Globe Trot: Eyes on Indonesia

INDONESIA: Live coverage (though not in English) of massive protests today in Jakarta, over allegations Gov. Basuki Tjahja Purnama, or “Ahok,” blasphemed the Quran. Ahok apologized, but hardline groups reportedly have paid workers a day’s wages to join the protests, which devolved overnight into violence and police using tear gas.

IRAQ: Iraqis fear bloodshed in Mosul will continue as long as there is no political agreement in place to reconcile sectarian groups. Note that Mosul was a city nearly evenly divided among Sunni Arabs, Kurds, and Christians along with other non-Muslims. Yet The New York Times defines these “groups” as “Iraq’s Sunni Arab minority with the Shiite-dominated national government.” Note also that U.S. presidential envoy Brett McGurk equates success in Mosul with success in Tikrit, where “the entire population … has returned to their homes,” when Tikrit was nearly 100 percent Sunni Arab.

Satellite imagery reveals barricades constructed across Mosul by Islamic State fighters. More before/after images show sites blown up by ISIS or coalition airstrikes (they include a Nineveh governorate building I visited in 2008 and churches in the Old City).

UNITED STATES: Heading into the final presidential election lap, Charles Krauthammer has a sober warning: A hardened operative like Russian President Vladimir Putin may hold the keys in a Trump or Clinton presidency, as he is not above using blackmail.

ITALY: Fifty years ago today, a flood in Florence submerged some of the world’s greatest art—and paved the way for what we know today about modern rare book and artwork conservation. Maybe I’m just looking for drink in a dry season, but this is a fascinating read.

ETHIOPIA: Here’s some multiplier effect—how training five pastors in a Muslim-dominated region meant, in just two years time, 75 church leaders there had received a Christ-centered education.

IDOP: International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church will be honored this Sunday, Nov. 6, by some organizations—and Nov. 20 by others. I will be speaking at Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Ala., on Nov. 20.

OTHER SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS: This weekend I’m leading a retreat for the women of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem, N.C. I’ll speak at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Ga., on Nov. 17-18, with the Assyrian Union in Chicago on Dec. 8, and at Faith Presbyterian Church in Tacoma, Wash., on Dec. 10.