Ryan Dagur – The archbishop of Dili hopes that Timor-Leste's first Catholic university will open this year after he met with Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak.
Salesian Archbishop Dom Virgilio do Carmo da Silva of Dili met Ruak on Aug. 13, a month after the archdiocese formally applied for permission to start the Catholic University of Timor in the Catholic-majority country.
Jakarta – Indonesia's central bank will keep its benchmark interest rate at a record low on Thursday (Aug 19) as it tries to continue to support the economic recovery without adding more pressure on the rupiah amid United States tapering concerns, a Reuters poll showed on Monday.
Dio Suhenda and Marchio Irfan Gorbiano, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has underlined that the spirit of mutual cooperation and collaboration across all parts of society had strengthened the country's COVID-19 response.
Kiki Siregar, Jakarta – COVID-19 has taught Indonesia how to find a balance between health and economic interests, said President Joko Widodo on Monday (Aug 16) as he addressed perceptions that government policies may not have been consistent when it comes to tackling the pandemic.
Much has been made about the relatively steep price of PCR swab tests in Indonesia amid comparisons with India recently, prompting President Joko Widodo yesterday to order the Health Ministry to slash the price by about half to make it more affordable for the general public.
Police in Tangerang city, Banten have questioned witnesses regarding a graffiti, which, depending on your outlook, painted President Joko Widodo in either a satirical or a negative light.
Chris Barrett and Karuni Rompies, Singapore – The awarding of one of Indonesia's highest honours to a former militia leader indicted for crimes against humanity has been labelled an insult to both East Timor and Australia.
16 August 2021
Hon Nanaia Mahuta
Parliament Buildings
Wellington
Kia ora Nanaia Mahuta
AWPA condemns the crackdown on peaceful demonstrators today in West Papua. Early reports (from FB and local media) indicate up to 50 people arrested and two wounded.
Rallies were called today by the Papuan People's Petition, consisting of over a 100 organisations and were demanding the release of Victor Yeimo who is sick in the Mako Brimob prison.
Heru Asprihanto, Bogor, West Java – Four-year-old pitbull Gledis was home alone for two days without food when a group of volunteers found her.
She is among many pets left behind when their owners tested positive for COVID-19 and were hospitalized or placed in isolation.
Yudha Baskoro, Solo, Central Java – While most charity groups and state agencies have opted for instant noodles as a more practical way to supply food for people under the Covid-19 quarantine, these men in Central Java offer fiber intake for free.
Budiarti Utami Putri, Jakarta – The Alliance of Indigenous Peoples of the Archipelago (AMAN) on Monday criticized President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo for wearing a traditional clothing of the Baduy tribe during his speech at the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) annual meeting today.
Joniansyah (Contributor), Jakarta – The Halfway Connection Community (HFC) – the group behind the once viral 'God I'm Hungry' mural in Tangerang – on Monday regrets the police clampdown against critical mural paintings and street artists, especially after a mural of President Jokowi went viral.
Antara, Jakarta – Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF) economist, Eko Listiyanto, on Sunday talked about the urgency of PCR tests and other Covid-19 screening tests that are now mandated for a number of public activities, and believes reducing the cost cap of PCR tests would benefit the government's contact tracing capabilities.
Jakarta – A rally by protesters from the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) in Jayapura, Papua, was forcibly and violently broken up by police on Monday August 16. Two people were injured after being allegedly struck by rattan sticks.
Hengky Yeimo, Jayapura – A group of people of the Papuan People Petition took to the streets on Monday, August 16, 2021, to demand the release of human rights activist Victor Yeimo, the West Papua National Committee (KNPB) spokesperson. The Indonesian Military (TNI) and police, however, blocked the protesters with water cannon and even hit some of the protesters.
Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The Indonesian government on Monday decided to relax a bit the community restrictions amid a steady decline in newly Covid-19 cases, allowing a greater capacity for malls, restaurants and worship places across Java and Bali.
Jakarta – Indonesia recorded the lowest daily number of newly Covid-19 cases in nearly two months on Monday, but the daily death toll remained within four-digit territory.
The country has added 17,384 cases in the past 24 hours, the lowest figure since June 23, for a total of 3,871,738 cases, government figures show.
Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – The Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry is preparing evacuation of its embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, as Taliban looks set to overtake power, but it will retain a small team for diplomatic mission, the ministry said in a statement on Monday.
M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) asked President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to take over the entire assessment process of the Nationality Knowledge Test (TWK) for employees of the Corruption Eradication Commission. Komnas HAM found 11 human rights violations during the process which resulted in the dismissal of the 57 employees.
Arnold Belau, Jayapura – The Yahukimo West Papua National Committee (KNPB) says that police forcibly broke up a peaceful protest action on Monday August 16 arresting scores of people and shooting one person in the Dekai district of Yahukimo regency, Papua.
Today – 15 August 15 1962 – marks "a day of betrayal for us West Papuans", says a Papuan leader as critics reminded the world about what happened 59 years ago.
Maria Fatima Bona, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has told Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin to find ways to bring down the polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, test for Covid-19 in the country by a half to help it expands tracing and testing capacity, key measures to curb the pandemic.
On July 28, Pastor Marselinus Monang Sijabat, the head of the St Lusia Church in Pakpak Bharat Regency in North Sumatra, Indonesia, began to feel decidedly unwell.
By August 2, the Catholic priest, 42, had received a double diagnosis – typhus and Covid-19.
Christopher Knaus – The government will be forced to defend its decision to withhold long-secret cabinet documents about negotiations with Timor-Leste in the years prior to the controversial bugging operation revealed by Witness K and Bernard Collaery.
Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Indonesia's next presidential election is still two and a half years away, but campaigning to succeed Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is already getting into swing.
Antara, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has urged President Joko Widodo, or Jokowi, to reiterate his commitment to handle and promote human rights when he delivers his address to the annual session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) on Monday.
Akanksha Sharma, Masrur Jamaluddin and Hilary Whiteman, Jakarta – Taufiq Hidayat enters the homes of the dead to claim bodies no one will touch.
He leads a dozen volunteer undertakers who take calls from grieving families in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, the center of one of the world's largest Covid-19 outbreaks.
Katharina R. Lestari, Jakarta – Human rights activists have condemned Indonesian President Joko Widodo for presenting an award to a former East Timorese militia leader who was involved in pre-and post-independence massacres in what is now Timor-Leste.
Arys Aditya – Indonesia found that Sinovac Biotech Ltd.'s Covid-19 vaccine was less effective at protecting against death and severe illness in April to June, compared with the previous three months.
Dera Menra Sijabat, Richard C. Paddock and Muktita Suhartono, Bulus Wetan, Indonesia – When Debiyantoro, a hotel repairman, first lost his sense of taste, he wondered briefly if it might be Covid-19, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Having the disease would mean not being able to make a living.
Yudha Baskoro, Sukoharjo – Agus Widanarko wears not a surgical but superhero mask in the pandemic. By trade an anti-drug counsellor, he moonlights as Super Isoman to cheer up children who self-isolate due to Covid-19 in Sukoharjo, Central Java.
Jakarta – Jakarta State University (UNJ) sociologist Ubedilah Badrun has criticised the actions of authorities in removing murals containing social criticisms of the government such as a mural depicting President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo with the message "404: Not Found" in Tangerang and a mural reading "Forced to be well in a country that is sick" in Pasuruan.
London, New York, Berlin – TAPOL, ETAN and Watch Indonesia! strongly condemn President Joko Widodo's decision to grant 'Bintang Jasa Utama', one the highest national awards, to Eurico Guterres on Thursday, 12 August 2021.
Andi Firdaus, Raka Adji, Jakarta – A total of 166 thousand volunteers from various regions in Indonesia have undergone vaccination training to help the government accelerate the realization of the COVID-19 vaccination target by December 2021.
Hendro Situmorang, Jakarta – Indonesia has been past the peak of the coronavirus outbreak since nearly three weeks ago, the National Covid-19 Task Force claimed on Thursday.
The task force said the number of active cases and hospital admissions have been in a steady decline after July 24, when the country registered a record 574,135 active cases.
One of Indonesia's top officials, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, didn't seem too pleased with the COVID-19 handling in Bali during his visit yesterday, describing the province's ongoing crisis as an "anomaly" and bluntly pointing out how it can negatively affect tourism.
Soraya Permatasari – Indonesia is intensifying efforts to boost Covid-19 vaccination for its "reluctant" elderly population as the country's daily death count remains among the highest in the world.
Tirsa Manitik gave birth to her first girl in June and buried her a month later – another casualty of virus-battered Indonesia's soaring child death toll.
The Southeast Asian nation has been hit by its worst Covid-19 surge yet as the ultra-infectious Delta variant sent deaths skyrocketing and left a trail of devastated parents in its wake.
Makassar (Reuters) – A vehicle with a flashing siren and "Makassar Covid-19 Hunter" written on the side pulls up to a ship docked at a jetty in the Indonesian port city of Makassar, and masked Covid-19 patients carrying bags board the vessel.
Konradus Epa, Jakarta – A parish in Indonesia's Jakarta Archdiocese is celebrating after being granted a building permit to build a new church following a 30-year struggle.
Authorities in Tangerang City in Banten province presented the permit to St. Bernadette Parish during a small ceremony this week.
Indonesia's Health Ministry is defending the relatively steep price of PCR swab tests in the country, following protests triggered by recent reports showing how other countries have made the tests significantly more affordable for the general public.
Dio Suhenda, Jakarta – Rights groups have welcomed the abolishment of the controversial "two-finger test", a virginity test that had long been a requirement for female recruits to join the Indonesian Army.
Sudibyo Wiradji – As the dry season continues, heed must be given to peatland forests in Indonesia, especially on Kalimantan Island. Hot spots are expected to rise, which will potentially lead to forest fires.
Illegal blazes to clear land for agricultural plantations have been cited as one of the causes of the annual forest fires.
Zacharias Wuragil, Jakarta – Indonesia instantly jumped to the top three in the world for the number of new Covid-19 cases over the past 28 days, according to Johns Hopkins University Covid-19 data dashboard.
Jakarta – The regulations imposed during strict social restrictions are a guide to help people adapt to risks, according to Reisa Broto Asmoro, the government's Covid-19 handling spokesperson.
Heru Asprihanto, Jakarta – Indonesia's capital reopened its retail malls this week to an exclusive crowd – shoppers vaccinated against coronavirus.
Police officers have allegedly been extorting bus drivers and travelers passing through Bali's Gilimanuk Port, with reports suggesting that authorities are taking at least IDR50,000 (US$3.48) from each traveler and allowing them to circumvent entry requirements.
Anwar Siswadi (Contributor), Jakarta – Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) maritime expert, Hamzah Latief, said in an online seminar held on August 10, 2021, that 30 percent of Indonesian coastal regions are facing the threat of being submerged under seawater similar to Jakarta.
Human rights advocates continue to voice concern for the welfare of West Papuan political prisoner Victor Yeimo.
Indonesian police arrested the West Papua National Committee's foreign spokesman in May over his alleged role in anti-racism protests that turned into riots in 2019.