Commentary by * Michael Kabuni Polygamy, still practiced in some parts of Papua New Guinea, symbolized wealth and status in the country's so-called "big man" culture. The greater the fortune a man accumulated, the more wives he could support, with each wife contributing to managing the family's estate. Central also to marriage is bride price - a ceremony bringing together two families with an exchange of monies, pigs and produce. It's not always a one-way transaction, but nowadays is usually more onerous on the groom's side. In 2022, the director of the controversial Kikori Special Economic Zone in PNG - created with seed funding from Beijing - was asked if Australia or China was the preferred partner. The interview was for an Australian news report on the growing Chinese influence in PNG, particularly in the development of commercial ports which some argue could serve dual civilian-military purposes. He responded by referencing the PNG "kastom" that lingers in some parts, stating, "... we come from a culture where you marry three or four wives." This metaphor suggested that PNG does not view its foreign partnerships as an either/or scenario. Consistent with its foreign policy of "friends to all, enemy to none," PNG maintains multiple transactional relationships with Australia, China and other partners. Despite its substantial natural resources, PNG does not seem to have the economic independence or prestige to support multiple such "marriages." But what it lacks in immediate financial wealth, due to a plundering political elite, it makes up for with geo-strategic significance on the cross-roads between the Pacific and Asia. There are many prospects. Traditional ally Australia, for instance, provides about US$400 million in loans to PNG annually to support its budget, with an additional US$125 million now promised for law and order. The U.S. is expected to spend US$864 million for security initiatives on the defense cooperation agreement, while the European Union has allocated US$25 million to anti-corruption programs. Furthermore, PNG has access to multiple regional funds committed by the same partners. In 2018 for example, Japan, U.S, Australia and New Zealand collectively pledged US$1.7 billion for PNG's electricity infrastructure. These commitments were aimed at countering China's growing involvement in areas such as electricity and internet connectivity. However, according to the Lowy Institute's Pacific Aid Map, Australia provided significantly more official development assistance to PNG between 2008 and 2022 than China. During this period, Canberra pledged US$12.8 billion and spent US$11.7 billion, compared with US$6.6 billion promised by Beijing and US$2.8 billion actually delivered. While the aid figures may appear generous, the competition between the West and China has led to the securitization of developmental assistance in recent years. For example, the recently announced US$400 million by Australia to fund PNG's participation in the National Rugby League includes an implicit condition; PNG must refrain from signing a security deal with China for the next ten years or be ejected again. Although the details of this agreement are not public, the funding arrangement relies on the leverage Australia can exert by withholding or distributing the funds in installments, enabling the use of a carrot-and-stick strategy. Alternatively, once a PNG team is in the NRL and if Australia were to kick them back out, then that may end up as an own goal. No hearts and minds will be won by punishing the population of its nearest neighbor for the actions of their political elite. Although such agreements may deter a formal security deal with China, they are unlikely to significantly diminish China's influence in PNG. The country's construction sector, including work on most major infrastructure projects, is dominated by Chinese companies. Notably, many of these projects are financed by multilateral organizations such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), predominantly funded by Western nations. In an ironic twist, the West indirectly supports China's presence in PNG through these multilateral initiatives, even as it actively seeks to curtail Beijing's influence. There has also been a resulting steep increase in the number of small- and medium-size Chinese companies operating in PNG. Of the 1800 foreign companies controlled by Chinese nationals or entities - almost double the number of Australian ones - less than 5% have more than 50 employees. While it is improbable that PNG will sign a security agreement with China soon, the West cannot prevent China's presence and growing clout in the country. China may not need to match the money West spends in PNG, and may not even require a military base to exert influence. Through initiatives like preferential trade access offered to PNG - ranging from coffee to fisheries products - China has already cemented significant economic ties. Apart from the European Union, which offers an interim Economic Partnership Agreement focused on tuna trade with PNG, no Western nation competing for an alliance has matched the breadth of trade agreements provided by China. While the West may not want PNG to add China to its family of partners, the reality is that it has already occurred, bringing its own strengths and qualities to contribute to the family's wealth overall. And while the competition for influence keeps PNG looking like an attractive match, with new potential partners continually calling in on the Pacific, the existing ones may find themselves sharing the bed with even more. *Michael Kabuni is a PhD student at the Australian National University and formerly a lecturer at the political science department at the University of Papua New Guinea. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the position of BenarNews. This article was first published by BenarNewsFRENCH PRIME MINISTER Michel Barnier is bracing for a no-confidence vote this week, a political reckoning almost certain to topple his fragile government and send shockwaves across the eurozone. Today, Barnier invoked a special constitutional tool to push through the controversial 2025 budget without a parliamentary vote. Barnier argued it was necessary to maintain “stability” amid deep political divisions. The move immediately drew sharp backlash, with Marine Le Pen’s National Rally and the leftist France Unbowed both filing no-confidence motions in response, setting the stage for a vote as early as Wednesday, which could bring down the fragile government. The decision comes as France grapples with a fractured National Assembly following snap elections in June, which left no party or coalition with a majority. President Emmanuel Macron appointed Barnier in September to break the deadlock and tackle the country’s ballooning deficit. However, his austerity budget – featuring €40 billion in cuts and €20 billion in tax hikes – has been widely criticised, escalating tensions in the lower house. The use of the tool, called Article 49.3, allows the government to pass legislation without a parliamentary vote but leaves it exposed to no-confidence motions. Opposition leaders argue that Barnier’s concessions, including scrapping an electricity tax hike, do not go far enough to address their concerns. Le Pen accused Barnier of ignoring her party’s demands. “Everyone must shoulder their responsibilities,” she said. The political standoff has unsettled financial markets, with borrowing costs rising sharply amid fears of prolonged instability. Barnier warned of “serious turbulence” if the budget isn’t passed, but critics dismissed his remarks as fear-mongering. If the no-confidence motion succeeds, Macron will remain president but will need to appoint a new prime minister to steer legislation through the fractured assembly. The uncertainty threatens to deepen France’s economic troubles and reverberate across the eurozone.
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Noted music director Arjun Janya, making his directorial debut with 45, starring Kannada star actors including Dr. Shivarajkumar, Real Star Upendra, and Raj B Shetty, has teamed up with the renowned Toronto based VFX Studio company—MARZ for his dream project. First ever Indian project The VFX Studio MARZ, has so far worked in over 150 Hollywood films. The Kannada film marks the first ever project for MARZ, working on an Indian film, particularly in the Kannada industry. Arjun Janya took to social media to share the update on his ambitious project. “Thrilled to have Mr Raphael and Oscar nominated Mr Justin who has worked on Hollywood film THE CREATOR. Mr Raphael who has worked on films like Black Panther, The Matrix Resurrections, and Ant-Man, supervising the VFX for our movie 45!,” Arjun Janya wrote on X handle. The much-awaited Kannada film 45, starring Karunada Chakravarthy Shivarajkumar, Real Star Upendra, and Raj B Shetty, is making waves with its grand production scale and cutting-edge visual effects. ALSO READ: Arjun Janya Directorial ‘45’ Will Be One Of The Best Action Films In Indian Cinema: Dr Shivarajkumar 45 in post-production Arjun Janya’s directorial debut film is being bankrolled by M. Ramesh Reddy under his Suraj Productions banner. The shooting for the film was recently wrapped up and is now in the post-production phase. Actor-director Upendra, who portrays one of the lead roles in the multistarrer Pan-India Kannada venture, 45, along with Shivarajkumar and Raj B Shetty lauded the confidence of the director who meticulously planned the entire project before wrapping it up in 106 days since the film went on the floors. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Kannada, Entertainment News and around the world.
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Rockridge Files Management Information Circular for Annual General and Special Meeting of Shareholders to Approve Business Combination with Eros Resources and MAS Gold
CLEVELAND (AP) — Germain Ifedi became the fourth left tackle to start this season for the Cleveland Browns, lining up Thursday night against the AFC North-leading Pittsburgh Steelers. Ifedi moved up the depth chart and into the lineup after starter Dawand Jones broke his left leg last week at New Orleans and had surgery. He'll be responsible for blocking quarterback Jameis Winston's blindside. Jedrick Wills Jr., who had lost his starting job to Jones, figured to start against the Steelers (8-2), but was ruled out Wednesday with a knee injury that has bothered him for weeks. A first-round pick in 2020, Wills recently caused a stir by saying he made a “business decision” to sit out a game on Oct. 27 against Baltimore because of his knee. Coach Kevin Stefanski said Wills used a “poor choice of words.” James Hudson started Cleveland's first two games at left tackle while the Browns (2-8) waited for Wills to recover from knee surgery in December. The first-place Steelers were without outside linebacker/edge rusher Alex Highsmith, who missed his second straight game with an ankle injury. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. stock falls Friday, still outperforms marketNone
