title: Jenny McCarthy

text: After 17 guest appearances, in July 2013, McCarthy was announced as a new co-host on ABC's "The View", replacing former co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck. To tone down her looks, McCarthy always wore glasses on the show. Barbara Walters praised McCarthy's intelligence, warmth, humor and fresh point of view, and calling her a great addition to the show. She debuted as a co-host on September 9, 2013. The departures of McCarthy and co-host Sherri Shepherd from "The View" were announced in June 2014. "The Wrap" reported that ABC had decided not to renew McCarthy's contract. In an interview with "Access Hollywood", McCarthy denied being fired from the show.


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: McCarthy became a SiriusXM series host of a show called "Dirty, Sexy, Funny with Jenny McCarthy" on October 27, 2014. The title of the show was changed to "The Jenny McCarthy Show" on July 12, 2016.


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: McCarthy once modeled for Candie's, a shoe company. In one magazine ad, McCarthy posed on a toilet seat with her underwear near her ankles. Cultural scholar Collin Gifford Brooke wrote that the ad's "taboo nature" brought it attention, while noting that the ad itself helped to weaken that taboo. Another Candie's ad depicted McCarthy "passing wind" in a crowded elevator.


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: In May 2007, McCarthy announced that Evan had been diagnosed with autism in 2005. McCarthy wrote that he was gifted, a "crystal child", and that she was an "indigo mom". Evan's disorder first manifested as seizures and his improvement occurred after the seizures were treated, which symptoms experts have noted are more consistent with Landau–Kleffner syndrome, often misdiagnosed as autism. She has denied that her son was misdiagnosed.


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: In a 2014 "Daily Beast" article she said that her son, then 12, was doing okay: "Evan's amazing, ... He doesn't meet the diagnostic characteristics for autism. He definitely has quirks and issues from the seizures. He has a little bit of brain damage due to his seizures. He doesn't qualify for any more services, but he does have issues in his school." McCarthy served as a spokesperson for Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) from June 2007 until October 2008. She participated in fundraisers, online chats, and other activities for the non-profit organization to help families affected by autism spectrum disorders. Her first fundraiser for TACA, "Ante Up for Autism", was held on October 20, 2007, in Irvine, California. She is a prominent spokesperson and activist for the Generation Rescue foundation, and serves on its board of directors .


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: McCarthy's book dealing with autism, "Louder than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism", was published September 17, 2007. She stated both in her book and during her appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" that her husband was unable to deal with their son's autism, which led to their divorce. In 2008, she appeared on a "Larry King Live" special dedicated to the subject and argued that vaccines can trigger autism. As of 2008, her son's physician was vaccine critic Jay Gordon. In an April 27, 2010 PBS "Frontline" documentary, she was interviewed about the debate between vaccine opponents and public health experts.


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: In addition to conventional, intensive Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy, McCarthy prescribed for her son a gluten-free and casein-free diet, hyperbaric oxygen chambers, chelation, aromatherapies, electromagnetics, spoons rubbed on his body, multivitamin therapy, B-12 shots, and numerous prescription drugs. "Try everything", she advises parents. "It was amazing to watch, over the course of doing this, how certain therapies work for certain kids and they completely don't work for others. ... When something didn't work for Evan, I didn't stop. I stopped that treatment, but I didn't stop." McCarthy has stated on talk shows and at rallies that chelation therapy helped her son recover from autism. The underlying rationale for chelation, the speculation that mercury in vaccines causes autism, has been roundly rejected by scientific studies, with the National Institute of Mental Health concluding that children with autism are unlikely to receive any benefit to balance the risks of heart attack, stroke and cardiac arrest posed by the chelating agents used in the treatment.


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: McCarthy's public presence and vocal activism on the vaccination-autism controversy, led, in 2008, to her being awarded the James Randi Educational Foundation's Pigasus Award, which is a tongue-in-cheek award granted for contributions to pseudoscience, for the "Performer Who Has Fooled the Greatest Number of People with the Least Amount of Effort". Randi stated in a video on the JREF's website that he did sympathize with the plight of McCarthy and her child, but admonished her for using her public presence in a way that may discourage parents from having their own children vaccinated. In 2019 Rolling Stone magazine published a list of seventeen anti-vaccination celebrities, from which according to Stuart Vyse McCarthy was one of the most active anti-vaccine celebrities.


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: McCarthy's claims that vaccines cause autism are not supported by any medical evidence, and the original paper by Andrew Wakefield that formed the basis for the claims (and for whose book McCarthy wrote a foreword) was based on manipulated data and fraudulent research. "The BMJ" published a 2011 article by journalist Brian Deer, based on information uncovered by Freedom of Information legislation after the British General Medical Council (GMC) inquiry into allegations of misconduct against Wakefield that led to him being struck off from the medical register (and thus unable to practice medicine in the UK) and his articles retracted, stating that Wakefield had planned a venture to profit from the MMR vaccine scare.


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: Generation Rescue issued a statement that the "media circus" following the revelation of Wakefield's fraud and manipulation of data was "much ado about nothing", which led "USA Today" to report that McCarthy had "taken a beating on Twitter". Mary Elizabeth Williams responded to Generation Rescue's statement:


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: "It's high time the woman who once said that 'I do believe sadly it's going to take some diseases coming back to realize that we need to change and develop vaccines that are safe' took a step back and reconsidered the merits of that increasingly crackpot stance. And it's time she acknowledged that clinging to research that's been deemed patently fraudulent does not make one a 'mother warrior.' It makes her a menace."


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: In January 2011, McCarthy defended Wakefield, saying that he had listened to parents, reported what they said, and recommended further investigation:


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: "Since when is repeating the words of parents and recommending further investigation a crime? As I've learned, the answer is whenever someone questions the safety of any vaccines. For some reason, parents aren't being told that this 'new' information about Dr. Wakefield isn't a medical report, but merely the allegations of a single British journalist named Brian Deer."


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: Having written three books on the subject after her son was diagnosed with the syndrome, "by dint of sheer energy and celebrity, McCarthy became the nation's most prominent purveyor of anti-vaxxer ideology", and has reiterated that she is not against vaccines. In an earlier October 2013 interview for "TV Guide", McCarthy is quoted as saying:


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: "It's been three years now since I've even talked about autism or vaccines — I was taken aback when people freaked out that I was going to come on "The View" and preach. ... I will clarify my stance, which is still the same: That parents are in charge. Space it out, slow it down and do your homework. But I am not at all against vaccines."


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: Jeffrey Kluger, senior writer at "Time", has criticized McCarthy several times. In an open letter article referring to their past conflicts, he reproved her and rejected her denials:


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: "Jenny, as outbreaks of measles, mumps and whooping cough continue to appear in the U.S.—most the result of parents refusing to vaccinate their children because of the scare stories passed around by anti-vaxxers like you—it's just too late to play cute with the things you've said. You are either floridly, loudly, uninformedly antivaccine or you are the most grievously misunderstood celebrity of the modern era. Science almost always prefers the simple answer, because that's the one that's usually correct. Your quote trail is far too long—and you have been far too wrong—for the truth not to be obvious."


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: One month later in May 2014, McCarthy published an opinion-editorial addressing her position on vaccines, which specifically mentions Kluger:


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: "I am not 'anti-vaccine.' This is not a change in my stance nor is it a new position that I have recently adopted. For years, I have repeatedly stated that I am, in fact, 'pro-vaccine' and for years I have been wrongly branded as 'anti-vaccine.' ... Blatantly inaccurate blog posts about my position have been accepted as truth by the public at large as well as media outlets (legitimate and otherwise), who have taken those false stories and repeatedly turned them into headlines."


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: "I am not anti-vaccine, ... I'm in this gray zone of, I think everyone should be aware and educate yourself and ask questions. And if your kid is having a problem, ask your doctor for an alternative way of doing the shots. ... The ironic thing is my position has always remained the same. People just never listened to it."


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: In a 2015 "Medscape" article about celebrities who "speak out about illness", Jeffrey A. Lieberman criticized McCarthy and her views on vaccines, thimerosal, and autism. He had this to say about her influence: "She has no idea what she is talking about. What she said is misleading and harmful, and the measles outbreak is a clear indication of the response to the spread of such pseudoscientific myths."


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: McCarthy's appointment to "The View" called forth many protests. Amy Pisani of Every Child By Two stated, in a letter to "The View"'s Barbara Walters and Bill Geddie, that McCarthy's "unfounded claims that vaccines cause autism have been one of the greatest impediments to public health in recent decades", and that McCarthy's assertions "[have] spread fear among young parents, which has led to an increased number of children who have not received life-saving vaccines."


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: James Poniewozik, a television critic for "Time" magazine, criticized McCarthy's addition to the series and Walters' endorsement of McCarthy, arguing that "The View" is largely aimed at parents, on whom the public health system is dependent, and that the credibility that McCarthy's hiring will give her will endanger the public. Poniewozik argued that McCarthy's views, which might be brought up in discussions with the other hosts, would have the effect of framing the issue of whether vaccines cause autism as a matter of opinion, rather than a firmly refuted idea.


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: David Freeman, senior science editor for "The Huffington Post", wrote about the concerns of Bill Nye, who stated: "I believe Ms. McCarthy's views will be discredited."


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: Alex Pareene also protested and published a letter to ABC in "Salon", entitled "Anti-vaccine conspiracist and 'View' co-host Jenny McCarthy isn't just quirky—she spreads lies that hurt people."


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: "Jenny McCarthy ... will be the show's first co-host whose dangerous views on childhood vaccination may—if only indirectly—have contributed to the sickness and death of people throughout the Western world. McCarthy, who is savvy, telegenic, and pulchritudinous, is also the person most visibly associated with the deadly and authoritatively discredited anti-vaccine movement in the United States."


