Australian PM Turnbull arrives in PH for Apec meet

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, second right, steps down from his plane after arriving for the the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Manila, Philippines Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015. AP

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 2 for the 2015 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit.

The Royal Australian Air Force plane carrying Turnbull landed at 12:05 p.m. at the Naia Terminal 2.

In September, Turnbull replaced his unpopular predecessor Tony Abbott in a leadership vote by the ruling conservative Liberal Party just two years after Abbott’s election to office.

Turnbull, 60, was a former communications minister, journalist, lawyer and merchant banker before being sworn in as Prime Minister.

READ: New Australian prime minister flags more women in Cabinet

Abbott was heavily criticized for including only two women in his 19-member Cabinet. Unlike Abbott, Turnbull has installed five women in his Cabinet, including Australia’s first female defense minister, Marise Payne, and has elevated women as assistant ministers. CDG

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