Papua New Guinea PM responds to Biden’s ‘cannibals’ comment
Papua New Guinea’s prime minister has accused Joe Biden of insulting his country after the US president implied his uncle had been eaten by cannibals on the island in the 1940s.
Mr Biden made the comments about his uncle Ambrose J Finnegan while visiting a Pennsylvania war memorial last week.
Mr Finnegan, who had served with the Army Air Corps during the Second World War, was involved in a plane crash in Papua New Guinea in 1944.
“They never found the body because there used to be – there were a lot of cannibals for real in that part of New Guinea,” Mr Biden said, referring to the country’s main island.
Prime Minister James Marape said in a statement on Sunday that Mr Biden “appeared to imply his uncle was eaten by cannibals”.
“President Biden’s remarks may have been a slip of the tongue; however, my country does not deserve to be labelled as such,” Mr Marape said.
“World War Two was not the doing of my people; however, they were needlessly dragged into a conflict that was not their doing,” he added.
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‘There were a lot of cannibals’
The prime minister also called on the US to locate its war dead in the country and to clean up the wreckage of war.
“The remains of World War Two lie scattered all over Papua New Guinea, including the plane that carried President Biden’s uncle,” Mr Marape added.
“Perhaps, given President Biden’s comments and the strong reaction from Papua New Guinea and other parts of the world, it is time for the USA to find as many remains of World War Two in Papua New Guinea as possible, including those of servicemen who lost their lives like Ambrose Finnegan.
“The theatres of war in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands are many, and littered with the remains of World War Two including human remains, plane wrecks, ship wrecks, tunnels and bombs.
“Our people daily live with the fear of being killed by detonated bombs of World War Two.”
Biden touched the name of his uncle, Ambrose J Finnegan, on a war memorial in Pennsylvania. Pic: Reuters
There appears to be no record of Mr Finnegan’s death being the result of hostile action or any indication that cannibals played a part in the inability to recover his remains, according to the US defence department.
Military records show he was killed when the reconnaissance plane he was in crashed in the Pacific Ocean off the northern coast of New Guinea in May 1944 after engine failure.
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The rift comes as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese began a visit on Monday to Papua New Guinea, Australia’s nearest neighbour.
“I’m very confident that Papua New Guinea has no stronger partner than Australia and our defence and security ties have never been stronger,” Mr Albanese told reporters before departing Australia.
The US has not yet commented on Mr Marape’s statement.
World
Ukraine war: 14 killed as Russian missile and drone attacks strike Kyiv – including American citizen
Russian missile and drone attacks have killed 14 people in Kyiv overnight, according to Ukrainian officials.
A 62-year-old US citizen who suffered shrapnel wounds is among the dead.
At least 99 others were wounded in strikes that hollowed out a residential building and destroyed dozens of apartments.
Pic: AP
Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble.
Images show a firefighter was among those hurt, with injured residents evacuated from their homes.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as “one of the most terrifying attacks on Kyiv” – and said Russian forces had fired 440 drones and 32 missiles as civilians slept in their homes.
“[Putin] wants the war to go on,” he said. “It is troubling when the powerful of this world turn a blind eye to it.”
Pic: AP
Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said 27 locations across the capital have been hit – including educational institutions and critical infrastructure.
He claimed the attack, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, was one of the largest on the capital since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Drones swarmed over the city, with an air raid alert remaining in force for seven hours.
One person was killed and 17 others injured as a result of separate Russian drone strikes in the port city of Odesa.
Pic: Reuters
It comes as the G7 summit in Canada continues, which Ukraine’s leader is expected to attend.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy was due to hold talks with Donald Trump – but the president has announced he is unexpectedly returning to Washington because of tensions in the Middle East.
Ukraine’s foreign minister says Moscow’s decision to attack Kyiv during the summit is a signal of disrespect to the US.
Moscow has launched a record number of drones and missiles in recent weeks, and says the attacks are in retaliation for a Ukrainian operation that targeted warplanes in airbases deep within Russian territory.
Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko says fires broke out in two of the city’s districts as a result of debris from drones shot down by the nation’s air defences.
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Pic: AP
On X, Ukraine’s foreign ministry wrote: “Russia’s campaign of terror against civilians continues. Its war against Ukraine escalates with increased brutality.
“The only way to stop Russia is tighter pressure – through sanctions, more defence support for Ukraine, and limiting Russia’s ability to keep sowing war.”
Olena Lapyshnak, who lived in one of the destroyed buildings, said: “It’s horrible, it’s scary, in one moment there is no life. I can only curse the Russians, that’s all I can say. They shouldn’t exist in this world.”
World
Israeli tank shelling kills 51 people waiting for aid in Khan Younis, Hamas-run health ministry says
Israeli tank shellfire has killed at least 51 Palestinians in Khan Younis, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.
Hundreds of others have been injured, with “dozens of critical cases” arriving at a medical complex.
It is feared that the number of fatalities will rise.
Pic: Reuters
The strikes took place as people waited for United Nations and commercial aid trucks in the southern Gaza city.
Witnesses said that Israeli forces carried out an airstrike on a nearby home before opening fire toward the crowd.
“Emergency, intensive care, and operating rooms are experiencing severe overcrowding,” a statement said.
Officials say medical staff “are operating with limited supplies of life-saving medicines” – with the ministry renewing an “urgent appeal” to increase aid.
Pic: Reuters
Hours earlier, Donald Trump had joined other G7 leaders to call for a “de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza”.
The Israeli military is yet to comment on this incident.
On Monday, Gaza’s health ministry said at least 34 people were shot dead near food distribution centres.
This was the highest reported daily total since Israel and US-backed aid centres opened last month, with thousands of Palestinians moving through Israeli military-controlled areas to reach them.
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