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: Brendan Nyhan, writing in "Columbia Journalism Review", commented: "ABC's announcement yesterday that actress/comedian Jenny McCarthy will become a co-host of "The View" brought forth a torrent of condemnation from doctors, science journalists, opinion writers, and even entertainment commentators who oppose giving the anti-vaccine activist a high-profile platform to spread misinformation." After an extensive review of news coverage of the hiring, Nyhan concluded that "[t]here is no perfect way to cover McCarthy's hiring, of course, but giving 'balanced' coverage to fringe beliefs is the worst approach to covering misinformation."


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: Toronto Public Health officially denounced the appointment and "launched a Twitter campaign to get ... McCarthy fired from the ABC show "The View"", tweeting "Jenny McCarthy's anti-vaccine views = misinformation. Please ask "The View" to change their mind", and "Jenny McCarthy cites fraudulent research on vaccines & it's irresponsible to provide her with "The View" platform."


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: Katrina vanden Heuvel, member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Editor of "The Nation", objected to the appointment and wrote about "Jenny McCarthy's Vaccination Fear-Mongering and the Cult of False Equivalence":


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: "One of the most prominent promoters of this falsehood [that vaccines cause autism] is actress Jenny McCarthy, who was recently named as Elisabeth Hasselbeck's replacement on ABC's hit daytime talk-show, "The View". Once she's on air, it will be difficult to prevent her from advocating for the anti-vaccine movement. And the mere act of hiring her would seem to credit her as a reliable source. ... By giving science deniers a public forum, media outlets implicitly condone their claims as legitimate. ... False equivalency is one of journalism's great pitfalls, and in an effort to achieve 'balance', reporters often obscure the truth. What's the merit in 'he said, she said' reporting when he says the world is round and she insists it is flat. Indeed, there is an enormous cost to society when the truth could save lives."


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: Psychologist Stuart Vyse in an article for "Skeptical Inquirer" regarding the false cause between vaccination and autism and also the false cures stated:


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: "MCCarthy became the face of the anti-vaccination movement, and the subsequent rise in vaccine hesitancy has been called “The Jenny McCarthy Effect” (Dominus 2011). It is important to recall that correlation does not mean causation, but the Google Trends[...] data shows a sustained increase in Google searches for “autism & vaccines” following McCarthy’s book launch media blitz. It’s also impossible to know who was searching and why, but for a time Jenny McCarthy was the undisputed leader of the anti-vaxx movement."


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: McCarthy dated manager Ray Manzella from 1994 until 1998 and began dating actor/director John Mallory Asher late in 1998. The couple became engaged in January 1999 and married on September 11 of that year. They have a son, Evan, born in May 2002, who was diagnosed with autism in May 2005. McCarthy and Asher divorced in September 2005.


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: In December 2005, McCarthy began dating actor Jim Carrey. They did not make their relationship public until June 2006. She announced on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on April 2, 2008, that she and Carrey were living together but had no plans to marry, as they did not need a "piece of paper". Carrey almost made a mock proposal to McCarthy as a promotion to the film "Yes Man" (2008) for Ellen's "Twelve Days of Christmas". In April 2010, McCarthy and Carrey announced that they had split up.


title: Jenny McCarthy

text: In July 2013, McCarthy stated that she was dating singer and actor Donnie Wahlberg, known for being a member of New Kids on the Block and the television series "Blue Bloods". On April 16, 2014, McCarthy announced on "The View" that she and Wahlberg were engaged, and they married on August 31, 2014.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; ; ), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea (; ), is a country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia (a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia). Its capital, located along its southeastern coast, is Port Moresby. The country is the world's third largest island country, with an area of .


title: Papua New Guinea

text: At the national level, after being ruled by three external powers since 1884, including nearly 60 years of Australian administration starting during World War I, Papua New Guinea established its sovereignty in 1975. It became an independent Commonwealth realm in 1975 with Elizabeth II as its queen. It also became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations in its own right.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: There are 839 known languages of Papua New Guinea, one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world. As of 2019, it is also the most rural, as only 13.25% of its people live in urban centres. Most of the population of more than 8 million people live in customary communities. Although government estimates have placed the country's population at 9.4 million, it was reported in December 2022 that a yet-to-be-published study suggests the true population is close to 17 million.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The sovereign state is classified as a developing economy by the International Monetary Fund; nearly 40% of the population are subsistence farmers, living relatively independently of the cash economy. Their traditional social groupings are explicitly acknowledged by the Papua New Guinea Constitution, which expresses the wish for "traditional villages and communities to remain as viable units of Papua New Guinean society" and protects their continuing importance to local and national community life. Papua New Guinea has been an observer state in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since 1976, and has filed its application for full membership status. It is a full member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Pacific Community, and the Pacific Islands Forum.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The word "papua" is derived from an old local term of uncertain origin. "New Guinea" ("Nueva Guinea") was the name coined by the Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez. In 1545, he noted the resemblance of the people to those he had earlier seen along the Guinea coast of Africa. Guinea, in its turn, is etymologically derived from the Portuguese word "Guiné". The name is one of several toponyms sharing similar etymologies, ultimately meaning "land of the blacks" or similar meanings, in reference to the dark skin of the inhabitants.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Archaeological evidence indicates that humans first arrived in Papua New Guinea around 42,000 to 45,000 years ago. They were descendants of migrants out of Africa, in one of the early waves of human migration. A 2016 study at the University of Cambridge by Christopher Klein et al. suggests that it was about 50,000 years ago that these peoples reached Sahul (the supercontinent consisting of present-day Australia and New Guinea). The sea levels rose and isolated New Guinea about 10,000 years ago, but Aboriginal Australians and Papuans diverged from each other genetically earlier, about 37,000 years BP. Evolutionary Geneticist Svante Pääbo found that people of New Guinea share 4%–7% of their genome with the Denisovans, indicating that the ancestors of Papuans interbred in Asia with these archaic hominins.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Agriculture was independently developed in the New Guinea highlands around 7000 BC, making it one of the few areas in the world where people independently domesticated plants. A major migration of Austronesian-speaking peoples to coastal regions of New Guinea took place around 500 BC. This has been correlated with the introduction of pottery, pigs, and certain fishing techniques.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: In the 18th century, traders brought the sweet potato to New Guinea, where it was adopted and became a staple food. Portuguese traders had obtained it from South America and introduced it to the Moluccas. The far higher crop yields from sweet potato gardens radically transformed traditional agriculture and societies. Sweet potato largely supplanted the previous staple, taro, and resulted in a significant increase in population in the highlands.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Although by the late 20th century headhunting and cannibalism had been practically eradicated, in the past they were practised in many parts of the country as part of rituals related to warfare and taking in enemy spirits or powers. In 1901, on Goaribari Island in the Gulf of Papua, missionary Harry Dauncey found 10,000 skulls in the island's long houses, a demonstration of past practices. According to Marianna Torgovnick, writing in 1991, "The most fully documented instances of cannibalism as a social institution come from New Guinea, where head-hunting and ritual cannibalism survived, in certain isolated areas, into the Fifties, Sixties, and Seventies, and still leave traces within certain social groups."


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Little was known in Europe about the island until the 19th century, although Portuguese and Spanish explorers, such as Dom Jorge de Menezes and Yñigo Ortiz de Retez, had encountered it as early as the 16th century. Traders from Southeast Asia had visited New Guinea beginning 5,000 years ago to collect bird-of-paradise plumes.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The country's dual name results from its complex administrative history before independence. In the nineteenth century, Germany ruled the northern half of the country for some decades, beginning in 1884, as a colony named German New Guinea. In 1914 after the outbreak of World War I, Australian forces captured German New Guinea and occupied it throughout the war. After the war, in which Germany and the Central Powers were defeated, the League of Nations authorised Australia to administer this area as a League of Nations mandate territory that became the Territory of New Guinea.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Also in 1884, the southern part of the country became a British protectorate. In 1888 it was annexed, together with some adjacent islands, by Britain as British New Guinea. In 1902, Papua was effectively transferred to the authority of the new British dominion of Australia. With the passage of the Papua Act 1905, the area was officially renamed the Territory of Papua, and Australian administration became formal in 1906. In contrast to establishing an Australian mandate in former German New Guinea, the League of Nations determined that Papua was an external territory of the Australian Commonwealth; as a matter of law it remained a British possession. The difference in legal status meant that until 1949, Papua and New Guinea had entirely separate administrations, both controlled by Australia. These conditions contributed to the complexity of organising the country's post-independence legal system.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: During World War II, the New Guinea campaign (1942–1945) was one of the major military campaigns and conflicts between Japan and the Allies. Approximately 216,000 Japanese, Australian, and U.S. servicemen died. After World War II and the victory of the Allies, the two territories were combined into the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. This was later referred to as "Papua New Guinea."


