PORT MORESBY: Papua New Guinea is considering making its currently all-male legislature more representative, by creating parliamentary seats reserved for women.
Prime Minister Peter O’Neill introduced the proposal on International Women’s Day on Friday, saying it was “only fair” that there was more debate about women’s role “at the leadership level.”
There are currently 111 members of parliament in Papua New Guinea, representing 8.3 million people — and not a single woman MP.
Speaking ahead of a retreat that coincided with the annual day to promote equality, O’Neill said it was a “sad fact” that women’s interests were neglected.
“In our own national parliament, we currently have no elected female member. Despite so many highly skilled and talented female candidates, they were not elected.”
“I want to see this situation rectified and our government will present a proposal to Parliament that will create seats specifically for women.”
Papua New Guinea is struggling to overcome its international reputation as the “worst place in the world to be a woman” and the land that #MeToo forgot.
Domestic and sexual violence are endemic and often go unpunished. It is estimated that two-thirds of women in Papua New Guinea experience domestic violence.
It is not uncommon to see domestic disputes take place in full public view.
In some parts of the country, brutal witch hunts are overwhelmingly targeted against women.
But a series of legal reforms have changed the penalties for domestic violence and victims say the police are now taking it more seriously.
There are signs that political parties are also taking women’s role more seriously too.
“We will never achieve our true potential if we do not attend to the core and basic issues of our communities,” said O’Neill.
“And that is the wellbeing of all of our people, especially the women of our country.”
In the past, seven women have been elected to the national assembly and more serve in provincial assemblies and district councils.
But previous efforts to introduce seats for women have faltered over the need for a constitutional amendment.
Theresa Jaintong from the PNG National Council of Women said she supported the move and hoped it would shift from the government’s agenda to the floor of parliament and become law.
But not all women like the idea of getting specifically designated seats.
Former Minister for Women and Community Development Delilah Gore said that she, like others, had won the hard way.
Rubie Wanariu, one of 165 losing women candidates in the 2017 elections asked: “Why would they be allocated?“
“It continues to give the notion that women are the weak link... We have been fighting for gender equality and balance.”
“I would think females should also be seen as equally capable and must be equally mandated if they want to contribute to the development of the country.”
Papua New Guinea’s men-only parliament eyes seats for women
Papua New Guinea’s men-only parliament eyes seats for women
- PNG is struggling to overcome its international reputation as the “worst place in the world to be a woman”
- It has 111 members of parliament, representing 8.3 million people, and not a single woman MP
Pakistani nationals leave India as tensions between the two nations escalate over Kashmir attack
- Deadline for Pakistani citizens to leave the country – with exceptions for those who are on medical visas in India – passed on Sunday
- But many families still scrambling to the Indian side of the border in Attari town in northern Punjab state to cross into Pakistan
ATTARI, India: Dozens of Pakistani nationals living in India headed to the main land crossing between India and Pakistan on Wednesday, following New Delhi’s decision to order almost all Pakistani citizens to leave the country after last week’s deadly attack in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
The deadline for Pakistani citizens to leave the country – with exceptions for those who are on medical visas in India – passed on Sunday, but many families were still scrambling to the Indian side of the border in Attari town in northern Punjab state to cross into Pakistan.
Some were arriving on their own and others were being deported by police.
“We have settled our families here. We request the government not to uproot our families,” said Sara Khan, a Pakistani national who was ordered back to Pakistan without her husband, Aurangzeb Khan, who holds an Indian passport.
Waiting on the Indian side of the border crossing, Khan carried her 14-day-old child in her arms. She said Indian authorities did not give her any time to recuperate from a caesarean section and that her long-term visa was valid until July 2026.
“They (authorities) told me you are illegal and you should go,” said Khan, who has been living in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 2017. “They gave us no time. I could not even change my shoes.”
Tensions between rivals India and Pakistan have escalated after gunmen killed 26 people, most of them Indian tourists, near the resort town of Pahalgam in disputed Kashmir.
At least three tourists who survived the massacre said that the gunmen singled out Hindu men and shot them from close range. The dead included a Nepalese citizen and a local Muslim pony ride operator.
India has described the massacre as a “terror attack” and accused Pakistan of backing it. Pakistan has denied any connection to the attack, which was claimed by a previously unknown militant group calling itself the Kashmir Resistance.
The massacre set off tit-for-tat diplomatic measures between India and Pakistan that included cancelation of visas and a recall of diplomats. New Delhi also suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty with Islamabad and ordered its border shut with Pakistan. In response, Pakistan has closed its airspace to Indian airlines.
As tensions escalate, cross-border firings between Indian and Pakistani soldiers have also increased along the Line of Control, the de facto frontier that separates Kashmiri territory between the two rivals.
Kashmir is split between India and Pakistan and claimed by both in its entirety. New Delhi describes all militancy in Indian-controlled Kashmir as Pakistan-backed terrorism. Pakistan denies this, and many Muslim Kashmiris consider the militants to be part of a home-grown freedom struggle.
