https://www.scmp.com/rss/328487/feed en https://assets-v2.i-scmp.com/production/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Indonesia’s climate ambitions are being undermined by devastating wildfires that contradict its emissions-cutting strategy, casting a shadow over Jakarta’s push for a greener economy ahead of the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (Cop31). However, Environment Minister Jumhur Hidayat has doubled down, arguing that his country’s climate goals should not come at the expense of national development and that emissions reduction efforts must be fair. On Wednesday, he outlined six priority areas for... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3373544/indonesia-doubles-down-climate-goals-despite-surging-wildfire-emissions https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3373544/indonesia-doubles-down-climate-goals-despite-surging-wildfire-emissions Fri, 06 Nov 2026 08:54:01 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Thai conservationists are sleuthing for clues to help save the country’s last herd of dugongs by testing the mammal’s poop for stress hormones, its microbiome and other health indicators to prevent the extinction of this beloved yet critically endangered sea creature. But first they have to find the faeces – a green fist-sized ball consisting of the seagrass the gentle dugongs graze on daily in the coastal shallows of the Andaman Sea. It is literally drop-in-the-ocean work for the teams using... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3373384/thai-conservationists-hunt-dugong-poop-race-save-endangered-marine-mammal https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3373384/thai-conservationists-hunt-dugong-poop-race-save-endangered-marine-mammal Thu, 05 Nov 2026 08:50:34 +0000 Kolette Lim Kolette Lim Singapore’s parliament on Wednesday passed tougher penalties against companies responsible for forest fires in Indonesia, including curbs on related business dealings, as the city state doubles down on enforcement following one of its worst haze episodes in more than a decade. The amended Transboundary Pollution Haze Act will see penalties on such companies increase tenfold to a maximum fine of S$1 million (US$780,000) a day, capped at a total of S$20 million. The Act has been invoked twice... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3373296/singapore-passes-tougher-anti-haze-laws-fines-increase-10-times-against-offenders https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3373296/singapore-passes-tougher-anti-haze-laws-fines-increase-10-times-against-offenders Wed, 04 Nov 2026 12:43:32 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk A German tourist was among two men still missing on Tuesday after a landslide struck a glamping resort on the island of Bali in Indonesia. Heavy rains on Sunday afternoon caused the landslide, which struck the Eco Park Pelaga Glamping Retreat in Petang district at around 11pm, The Bali Times reported. Three tents collapsed while a fourth fell into the Tukad Yeh Kilap River and was swept away by the currents. The 4-hectare (10-acre) property, which houses 25 tents, sits on a steep cliff beside... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3373164/german-tourist-missing-indonesias-bali-after-landslide-amid-rainy-season https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3373164/german-tourist-missing-indonesias-bali-after-landslide-amid-rainy-season Tue, 03 Nov 2026 12:35:15 +0000 Resty Woro Yuniar Resty Woro Yuniar The Indonesian government is facing mounting pressure to scrap the value-added tax (VAT) on sanitary pads and other menstrual hygiene products, with critics arguing it adds to the financial burden for women from low-income families already struggling to buy basic necessities. While the 11 per cent tax on such products is not new, the issue has gained traction amid public anger over rising living costs. Students took to the streets of Jakarta last week to protest against the government’s handling... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3373160/indonesia-under-mounting-pressure-scrap-vat-sanitary-pads-amid-rising-living-costs https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3373160/indonesia-under-mounting-pressure-scrap-vat-sanitary-pads-amid-rising-living-costs Tue, 03 Nov 2026 11:40:40 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysia’s halal safeguards are under scrutiny after filthy conditions and suspected slaughtering breaches at a chicken plant sparked demands to explain how it ignored warnings and operated for years without certification. The hygiene failures at the Puchong facility came to light after authorities seized more than 6.5 tonnes of chicken during a raid last week. The factory, which processes more than 40,000 chickens daily and supplies businesses across the Klang Valley in Kuala Lumpur, is accused... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3373079/malaysias-halal-chicken-scandal-exposes-hygiene-breaches-filthy-plant https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3373079/malaysias-halal-chicken-scandal-exposes-hygiene-breaches-filthy-plant Tue, 03 Nov 2026 04:40:21 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele For Singaporean flight attendant Chloe Tan Zi Ling, 35, the problem with paper straws is their impracticality. “It softens before we can finish the drink, so we have to gulp it down without a straw,” she said, adding that reusable metal alternatives left an unpleasant taste in her mouth. Her frustration reflects a wider debate over Asia’s shift away from plastic straws, with a recently released South Korean study finding that conventional plastic straws performed better than paper and other... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3372751/hate-paper-straws-asias-new-alternatives-are-another-eco-trap https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3372751/hate-paper-straws-asias-new-alternatives-are-another-eco-trap Sun, 01 Nov 2026 05:00:10 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Smoke from this year’s Indonesian forest and peatland fires has inflicted an estimated 8 billion ringgit (US$1.97 billion) in welfare losses on Malaysia, contributing to an estimated 1,700 deaths and severely disrupting manufacturing, according to a report commissioned by the country’s leading industrial group. The study, “The 2026 Fire Season and Transboundary Haze in Malaysia”, was conducted for the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM), as reported by the Malay Mail. Drawing on... