Today's news: in Pakistan agreement between Muslim League and Pakistan Peoples Party for a government led by Shehbaz Sharif, Imran Khan: 'stolen elections'; Erdogan in Cairo for thaw visit with al-Sisi, Gaza top of agenda; Facial recognition systems in new security cameras in Hong Kong; For the Russian governor of Kaliningrad also the philosopher Kant 'guilty' for the war with Ukraine.
Tomorrow the country will choose its new president and vice president. The latest polls suggest that the current defence minister will win with Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the son of the outgoing president. Remarks by the Archbishop of Jakarta, Card Ignatius Suharyo, about the "collapse" of democracy and the Old Testament stir social media with people giving vent to hate but also expression of maturity.
From February, the term 'Isa al Masih' will no longer be used, but the more appropriate 'Jesus Christ'. For the outgoing leader, it is a desire to show the plural and open face of the country. And to file away the controversy and protests over support for his Defence Minister Subianto and his son, the vice-presidential candidate (ahead in the polls).
Outgoing President Joko Widodo is in the crosshairs of the Elections Commission for changes to the law that will allow his son to run for vice-president. While legal, it is ethically wrong. Meanwhile, Prabowo Subianto is favoured to win in the 14 February election.
The Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Piero Pioppo led the episcopal ordination of the new coadjutor Archbishop Fransiskus Nipa. The metropolitan archbishop, Mgr Johannes Liku Ada', was also present. He recently turned 75 and has health problems, limiting his activity. One of the new prelate’s first assignments will be taking care of 49 parishes in four provinces on the island of Sulawesi.
Today's news: China tries to push Iran to curb Houthi attacks in the Red Sea; Under threat of going underwater within the next 25 years, elections are held in Tuvalu;Taiwan initiates compulsory conscription extended to one year in response to the Chinese threat; The earth continues to shake on the border between Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and China; The precision landing of its space lander on the Moon boosts the ambitions of Japan's space programme.