Daily Briefing

Quick tallies in Indonesia indicate Prabowo Subianto could win the presidential election in a single round, inconclusive Gaza truce talks dent hopes of Palestinians in Rafah, and German investment in China rises to a record high.

Plus, You, Me and Our Money: A Valentine's survival guide.

By Edson Caldas

Today's Top News

Indonesia holds presidential and legislative elections. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana

ELECTIONS AROUND THE WORLD

Unofficial tallies in Indonesia's presidential election showed Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto taking a commanding lead. We have a profile on him. An official result is not expected until several weeks after the vote, but counts by reputable outlets have proven to be accurate in previous elections.
Democratic former congressman Tom Suozzi won a special US House of Representatives election in New York, narrowing an already razor-thin Republican majority. The seat became available after the House took the extraordinary step of expelling Republican George Santos.

MIDDLE EAST

Palestinians jammed into their last refuge in Gaza voiced growing fear that Israel will soon launch a planned assault on the southern city of Rafah after truce talks in Cairo ended inconclusively. The lack of agreement dealt a new blow to the more than one million Palestinians crammed into Rafah. Follow the latest.
Two explosions along Iran's main south-north gas pipeline network were caused by sabotage, the Iranian oil minister told state TV, without naming any suspects. Authorities also denied reports that the incident caused gas cuts to industries and offices in some provinces, state media reported.

IN OTHER NEWS

The US House of Representatives narrowly voted to impeach Joe Biden's top border official. By a vote of 214-213, the House approved two articles of impeachment accusing Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of not enforcing US immigration laws and making false statements to Congress.
Indian security forces fired tear gas at protesting farmers for a second day to stop tens of thousands from marching to the capital New Delhi as they demanded higher prices for their produce. Mayank Bhardwaj explains the protests on today's Reuters World News podcast.
The Netherlands is joining a military coalition with allies including Britain that will supply Ukraine with advanced drone technology and bolster its offensive capabilities in the war against Russia, the Dutch defense minister said. Follow the latest on the war here.

Business & Markets

British consumer price inflation held steady at an annual rate of 4.0% in January, in a boost for the Bank of England. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast an increase to 4.2%. Inflation is expected to fall further in the coming months, paving the way for the BoE to start cutting borrowing costs from their 16-year high.
German direct investment in China rose by 4.3% to a record high of 11.9 billion euros last year, official Bundesbank data analyzed by the IW institute showed. The data underscores concerns that German firms continue to invest heavily in China despite the government's pleas for them to reduce their exposure.
Andrej Karpathy, an artificial intelligence researcher and one of the founding members of OpenAI, left the Microsoft-backed company. The news marks a significant departure from OpenAI, one of the top labs competing to develop increasingly capable artificial intelligence.
ByteDance-owned social media platform TikTok said it will ramp up its fight against fake news and covert influence operations in the run-up to European Parliament elections in June with a local language app in all 27 countries. You can follow our Fact Check section here.

48 Hours: Touring Addis Ababa with star chef Marcus Samuelsson

When you think of business travel, you might think of typical locations like London or New York City or Dubai. But here is a unique idea to explore: Ethiopia's Addis Ababa. That is the favorite haunt of celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson.

For Reuters' 48 Hours series, he showed us how to spend a couple of unforgettable days in Africa.

And Finally...

If you have a different money style than your partner – well, you are certainly not alone. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

On Valentine's Day, the white-hot spotlight on relationships can lead to a lot of spending, as well as some uncomfortable moments. Americans are projected to spend $25.8 billion this year on their Valentines, according to data from financial information site WalletHub. That makes it the third-priciest holiday on the calendar.

To survive this mid-February minefield, here is our financial guide.
And sick of Valentine's Day? How about... a Valentine's Spay? Hear about the shelter letting you name a feral cat after your ex and have them neutered.

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