In brief: Small tsunami seen after Papua New Guinea quake

SYDNEY – A powerful earthquake rattled the South Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea today, generating a small tsunami near the epicenter, bringing down power lines and cracking walls, but causing no widespread damage.

A tsunami estimated at under 3 feet was seen in the harbor of Rabaul, a town near the epicenter of the 7.5-magnitude quake, said Chris McKee, assistant director of the Geophysical Observatory in the capital, Port Moresby. There were no reports of flooding, as the tsunami didn’t rise beyond the normal level of high tide, McKee said.

The temblor struck at a depth of 26 miles, about 80 miles south of the town of Kokopo in northeastern Papua New Guinea, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

Nepal says it will need ‘enormous help’

KATHMANDU, Nepal – Nepal’s government will need immense international support as the Himalayan nation begins turning its attention toward reconstruction in the coming weeks, in the wake of the devastating April earthquake, a top official said Monday.

Nepal is one of the world’s poorest nations, and its economy, largely based on tourism, has been crippled by the earthquake, which left more than 7,300 people dead. While there are no clear estimates yet of how much it will cost to rebuild, it will certainly be enormously expensive.

“In two to three weeks a serious reconstruction package needs to be developed, where we’ll need enormous help from the international community,” said Information Minister Minendra Rijal. “There’s a huge, huge funding gap.”

He also said foreign rescue workers were welcome in Nepal, saying they could remain as long as they are needed. He had earlier said the need for their services was diminishing but later denied that he wanted them to leave the country.

Soon, he added, the nation will be shifting away from a rescue mode and “will be concentrating more on relief operations.”

Since the April 25 earthquake, 4,050 rescue workers from 34 different nations have flown to Nepal to help in rescue operations, provide emergency medical care and distribute food and other necessities.

Le Pen suspended from far-right party

PARIS – French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen was suspended Monday from the National Front party he built into a political force over four decades after a series of controversial remarks about Jews and Nazis.

The party’s executive bureau met Monday and decided to suspend Le Pen’s membership in the party he co-founded, pending a partywide vote on abolishing the position of honorary president for life.

In a statement, the party said a majority of its leadership supports doing away with that title, held by 86-year-old Le Pen since 2010.

The move will be put to a vote of all party members within three months, the statement said.

Le Pen was censured after he had reiterated that Nazi gas chambers were a “detail” of World War II, for which he had already been convicted in court, and had praised Philippe Petain, the head of the collaborating Vichy government.

Monday’s suspension doesn’t affect Le Pen’s European Parliament seat, according to a party spokesman.