A shallow, violent offshore quake with 7.5 magnitudes hit Papua New Guinea's remote New Britain island initially triggered a tsunami warning late yesterday. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre warned that unusually large waves could reach Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia. <br />''<span style="color: #222222;"><br />''However, it later said the tsunami threat had passed. The United States Geological Survey said the quake hit around 50 kilometres off the island's north coast at a depth of around 10 km just before 11 p.m. yesterday (1300 UTC). Earthquakes are common in Papua New Guinea, which is situated on the "Pacific Ring of Fire," a hotspot of seismic activity. </span>