Meanwhile, India’s cabinet committee on security, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, met on Wednesday. It was their second such meeting since the attack.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in separate phone calls with India and Pakistan, stressed the need to “avoid a confrontation that could result in tragic consequences.” The US State Department also called for de-escalation and said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be speaking soon to the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers.
The two nations have frequently come to blows over Kashmir in the past, but last week’s massacre has escalated tensions and Modi has repeatedly vowed to pursue and punish the attackers.
Early Wednesday, Pakistan said it had “credible intelligence” that India intends to carry out military action against it in the “next 24-36 hours on the pretext of baseless and concocted allegations of involvement in the Pahalgam incident.”
There was no immediate comment from Indian officials.
Sweden arrests suspect after fatal triple shooting
- Tuesday’s shooting took place in broad daylight, a day before the Valborg or Walpurgis spring festival
- The Scandinavian country has struggled for years to rein in shootings and bombings between rival gangs
UPPSALA, Sweden: Swedish police have arrested a suspect in a shooting that killed three young men at a hair salon, authorities said on Wednesday, amid heightened nerves over gun violence in the Scandinavian nation.
Tuesday’s shooting took place in broad daylight, a day before the Valborg or Walpurgis spring festival which draws more than 100,000 people to the city for celebrations, many of them students.
“One person has been arrested suspected of murder,” police commander Erik Akerlund told a press conference a day after the shooting in the city of Uppsala, 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of Stockholm, that shocked Sweden.
Swedish media reported that at least one of the dead had connections to organized gang crime, though police would not confirm those reports.
The Scandinavian country has struggled for years to rein in shootings and bombings between rival gangs.
Akerlund said several people “considered of interest in the investigation” had been brought in for questioning.
North Korea’s Kim watches missile test-firings from country’s first destroyer
- The official Korean Central News Agency said Wednesday that Kim watched the tests of the destroyer’s supersonic and strategic cruise missiles, anti-aircraft missile, automatic guns and electronic jamm
- North Korea and Russia have been sharply expanding military and other cooperation in recent years, with the North supplying troops and conventional weapons to Russia
SEOUL: North Korea said Wednesday leader Kim Jong Un observed the test-firings of missiles from a recently launched destroyer — the first such warship for the North — and called for accelerating efforts to boost his navy’s nuclear attack capabilities.
North Korea last week unveiled the 5,000-ton destroyer equipped with what it called the most powerful weapons systems built for a navy vessel. During Friday’s launching ceremony at the western port of Nampo, Kim called the ship’s construction “a breakthrough” in modernizing North Korea’s naval forces.
Outside experts say it’s North Korea’s first destroyer and that it was likely built with Russian assistance. They say North Korea’s naval forces lag behind South Korea’s but still view the destroyer as a serious security threat as it could bolster North Korea’s attack and defense capabilities.
The official Korean Central News Agency said Wednesday that Kim watched the tests of the destroyer’s supersonic and strategic cruise missiles, anti-aircraft missile, automatic guns and electronic jamming guns earlier this week.
He appreciated the ship’s combination of powerful strike weapons and conventional defenses and set tasks to speed the nuclear-arming of his navy, the report said.
During the ship’s launching ceremony, Kim said the destroyer will be deployed early next year. He said the acquisition of a nuclear-powered submarine would be his next big step in strengthening his navy. He underscored the need to beef up North Korea’s deterrence capability to cope with what he called escalating US-led hostilities targeting the North.
An analysis of photos of the warship shows that its anti-air radar system is likely from Russia, said Lee Illwoo, an expert with the Korea Defense Network in South Korea. He said the warship’s engine system and some of its anti-air weapons systems also likely came from Russia.
North Korea and Russia have been sharply expanding military and other cooperation in recent years, with the North supplying troops and conventional weapons to support Russia’s war efforts against Ukraine. The US, South Korea and their partners worry Russia will likely in return provide North Korea with high-tech weapons technologies that can enhance its nuclear program as well as shipping other military and economic assistance.
South Korea’s military said Wednesday that South Korean and US intelligence authorities were closely monitoring North Korean warship development. South Korea’s spy agency separately told lawmakers that North Korea won’t likely be able to deploy a nuclear-powered submarine anytime soon without Russian support.
In March, North Korea unveiled a nuclear-powered submarine under construction. Many civilian experts said at the time that North Korea may have received Russian technological assistance to build a nuclear reactor to be used in the submarine.
Lee said the deployment of a warship with an advanced radar system off North Korea’s west coast could sharply bolster its air defense capabilities for Pyongyang, the capital. Lee said South Korea, which has 12 destroyers, still vastly outpaces North Korea’s naval forces. But he said the North Korean destroyer, which can carry about 80 missiles, can still pose a big threat, as South Korea’s navy hasn’t likely braced for such an enemy warship.
