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By Haidee V. Eugenio

SAIPAN, CNMI (Marianas Variety, Jan. 7) – Anatahan volcano in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands started erupting again on Tuesday and the Emergency Management Office warned airlines not to pass directly above the volcano for safety reasons.

As of 3 p.m. yesterday, the ash plume was 15,000 feet high, compared with 500 feet recorded on Jan. 4.

EMO director Rudolfo M. Pua, in an interview with Variety yesterday, said that the ash plume extends about 200 miles west-southwest of Anatahan, or in the direction of the Philippines.

This was based on information from the Washington-based Volcanic Ash Advisory Center.

Pua said all concerned agencies like commercial airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration have already been warned about Anatahan’s ongoing eruption.

This is the third historical eruption of Anatahan since the sudden eruption in May 2003.

Unlike the first two eruptions, however, EMO and...

SUVA, Fiji (Fiji 1 News, Jan. 6) – The South Pacific Leadership Conference will take place in Suva next week, attracting hundreds of Methodists from across the Pacific.

Some 550 delegates from Methodist churches from six Pacific island countries and the United States will be in the Fiji capital from Jan. 11 to 18.

The conference - which is being organized by the Atlanta, Georgia-based World Methodist Evangelism Institute of the World Methodist Council - is hailed as the first of its kind.

The Queen of Tonga - Queen Halaevalu Mata`aho - will lead the Tongan delegates to Fiji, along with members of the Royal Family.

Crusades will be held at Furnival Park Park in the evenings.

January 7, 2005

FijiTV: http://www.fijitv.cm.fj

By Clifford Faiparik

PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea (The National, Jan. 7) – Seven Papua New Guineans have been given prison sentences in the Indonesian province of Papua for drug smuggling and illegal entry.

Papua New Guinea consulate in Jayapura, Jeffrey Tolou'be, confirmed this yesterday, saying that they will serve their sentences in Abepura jail near Jayapura, the provincial capital.

They were jailed by the Indonesian court last month after being held in custody since their arrest in Indonesian waters in September last year.

The drug smugglers were jailed for three years each while the five illegal crossers were jailed for four years each for violating Indonesian immigration laws.

A Wewak-based police prosecutor, Sergeant Bruno Kaib, was among the five serving their terms for illegal entry.

Mr Tolou’be told The National from Jayapura yesterday the Jayapura court magistrate handed down his decision last month.

"However, I am...

ALOFI, Niue (Niue News, Jan. 6) – A door-to-door collection to raise funds for the Asia tsunami victims is being organized by village councils and youth groups on Niue this week.

The 1,300 residents of Niue have been asked to contribute to the fund and return the generosity afforded the island by international aid organizations after Cyclone Heta struck a year ago.

The fundraising will end on January 12.

The collection point for donations is the Niue Tourism Office at the Alofi Commercial Center.

Niue Premier Young Vivian said the government will top up the total and the money will be presented at the International Disaster Management Conference in Japan to be attended by the Premier later this month.

The Cook Islands raised $35,000 (US$24,480) this week during a radio talkathon in Rarotonga.

January 7, 2005

Niue News: http://www.niuenews.nu/