http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/06/28/pope-appoints-14-new-cardinals.html

Pope appoints 14 new cardinals

Pope Francis appointed 14 new cardinals, a diverse selection from all over the world including Iraq, Pakistan, Madagascar and Japan.

1 of the new 14 cardinals being under 80 years of age. They would be eligible to take part in the event of a conclave to name a new pope.


Pope gradually shapes a less European college of cardinals whose members are often committed to peace or social justice.

Among the new "princes" of the church  will be Iraq's Louis Sako who has often met Pope Francis to discuss the situation in the war-torn country and the plight of the dwindling Christian community.

."It's is our land, we were here before the arrival of Muslims", says Sako who advocates "dialogue" and challenges "a vision of a uniquely Islamic nation".

"The people in Toamasina in Madagascar are suffering and need support.

As well as having the key role of choosing a new pope, cardinals often also hold the highest administrative offices in the church.

Pope Francis is the first head of the church from Latin America.

He  is 81 and was named in 2013 after his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI stood down citing advancing age.

Seentence to death in life

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/06/28/3-murderers-get-life-sentence-in-jambi.html

3 murderers get life sentence in Jambi

Muara Tebo District Court in Jambi, has sentenced two men and a woman to life imprisonment for the killing of Dona Sitorus, 32, her son Niconius Iraldo Simbolon, 4, and their neighbor Ita Susanti, 44.
The sentences handed down by the panel of judges, presided over by Ricky Fardian, to Wirani Laila, 25, Arman Laia, 18, and Fandy Giawa, 18, were more lenient than had been demanded by prosecutors, who sought the death penalty for all three.
“The sentence has been seriously considered,” Ricky said on Thursday.
He said the three were found guilty of committing premeditated murder as stipulated in Article 340 of the Criminal Code (KUHP).
They were given seven days to decide whether to appeal. “They can accept [the sentence] or they can appeal,” Ricky said.
The murders committed in November 2017 were masterminded by Wirani. Arman and Fandi were hired for Rp 1 million (US$69.69) each by Wirani to carry out the crime.
Wirani initially only planned to kill Dona who was demanding that Wirani repay her money she owed.
To allow Arman and Fandi to kill her, Wirani told Dona to go to PT Tebo Plasma Inti Lestari in Tebo Tengah district, Tebo regency, on the pretext of Wirani repaying her debt.
Dona went to the location together with her son Niconius and her neighbor Ita. Arman and Fandi killed them all and mutilated their bodies.

Ackward

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/06/28/taboo-prevents-indonesians-from-buying-condoms.htm

Taboo prevents Indonesians from buying condoms

• Gemma Holliani Cahya and Nurul Fitri Ramadhani The Jakarta Post
  
  
  
  In big cities in Indonesia, rubbers can be as cheap as US$1.19 a dozen, are as ubiquitous as convenience stores.
  
  
  A good education and general awareness about the benefits of rubbers appear not to help much in getting Indonesians to buy the rubbers.
  
  Being married also does not seem to help people overcome the cultural barrier.
  
  
  Embarrassed to buy rubbers
  
  
  Jakarta resident Naufal, 26, who has been married for almost two years, said he never bought rubbers at the same store and always made sure to buy it far away from his home, so that the cashiers would not recognize his face.
  Naufal said he had developed this habit after an unpleasant situation. When he was a university student, he had bought rubbers at a store near his campus. Later, when he was getting ready to leave the store, an elderly woman approached him and asked him whether he was a college student.
  “When I said yes, she looked at me and said, ‘be careful with your way of life, son’. I just nodded and quickly walked away,” Naufal recalled.
  
  Since that day, Naufal has set his mind on avoiding such awkward situations, even if that literally means going the extra mile to buy the rubbers.
  
  His mother-in-law’s wish for a grandchild as soon as possible is another factor.
  “The cashiers know my wife and my mother-in-law, because they often shop there. If my mother-in-law finds out we have been buying rubbers, it might spark drama, because she is expecting grandchildren from us,” he told The Jakarta Post.
  
  
  
  Sasha, 25, not her real name, and her boyfriend of three years, who live in Yogyakarta, have decided to no longer use rubbers in the past two years.
  
  They decided to just go with their feeling; “now we know when to pull it out,” she said.
  
  “We used rubbers in the first months of our relationship, but nowadays, we don’t use them anymore. 
  
  My boyfriend said he was too embarrassed to buy them at the store.
  