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The natives of Papua appealed to the United Nations for oversight and independence. The nation established independence from Australia on 16 September 1975, becoming a Commonwealth realm, continuing to share the British monarch as its head of state. It maintains close ties with Australia, which continues to be its largest aid donor. Papua New Guinea was admitted to membership in the United Nations on 10 October 1975.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: A secessionist revolt in 1975–76 on Bougainville Island resulted in an eleventh-hour modification of the draft Constitution of Papua New Guinea to allow for Bougainville and the other eighteen districts to have quasi-federal status as provinces. A renewed uprising on Bougainville started in 1988 and claimed 20,000 lives until it was resolved in 1997. Bougainville had been the primary mining region of the country, generating 40% of the national budget. The native peoples felt they were bearing the adverse environmental effects of the mining, which contaminated the land, water and air, without gaining a fair share of the profits.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The government and rebels negotiated a peace agreement that established the Bougainville Autonomous District and Province. The autonomous Bougainville elected Joseph Kabui as president in 2005, who served until his death in 2008. He was succeeded by his deputy John Tabinaman as acting president while an election to fill the unexpired term was organised. James Tanis won that election in December 2008 and served until the inauguration of John Momis, the winner of the 2010 elections. As part of the current peace settlement, a non-binding independence referendum was held, between 23 November and 7 December 2019. The referendum question was a choice between greater autonomy within Papua New Guinea and full independence for Bougainville, and voters voted overwhelmingly (98.31%) for independence. Negotiations between the Bougainville government and national Papua New Guinea on a path to Bougainville independence began after the referendum, and are ongoing.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Numerous Chinese have worked and lived in Papua New Guinea, establishing Chinese-majority communities. Anti-Chinese rioting involving tens of thousands of people broke out in May 2009. The initial spark was a fight between ethnic Chinese and indigenous workers at a nickel factory under construction by a Chinese company. Native resentment against Chinese ownership of numerous small businesses and their commercial monopoly in the islands led to the rioting.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: There is existing collaboration between Papua New Guinea and African countries. Papua New Guinea is part of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) forum. There is a thriving community of Africans who live and work in the country.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Papua New Guinea is also famous for its frequent seismic activity, being on the Ring of Fire. On 17 July 1998, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck north of Aitape. It triggered a 50 foot high tsunami, which killed over 2,180 people in one of the worst natural disasters in the country.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: In September 2002, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck off the coast of Wewak, Sandaun Province, killing six people.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: From March to April 2018, a chain of earthquakes hit Hela Province, causing widespread landslides and the deaths of 200 people. Various nations from Oceania and Southeast Asia immediately sent aid to the country.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Another severe earthquake occurred on 11 September 2022, killing seven people and causing damaging shaking in some of the country’s largest cities, such as Lae and Madang, it was also felt in the capital Port Moresby.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Papua New Guinea is a Commonwealth realm with Charles III as King of Papua New Guinea. The constitutional convention, which prepared the draft constitution, and Australia, the outgoing metropolitan power, had thought that Papua New Guinea would not remain a monarchy. The founders, however, considered that imperial honours had a cachet. The monarch is represented by the Governor-General of Papua New Guinea, currently Bob Dadae. Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands, are unusual among Commonwealth realms in that governors-general are appointed by the Sovereign, the Head of State, upon nomination by the National Parliament, which nomination the Head of State is not obliged to accept.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The Prime Minister heads the cabinet, which consists of 31 members of Parliament from the ruling coalition, which make up the government. The current prime minister is James Marape. The unicameral National Parliament has 111 seats, of which 22 are occupied by the governors of the 22 provinces and the National Capital District. Candidates for members of parliament are voted upon when the prime minister asks the governor-general to call a national election, a maximum of five years after the previous national election.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: In the early years of independence, the instability of the party system led to frequent votes of no confidence in parliament, with resulting changes of the government, but with referral to the electorate, through national elections only occurring every five years. In recent years, successive governments have passed legislation preventing such votes sooner than 18 months after a national election and within 12 months of the next election. In 2012, the first two (of three) readings were passed to prevent votes of no confidence occurring within the first 30 months. This restriction on votes of no confidence has arguably resulted in greater stability, although perhaps at a cost of reducing the accountability of the executive branch of government.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Elections in PNG attract numerous candidates. After independence in 1975, members were elected by the first-past-the-post system, with winners frequently gaining less than 15% of the vote. Electoral reforms in 2001 introduced the Limited Preferential Vote system (LPV), a version of the alternative vote. The 2007 general election was the first to be conducted using LPV.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Under a 2002 amendment, the leader of the party winning the largest number of seats in the election is invited by the governor-general to form the government, if they can muster the necessary majority in parliament. The process of forming such a coalition in PNG, where parties do not have much ideology, involves considerable "horse-trading" right up until the last moment. Peter O'Neill emerged as Papua New Guinea's prime minister after the July 2012 election, and formed a government with Leo Dion, the former Governor of East New Britain Province, as deputy prime minister.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: In 2011 there was a constitutional crisis between the parliament-elect Prime Minister, Peter O'Neill (voted into office by a large majority of MPs), and Sir Michael Somare, who was deemed by the supreme court to retain office. The stand-off between parliament and the supreme court continued until the July 2012 national elections, with legislation passed effectively removing the chief justice and subjecting the supreme court members to greater control by the legislature, as well as a series of other laws passed, for example limiting the age for a prime minister. The confrontation reached a peak, with the deputy prime minister entering the supreme court during a hearing, escorted by police, ostensibly to arrest the chief justice. There was strong pressure among some MPs to defer the national elections for a further six months to one year, although their powers to do that were highly questionable. The parliament-elect prime minister and other cooler-headed MPs carried the votes for the writs for the new election to be issued, slightly late, but for the election itself to occur on time, thereby avoiding a continuation of the constitutional crisis.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: In May 2019, O'Neill resigned as prime minister and was replaced through a vote of Parliament by James Marape. Marape was a key minister in O'Neill's government and his defection from the government to the opposition camp had finally led to O'Neill's resignation from office. Davis Steven was appointed deputy prime minister, justice Minister and Attorney General. In July 2022, Prime Minister James Marape's PANGU Party secured the most seats of any party in the election, meaning James Marape was elected to continue as PNG's Prime Minister.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The unicameral Parliament enacts legislation in the same manner as in other Commonwealth realms that use the Westminster system of government. The cabinet collectively agrees on government policy, then the relevant minister introduces bills to Parliament, depending on which government department is responsible for implementation of a particular law. Back bench members of parliament can also introduce bills. Parliament debates bills, and (section 110.1 of the Constitution) they become enacted laws when the Speaker certifies that Parliament has passed them. There is no Royal assent.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: All ordinary statutes enacted by Parliament must be consistent with the Constitution. The courts have jurisdiction to rule on the constitutionality of statutes, both in disputes before them and on a reference where there is no dispute but only an abstract question of law. Unusually among developing countries, the judicial branch of government in Papua New Guinea has remained remarkably independent, and successive executive governments have continued to respect its authority.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The "underlying law" (Papua New Guinea's common law) consists of principles and rules of common law and equity in English common law as it stood on 16 September 1975 (the date of independence), and thereafter the decisions of PNG's own courts. The courts are directed by the Constitution and, latterly, the "Underlying Law Act", to take note of the "custom" of traditional communities. They are to determine which customs are common to the whole country and may be declared also to be part of the underlying law. In practice, this has proved difficult and has been largely neglected. Statutes are largely adapted from overseas jurisdictions, primarily Australia and England. Advocacy in the courts follows the adversarial pattern of other common-law countries. This national court system, used in towns and cities, is supported by a village court system in the more remote areas. The law underpinning the village courts is 'customary law'.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Papua New Guinea is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, Pacific Community, Pacific Islands Forum, and the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) of countries. It was accorded observer status within ASEAN in 1976, followed later by special observer status in 1981. It is also a member of APEC and an ACP country, associated with the European Union.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Papua New Guinea supported Indonesia's control of Western New Guinea: the focus of the Papua conflict where numerous human rights violations have reportedly been committed by the Indonesian security forces.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The Papua New Guinea Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Papua New Guinea. It consists of three wings. The Land Element has 7 units: the Royal Pacific Islands Regiment, a special forces unit, a battalion of engineers, three other small units primarily dealing with signals and health, and a military academy. The Air Element consists of one aircraft squadron, which transports the other military wings. The Maritime Element consists of four s, three ex-Australian landing craft, and one . One of the landing craft is used as a training ship. Three more Guardian-class patrol boats are under construction in Australia, to replace the old Pacific-class vessels. The main tasks of the Maritime Element are to patrol inshore waters and to transport the Land Element. Papua New Guinea has a very large exclusive economic zone because of its extensive coastline. The Maritime Element relies heavily on satellite imagery to surveil the country's waters. Patrolling is generally ineffective because underfunding often leaves the patrol boats unserviceable. This problem will be partially corrected when the larger Guardian-class patrol boats enter service.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Papua New Guinea is often ranked as likely the worst place in the world for violence against women. A 2013 study in "The Lancet" found that 27% of men on Bougainville Island reported having raped a non-partner, while 14.1% reported having committed gang rape. According to UNICEF, nearly half of reported rape victims are under 15 years old, and 13% are under 7 years old. A report by ChildFund Australia, citing former Parliamentarian Dame Carol Kidu, claimed 50% of those seeking medical help after rape are under 16, 25% are under 12, and 10% are under 8. Under Dame Carol's term as Minister for Community Development, Parliament passed the Family Protection Act (2013) and the Lukautim Pikini Act (2015), although the Family Protection Regulation was not approved until 2017, delaying its application in the Courts.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The 1971 Sorcery Act imposed a penalty of up to 2 years in prison for the practice of "black" magic, until the act was repealed in 2013. An estimated 50–150 alleged witches are killed each year in Papua New Guinea. A Sorcery and Witchcraft Accusation Related National Action Plan (SNAP) was approved by the Government in 2015, although funding and application has been deficient. There are also no protections given to LGBT citizens in the country. Homosexual acts are prohibited by law in Papua New Guinea.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary has been troubled in recent years by infighting, political interference and corruption. It was recognised from early after Independence (and hitherto) that a national police force alone could never have the capacity to administer law and order across the country, and that it would also require effective local level systems of policing and enforcement, notably the village court magisterial service. The weaknesses of police capacity, poor working conditions and recommendations to address them were the subject of the 2004 Royal PNG Constabulary Administrative Review to the Minister for Internal Security.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: In 2011, Commissioner for Police Anthony Wagambie took the unusual step of asking the public to report police asking for payments for performing their duties.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: In September 2020, Minister for Police Bryan Jared Kramer launched a broadside on Facebook against his own police department, which was subsequently reported in the international media. In the post, Kramer accused the Royal PNG Constabulary of widespread corruption, claiming that "Senior officers based in Police Headquarters in Port Moresby were stealing from their own retired officers’ pension funds. They were implicated in organised crime, drug syndicates, smuggling firearms, stealing fuel, insurance scams, and even misusing police allowances. They misused tens of millions of kina allocated for police housing, resources, and welfare. We also uncovered many cases of senior officers facilitating the theft of Police land." Commissioner for Police David Manning, in a separate statement, said that his force included "criminals in uniform."