Russia begins building road bridge to North Korea
- The new road bridge, which has been under discussion for years, will be 850 meters (2789 ft) and link up with the Russian highway system
MOSCOW: Russia and North Korea on Wednesday began construction of a road bridge between the two countries that will span the Tumen river, part of an effort to strengthen their strategic partnership, Russia’s prime minister said.
The bridge is being built near the existing “Friendship Bridge,” a rail bridge which was commissioned in 1959 after the Korean war.
At a ceremony dedicated to the start of the new bridge’s construction, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said it was a significant event in Russian-North Korean relations, the TASS state news agency reported.
“The significance goes far beyond just an engineering task,” Mishustin was quoted as saying. “It symbolizes our common desire to strengthen friendly, good-neighborly relations and increase inter-regional cooperation.”
The new road bridge, which has been under discussion for years, will be 850 meters (2789 ft) and link up with the Russian highway system. Its construction was agreed during a visit by President Vladimir Putin to North Korea in 2024.
Russia’s Kommersant newspaper said the bridge will be ready by the summer of 2026.
Mishustin said the bridge “will allow entrepreneurs to significantly increase transportation volumes and reduce transportation costs, ensure reliable and stable supplies of various products, which will contribute to the expansion of trade and economic cooperation,” TASS reported.
About 600 North Korean troops have been killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine out of a total deployment of 15,000, South Korean lawmakers said on Wednesday, citing the country’s intelligence agency.
Australian triple-murder suspect allegedly cooked ‘special’ mushroom meal
- ‘Special meal’ for her in-laws was Beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms
- Within hours of the lunch, the four guests developed diarrhea and vomiting
MORWELL, Australia: An Australian woman promised a “special meal” for her in-laws before dishing up a beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms that killed three of them, jurors heard Wednesday.
On the opening day of a trial that has drawn global attention, Erin Patterson, 50, faced a jury accused of three murders – including her parents-in-law – and one attempted murder.
She has pleaded not guilty to all counts, with her defense saying it was all “a terrible accident.”
Patterson “deliberately poisoned” her guests, Crown Prosecutor Nanette Rogers told the jury.
The accused served “individual beef Wellingtons, mashed potatoes and green beans,” with the guests eating from four large grey dinner plates, while she ate from a smaller, orange plate, Rogers said.
Patterson invited her guests to the lunch in late July 2023 at her home in the sedate Victoria state farm village of Leongatha, telling them she had a health issue to relate, the prosecutor said.
Her estranged husband Simon Patterson declined, texting her the night before that he felt “uncomfortable” going.
In a return text minutes later, Patterson said she was “disappointed,” as she wanted to prepare a “special meal and that she may not be able to have a lunch like this for some time,” Rogers said.
But her husband’s parents, Don and Gail Patterson, decided to go, along with his aunt Heather Wilkinson and her husband, local pastor Ian Wilkinson.
During the lunch, Patterson claimed to have cancer and wanted their advice about how to tell her two children, the prosecutor said.
Medical tests later found no evidence she had cancer, Rogers said.
Within hours of the lunch, the four guests developed diarrhea and vomiting, and were raced to hospital.
All were diagnosed by treating doctors with poisoning by death cap mushrooms, Rogers told the court.
Within days, Don, Gail and Heather were dead.
Ian, the pastor, survived after nearly two months in hospital.
Patterson went to the hospital two days after the lunch and complained she, too, was unwell, the prosecution said.
She initially refused medical assistance and left the hospital, but relented and returned for treatment, the court heard.
Patterson said her children had eaten leftovers of the beef Wellington.
But she claimed to have scraped off the mushroom paste and pastry because they were “fussy,” Rogers said.
When medical staff demanded to see her children, Patterson resisted saying she did not want them to “be panicked and stressed.”
“She did not appear to be concerned about children’s health but rather about stressing them out,” Rogers said.
The children eventually received medical attention but did not have any symptoms of poisoning.
Rogers said Patterson knew that neither she nor her children had consumed the deadly mushrooms.
Police located beef Wellington remnants at Patterson’s home, which were found under forensic investigation to have traces of death cap mushrooms, Rogers added.
Patterson allegedly told doctors she used fresh mushrooms from a supermarket and also dried mushrooms from an Asian grocery – but she did not remember which one.
A Department of Health investigation was unable to trace any shop selling death cap mushrooms.
Patterson discarded a food dehydrator in the days after the lunch, which was later found to contain traces of death cap mushrooms, prosecutors said.
Patterson’s lawyer Colin Mandy said the poisoning was a “tragedy and terrible accident.”
“She didn’t do it deliberately, she didn’t do it intentionally. The defense case is that she didn’t intend to cause anyone any harm on that day,” he said.
Patterson is being tried in the Latrobe Valley Law Courts in Morwell, south of Melbourne.
The trial is expected to last about six weeks.
