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Two in one
Today is St Valetine’s Day, associated with romantic love, and Ash Wednesday, associated with the Christian faith, the first day of Lent – a solemn reminder of human mortality and the need for reconciliation with God. Easter is near.
By the numbers
According to the latest count, there are currently 88 in PM Marape’s camp and 23 in the Opposition camp backing Allan Bird as the alternative PM. That’s 111. (Seven seats are currently vacant in the 118-member House.)
Strange bedfellows
You will hear a lot of the saying “politics make strange bedfellows” as the horse-trading begins among MPs in the current sitting of Parliament. The early 17th century saying simply means difficult circumstances will bring together very different people.
New word
Shrinkflation is the practice of reducing the size of a product such as a loaf of bread while maintaining its sticker price. Many example automatically come to mind.
Take no risk
One social/sports club near Parliament is not taking any risks and will close today – for the safety of its members and workers.
Some crowd
The record 123.4 million people who watched the Super Bowl won by the Kansas City Chiefs in the US on Monday was bigger than those who watched the first moon landing in 1969 – by comparison, they say.
Top quote
“So together we have 88 votes in the Government, and we welcome the scrutiny of the Opposition MPs who have no confidence in my leadership. Let’s test the numbers on the floor of Parliament.” – Prime Minister James Marape.

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