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Papua New Guinea is divided into four regions, which are not the primary administrative divisions but are quite significant in many aspects of government, commercial, sporting and other activities. The nation has 22 province-level divisions: twenty provinces, the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and the National Capital District. Each province is divided into one or more districts, which in turn are divided into one or more Local-Level Government areas. Provinces are the primary administrative divisions of the country. Provincial governments are branches of the national government as Papua New Guinea is not a federation of provinces. The province-level divisions are as follows:


title: Papua New Guinea

text: In 2009, Parliament approved the creation of two additional provinces: Hela Province, consisting of part of the existing Southern Highlands Province, and Jiwaka Province, formed by dividing Western Highlands Province. Jiwaka and Hela officially became separate provinces on 17 May 2012. The declaration of Hela and Jiwaka is a result of the largest liquefied natural gas project in the country that is situated in both provinces. The government set 23 November 2019 as the voting date for a non-binding independence referendum in the Bougainville autonomous region. In December 2019, the autonomous region voted overwhelmingly for independence, with 97.7% voting in favour of obtaining full independence and around 1.7% voting in favour of greater autonomy.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: At , Papua New Guinea is the world's 54th-largest country and the third-largest island country. Papua New Guinea is part of the Australasian realm, which also includes Australia, New Zealand, eastern Indonesia, and several Pacific island groups, including the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Including all its islands, it lies between latitudes 0° and 12°S, and longitudes 140° and 160°E. It has an exclusive economic zone of . The mainland of the country is the eastern half of New Guinea island, where the largest towns are also located, including Port Moresby (capital) and Lae; other major islands within Papua New Guinea include New Ireland, New Britain, Manus and Bougainville.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Located north of the Australian mainland, the country's geography is diverse and, in places, extremely rugged. A spine of mountains, the New Guinea Highlands, runs the length of the island of New Guinea, forming a populous highlands region mostly covered with tropical rainforest, and the long Papuan Peninsula, known as the 'Bird's Tail'. Dense rainforests can be found in the lowland and coastal areas as well as very large wetland areas surrounding the Sepik and Fly rivers. This terrain has made it difficult for the country to develop transportation infrastructure. Some areas are accessible only on foot or by aeroplane. The highest peak is Mount Wilhelm at . Papua New Guinea is surrounded by coral reefs which are under close watch, in the interests of preservation. Papua New Guinea's largest rivers are in New Guinea and include Sepik, Ramu, Markham, Musa, Purari, Kikori, Turama, Wawoi and Fly.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The country is situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire, at the point of collision of several tectonic plates. Geologically, the island of New Guinea is a northern extension of the Indo-Australian tectonic plate, forming part of a single land mass which is Australia-New Guinea (also called "Sahul" or "Meganesia"). It is connected to the Australian segment by a shallow continental shelf across the Torres Strait, which in former ages lay exposed as a land bridge, particularly during ice ages when sea levels were lower than at present. As the Indo-Australian Plate (which includes landmasses of India, Australia, and the Indian Ocean floor in between) drifts north, it collides with the Eurasian Plate. The collision of the two plates pushed up the Himalayas, the Indonesian islands, and New Guinea's Central Range. The Central Range is much younger and higher than the mountains of Australia, so high that it is home to rare equatorial glaciers.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: There are several active volcanoes, and eruptions are frequent. Earthquakes are relatively common, sometimes accompanied by tsunamis. On 25 February 2018, an earthquake of magnitude 7.5 and depth of 35 kilometres struck the middle of Papua New Guinea. The worst of the damage was centred around the Southern Highlands region. Papua New Guinea is one of the few regions close to the equator that experience snowfall, which occurs in the most elevated parts of the mainland.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The border between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia was confirmed by treaty with Australia before independence in 1974. The land border comprises a segment of the 141° E meridian from the north coast southwards to where it meets the Fly River flowing east, then a short curve of the river's thalweg to where it meets the 141°01'10" E meridian flowing west, then southwards to the south coast. The 141° E meridian formed the entire eastern boundary of Dutch New Guinea according to its 1828 annexation proclamation. By the Treaty of The Hague (1895) the Dutch and British agreed to a territorial exchange, bringing the entire left bank of the Fly River into British New Guinea and moving the southern border east to the Torasi Estuary. The maritime boundary with Australia was confirmed by a treaty in 1978. In the Torres Strait it runs close to the mainland of New Guinea, keeping the adjacent North Western Torres Strait Islands (Dauan, Boigu and Saibai) under Australian sovereignty. Maritime boundaries with the Solomon Islands were confirmed by a 1989 treaty.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Many species of birds and mammals found on New Guinea have close genetic links with corresponding species found in Australia. One notable feature in common for the two landmasses is the existence of several species of marsupial mammals, including some kangaroos and possums, which are not found elsewhere. Papua New Guinea is a megadiverse country.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Many of the other islands within PNG territory, including New Britain, New Ireland, Bougainville, the Admiralty Islands, the Trobriand Islands, and the Louisiade Archipelago, were never linked to New Guinea by land bridges. As a consequence, they have their own flora and fauna; in particular, they lack many of the land mammals and flightless birds that are common to New Guinea and Australia.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Australia and New Guinea are portions of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana, which started to break into smaller continents in the Cretaceous period, 65–130 million years ago. Australia finally broke free from Antarctica about 45 million years ago. All the Australasian lands are home to the Antarctic flora, descended from the flora of southern Gondwana, including the coniferous podocarps and "Araucaria" pines, and the broad-leafed southern beech ("Nothofagus"). These plant families are still present in Papua New Guinea. New Guinea is part of the humid tropics, and many Indomalayan rainforest plants spread across the narrow straits from Asia, mixing together with the old Australian and Antarctic floras. New Guinea has been identified as the world's most floristically diverse island in the world, with 13,634 known species of vascular plants.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Three new species of mammals were discovered in the forests of Papua New Guinea by an Australian-led expedition in the early 2010s. A small wallaby, a large-eared mouse and shrew-like marsupial were discovered. The expedition was also successful in capturing photographs and video footage of some other rare animals such as the Tenkile tree kangaroo and the Weimang tree kangaroo. Nearly one quarter of Papua New Guinea's rainforests were damaged or destroyed between 1972 and 2002. Papua New Guinea had a Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 8.84/10, ranking it 17th globally out of 172 countries. Mangrove swamps stretch along the coast, and in the inland it is inhabited by nipa palm (Nypa fruticans), and deeper in the inland the sago palm tree inhabits areas in the valleys of larger rivers. Trees such as oaks, red cedars, pines, and beeches are becoming predominant in the uplands above 3,300 feet. Papua New Guinea is rich in various species of reptiles, indigenous freshwater fish and birds, but it is almost devoid of large mammals.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The climate on the island is essentially tropical, but it varies by region. The maximum mean temperature in the lowlands is 30 to 32 °C, and the minimum 23-24 °C. In the highlands above 2100 meters, colder conditions prevail and night frosts are common there, while the daytime temperature exceeds 22 °C, regardless of the season.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, including mineral and renewable resources, such as forests, marine resources (including a large portion of the world's major tuna stocks), and in some parts agriculture. The rugged terrain—including high mountain ranges and valleys, swamps and islands—and high cost of developing infrastructure, combined with other factors (including law and order problems in some centres and the system of customary land title) makes it difficult for outside developers. Local developers are hindered by years of deficient investment in education, health, and access to finance. Agriculture, for subsistence and cash crops, provides a livelihood for 85% of the population and continues to provide some 30% of GDP. Mineral deposits, including gold, oil, and copper, account for 72% of export earnings. Oil palm production has grown steadily over recent years (largely from estates and with extensive outgrower output), with palm oil now the main agricultural export. Coffee remains the major export crop (produced largely in the Highlands provinces); followed by cocoa and coconut oil/copra from the coastal areas, each largely produced by smallholders; tea, produced on estates; and rubber. The Iagifu/Hedinia Field was discovered in 1986 in the Papuan fold and thrust belt.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Former Prime Minister Sir Mekere Morauta tried to restore integrity to state institutions, stabilise the kina, restore stability to the national budget, privatise public enterprises where appropriate, and ensure ongoing peace on Bougainville following the 1997 agreement which ended Bougainville's secessionist unrest. The Morauta government had considerable success in attracting international support, specifically gaining the backing of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in securing development assistance loans.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: As of 2019, PNG's real GDP growth rate was 3.8%, with an inflation rate of 4.3% This economic growth has been primarily attributed to strong commodity prices, particularly mineral but also agricultural, with the high demand for mineral products largely sustained even during the crisis by the buoyant Asian markets, a booming mining sector and by a buoyant outlook and the construction phase for natural gas exploration, production, and exportation in liquefied form (liquefied natural gas or "LNG") by LNG tankers, all of which will require multibillion-dollar investments (exploration, production wells, pipelines, storage, liquefaction plants, port terminals, LNG tanker ships).


