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JAKARTA: Indonesian authorities said on Thursday they were investigating a new outbreak of food poisoning among schoolchildren, linked to the nationwide free lunch program, which has been blamed for thousands of cases in the past few months.

Launched in January, the Free Nutritious Meals Program was a major election campaign promise from President Prabowo Subianto, who took office last October. With a budget of around $10 billion for this year, the initiative is expected to reach some 70 million students and pregnant mothers across Indonesia by year end. 

But food poisoning cases linked to the project have been reported increasingly since it began, with hundreds of students falling ill this week in Yogyakarta’s Gunungkidul regency. The news has prompted the National Nutrition Agency, which runs the initiative, to launch an investigation. 

“We’ve received the reports. They’re now being investigated and analyzed, and we have temporarily stopped serving the (free meals),” the agency’s chief, Dadan Hindayana, told Arab News. 

At least 662 students from two separate schools suffered food poisoning in Gunungkidul, according to data from regional head Endah Subekti Kuntariningsih. 

“From a student population of 1,154 at one of the local vocational high schools, 476 suffered from food poisoning. There were also 10 teachers and educators who sampled the meals, and they also got food poisoning,” she said on her Instagram account. 

As of Oct. 29, more than 15,000 children nationwide have suffered from food poisoning related to the campaign since its January launch, data compiled by NGO Network for Education Watch showed. 

Authorities have said many of the cases were caused by improper food storage and late delivery of cooked meals. 

The free meals program, which has so far reached nearly 40 million Indonesians, is expected to receive double its current budget next year. 

But there have been at least 5,735 food poisoning cases in October alone, said Ubaid Matraji, the network’s national coordinator. 

“The government failed to stop the chain of poisoning. Ten months into the program, there has been no significant change. The pattern of recurring cases and increasing numbers of victims indicates systemic negligence, not random incidents,” he told Arab News. 

“There have been evaluations but no action. The National Nutrition Agency appears more concerned with appeasing public opinion rather than improving the food monitoring system. Each time a case occurs, the government simply forms an evaluation team, with no tangible results.”

LONDON: Authorities in Greece have stepped up their presence at two ports to keep protesters away from an Israeli cruise ship, The Guardian reported.

The MS Crown Iris, on an 11-day tour of the Mediterranean, is due to dock at Patras and Katakolo.

Earlier this week protesters turned up at Kalamata, and in July the same ship had to be diverted to Cyprus after similar protests stopped passengers disembarking at Syros.

Protesters are appearing in opposition to the war in Gaza and Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people.

Christina Lada, a teacher who took part in the protest at Kalamata, told The Guardian: “Despite the ceasefire, Israel is still continuing its attacks in Gaza. Innocent, unarmed civilians are being killed.”

Yannis Sifanakis, a prominent campaigner in Greek anti-war demonstrations, said: “Those Israelis who support the actions of their government aren’t welcome here.”

Protests have not been limited to tourist visits. As many as 5,000 people recently took part in a demonstration on the island of Crete to demand the closure of the Souda Bay naval base, used by US ships and aircraft to refuel en route to Israel.

Petros Constantinou, who coordinates Greece’s Keerfa anti-racist movement, said: “Our main demand, now, is to stop any collaboration with Israel.”

Constantine Filis, head of the ACG Institute of Global Affairs in Athens, said: “Because of geographic proximity and our traditional ties with the Arab world, the average Greek is more sensitive to what is happening in Gaza than the average central or north European.

“Greece is in a difficult position. Israel is much more important for us as an ally and partner than it is for most European states.”

Greece has become a popular destination for Israeli tourists in recent years. In 2024, the number of Israelis visiting the country hit more than 600,000, with this year’s figure expected to be higher.

Previous Greek governments tended to lean more toward support for the Palestinian cause, and Athens was the last EU capital to formally recognize Israel’s existence.

But in recent years, Greece, including under current Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has sought closer ties with Israel given its military and geopolitical significance and close ties to the US.

“Greece is not going to risk its relations with Israel,” Filis said. “But from a humanitarian perspective we must be more inclusive, more balanced, more determined to demonstrate the wrongdoings of Israel in Gaza.”