Dede Sophie

As PNG is halfway through the National Elections, the burning question is: Who will form the next government? In the last three years, it was the Pangu Pati, and prior to that, People’s National Congress.  The Marape-led Pangu Pati seems to have backed many favourite candidates, in the country’s 2022 National Elections, as political parties hope to get the numbers to be invited by the Governor-General to form the next government in the 11th Parliament. Caretaker Prime Minister of the 10th Parliament, James Marape, is already re-elected, and declared a fourth time as Tari-Pori MP.  According to data collected by the PNG Electoral Commission, in the Open and Regional Elections, the Pangu Pati leads in just the preferential counting alone, with the exception of Tari-Pori.  Interestingly, many more Independent candidates have gotten more votes, to sit comfortably in the top three of most counting, then followed by the United Labor Party, then O’Neill led People’s National Congress Par...

Over three decades-plus of automotive journalism, there have been occasions when having a particular car outside my door made me nervous, writes Brian Byrne. Mainly due to its price, and my responsibility for having the vehicle in my care. Most recently, such a car was the Mercedes-Benz S580 e. Thankfully, I returned it at the end of my time in the same pristine shape as I had received it. Provided you don’t aspire to the even more rarified Maybach-Mercedes, the S-Class in any form is not just the top Mercedes-Benz model, it is also arguably the benchmark for its rivals to attempt to match or surpass. Whether they succeed in that is very much a personal subjective matter, as cars at any level tend to be. But there’s no doubt about the exclusive cachet to the S-Class. When I first reviewed the current S-Class back in late 2021, I mentioned what I saw as an unexpected positive in that the styles of Mercedes saloons have all become alike — it’s not always easy to identify...