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The first major gas project was the PNG LNG joint venture. ExxonMobil is operator of the joint venture, also comprising PNG company Oil Search, Santos, Kumul Petroleum Holdings (Papua New Guinea's national oil and gas company), JX Nippon Oil and Gas Exploration, the PNG government's Mineral Resources Development Company and Petromin PNG Holdings. The project is an integrated development that includes gas production and processing facilities in the Hela, Southern Highlands and Western Provinces of Papua New Guinea, including liquefaction and storage facilities (located northwest of Port Moresby) with capacity of 6.9 million tonnes per year. There are over of pipelines connecting the facilities. It is the largest private-sector investment in the history of PNG. A second major project is based on initial rights held by the French oil and gas major TotalEnergies and the U.S. company InterOil Corp. (IOC), which have partly combined their assets after TotalEnergies agreed in December 2013 to purchase 61.3% of IOC's Antelope and Elk gas field rights, with the plan to develop them starting in 2016, including the construction of a liquefaction plant to allow export of LNG. TotalEnergies has separately another joint operating agreement with Oil Search.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Further gas and mineral projects are proposed (including the large Wafi-Golpu copper-gold mine), with extensive exploration ongoing across the country.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The PNG government's long-term Vision 2050 and shorter-term policy documents, including the 2013 Budget and the 2014 Responsible Sustainable Development Strategy, emphasise the need for a more diverse economy, based upon sustainable industries and avoiding the effects of Dutch disease from major resource extraction projects undermining other industries, as has occurred in many countries experiencing oil or other mineral booms, notably in Western Africa, undermining much of their agriculture sector, manufacturing and tourism, and with them broad-based employment prospects. Measures have been taken to mitigate these effects, including through the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund, partly to stabilise revenue and expenditure flows, but much will depend upon the readiness to make real reforms to effective use of revenue, tackling rampant corruption and empowering households and businesses to access markets, services and develop a more buoyant economy, with lower costs, especially for small to medium-size enterprises. One major project conducted through the PNG Department for Community Development suggested that other pathways to sustainable development should be considered.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The Institute of National Affairs, a PNG independent policy think tank, provides a report on the business and investment environment of Papua New Guinea every five years, based upon a survey of large and small, local and overseas companies, highlighting law and order problems and corruption, as the worst impediments, followed by the poor state of transport, power and communications infrastructure.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The PNG legislature has enacted laws in which a type of tenure called "customary land title" is recognised, meaning that the traditional lands of the indigenous peoples have some legal basis to inalienable tenure. This customary land notionally covers most of the usable land in the country (some 97% of total land area); alienated land is either held privately under state lease or is government land. Freehold title (also known as fee simple) can only be held by Papua New Guinean citizens.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Only some 3% of the land of Papua New Guinea is in private hands; this is privately held under 99-year state lease, or it is held by the State. There is virtually no freehold title; the few existing freeholds are automatically converted to state lease when they are transferred between vendor and purchaser. Unalienated land is owned under customary title by traditional landowners. The precise nature of the seisin varies from one culture to another. Many writers portray land as in the communal ownership of traditional clans; however, closer studies usually show that the smallest portions of land whose ownership cannot be further divided are held by the individual heads of extended families and their descendants or their descendants alone if they have recently died.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: This is a matter of vital importance because a problem of economic development is identifying the membership of customary landowning groups and the owners. Disputes between mining and forestry companies and landowner groups often devolve on the issue of whether the companies entered into contractual relations for the use of land with the true owners. Customary property—usually land—cannot be devised by will. It can only be inherited according to the custom of the deceased's people. The Lands Act was amended in 2010 along with the Land Group Incorporation Act, intended to improve the management of state land, mechanisms for dispute resolution over land, and to enable customary landowners to be better able to access finance and possible partnerships over portions of their land, if they seek to develop it for urban or rural economic activities. The Land Group Incorporation Act requires more specific identification of the customary landowners than hitherto and their more specific authorisation before any land arrangements are determined; (a major issue in recent years has been a land grab, using, or rather misusing, the Lease-Leaseback provision under the Land Act, notably using 'Special Agricultural and Business Leases' (SABLs) to acquire vast tracts of customary land, purportedly for agricultural projects, but in an almost all cases as a back-door mechanism for securing tropical forest resources for logging—circumventing the more exacting requirements of the Forest Act, for securing Timber Permits (which must comply with sustainability requirements and be competitively secured, and with the customary landowners approval). Following a national outcry, these SABLs have been subject to a Commission of Inquiry, established in mid-2011, for which the report is still awaited for initial presentation to the Prime Minister and Parliament.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Papua New Guinea is one of the most heterogeneous nations in the world with an estimated 8.95 million inhabitants as of 2020. There are hundreds of ethnic groups indigenous to Papua New Guinea, the majority being from the group known as Papuans, whose ancestors arrived in the New Guinea region tens of thousands of years ago. The other indigenous peoples are Austronesians, their ancestors having arrived in the region less than four thousand years ago.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: There are also numerous people from other parts of the world now resident, including Chinese, Europeans, Australians, Indonesians, Filipinos, Polynesians, and Micronesians (the last four belonging to the Austronesian family). Around 40,000 expatriates, mostly from Australia and China, were living in Papua New Guinea in 1975. 20,000 people from Australia currently live in Papua New Guinea. They represent 0.25% of the total population of Papua New Guinea.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: In December 2022, a report by the UN suggested a new population estimate of 17 million, nearly double the country's official estimate.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: According to the CIA World Factbook (2018), Papua New Guinea has the second lowest urban population percentage in the world, with 13.2%, only behind Burundi. The geography and economy of Papua New Guinea are the main factors behind the low percentage. Papua New Guinea has an urbanisation rate of 2.51%, measured as the projected change in urban population from 2015 to 2020.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Papua New Guinea has more languages than any other country, with over 820 indigenous languages, representing 12% of the world's total, but most have fewer than 1,000 speakers. With an average of only 7,000 speakers per language, Papua New Guinea has a greater density of languages than any other nation on earth except Vanuatu. The most widely spoken indigenous language is Enga, with about 200,000 speakers, followed by Melpa and Huli. Indigenous languages are classified into two large groups, Austronesian languages and non-Austronesian, or Papuan, languages. There are four languages in Papua New Guinea with some statutory recognition: English, Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu, and, since 2015, sign language (which in practice means Papua New Guinean Sign Language).


title: Papua New Guinea

text: English is the language of government and the education system, but it is not spoken widely. The primary lingua franca of the country is Tok Pisin (commonly known in English as New Guinean Pidgin or Melanesian Pidgin), in which much of the debate in Parliament is conducted, many information campaigns and advertisements are presented, and a national weekly newspaper, "Wantok", is published. The only area where Tok Pisin is not prevalent is the southern region of Papua, where people often use the third official language, Hiri Motu. Although it lies in the Papua region, Port Moresby has a highly diverse population which primarily uses Tok Pisin, and to a lesser extent English, with Motu spoken as the indigenous language in outlying villages.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Life expectancy in Papua New Guinea at birth was 64 years for men in 2016 and 68 for women. Government expenditure health in 2014 accounted for 9.5% of total government spending, with total health expenditure equating to 4.3% of GDP. There were five physicians per 100,000 people in the early 2000s. The 2010 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Papua New Guinea was 250. This is compared with 311.9 in 2008 and 476.3 in 1990. The under-5 mortality rate, per 1,000 births is 69 and the neonatal mortality as a percentage of under-5s' mortality is 37. In Papua New Guinea, the number of midwives per 1,000 live births is 1 and the lifetime risk of death for pregnant women is 1 in 94.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The government and judiciary uphold the constitutional right to freedom of speech, thought, and belief, and no legislation to curb those rights has been adopted. The 2011 census found that 95.6% of citizens identified themselves as Christian, 1.4% were not Christian, and 3.1% gave no answer. Virtually no respondent identified as being nonreligious. Religious syncretism is high, with many citizens combining their Christian faith with some traditional indigenous religious practices. Most Christians in Papua New Guinea are Protestants, constituting roughly 70% of the total population. They are mostly represented by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, diverse Pentecostal denominations, the United Church in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, the Evangelical Alliance Papua New Guinea, and the Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea. Apart from Protestants, there is a notable Roman Catholic minority with approximately 25% of the population.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: There are approximately 5,000 Muslims in the country. The majority belong to the Sunni group, while a small number are Ahmadi. Non-traditional Christian churches and non-Christian religious groups are active throughout the country. The Papua New Guinea Council of Churches has stated that both Muslim and Confucian missionaries are highly active. Traditional religions are often animist. Some also tend to have elements of veneration of the dead, though generalisation is suspect given the extreme heterogeneity of Melanesian societies. Prevalent among traditional tribes is the belief in "masalai", or evil spirits, which are blamed for "poisoning" people, causing calamity and death, and the practice of "puripuri" (sorcery).


