Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan kicked off the COVID-19 vaccination program for children aged 12-17 at state high school SMAN 20 in Sawah Besar, Central Jakarta earlier today.

As Indonesia accelerates its mass vaccination program, certain details, such as whether or not foreigners may get the jab, have been lost in the flurry of information.

Chris Barrett and Karuni Rompies, Singapore – Indonesia has been urged to try to buy any excess AstraZeneca vaccines from Australia amid a worsening COVID-19 crisis that is being compared with India's outbreak.

Edna Tarigan and Andi Jatmiko, Jakarta – Thousands of Indonesians lined up at a sports stadium to get a COVID-19 vaccine dose Thursday in a one-day, mass vaccination event that's part of a push to dramatically scale up the nation's virus fight as hospitals fill with sick patients.

Tabita Diela, Bernadette Christina, Jakarta – Indonesian business groups on Thursday urged authorities to ensure there is enough financial support for companies, warning that otherwise new restrictions to tackle a surge in COVID-19 cases could result in layoffs and bankruptcies.

Kiki Siregar, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has unveiled broad emergency community restrictions on Thursday (Jul 1) for the islands of Java and Bali, as the country battles a spike in COVID-19 infections.

Divya Karyza, Jakarta – Indonesia has received 14,000 units of vaccine bulk from Chinese firm Sinovac Biotech, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin announced during a livestreamed press briefing on Wednesday. This is the 18th Sinovac shipment to date, bringing the total delivery volume to 105 million units of vaccine bulk.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Domestic travelers on long-distance transportation modes such as planes, buses, and trains must produce vaccination record of at least the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, according to new restrictions announced on Thursday as Indonesia is battling a dramatic spike in newly coronavirus cases.

Kate Lamb, Jakarta – The number of children contracting the coronavirus has almost tripled since May, with infant deaths from COVID-19 rising sharply as Indonesia suffers its most severe wave of infections so far, a senior paediatrician said on Wednesday.

Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – The number of Covid-19 cases among children in West Java was indeed the highest at 45,450, followed by Riau with 9,224 cases, Central Java with 6,654 cases, West Sumatra with 6,037 cases, and East Kalimantan with 5,774 cases.

Indonesia has boosted its COVID-19 vaccination hopes with millions of doses set to arrive in the coming months amid an acceleration of the national mass vaccination program.

An Acehnese woman collapsed when she was flogged in public on Monday in the city of Lhokseumawe, as she was one of the latest to be punished for religious transgressions in the province.

Yanuar Nugroho – The Jokowi government appears to be on the verge of imposing a hard lockdown to curb a second wave of Covid-19 infections. But this belies longstanding hesitancy to adopt drastic measures that could hurt the economy.

Basten Gokkon, Jakarta – The unmonitored illegal trade in porcupines across Indonesia has prompted calls from conservationists for stricter protection for the species' population in the wild.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Novel Baswedan has endured many things in his 14 years as an investigator at Indonesia's anti-graft agency. They include incrimination attempts, being hit twice on his motorbike, and an acid attack that rendered him permanently near-blind.

Sigit S Nugroho and Keoni Indrabayu Marzuki – On 24 April 2021, Indonesian authorities declared that the Nanggala-402, a Navy submarine that went missing while conducting a naval exercise on 21 April, had sunk.

Antara, Jakarta – Jakarta's need for health workers continues to increase in line with the high number of Covid-19 cases in the capital city. Deputy Governor Ahmad Riza Patria said the capital city still requires 2,156 healthcare workers and 5,139 vaccinators to contain the pandemic.

"[We are] adding more health workers," said Riza at the City Hall, Tuesday, June 29.

Yuddy Cahya Budiman and Agustinus Beo Da Costa – Oxygen prices in Jakarta had more than doubled and some suppliers reported shortages on Tuesday after a surge in COVID-19 cases that prompted the Red Cross to warn of a coronavirus "catastrophe" in Indonesia.

Heru Andriyanto, Jakarta – While the majority of the Indonesian people are in favor of death penalty, their support for it declines as they learn more about the scope of judicial killing or are shown with specific circumstances such as unfair trials, according to a public opinion research by Oxford University whose results were released on Wednesday.

Jakarta – Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has offered free vaccination against Covid-19 for its passengers on Wednesday in a move that would entice more people to get immunized while at the same time helped the government's Covid-19 vaccination program.

Jakarta – The rapid increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in Indonesia is proof of the weaknesses in the system to control the pandemic. There is a problem of leadership.

Dewi Nurita, Jakarta – The Indonesian government as of Wednesday, June 30, has received 14 million Sinovac bulk vaccines to boost the national vaccination program. In total, Indonesia has received 105.5 million doses in bulk and 3 million dose vials from the Chinese vaccine developer.

Jakarta – Rescuers were searching for 11 people still missing after a passenger ferry sank off the coast of Bali in rough seas, killing at least seven, authorities said Wednesday.

Dozens of survivors were plucked from the water Tuesday evening after the KMP Yunicee, carrying 57 passengers and crew, went down near Gilimanuk port at the western end of the holiday island.

Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja, Jakarta – Indonesia plans to impose stricter restrictions starting Saturday (July 3), as South-east Asia's most populous country battles a second wave of coronavirus infections driven by the more transmissible Delta variant.

Jakarta – The University of Gajah Mada (UGM) Student Executive Council (BEM) has dubbed President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo as the "(Most) New Order" president, alluding to the New Order regime of former president Suharto. This was conveyed by the UGM BEM to coincide with Widodo's 60th birthday which fell on June 21.

