Jakarta (Reuters) – Indonesia is bracing for its Covid-19 outbreak to get worse after a near vertical climb in cases, a senior minister said on Thursday (July 15), warning that infections had spread faster than anticipated due to the more virulent Delta variant.

Luthfi T. Dzulfikar, Ella S. Prihatini and Muhammad Fajar – Millennials and Gen Z form more than half the population of Indonesia – the world's third-largest democracy.

Polling agency Indikator Politik predicts nearly 60% of eligible voters in 2024 will be younger than 40. That's a big increase from the 40% in the 2019 elections.

Konradus Epa, Jakarta – Indonesian police have arrested at least 23 students staging a peaceful protest in Papua province, church and rights group said.

Some of those arrested were subjected to brutal assaults by police, they alleged on July 15.

Becky Bargh – Korean Palm oil giant Korindo has had its trademark license with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) stripped after a BBC investigation found the group had deliberately set fire to forests in Indonesia's Papua province.

Eduard Lazarus Teguh Maulana – Since mid-May, Indonesia has faced a massive surge in Covid-19 infections with the number of reported positive daily cases increasing fivefold.

Indonesia has added another weapon to assist it in its struggle against COVID-19, and it's a vaccine that has proved to be successful in slowing down coronavirus transmissions in other parts of the world.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Thursday had ordered the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) commander Hadi Tjahjanto to coordinate the distribution of free Covid-19 therapeutic medicines and vitamins for patients in self-isolation.

Fajar Pebrianto, Maudey K. Setyakusuma, Jakarta – Deputy Head of the Covid-19 Handling Committee, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, compared the spread of Covid-19 cases in Indonesia with several other countries, amid the delta variant outbreak. He said that the increase in cases recently also occurred in other countries.

Tempo.Co, Maudey K. Setyakusuma, Jakarta – In order to maximize the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Minister of Manpower, Ida Fauziyah, asked companies, especially in the essential sector, to tighten working hours. This is done so that the goal of limiting people's mobility during the period of the Emergency PPKM can be achieved maximally.

Antara, Jakarta – The Social Affairs Ministry explained the controversial remark by Minister Tri Rismaharini, or more known as Risma, about threatening to transfer state civil apparatus or ASN to Papua.

Budiarti Utami Putri, Jakarta – The civil coalition for proper healthcare access suspected that the government was more concerned about the economy than the health sector in containing the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the indications was that the government insisted on holding individually-paid vaccination.

Footage of Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officers hitting a married couple during a raid in South Sulawesi has sparked anger across Indonesia, prompting fresh discussions about the use of force during the Emergency Enforcement of Restrictions on Public Activities (Emergency PPKM) protocol.

Rakhmat Nur Hakim, Jakarta – World Health Organisation Immunization Program Unit Head Ann Lindstrand has criticised the Gotong Royong paid vaccination program in Indonesia. On the WHO's official website, Lindstrand stated that all people must have the same right to be able to access Covid-19 vaccines.

Agus Pabika, Jayapura – As many as 40 protesters opposing the extension of Papua special autonomy at the House of Representatives (DPR) building in Jakarta were arrested by police and taken away in two crowd control vehicles to the Metro Jaya regional police headquarters.

Agus Pabika, Jayapura – Earlier this morning on Thursday July 15 Papuan students from the Papua People's and Student Front held a peaceful rally at the House of Representatives (DPR) building in Senayan, Jakarta, rejected the extension of special autonomy (Otsus) and new autonomous regions anywhere in the land of Papua.

Jakarta (Agencies) – Former maritime affairs and fisheries minister Edhy Prabowo was sentenced by a court on Thursday to five years in prison for accepting bribes in a corruption scandal involving the export of lobster larvae.

I Gede Wahyu Wicaksana – On 18 May 2021, Indonesia opposed a new UN General Assembly resolution to formally embrace the Responsibility to Protect (R2P). The resolution would require annual reporting and debate on its implementation.

Budiarti Utami Putri, Caesar Akbar, Jakarta – An epidemiologist with the University of Indonesia (UI) Pandu Riono on Wednesday commented on the controversial self-paid Covid-19 vaccination program recently launched, which he believes did not come from Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin.

Jakarta – Around 23 Cendrawasih University (Uncen) students at several different locations were arrested by police when they held a protest action on Tuesday July 14 opposing the extension of special autonomy in Papua.

Yerica Lai, Jakarta – Jakarta and Yogyakarta will be the regions hit hardest by the latest COVID-19 wave if authorities fail to contain the ongoing case surge, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has said.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – A defrocked priest in Timor-Leste on trial for sexual abuse has been accused of threatening to kill the lawyer of his alleged victims.

Max Walden – The COVID-19 ward at the Jakarta hospital where resident doctor Amira* works is over capacity, but patients continue to arrive at the emergency department around the clock with coronavirus symptoms.

"During night shifts, it feels like patients keep arriving without stopping," she said.

Jakarta (Reuters) – Concerns are mounting in Indonesia over the ability of its regions to cope with a spike in coronavirus cases, according to its health minister, as the highly transmissible Delta variant spreads quickly across the world's largest archipelago.

Dicky Budiman – Indonesia is currently experiencing a massive spike in COVID-19 infection and deaths, as experts (including myself) have unfortunately been predicting.

The country recorded its largest single-day increase in new cases on July 13, with more than 47,000 infections. And this is likely to be a huge undercount because too few people are getting tested.

