Thursday Briefing: Indonesia’s new leader

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February 15, 2024

By Amelia Nierenberg Writer, Briefings

Good morning. We’re covering election results in Indonesia and a deal on a new coalition government in Pakistan.

Plus the birthplace of soccer.

Prabowo Subianto greeted supporters in Jakarta yesterday.  Oscar Siagian/Getty Images

A feared ex-general looks set to be Indonesia’s new leader

Prabowo Subianto was ejected from the military in the late 1990s for his involvement in the torture and abduction of pro-democracy activists. Now, he is projected to win Indonesia’s presidency.

The outcome of the election casts doubt on the future of Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country. Prabowo has said that Indonesia needs neither elections nor democracy. He was barred from entering the U.S. for two decades because of his human rights record, and he has been associated with the country’s former dictator, Suharto.

Critics say that the era of liberty that followed the ouster of Suharto could now be under threat.

Details: Unofficial tallies showed that Prabowo, the country’s defense minister, had a commanding lead in the three-way race for president, with more than 58 percent of the vote.

Analysis: What finally pushed him toward victory was the implicit support of the popular outgoing president, Joko Widodo, whose son is Prabowo’s running mate.

Climate: Prabowo supports policies that have led to a boom in coal-burning, but also to the creation of an electric-battery industry. His approach to managing natural resources could have a significant effect on the global fight against climate change.

Shehbaz Sharif will be nominated to be Pakistan’s prime minister. Arif Ali/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A new coalition in Pakistan shut out Khan’s allies

Opponents of former Prime Minister Imran Khan reached a deal to form a coalition government, leaving candidates aligned with Khan out of power even though they won the most seats in last week’s election.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, favored by the military, said it would form a coalition with the Pakistan People’s Party and others. Shehbaz Sharif, a former prime minister seen as deferential to the military, would be nominated to lead the country.

But even though Khan’s supporters will be in the opposition in Parliament, they will be far from sidelined. Their stunning upset was a sharp rebuke to Pakistan’s powerful generals. Accusations of vote tampering promise a long, bruising court battle to challenge the results, and could hurt the coalition’s legitimacy.

Alejandro Mayorkas is the first sitting cabinet member to be impeached. Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Biden’s homeland security chief was impeached

House Republicans impeached Alejandro Mayorkas, President Biden’s homeland security secretary, over security at the border with Mexico and immigration policy. Democrats say the charges against him provided no evidence that he committed impeachable offenses.

The move amounted to a partisan indictment of Biden’s immigration policies: Republicans want to use a migration surge during Biden’s term as a political weapon against him and Democrats in this year’s elections. The charges are expected to be rejected in the Senate.

Analysis: The move threatens to lower the bar for impeachments, which already has fallen in recent years. It could dilute what was once Congress’s most potent tool to remove despots from power into a mere political weapon.

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Israeli soldiers transporting a person wounded in a rocket attack in northern Israel yesterday. Jalaa Marey/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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The world’s oldest soccer club was founded in Sheffield, England. Mary Turner for The New York Times

The birthplace of soccer?

A small group of amateur historians and volunteer detectives believe that soccer was born in Sheffield, England. Some would disagree: They argue that Manchester and Wembley, the stadium in London, could also lay claim to that honor.

But the ragtag group of enthusiasts, some of whom self-identify as “obsessives,” are fighting for what they see as Sheffield’s rightful place in history in an effort to create a more prestigious identity for a city that has struggled to define itself.

Linda Xiao for The New York Times

Cook: You need only a few ingredients for this simple spaghetti carbonara.

Watch: “Out of Darkness” is an atmospheric survival thriller about a Stone Age tribe.

Travel: A photographer Showkat Nanda went to a remote Kashmiri valley. See his snowy photos.

Read: “Smoke and Ashes” is a bracing history of the global opium trade.

Listen: A couple navigates getting unmarried while staying together.

Protect: Shop more sustainably.

Play Spelling Bee, the Mini Crossword, Wordle and Sudoku. Find all our games here.

That’s it for today’s briefing. See you tomorrow. — Amelia

P.S. For Valentine’s Day, Times readers shared the affectionate things they do all year long.

We welcome your feedback. Send us your suggestions at briefing@nytimes.com.

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