeters overnight, weakening dikes, breakwaters and dams set up in key areas to prevent water infiltration, the statement said.

Violence erupted for a second night after Keith Lamont Scott was shot dead by a black officer on Tuesday.

One protester is in a critical condition after a "civilian on civilian" shooting, the city said.

Mr Scott was the third black man killed by police in a week. Such shootings have sparked huge protests recently.

The category three storm swept to the north of Vava'u over the weekend, causing minimal damage, although a state of emergency was declared by the Prime Minister beforehand.

Paula Ma'u from the National Emergency Committee says there has been confusion over why the declaration was made.

Chaos ensued at the border, as hundreds of migrants piled up in a no man's land, and Serbian officials reacted with outrage.

Stuck for an unknown amount of time on a strip of road between the two countries' checkpoints, those fleeing violence in their homelands pitched tents and settled in. But frustrations were on the rise. As a police helicopter hovered above, migrants chanted "Open the border!" and shouted insults at Hungarian riot police. Some refused food and water in protest.

The government said it is deploying troops as it tries to stem a surge of migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Macedonian police spokesman Ivo Kotevski said both police and the army will control the 50-kilometer (30 mile) stretch of the border in order to stop a "massive" influx of migrants coming from Greece.