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The first Bahá’í in PNG was Violete Hoenke who arrived at Admiralty Island, from Australia, in 1954. The PNG Bahá’í community grew so quickly that in 1969 a National Spiritual Assembly (administrative council) was elected. As of 2020 there are over 30,000 members of the Bahá’í Faith in PNG. In 2012 the decision was made to erect the first Bahá’í House of Worship in PNG. Its design is that of a woven basket, a common feature of all groups and cultures in PNG. It is, therefore, hoped to be a symbol for the entire country. Its nine entrances are inspired by the design of Haus Tambaran (Spirit House). Construction began in Port Moresby in 2018.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: It is estimated that more than one thousand cultural groups exist in Papua New Guinea. Because of this diversity, many styles of cultural expression have emerged. Each group has created its own expressive forms in art, dance, weaponry, costumes, singing, music, architecture and much more. Most of these cultural groups have their own language. People typically live in villages that rely on subsistence farming. In some areas people hunt and collect wild plants (such as yam roots and karuka) to supplement their diets. Those who become skilled at hunting, farming and fishing earn a great deal of respect.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Seashells are no longer the currency of Papua New Guinea, as they were in some regions—sea shells were abolished as currency in 1933. This tradition is still present in local customs. In some cultures, to get a bride, a groom must bring a certain number of golden-edged clam shells as a bride price. In other regions, the bride price is paid in lengths of shell money, pigs, cassowaries or cash. Elsewhere, it is brides who traditionally pay a dowry.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: People of the highlands engage in colourful local rituals that are called "sing sings." They paint themselves and dress up with feathers, pearls and animal skins to represent birds, trees or mountain spirits. Sometimes an important event, such as a legendary battle, is enacted at such a musical festival.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The country possesses one UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Kuk Early Agricultural Site, which was inscribed in 2008. The country, however, has no elements inscribed yet in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists, despite having one of the widest array of intangible cultural heritage elements in the world.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Sport is an important part of Papua New Guinean culture, and rugby league is by far the most popular sport. In a nation where communities are far apart and many people live at a minimal subsistence level, rugby league has been described as a replacement for tribal warfare as a way of explaining the local enthusiasm for the game. Many Papua New Guineans have become celebrities by representing their country or playing in an overseas professional league. Even Australian rugby league players who have played in the annual State of Origin series, which is celebrated every year in PNG, are among the most well-known people throughout the nation. State of Origin is a highlight of the year for most Papua New Guineans, although the support is so passionate that many people have died over the years in violent clashes supporting their team. The Papua New Guinea national rugby league team usually plays against the Australian Prime Minister's XIII (a selection of NRL players) each year, normally in Port Moresby.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Although not as popular, Australian rules football is more significant in another way, as the national team is ranked second, only after Australia. Other major sports which have a part in the Papua New Guinea sporting landscape are association football, rugby union, basketball and, in eastern Papua, cricket.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: A large proportion of the population is illiterate, with women predominating in this area. Much of the education in PNG is provided by church institutions. This includes 500 schools of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea has six universities as well as other tertiary institutions. The two founding universities are the University of Papua New Guinea, based in the National Capital District, and the Papua New Guinea University of Technology, based outside of Lae, in Morobe Province.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The four other universities were once colleges but have since been recognized by the government. These are the University of Goroka in the Eastern Highlands province, Divine Word University (run by the Catholic Church's Divine Word Missionaries) in Madang Province, Vudal University in East New Britain Province, and Pacific Adventist University (run by the Seventh-day Adventist Church) in the National Capital District.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Papua New Guinea's "National Vision 2050" was adopted in 2009. This has led to the establishment of the Research, Science and Technology Council. At its gathering in November 2014, the Council re-emphasised the need to focus on sustainable development through science and technology.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: According to Thomson Reuters' Web of Science, Papua New Guinea had the largest number of publications (110) among Pacific Island states in 2014, followed by Fiji (106). Nine out of ten scientific publications from Papua New Guinea focused on immunology, genetics, biotechnology and microbiology. Nine out of ten were also co-authored by scientists from other countries, mainly Australia, the United States of America, United Kingdom, Spain and Switzerland.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: In 2019, Papua New Guinea took second place among Pacific Island states with 253 publications, behind Fiji with 303 publications, in the Scopus (Elsevier) database of scientific publications. Health sciences accounted for 49% of these publications. Papua New Guinea's top scientific collaborators over 2017 to 2019 were Australia, the United States of America, United Kingdom, France and India.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Forestry is an important economic resource for Papua New Guinea, but the industry uses low and semi-intensive technological inputs. As a result, product ranges are limited to sawed timber, veneer, plywood, block board, moulding, poles and posts and wood chips. Only a few limited finished products are exported. Lack of automated machinery, coupled with inadequately trained local technical personnel, are some of the obstacles to introducing automated machinery and design.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Renewable energy sources represent two-thirds of the total electricity supply. In 2015, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community observed that, 'while Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa are leading the way with large-scale hydropower projects, there is enormous potential to expand the deployment of other renewable energy options such as solar, wind, geothermal and ocean-based energy sources'. The European Union funded the Renewable Energy in Pacific Island Countries Developing Skills and Capacity programme (EPIC) over 2013 to 2017. The programme developed a master's programme in renewable energy management, accredited in 2016, at the University of Papua New Guinea and helped to establish a Centre of Renewable Energy at the same university.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Papua New Guinea is one of the 15 beneficiaries of a programme on Adapting to Climate Change and Sustainable Energy worth €37.26 million. The programme resulted from the signing of an agreement in February 2014 between the European Union and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. The other beneficiaries are the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: The country's mountainous terrain impedes transport. Aeroplanes opened up the country during its colonial period and continue to be used for most travel and for most high density/value freight. The capital, Port Moresby, has no road links to any of PNG's other major towns. Similarly, many remote villages are reachable only by light aircraft or on foot.


title: Papua New Guinea

text: Jacksons International Airport is the major international airport in Papua New Guinea, located from Port Moresby. In addition to two international airfields, Papua New Guinea has 578 airstrips, most of which are unpaved.


title: Maya Rudolph

text: Maya Khabira Rudolph (born July 27, 1972) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. In 2000, she became a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show "Saturday Night Live" ("SNL"), and later played supporting roles in the films "50 First Dates" (2004), "A Prairie Home Companion" (2006)"," and "Idiocracy" (2006).


title: Maya Rudolph

text: Since leaving "SNL" in 2007, Rudolph has appeared in various films, including "Grown Ups" (2010) and its 2013 sequel, "Bridesmaids" (2011), "Inherent Vice" (2014)"," "Sisters" (2015)"," "CHiPs" (2017), "Life of the Party" (2018), "Wine Country" (2019), and "Disenchanted" (2022). She has also provided voice acting roles for the animated films "Shrek the Third" (2007), "Big Hero 6" (2014), "The Angry Birds Movie" (2016), "The Emoji Movie" (2017), "The Willoughbys" (2020)"," "The Mitchells vs. the Machines" (2021)"," and "Luca" (2021).


title: Maya Rudolph

text: From 2011 to 2012, Rudolph starred as Ava Alexander in the NBC sitcom "Up All Night." In 2016, she co-hosted the variety series "Maya & Marty" with Martin Short. Since 2017, she has voiced various characters in the Netflix animated sitcom "Big Mouth", including Connie the Hormone Monstress, which won her Primetime Emmy Awards in 2020 and 2021. For her portrayal of United States senator and vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris on "Saturday Night Live", she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series


title: Maya Rudolph

text: Rudolph appeared in the NBC fantasy comedy series "The Good Place" (2018–2020), for which she received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations. From 2019 to 2021, she starred in the Fox animated sitcom "Bless the Harts". In 2022, she began starring in the comedy series "Loot", also serving as an executive producer.


title: Maya Rudolph

text: Rudolph was born on July 27, 1972, in Gainesville, Florida, to singer-songwriter Minnie Riperton and composer Richard Rudolph. Her mother was African-American and her father is Ashkenazi Jewish. Her paternal grandfather was Sidney Rudolph, a philanthropist who once owned all of the Wendy's and Rudy's restaurants in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Her great-grandfather was born in Vilnius, Lithuania, changed his surname from "Rudashevsky" to "Rudolph", and was one of the founding members of Congregation Beth Shalom, a Conservative Jewish synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Rudolph's godmother was R&B singer Teena Marie.


title: Maya Rudolph

text: Rudolph's parents moved to Los Angeles, California, when she and her brother Marc were very young, and they grew up primarily in the Westwood neighborhood. Near the end of the song "Lovin' You", Riperton repeats "Maya". She incorporated this into her performance on "The Midnight Special". She died of breast cancer on July 12, 1979, at age 31, two weeks before Maya's seventh birthday. In 1990, Rudolph graduated from Crossroads School in Santa Monica, California, where she befriended schoolmates Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black. She attended the University of California, Santa Cruz, living in Porter College. She graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in photography.


title: Maya Rudolph

text: Rudolph was in the improv troupe the Groundlings, where she met future "Saturday Night Live" cast member Will Forte. She joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live" as a featured player for the final three episodes of the 1999–2000 season through 2007. She has made several cameo appearances over the years. Since the 45th-season premiere, she has occasionally portrayed Vice President Kamala Harris, a performance acknowledged by Harris.


title: Maya Rudolph

text: She has appeared in many other television shows, including the CBS medical drama series "City of Angels" and "Chicago Hope". She had small parts in "Chuck & Buck", "Gattaca", "As Good as It Gets", "Duplex," and "Duets"; she was also a music supervisor for "Duets". Her first prominent film role came in 2006 with "A Prairie Home Companion". Earlier, she had costarred with Luke Wilson in the 2005 Mike Judge sci-fi comedy "Idiocracy", although that film was shelved until September 2006 and then only given a limited release. She also guest-starred as Rapunzel in the DreamWorks animated film "Shrek the Third". She guest-starred as Julia in "The Simpsons" episode "The Homer of Seville". Rudolph guest-starred as character Athena Scooberman in NBC's "Kath & Kim", and starred in the film "Away We Go" with "The Office" star John Krasinski. In 2010, she appeared in "Grown Ups" starring Adam Sandler, where she played the wife of Chris Rock's character. In 2011, she appeared in "Bridesmaids" with "Saturday Night Live" colleague Kristen Wiig, and in 2013 she played a supporting role in "The Way, Way Back" as the girlfriend of Sam Rockwell's character. She co-starred in the NBC sitcom "Up All Night", with Christina Applegate and Will Arnett. Rudolph's self-titled variety show television pilot aired on May 19, 2014, but the show did not go beyond that. It was later announced that she would star in an NBC variety series "Maya & Marty" with Martin Short, which debuted on May 31, 2016. Her next series, "Forever", premiered on September 14, 2018, on Amazon Video. As a voice actress, she had various roles in the Netflix animated series "Big Mouth", premiering in 2017.


title: Maya Rudolph

text: In 2018, she performed in advertisements for Ruby Tuesday and Seventh Generation. In 2019 she appeared as the mother in "". In 2021 she voiced Linda Mitchell, mother of two, in Sony Pictures' "The Mitchells vs. the Machines", and Daniela Paguro in the Pixar film "Luca". In July 2022 she appeared as the star of "Loot", an Apple TV+ series. In 2022, Rudolph portrayed Malvina Monroe, the main antagonist of "Disenchanted", the sequel to the 2007 Disney film "Enchanted".