Jake Paul appeared to make a U-turn on his previous remarks over whether he would be open to fighting Canelo Alvarez - as he issued a cryptic social media post seemingly welcoming a 12-round bout. Coming off the back of his win over former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson , the stock of "Problem Child" has never been higher. Following that spectacle on Nov. 15, the 27-year-old has been laden with offers from stars including Artur Beterbiev, Daniel Dubois and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. over a potential contest. After his battle with Tyson pulled in a staggering 108 million worldwide viewers on Netflix , speculation has also abounded that he could step into the ring with Canelo. After initially seemingly dashing these rumors, Paul appeared to go back on his previous remarks in a veiled message on X. 'Pathetic' Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight slammed by top influencer fighter Jake Paul has five opponents in frame as next fight date emerges Taking to the social media site, the American influencer-turned-fighter set some hypothetical conditions for a fight as he outlined his single request if he was to fight the Mexican. The YouTube sensation simply requested: "Only if it’s 12 rounds." A post previous to this, Paul had reacted to Canelo's comments about a potential contest as he appeared irked by the suggestion. He said: "Why the f--- would I give him the payday? When I beat him it would be the same bulls--- and lies... that Canelo was too small and Jake Paul paid him off." Previously entertaining the idea of a match against Paul, the legendary pound-for-pound fighter said: "You know, I feel sad about what I saw from Mike Tyson. Because at his age and everything, he can't do that kind of stuff. But it's business for them and it's fine, whatever. I [did] think about it when I saw the fight, when I see that injustice. But we'll see." Either way, Paul has been open to the prospect of facing Canelo in the past, once saying: "It's Canelo. This moment will prove I'm the face of boxing, the largest attraction and me vs. Canelo at 200lb for the cruiserweight championship of the world is the biggest fight, arguably even bigger than me vs. Tyson, and it makes so much sense. "Canelo is on his way out. He's going to want a payday and I want to show the world all the stuff I've been talking about beating Canelo is actually true and I'll have the biggest upset in the history of boxing. We'll fight to really see who is the face because after this event, I'm going to be claiming it." Meanwhile, Canelo has remained open the possibility of potentially facing Terence Crawford in the future, while maintaining that he is enjoying a break from boxing currently. He added: "Now, I’m working on other things. Now, I’m enjoying my family. I’m not talking about boxing yet. So maybe in January we’re going to start doing that."Subscribe to our newsletter Privacy Policy Success! Your account was created and you’re signed in. Please visit My Account to verify and manage your account. An account was already registered with this email. Please check your inbox for an authentication link. Support Hyperallergic We’re funded by readers like you! If you value our reviews and news reporting, we need your support more than ever. Please join us as a member today. Already a member? Sign in here. Support Hyperallergic’s independent arts journalism for as little as $8 per month. Become a Member Scrawlspace is such a provocative title for an exhibition that before I saw it I assumed it had to be good. In some ways it is — deeply inquisitive where too many contemporary art exhibitions are merely declarative and well researched rather than organized willy nilly — but the premises of this show are in some instances cliché and a bit contradictory. Scrawlspace was conceived by Emily Alesandrini when she and her co-curator, Lucia Olubunmi R. Momoh, were both earning their master’s degrees at Tulane University. The term combines two words to suggest an area for writing that gives access to hidden parts of our spaces of habitation. Theirs is a straightforward curatorial proposition, as they explain in their brochure essay. The featured artists “examine the historically charged relationships Black Americans have maintained with writing, reading, and language, revealing new possibilities for and beyond words.” Certainly, in a show where the hypotheses are so exacting, these words matter, and they articulate a worthwhile goal. But this emphasis on “new possibilities” for language shows up in too many press releases and exhibition essays. Modernism got drunk on the idea of estrangement in order to make things new, and writers treat contemporary art’s hangover by drinking the same whiskey. Exhibitions can have other objectives: exploration; reminding viewers of forgotten things; sensitizing us to what may be ignored; fashioning something that sustains us. Alesandrini and Momoh also root the work in a particularly Black quest for freedom. Again from their essay: “Black artists have located room for resistance in writing—scrawlspaces, through which liberation can be felt and fostered.” They surmise from their research that the term originates in some lost or undocumented communication between cultural theorist Fred Moten and poet Harryette Mullen discussing the work of the Black feminist scholar Hortense Spillers in an essay examining oppressive language systems. So, the ideal of emancipation is entwined with the term. However, why is Blackness, which is a political designation, a cultural locale, and, most fundamentally, a state of being, confined to being an emblem of resistance and liberatory strategies? This association is asserted so frequently and widely in the contemporary art scene that it goes unquestioned. Yes, Blackness enables the country’s most self-serving PR statements — the Preamble to the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence — to approach being true. But as much as being Black should not be restricted to the trope of the magical negro , it should similarly not be constrained to the role of the poet warrior figure. Some Black people just want to make good food and watch their children grow. Get the latest art news, reviews and opinions