A massive landslide is feared to have killed more than 100 people and buried over 3,000 others under rubble, after it struck remote villages in north Papua New Guinea's Enga province early Friday, local media said.
The landslide hit at around 03:00 local time in Enga's highlands, affecting at least five villages and causing significant damage to over 120 homes, according to a local villager and a China Media Group (CMG) crew reporting from the scene on Friday.
As the landslide continued sending down large chucks of rubble and other debris in one village, residents frantically dug through the wreckage in search of the buried victims while dazed women, children and the elderly mourned their losses at the disaster scene.
Locals said large machines are urgently needed to remove the fallen boulders and debris, and they believe that it might take weeks to pull the remains of all those perished from the rubble.
Prime Minister James Marape expressed condolences to the families of the killed villagers and has ordered search and rescue operations and reconstruction of infrastructure in the affected villages.
Over 100 feared dead in massive landslide in Papua New Guinea: local media
Over 100 feared dead in massive landslide in Papua New Guinea: local media
China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, was up 0.3 percent year on year in May, and it is expected to continue growing moderately in the future based on the price trend, according to officials on Monday.
At a press conference in Beijing, officials from the National Bureau of Statistics briefed the situation of CPI in May and gave the prediction over its trend in the future.
Liu Aihua, a spokeswoman of the National Bureau of Statistics, said that the consumer price in May had three characteristics.
First, it kept flat in the year-on-year increase.
"In May, CPI rose 0.3 percent from a year earlier, staying flat from the previous month. Of which, food prices fell by 2 percent year on year, with the decline 0.7 percentage points narrower than the previous month, while non-food prices increased 0.8 percent, 0.1 percentage points lower than April. Service price grow by 0.8 percent, the same as the previous month," said Liu.
Second, the consumer price showed a slight seasonal decline from the previous month. On a monthly basis, the CPI inched down 0.1 percent in May. The decrease was smaller than the 0.2-percent drop on average in the same period of the last 10 years.
Third, the core CPI rose moderately. In May, the core CPI apart from food and energy was up 0.6 percent year on year, keeping a moderate upward trend.
"Regarding the trend of CPI in the future, based on the current price trend of food, manufactured consumer goods and services, CPI will continue to rise moderately. For food, as a large number of seasonal fruits and vegetables being put on market, food price will remain at a seasonal low. In terms of manufactured consumer goods, its total supply is sufficient, which is conducive to the stability of prices. As for service, its price is expected to continue rebounding as demand for services further recovers," Liu said.
China's CPI expected to continue growing moderately in future: official
China's CPI expected to continue growing moderately in future: official