title: Maya Rudolph

text: Prior to joining "Saturday Night Live", Rudolph was a backing singer (1995–1999) and briefly a keyboardist in the band the Rentals, with whom she toured. She appears in music videos for the songs "Waiting" and "Please Let That Be You". She sang backing vocals for "Barcelona" and "My Head Is in the Sun", both from the album "Seven More Minutes". In 2004, she recorded a track with the Rentals frontman Matt Sharp, including a cover of Tegan and Sara's "Not Tonight". She performed "Together in Pooping" and "Little Roundworm" with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog (Robert Smigel) on his album "Come Poop With Me". She is in a Prince cover band called Princess with her friend Gretchen Lieberum.


title: Maya Rudolph

text: Rudolph has been in a relationship with filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson since 2001. They live in the San Fernando Valley with their four children.


title: Mongol Empire

text: The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, extending northward into parts of the Arctic; eastward and southward into parts of the Indian subcontinent, attempted invasions of Southeast Asia and conquered the Iranian Plateau; and westward as far as the Levant and the Carpathian Mountains.


title: Mongol Empire

text: The Mongol Empire emerged from the unification of several nomadic tribes in the Mongol homeland under the leadership of Temüjin, known by the more famous title of Genghis Khan (–1227), whom a council proclaimed as the ruler of all Mongols in 1206. The empire grew rapidly under his rule and that of his descendants, who sent out invading armies in every direction. The vast transcontinental empire connected the East with the West, and the Pacific to the Mediterranean, in an enforced "Pax Mongolica", allowing the exchange of trade, technologies, commodities and ideologies across Eurasia.


title: Mongol Empire

text: The empire began to split due to wars over succession, as the grandchildren of Genghis Khan disputed whether the royal line should follow from his son and initial heir Ögedei or from one of his other sons, such as Tolui, Chagatai, or Jochi. The Toluids prevailed after a bloody purge of Ögedeid and Chagatayid factions, but disputes continued among the descendants of Tolui. A key reason for the split was the dispute over whether the Mongol Empire would become a sedentary, cosmopolitan empire, or would stay true to the Mongol nomadic and steppe-based lifestyle. After Möngke Khan died (1259), rival kurultai councils simultaneously elected different successors, the brothers Ariq Böke and Kublai Khan, who fought each other in the Toluid Civil War (1260–1264) and also dealt with challenges from the descendants of other sons of Genghis. Kublai successfully took power, but war ensued as he sought unsuccessfully to regain control of the Chagatayid and Ögedeid families.


title: Mongol Empire

text: During the reigns of Genghis and Ögedei, the Mongols suffered the occasional defeat when a less skilled general received the command. The Siberian Tumeds defeated the Mongol forces under Borokhula around 1215–1217; Jalal al-Din defeated Shigi-Qutugu at the Battle of Parwan in 1221; and the Jin generals Heda and Pu'a defeated Dolqolqu in 1230. In each case, the Mongols returned shortly after with a much larger army led by one of their best generals, and were invariably victorious. The Battle of Ain Jalut in Galilee in 1260 marked the first time that the Mongols would not return to immediately avenge a defeat, due to a combination of the death of Möngke Khan in 1259, the Toluid Civil War between Ariq Böke and Kublai Khan, and Berke Khan of the Golden Horde attacking Hulagu Khan in Persia. Although the Mongols launched many more invasions of the Levant, briefly occupying it and raiding as far as Gaza after a decisive victory at the Battle of Wadi al-Khaznadar in 1299, they withdrew due to various geopolitical factors.


title: Mongol Empire

text: By the time of Kublai's death in 1294, the Mongol Empire had fractured into four separate khanates or empires, each pursuing its own interests and objectives: the Golden Horde khanate in the northwest, the Chagatai Khanate in Central Asia, the Ilkhanate in the southwest, and the Yuan dynasty in the east, based in modern-day Beijing. In 1304, during the reign of Temür, the three western khanates accepted suzerainty of the Yuan dynasty.


title: Mongol Empire

text: The part of the empire that fell first was the Ilkhanate, which disintegrated in the period of 1335–1353. Next, the Yuan dynasty collapsed and lost control of Tibetan Plateau and China proper in 1354 and 1368 respectively after its capital of Dadu was taken over by the Ming Chinese rebels. The Genghisid rulers of the Yuan then retreated north and continued to rule the Mongolian Plateau. The regime is thereafter known as the Northern Yuan dynasty in historiography. The Golden Horde had broken into competing khanates by the end of the 15th century and was defeated and thrown out of Eastern Europe in 1480 by the Grand Duchy of Moscow while the Chagatai Khanate lasted in one form or another until 1687.


title: Mongol Empire

text: The Mongol Empire referred to itself as "yeke Mongγol ulus" ( 'nation of the great Mongols' or the 'great Mongol nation') in Mongol or "kür uluγ ulus" ( the 'whole great nation') in Turkic.


title: Mongol Empire

text: After the 1260 to 1264 succession war between Kublai Khan and his brother Ariq Böke, Kublai's power became limited to the eastern part of the empire, centred on China. Kublai officially issued an imperial edict on 18 December 1271 to name his realm Great Yuan ("Dai Yuan", or "Dai Ön Ulus") and to establish the Yuan dynasty. Some sources give the full Mongol name as "Dai Ön Yehe Monggul Ulus".


title: Mongol Empire

text: The area around Mongolia, Manchuria, and parts of North China had been controlled by the Liao dynasty since the 10th century. In 1125, the Jin dynasty founded by the Jurchens overthrew the Liao dynasty and attempted to gain control over former Liao territory in Mongolia. In the 1130s the Jin dynasty rulers, known as the Golden Kings, successfully resisted the Khamag Mongol confederation, ruled at the time by Khabul Khan, great-grandfather of Genghis Khan.


title: Mongol Empire

text: The Mongolian plateau was occupied mainly by five powerful tribal confederations ("khanlig"): Keraites, Khamag Mongol, Naiman, Mergid, and Tatar. The Jin emperors, following a policy of divide and rule, encouraged disputes among the tribes, especially between the Tatars and the Mongols, in order to keep the nomadic tribes distracted by their own battles and thereby away from the Jin. Khabul's successor was Ambaghai Khan, who was betrayed by the Tatars, handed over to the Jurchen, and executed. The Mongols retaliated by raiding the frontier, resulting in a failed Jurchen counter-attack in 1143.


title: Mongol Empire

text: In 1147, the Jin somewhat changed their policy, signing a peace treaty with the Mongols and withdrawing from a score of forts. The Mongols then resumed attacks on the Tatars to avenge the death of their late khan, opening a long period of active hostilities. The Jin and Tatar armies defeated the Mongols in 1161.


title: Mongol Empire

text: During the rise of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, the usually cold, parched steppes of Central Asia enjoyed their mildest, wettest conditions in more than a millennium. It is thought that this resulted in a rapid increase in the number of war horses and other livestock, which significantly enhanced Mongol military strength.


title: Mongol Empire

text: Known during his childhood as Temüjin, Genghis Khan was a son of a Mongol chieftain. As a young man he rose very rapidly by working with Toghrul Khan of the Kerait. The most powerful Mongol leader at the time was Kurtait; he was given the Chinese title "Wang", which means King. Temujin went to war against Kurtait (now Wang Khan). After Temujin defeated Wang Khan he gave himself the name Genghis Khan. He then enlarged his Mongol state under himself and his kin. The term Mongol came to be used to refer to all Mongolic speaking tribes under the control of Genghis Khan. His most powerful allies were his father's friend, Khereid chieftain Toghrul, and Temujin's childhood "anda" (i.e. blood brother) Jamukha of the Jadran clan. With their help, Temujin defeated the Merkit tribe, rescued his wife Börte, and went on to defeat the Naimans and the Tatars.


title: Mongol Empire

text: Temujin forbade looting of his enemies without permission, and he implemented a policy of sharing spoils with his warriors and their families instead of giving it all to the aristocrats. These policies brought him into conflict with his uncles, who were also legitimate heirs to the throne; they regarded Temujin not as a leader but as an insolent usurper. This dissatisfaction spread to his generals and other associates, and some Mongols who had previously been allies broke their allegiance. War ensued, and Temujin and the forces still loyal to him prevailed, defeating the remaining rival tribes between 1203 and 1205 and bringing them under his sway. In 1206, Temujin was crowned as the khagan (Emperor) of the "Yekhe Mongol Ulus" (Great Mongol State) at a Kurultai (general assembly/council). It was there that he assumed the title of Genghis Khan (universal leader) instead of one of the old tribal titles such as Gur Khan or Tayang Khan, marking the start of the Mongol Empire.


title: Mongol Empire

text: Genghis Khan introduced many innovative ways of organizing his army: for example dividing it into decimal subsections of arbans (10 soldiers), zuuns (100), Mingghans (1000), and tumens (10,000). The Kheshig, the imperial guard, was founded and divided into day (khorchin torghuds) and night (khevtuul) guards. Genghis rewarded those who had been loyal to him and placed them in high positions, as heads of army units and households, even though many of them came from very low-ranking clans.


title: Mongol Empire

text: Compared to the units he gave to his loyal companions, those assigned to his own family members were relatively few. He proclaimed a new code of law of the empire, Ikh Zasag or Yassa; later he expanded it to cover much of the everyday life and political affairs of the nomads. He forbade the selling of women, theft, fighting among the Mongols, and the hunting of animals during the breeding season.


title: Mongol Empire

text: He appointed his stepbrother Shikhikhutug as supreme judge (jarughachi), ordering him to keep records of the empire. In addition to laws regarding family, food, and the army, Genghis also decreed religious freedom and supported domestic and international trade. He exempted the poor and the clergy from taxation. He also encouraged literacy and the adaptation of the Uyghur script into what would become the Mongolian script of the empire, ordering the Uyghur Tata-tonga, who had previously served the khan of Naimans, to instruct his sons.