Dion Bisara, Jakarta – The government has submitted a proposal to impose a carbon tax starting next year, as part of the country's tax code reform, to reduce carbon emissions and meet its commitment to climate change mitigation, a minister said on Monday.

Jakarta (Reuters) – Indonesia's Covid-19 surge is on the edge of a catastrophe as the more infectious Delta variant dominates transmission and chokes hospitals in South-east Asia's worst epidemic, the Red Cross said on Tuesday (June 29).

Chris Barrett and Karuni Rompies, Singapore – A couple of needles in the arm may not be everyone's idea of an ideal getaway but Indonesia has unveiled a vaccination holiday scheme that it hopes will draw more tourists back to Bali.

Dean Baker – You might think so from reading this NYT article (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/25/world/asia/indonesia-covid-sinovac.html). The piece tells readers that Indonesia had 20,000 positive cases on Thursday. Furthermore:

Egi Adyatama, Jakarta – The Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) said the number of doctors who died while treating Covid-19 patients increased significantly from May to June 2021. Based on IDI data, seven doctors died in May and rose to 26 the following month.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Police have arrested a 56-year-old man in Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province for allegedly raping a child inside a Catholic church.

Nirmal Ghosh, Washington – The world will soon get a new look at the man accused of plotting the October 2002 bombing in Kuta, Bali, that killed 202 people, and the 2003 attack at the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta that killed 11.

Hardani Triyoga and Dani Randi, Banda Aceh – Banda Aceh Public Order Agency officers (Satpol PP) and the Wilayatul Hisbah (Religious police, WH) have sealed off two beauty salons in Seutui and Lamseupeng which were being used for deviant homosexual practices.

Yamin Kogoya – Indonesia's most troubled province of Papua is become embroiled in another mass demonstration with protesters barricading provincial government buildings and offices over a draconian and undemocratic appointment.

Negative results from PCR swab tests are now the only acceptable document for air travelers visiting Bali, Governor Wayan Koster announced today, with other not-so-reliable COVID-19 test methods believed to have contributed to the infected slipping through the cracks and into the island.

Jakarta (Antara) – Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said the coverage of COVID-19 vaccination in the capital had reached an average of 130,000 people daily. He added this effort was aimed at meeting the government's target of 7.5 million inoculated Jakarta residents until August 2021.

Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – The Protestant Church Council in Papua has accused the Indonesian government of attempting to perpetuate unrest and push through unpopular policies by ousting the restive province's governor, a native Papuan who opposed them.

Jakarta (Reuters) – Indonesia's finance minister on Monday laid out a government proposal for an overhaul of tax regulations, including introducing a program to report undisclosed assets, bringing in a carbon tax and hiking the VAT rate.

Fardah Assegaf, Bogor – Some 336 healthcare workers contracted COVID-19 and fell ill, thereby leading to the Bogor municipality taking the decision to shut down eight health facilities, the city's mayor, Bima Arya Sugiarto, stated.

Indonesian police say they are searching for a group behind the deaths of four construction workers in Papua province.

The latest reported deadly violence in Papua occurred in Seradala district of Yahukimo regency last Thursday. Police have blamed the West Papua Liberation Army whose pro-independence guerilla fighters are labelled as terrorists by Jakarta.

M Rosseno Aji, Jakarta – Several members of the University of Indonesia's Student Executive Board (BEM UI) experienced cyber attacks as their social media accounts got hacked. The hacking occurred following the board's controversial Instagram post that criticized President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

Chris Barrett and Karuni Rompies, Singapore – Indonesia's drug authority has approved children aged 12 and above being vaccinated as the south-east Asian nation confronts a frightening surge in cases, including one of the highest rates in the world of child infections.

Ben Bland – When then Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono addressed the Australian parliament in 2010, he argued that the bilateral relationship faced four major challenges: improving mutual public understanding, managing diplomatic differences, boosting economic ties and adapting to emerging regional problems.

Sangihe Islands Deputy Regent Helmud Hontong died due to an illness, police said, after an autopsy ruled out foul play despite the suspicious circumstances in which he died.

The North Sulawesi Provincial Police, which carried out an autopsy on Helmud, ruled out suspicions that the official died from being poisoned before he boarded a flight from Denpasar to Makassar.

Jakarta – Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid has challenged President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to prove that he is not the "King of Lip Service" as he was dubbed in a recent Twitter posting by the University of Indonesia (UI) Student Executive Council (BEM).

Thresa Sandra Desfika, Jakarta – Super Air Jet, a new Indonesian budget airline reportedly backed by airline magnate Rusdi Kirana, will start operation with three Airbus A320 aircraft after securing an air operator certificate from the Ministry of Transportation last week.

Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated on Friday that the scheduling change of cannabis and cannabis resin at the United Nations does not mean the legalization of the substance in Indonesia or many parts of the world.

Jakarta – Forty-four Student Executive Councils (BEM) from several different campuses along with a number of civil society organisations have slammed the University of Indonesia (UI) authorities for summoning UI BEM representatives over a Twitter posting criticising President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

Adam Prireza, Jakarta – Epidemiologist from Australia Griffith University, Dicky Budiman, opined that lockdown is the best option to contain Covid-19 cases which are currently skyrocketing, particularly in Jakarta.

Budiarti Utami Putri, Jakarta – The Indonesian Caucus for Academic Freedom (KIKA) member, Robertus Robet, slammed the Rectorate of the University of Indonesia (UI) for summoning the university's Student Executive Body (BEM UI) after criticizing President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo via social media.