Caesar Akbar, Maudey, Jakarta – The President of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions or KSPI, Said Iqbal, responded to the plan of extension of the emergency PPKM for 4-6 weeks. He said that basically, KSPI agreed upon the extension of the emergency PPKM with clear and firm arrangements.

Budiarti Utami Putri, Jakarta – Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin confirmed that the Gotong Royong vaccination program for individuals was planned because similar programs through private companies did not meet the government's expectations.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – A Catholic priest has found himself in hot water with Papuans seeking independence by speaking out in favor of plans that would keep the restive region under Indonesian rule.

We have received urgent information from inside West Papua: students peacefully demonstrating against Indonesia's imposition of a second 'Special Autonomy' bill have been harassed, beaten and arrested by police at the University of Cendrawasih in Jayapura today.

Heru Andriyanto, Herman, Jakarta – The Indonesian government seeks to become electric vehicle production hub in the region, aiming for an output of 600,000 electric cars and 2.5 million electric motorcycles by 2030, an official said on Wednesday.

Ardito Ramadhan, Jakarta – House of Representatives (DPR) Commission IX member Saleh Daulay has asked Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin to provide healthcare facilities in order to prepare for a worst case scenario during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – State-run utility firm PLN recently announced its ambitious plan of retiring its coal-fired power plants in a bid to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

According to PLN president director Zulkifli Zaini, PLN has designed a roadmap to gradually retire the coal-fired steam power plants over the next few decades.

HA Kapisa and Rahmad Nasution in Manokwari, West Papua – Indonesian police have begun tightening entry controls in Manokwari district and Sorong city as part of the enforcement of an emergency partial lockdown this week.

Chris Barrett, Singapore – A defrocked Catholic priest accused of systematic child abuse in East Timor has been reported to police for allegedly threatening to kill the human rights lawyer representing the victims.

The claim against American-born Richard Daschbach was made in a statement released on Tuesday night by law firm JUS Juridico Social Consultoria.

A representative of the people doesn't seem to want representatives to truly represent the people's suffering in the current COVID-19 crisis, as he demanded a guarantee for lawmakers to receive intensive care should they be infected with the disease.

Officials in Karawang, West Java say an investigation is underway to look into whether there is any truth behind a claim that a vaccinator in the regency deliberately faked injecting vaccine recipients, as a viral video taken recently purportedly shows.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Indonesia has overtaken India as Asia's new epicenter for the coronavirus pandemic, with daily infections exceeding 40,000 for two straight days and officials warning that the delta variant is spreading outside the most populous island of Java.

A decapitated Sumatran elephant was found in Aceh province this week, with authorities suspecting that the endangered animal was killed for its tusks after finding traces of poison in its digestive system.

Several staff members at a community clinic (Puskesmas) in Bogor regency have been dismissed from their jobs following an incident in which they appeared to turn away patients – including a pregnant woman – for karaoke.

British and Indonesian human rights defender Carmel Budiardjo, founder of TAPOL watchdog and the movement's driving force for many decades, has died peacefully aged 96.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo vowed on Tuesday to continue with business reforms in his government's attempts to improve the ease of doing business despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, as he opened the country's biggest investment forum of the year.

Konradus Epa, Jakarta – Churches and rights groups have accused Indonesian police of illegally detaining Victor Yeimo, the international spokesman for the pro-independence West Papua National Committee (KNBP), and called for his immediate release.

Caesar Akbar, Jakarta – The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry or Kadin confirmed that more than 28,000 companies have thus far registered for the Gotong Royong Covid-19 Vaccination program with around 10.5 million participants, including employees and their families.

Budiarti Utami Putri, Jakarta – The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) Chairperson Asfinawati opined that the government has consistently denied the chaos in handling the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia.

She responded to the statement of Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Panjaitan (LBP) that the pandemic handling is under control.

Ahmad Fikri (Contributor), Bandung – West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil confirmed that there was unsynchronized data on Covid-19 reports issued by the regional and central government.

"The data gap is still happening today. What I announce every day (Covid-19 cases), 20-30 percent of them are old cases, which are late [to be announced]," he said on Monday, July 12.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo pledges support for the province's industrial estate development, seeking to boost investment in the manufacturing industry and integrated agriculture sectors in one of Indonesia's most populous regions.

Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – Human rights abuses continue to fester in the Indonesian palm oil industry as global brands and financial institutions and investors turn a blind eye to the problem, a new report says.

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Jakarta – Indonesia has surpassed India's daily Covid-19 case numbers after it reported a record of nearly 50,000 infections on Tuesday (July 13) and its health minister said the daily new cases will continue to spike in the coming days.

Anyone from the Greater Jakarta Area commuting to the capital proper must, starting today, have a Worker Registration Certificate (STRP) in hand, with checks for the document already set up at most public transportation facilities.

A leading British human rights advocate and former political prisoner in Indonesia, Carmel Budiardjo, has died, aged 96.

Budiardjo, who became an Indonesian citizen in 1954, was the founder of TAPOL, an organisation which has, since 1973, advocated for the release of political prisoners in Indonesia and provided information about abuse.

Strong performance in the oil sector has boosted Timor-Leste's 2021 GDP growth forecast from 2.5 to 4 per cent, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

"Strong oil production volumes in early 2021 have prompted us to raise our forecast for GDP growth in 2021," the EIU's most recent report on the Timorese economy stated.