  He was afraid people would judge him or someone he knew would see him,”
  
  Sasha said they had tried to buy them online, because that was less embarrassing. However, recently they had decided it was easier to just stop using them.
  
  
  In 2012, there were 8.3 million unintended pregnancies in the Southeast Asian region. Of that number, 57 percent were aborted, 12 percent were miscarriages and 31 percent resulted in unplanned births.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Mental Health

http://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2018/06/27/how-to-support-your-mental-health-by-keeping-a-journal.html

How to support your mental health by keeping a journal

Lucas Cappel Freelance writer and an educator 


Mental health is a very sensitive issue and should be handled with utmost care.
A huge part of the world’s population suffers from mental disorders, including depression and general anxiety disorder. Some people suffer from such disorders and don’t even realize it.


You can talk to a psychiatrist and express all that you are feeling.

A journal, on the other hand, allows you to express yourself freely.

A journal allows you to have a conversation with your inner self and discuss even the deep secrets you cannot share with your friends, family or therapist.

If you put down in words your fears, frustrations, goals, failures and expectations, you feel less anxious.
If you're feeling depressed or anxious most of the time, professional help is needed.

But if you currently lack the courage or resources to seek professional help, keeping a journal might be an option.
How to write a journal
When you make up your mind to start writing a journal, make sure you are ready to make it a lifetime habit that you would enjoy. It’s supposed to be a fun way of expression. Nobody will check your journal, allowing you to include even extreme feelings, like hatred or stupid fantasies.
The following outlines how to go about this:

1. Write as often as possible. This allows you to include details as they happen.
2. Always have a pen and paper. Having writing material allows you to write whenever you see or feel something.
3. It need not be on paper. You can also keep your journal on the phone or a computer.
4. Read other journals. This mainly applies to anyone who is just learning to keep a journal.
5. Ensure that you are completely honest. Every detail you put down should be the truth, especially your feelings. 
6. Divide your journal into several parts, that is: to do, frustrations, feelings, etc. It’s important to set some goals; however, do not set goals that are too high and unachievable. This could cause disappointment and slow down the healing process.
7. Add dates to your journal, as that makes retrieving information easier and faster once the need arises. A dated journal also allows you to see whether your condition is improving over time. For patients whose therapists use the journal, it helps them identify when to stop using antidepressants.
8. Go through your journal after writing; this helps you establish whether there is anything you might have forgotten. Reading through it also relieves you of the anxiety.
9. Try out new styles. This includes writing conversations that you wish to have, writing letters to yourself, etc.
10. Keep it simple. Your journal does not have to be perfectly neat; you are allowed to scribble things even in the middle of the night.

The importance of journaling  
Up to 6.9 percent of the American population has undergone at least one major depression breakdown. Psychologists explain that when a patient starts keeping a journal, the occurrence of depressive breakdowns reduces quite significantly.
1. Journaling helps people identify their triggers
This is done by looking at what time the symptoms get worse. If it happens during daytime, then work is your trigger, and when it happens in the evening, family relationships might be the trigger. Once you identify your trigger, it’s possible to avoid them next time.
According to Cynthia McKay, a psychotherapist in Denver, most people are very surprised when they read what they have written, since a journal brings your feelings and thoughts to the surface. This, however, aids in self-awareness, since you might realize a fear that you did not know about before writing it down.
2. Putting things into perspective
Most people confess that writing down their fears makes their problems seem smaller and more manageable. Since the journal contains both positive and negative experiences, reading some of the happy moments that you wrote down can give you a new perspective on life, and you get to realize that life isn’t really that bad after all. This aspect of changing people’s views about life has greatly reduced the number of suicides committed by people with mental issues.
In some instances, where for example a woman suffers from postnatal depression, she might be encouraged to write about all the good things that are brought about by having a child. Also, she could include her expectations of the child, the plans she has for the future of the baby and what she would want the child to be when he/she grows up. She could also be asked to list the negative effects of having a child and compare. This has proven successful especially for women who did not want anything to do with children.
3. Distraction
Having a day job or being a housewife can be boring. Having a journal breaks the monotony, since a considerable amount of time is used to write. It’s also a cost-effective way of mental therapy, since all you need is pen and paper.
You learn how to manage your time. A journal serves as a timetable, where it gives you a well recorded sequence of how you do things. You might, therefore, find yourself following that schedule most of the time.
Whenever you feel like throwing a punch or downing that bottle of vodka, why not grab a pen and paper instead? (dev/kes)