from Hyperallergic. Daily Weekly Opportunities Nevertheless, in some ways it makes sense that this exhibition is caught up in this confinement/liberty incongruity, given that writing is itself contradictory. To “write” means to compose a coherent text that is intended to be read and understood by others. Yet it also means to merely make marks — letters, words, or other symbols on a legible surface with an implement. It is about both making sense and making traces or imprints that may mean nothing for those other than the writer, and sometimes, it is coded and can be read only by a select group. Shinique Smith’s “Firedog” (2006) uses the latter tactic. This work of ink, spray paint, and collage on paper depicts the sweep and rhythmic calligraphy of graffiti. Whether this is a document of actual graffiti inscribed somewhere or just an example of the highly stylized ligatures and curlicues of the writing is unclear. But I imagine someone who grew up tagging, as Smith did, recognizing things here that I cannot. I do recognize the text in Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo’s “collective survival part one: won’t you celebrate with me” (2022). On a sandwich board with black lettering overlaid by multicolored chessboard motif on one side and many-hued letters interrupted by a black background on the other, the spaces typically present between words are gone, so it’s challenging and fun to read, in the way that Christopher Wool’s paintings can be. But when I decipher it I’m brought back to the beauty and bravery of Lucille Clifton’s lyric poem : “won’t you celebrate with me / what i have shaped into / a kind of life? i had no model.” The words are interspersed with the patterned motif in such a way that they together read as a kind of linguistic/design mosaic that might be its own dialect or idiolect. Despite the ponderous premise, in the show there are other moments like these that are celebratory, carefree, even spendthrift. Glenn Ligon’s “Study for Negro Sunshine #150” (2023) manipulates the close relationship between written and uttered words, showing how the phrase “negro sunshine” repeated starts to clump up in the space of the frame and lose hold of its sense. You know what this is like if you’ve said a word or phrase over and over again until it dissolves into an audio mist in which meaning is barely recognizable. This combination of oil stick, coal dust, and gesso on paper glints subtly as if the devolution from one state to the other were throwing off sparks in the transition. I also find myself appreciating Renee Gladman’s ink, acrylic, and pastel compositions on paper because the writing is so small that it’s illegible. It reminds me of how people sometimes whisper to themselves, intoning a koan, or a poem or affirmation. In her “Space Question Vector” (2021) I imagine that she is murmuring the location of these celestial bodies or the secrets of orbital patterns. Sometimes the gesture of having written is enough to indicate serious engagement, serious thought. By contrast, some works are so archly intellectual that they leave me cold, such as Jamilah Sabur’s paintings, in which neon letters and words are attached to a field of color that contains one smaller photographic image. And there are artists who I’ve been thrilled to encounter in the past, but whose art in this show is not as enthralling. This is the case with Kameelah Janan Rasheed’s pieces, such as “Each Sentence Is a Sponge” (2023), which, the caption tells me, has to do with the religious ecstatic experience of speaking in tongues or automatic writing. The problem is that the scribbles don’t come together as a coherent (that word again) story or documentation of an event. I don’t mind being trapped in an artist’s mind, but I need a bit of cheese to tempt me there. Making a case that the work means a certain thing when this thing isn’t in evidence ironically gets at the alchemy of language, but the artist doesn’t do that. As writers and readers, we are always conjuring things into existence that were not there a moment ago. Now I think of Audre Lorde’s poem “Coal ,” and her explanation of the difference between kinds of writing: I believe that Alesandrini and Momoh were after this ragged edge of language, where it falls apart into characters and forms hinting that something else was there, something impelling the act of writing. By exploring how this inflects Black experience in this nation, the show at its best creates a kind of portal to elsewhere. Scrawlspace continues at the 8th Floor gallery (17 West 17th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan) through December 7 . The exhibition was curated by Emily Alesandrini and Lucia Olubunmi R. Momoh. We hope you enjoyed this article! Before you keep reading, please consider supporting Hyperallergic ’s journalism during a time when independent, critical reporting is increasingly scarce. Unlike many in the art world, we are not beholden to large corporations or billionaires. Our journalism is funded by readers like you , ensuring integrity and independence in our coverage. We strive to offer trustworthy perspectives on everything from art history to contemporary art. We spotlight artist-led social movements, uncover overlooked stories, and challenge established norms to make art more inclusive and accessible. With your support, we can continue to provide global coverage without the elitism often found in art journalism. If you can, please join us as a member today . Millions rely on Hyperallergic for free, reliable information. By becoming a member, you help keep our journalism free, independent, and accessible to all. Thank you for reading. 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Clarke Reed, who helped Gerald Ford win the 1976 Republican nomination, has died at 96