title: Mongol Empire

text: Genghis quickly came into conflict with the Jin dynasty of the Jurchens and the Western Xia of the Tanguts in northern China. He also had to deal with two other powers, Tibet and Qara Khitai.


title: Mongol Empire

text: Before his death, Genghis Khan divided his empire among his sons and immediate family, making the Mongol Empire the joint property of the entire imperial family who, along with the Mongol aristocracy, constituted the ruling class.


title: Mongol Empire

text: Prior to the three western khanates' adoption of Islam, Genghis Khan and a number of his Yuan successors placed restrictions on religious practices they saw as alien. Muslims, including Hui, and Jews, were collectively referred to as "Huihui". Muslims were forbidden from halal or "zabiha" butchering, while Jews were similarly forbidden from kashrut or "shehita" butchering. Referring to the conquered subjects as "our slaves," Genghis Khan demanded they no longer be able to refuse food or drink, and imposed restrictions on slaughter. Muslims had to slaughter sheep in secret.


title: Mongol Empire

text: Among all the [subject] alien peoples only the Hui-hui say "we do not eat Mongol food". [Cinggis Qa’an replied:] "By the aid of heaven we have pacified you; you are our slaves. Yet you do not eat our food or drink. How can this be right?" He thereupon made them eat. "If you slaughter sheep, you will be considered guilty of a crime." He issued a regulation to that effect ... [In 1279/1280 under Qubilai] all the Muslims say: "if someone else slaughters [the animal] we do not eat". Because the poor people are upset by this, from now on, Musuluman [Muslim] Huihui and Zhuhu [Jewish] Huihui, no matter who kills [the animal] will eat [it] and must cease slaughtering sheep themselves, and cease the rite of circumcision.


title: Mongol Empire

text: Genghis Khan arranged for the Chinese Taoist master Qiu Chuji to visit him in Afghanistan, and also gave his subjects the right to religious freedom, despite his own shamanistic beliefs.


title: Mongol Empire

text: Genghis Khan died on 18 August 1227, by which time the Mongol Empire ruled from the Pacific Ocean to the Caspian Sea, an empire twice the size of the Roman Empire or the Muslim Caliphate at their height. Genghis named his third son, the charismatic Ögedei, as his heir. According to Mongol tradition, Genghis Khan was buried in a secret location. The regency was originally held by Ögedei's younger brother Tolui until Ögedei's formal election at the kurultai in 1229.


title: Mongol Empire

text: Among his first actions Ögedei sent troops to subjugate the Bashkirs, Bulgars, and other nations in the Kipchak-controlled steppes. In the east, Ögedei's armies re-established Mongol authority in Manchuria, crushing the Eastern Xia regime and the Water Tatars. In 1230, the great khan personally led his army in the campaign against the Jin dynasty of China. Ögedei's general Subutai captured the capital of Emperor Wanyan Shouxu in the siege of Kaifeng in 1232. The Jin dynasty collapsed in 1234 when the Mongols captured Caizhou, the town to which Wanyan Shouxu had fled. In 1234, three armies commanded by Ögedei's sons Kochu and Koten and the Tangut general Chagan invaded southern China. With the assistance of the Song dynasty the Mongols finished off the Jin in 1234.


title: Mongol Empire

text: Many Han Chinese and Khitan defected to the Mongols to fight against the Jin. Two Han Chinese leaders, Shi Tianze, Liu Heima (劉黑馬, Liu Ni), and the Khitan Xiao Zhala defected and commanded the 3 Tumens in the Mongol army. Liu Heima and Shi Tianze served Ogödei Khan. Liu Heima and Shi Tianxiang led armies against Western Xia for the Mongols. There were four Han Tumens and three Khitan Tumens, with each Tumen consisting of 10,000 troops. The Yuan dynasty created a Han army 漢軍 from Jin defectors, and another of ex-Song troops called the Newly Submitted Army 新附軍.


title: Mongol Empire

text: In the West Ögedei's general Chormaqan destroyed Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu, the last shah of the Khwarizmian Empire. The small kingdoms in southern Persia voluntarily accepted Mongol supremacy. In East Asia, there were a number of Mongol campaigns into Goryeo Korea, but Ögedei's attempt to annex the Korean Peninsula met with little success. Gojong, the king of Goryeo, surrendered but later revolted and massacred Mongol "darughachis" (overseers); he then moved his imperial court from Gaeseong to Ganghwa Island.


title: Mongol Empire

text: Meanwhile, in an offensive action against the Song dynasty, Mongol armies captured Siyang-yang, the Yangtze and Sichuan, but did not secure their control over the conquered areas. The Song generals were able to recapture Siyang-yang from the Mongols in 1239. After the sudden death of Ögedei's son Kochu in Chinese territory the Mongols withdrew from southern China, although Kochu's brother Prince Koten invaded Tibet immediately after their withdrawal.


title: Mongol Empire

text: Batu Khan, another grandson of Genghis Khan, overran the territories of the Bulgars, the Alans, the Kypchaks, Bashkirs, Mordvins, Chuvash, and other nations of the southern Russian steppe. By 1237 the Mongols were encroaching upon Ryazan, the first Kievan Rus' principality they were to attack. After a three-day siege involving fierce fighting, the Mongols captured the city and massacred its inhabitants. They then proceeded to destroy the army of the Grand Principality of Vladimir at the Battle of the Sit River.


title: Mongol Empire

text: The Mongols captured the Alania capital Maghas in 1238. By 1240, all Kievan Rus' had fallen to the Asian invaders except for a few northern cities. Mongol troops under Chormaqan in Persia connecting his invasion of Transcaucasia with the invasion of Batu and Subutai, forced the Georgian and Armenian nobles to surrender as well.


title: Mongol Empire

text: Giovanni de Plano Carpini, the pope's envoy to the Mongol great khan, travelled through Kiev in February 1246 and wrote:


title: Mongol Empire

text: Despite the military successes, strife continued within the Mongol ranks. Batu's relations with Güyük, Ögedei's eldest son, and Büri, the beloved grandson of Chagatai Khan, remained tense and worsened during Batu's victory banquet in southern Kievan Rus'. Nevertheless, Güyük and Buri could not do anything to harm Batu's position as long as his uncle Ögedei was still alive. Ögedei continued with offensives into the Indian subcontinent, temporarily investing Uchch, Lahore, and Multan of the Delhi Sultanate and stationing a Mongol overseer in Kashmir, though the invasions into India eventually failed and were forced to retreat. In northeastern Asia, Ögedei agreed to end the conflict with Goryeo by making it a client state and sent Mongol princesses to wed Goryeo princes. He then reinforced his kheshig with the Koreans through both diplomacy and military force.


title: Mongol Empire

text: The advance into Europe continued with Mongol invasions of Poland and Hungary. When the western flank of the Mongols plundered Polish cities, a European alliance among the Poles, the Moravians, and the Christian military orders of the Hospitallers, Teutonic Knights and the Templars assembled sufficient forces to halt, although briefly, the Mongol advance at Legnica. The Hungarian army, their Croatian allies and the Knights Templar were beaten by the Mongols at the banks of the Sajo River on 11 April 1241. Before Batu's forces could continue on to Vienna and northern Albania, news of Ögedei's death in December 1241 brought a halt to the invasion. As was customary in Mongol military tradition, all princes of Genghis's line had to attend the kurultai to elect a successor. Batu and his western Mongol army withdrew from Central Europe the next year. Today researchers doubt that Ögedei's death was the sole reason for the Mongols withdrawal. Batu did not return to Mongolia, so a new khan was not elected until 1246. Climatic and environmental factors, as well as the strong fortifications and castles of Europe, played an important role in the Mongols' decision to withdraw.


title: Mongol Empire

text: Following the Great Khan Ögedei's death in 1241, and before the next kurultai, Ögedei's widow Töregene took over the empire. She persecuted her husband's Khitan and Muslim officials and gave high positions to her own allies. She built palaces, cathedrals, and social structures on an imperial scale, supporting religion and education. She was able to win over most Mongol aristocrats to support Ögedei's son Güyük. But Batu, ruler of the Golden Horde, refused to come to the kurultai, claiming that he was ill and that the climate was too harsh for him. The resulting stalemate lasted more than four years and further destabilized the unity of the empire.


title: Mongol Empire

text: When Genghis Khan's youngest brother Temüge threatened to seize the throne, Güyük came to Karakorum to try to secure his position. Batu eventually agreed to send his brothers and generals to the kurultai convened by Töregene in 1246. Güyük by this time was ill and alcoholic, but his campaigns in Manchuria and Europe gave him the kind of stature necessary for a great khan. He was duly elected at a ceremony attended by Mongols and foreign dignitaries from both within and without the empire — leaders of vassal nations, representatives from Rome, and other entities who came to the kurultai to show their respects and conduct diplomacy.


title: Mongol Empire

text: Güyük took steps to reduce corruption, announcing that he would continue the policies of his father Ögedei, not those of Töregene. He punished Töregene's supporters, except for governor Arghun the Elder. He also replaced young Qara Hülëgü, the khan of the Chagatai Khanate, with his favorite cousin Yesü Möngke, to assert his newly conferred powers. He restored his father's officials to their former positions and was surrounded by Uyghur, Naiman and Central Asian officials, favoring Han Chinese commanders who had helped his father conquer Northern China. He continued military operations in Korea, advanced into Song China in the south, and into Iraq in the west, and ordered an empire-wide census. Güyük also divided the Sultanate of Rum between Izz-ad-Din Kaykawus and Rukn ad-Din Kilij Arslan, though Kaykawus disagreed with this decision.