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3372599/indonesia-haze-cost-malaysia-us197-billion-losses-study https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3372599/indonesia-haze-cost-malaysia-us197-billion-losses-study Thu, 29 Oct 2026 10:48:34 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones A flurry of meat seizures across Thailand and Vietnam has raised fears of animal-borne diseases devastating regional livestock populations and unsafe food ending up on consumers’ plates. Driven by rising energy and logistics costs, unscrupulous suppliers have targeted restaurants and wet markets desperate to protect margins by sourcing cheap, unregulated cuts – even those past their expiry date or tainted with disease. On October 21, police in Vietnam’s southern province of Dong Nai dismantled a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3372595/thailand-and-vietnam-meat-seizures-highlight-deepening-risk-unsafe-food-table https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3372595/thailand-and-vietnam-meat-seizures-highlight-deepening-risk-unsafe-food-table Thu, 29 Oct 2026 10:04:28 +0000 Kolette Lim Kolette Lim In a rare move, Singapore on Wednesday summoned top executives from 10 locally registered companies potentially linked to haze-causing fires in Indonesia to a meeting with three ministers. The executives all agreed to cooperate fully in an investigation by the city state into the regional environmental crisis that has caused air quality to dip to “very unhealthy” levels earlier this month. Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, Senior Minister K. Shanmugam and Minister for Sustainability and the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3372479/not-find-scapegoats-singapore-ministers-summon-bosses-10-firms-over-haze https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3372479/not-find-scapegoats-singapore-ministers-summon-bosses-10-firms-over-haze Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:51:30 +0000 Resty Woro Yuniar Resty Woro Yuniar Rising ketamine abuse and a series of major drug seizures in Indonesia have fuelled calls for tighter controls on the substance, but a proposed reclassification has raised concerns that tougher penalties could further strain the country’s overcrowded prisons. Last week, Indonesian police and customs officials intercepted the Mongolian-flagged vessel MT Global 168 in the Malacca Strait, seizing 1.16 tonnes of ketamine hydrochloride packed in 58 sacks. National police chief Suyudi Ario Seto said... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3372468/indonesia-weighs-tighter-ketamine-controls-amid-surge-seizures-abuse-cases https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3372468/indonesia-weighs-tighter-ketamine-controls-amid-surge-seizures-abuse-cases Wed, 28 Oct 2026 12:26:35 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk South Korea’s embrace of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs appears particularly pronounced among younger adults, with roughly one in six Gen Z respondents reporting they had used or been prescribed the medication in 2025, according to a new report. The 2026 Korea Wellness Report, released by KB Financial Group on Sunday and cited by The Korea Times, surveyed 2,000 men and women aged 25 to 69 between July and August. Across all age brackets, the overall uptake stood at 10.3 per cent. Gen Z adults – defined... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3372283/1-6-gen-z-south-koreans-took-glp-1-slimming-drugs-last-year https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3372283/1-6-gen-z-south-koreans-took-glp-1-slimming-drugs-last-year Tue, 27 Oct 2026 08:07:45 +0000 SCMP SCMP We have selected seven stories from the SCMP’s coverage of Asia over the past week that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Filipinos split on Marcos’ sea handling amid row over Chinese envoy’s remarks Filipinos are almost evenly divided over the Marcos administration’s handling of the maritime dispute with China, even as nearly three in four favour diplomacy over confrontation, according to... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/3372227/why-paper-straws-are-worse-plastic-japans-silver-divorce-rise-7-asia-highlights https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/3372227/why-paper-straws-are-worse-plastic-japans-silver-divorce-rise-7-asia-highlights Tue, 27 Oct 2026 04:30:07 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk As days of dangerous heat become more frequent in Japan, Sendai has emerged as the most comfortable city, with a climate that is “not too hot and not too cold”. The Miyagi prefectural capital, about 300km (186 miles) from Tokyo, has the best weather, according to the Asahi newspaper, with the lowest number of midsummer and midwinter days among 11 major cities in the nation. Citing Japan Meteorological Agency data, the newspaper reported that Sendai had only 31 midsummer days and no midwinter... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3372132/cooler-tokyo-sendai-named-japans-most-comfortable-city-amid-record-heat https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3372132/cooler-tokyo-sendai-named-japans-most-comfortable-city-amid-record-heat Mon, 26 Oct 2026 06:05:32 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Four years ago, party-goers dressed as police officers were reportedly mistaken for the real thing amid a deadly crowd crush in South Korea’s capital. Now, as Seoul prepares for its fourth Halloween since the disaster, police have launched a week-long nationwide crackdown on imitation police uniforms and equipment, aiming to stop any such confusion from happening again. The nationwide operation, announced by the National Police Agency on Sunday, runs until Monday next week. More than 4,500... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3372126/south-korea-jail-time-awaits-halloween-police-impersonators https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3372126/south-korea-jail-time-awaits-halloween-police-impersonators Mon, 26 Oct 2026 05:27:57 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Paper straws, widely promoted as an eco-friendly alternative to plastic, may actually have a greater environmental impact than conventional plastic straws, according to a South Korean government-commissioned study that has renewed debate over whether switching materials truly reduces waste. The Comprehensive Study on Single-Use Straws, commissioned by South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, was disclosed on Wednesday by opposition People Power Party lawmaker Kim Wi-sang, The... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3371936/paper-straws-worse-environment-plastic-south-korea-study-finds https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3371936/paper-straws-worse-environment-plastic-south-korea-study-finds Fri, 23 Oct 2026 09:49:10 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk As wildfires rage across Sumatra and Kalimantan, frustrated Indonesians are turning to performance art to call for greater government action and draw global attention to the destruction of both the country’s rainforests and rich cultural heritage. In South Sumatra, local art collective Jaga Api recently launched a project titled Tarian Kehancuran Budaya (the Dance of Cultural Destruction), using traditional performance to convey the human and environmental toll of the fires, as reported by The... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3371773/indonesians-turn-eco-art-haze-sparks-anger-and-diplomatic-tension https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3371773/indonesians-turn-eco-art-haze-sparks-anger-and-diplomatic-tension Thu, 22 Oct 2026 07:59:54 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Runners in Malaysia are swapping their usual routes through parks and city streets for laps around shopping malls, commandeering air-conditioned corridors to keep up their training as a stubborn blanket of haze makes exercising outdoors increasingly hazardous. The switch comes as smoke from forest and peatland fires continues to foul the air across parts of Southeast Asia, with Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur and its surrounding districts among the hardest-hit areas. By 9am on Thursday, 15 of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3371749/haze-forces-malaysian-fitness-groups-swap-outdoor-runs-shopping-mall-laps https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3371749/haze-forces-malaysian-fitness-groups-swap-outdoor-runs-shopping-mall-laps Thu, 22 Oct 2026 05:51:41 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk South Korean social media posts displaying users’ running records to honour a local woman who died at a Seoul marathon have raised debate over the appropriateness of the gesture for mourning. Yoo Ji-won, a 25-year-old graduate student at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science Technology, collapsed just 500 metres (1,600 feet) from the finish line of the 2026 Seoul Race half-marathon on October 11, local media reported. The cause of her death has not been disclosed. Yoo was a running influencer,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3371629/mourning-run-or-clout-chase-south-korea-divided-over-runners-death-tributes https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3371629/mourning-run-or-clout-chase-south-korea-divided-over-runners-death-tributes Wed, 21 Oct 2026 07:50:48 +0000 Jean Iau,Kolette Lim Jean Iau,Kolette Lim Singapore has warned it will go after companies responsible for the forest fires in Indonesia causing the regional haze, but cross-border challenges remain stumbling blocks to solving a problem that has plagued the city state for decades. Analysts point to long-standing obstacles hampering the country’s decade-old haze legislation, such as complex corporate ownership and opaque transboundary supply chains. To date, no company has been prosecuted under the law. Beyond legal threats, greater... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3371620/does-singapores-tougher-stance-haze-mark-inflection-point https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3371620/does-singapores-tougher-stance-haze-mark-inflection-point Wed, 21 Oct 2026 07:22:38 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk As haze from forest fires in Indonesia continues to shroud Southeast Asia, Malaysians have taken to social media to air their grievances, with a video of an elevated outdoor reading from an air purifier among viral content marking public frustration. The clip, posted by user syahierarafie, shows a device detecting an Air Pollutant Index (API) of up to 318 in Gelang Patah, a suburban town in western Johor Bahru which borders Singapore. The video has drawn over 990,000 views as of Tuesday. “Today,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3371513/malaysia-viral-air-purifier-test-fans-flames-anger-over-haze https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3371513/malaysia-viral-air-purifier-test-fans-flames-anger-over-haze Tue, 20 Oct 2026 10:01:50 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk Indonesia has held off on seeking foreign aid from its neighbours to contain months-long forest fires fuelling a toxic transboundary haze, insisting it is “still capable” of handling the crisis. Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Dudung Abdurachman attributed the decision to Jakarta’s delay in declaring the fires a national disaster, despite Japan’s Self-Defence Forces conducting aerial firefighting operations in the country last month. The deployment follows a pact signed... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3371479/indonesia-backtracks-foreign-aid-fight-toxic-haze-choking-southeast-asia https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3371479/indonesia-backtracks-foreign-aid-fight-toxic-haze-choking-southeast-asia Tue, 20 Oct 2026 07:27:02 +0000 Jean Iau Jean Iau Salon manager Alice Pang says her 10-year-old daughter has likened the visibility inside her classroom in Singapore to Malaysia’s Genting Highlands, but while the mountain resort is often shrouded in fog caused by water particles, her child’s active imagination may have been triggered by worsening haze plaguing the city state. Pang told This Week in Asia that her daughter, whose classroom did not have air conditioning, was already suffering from bad sinus, and the haze had made her eyes... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3371115/haze-hit-singapore-parents-call-hong-kong-style-school-air-con https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3371115/haze-hit-singapore-parents-call-hong-kong-style-school-air-con Fri, 16 Oct 2026 06:11:38 +0000 SCMP’s Asia desk SCMP’s Asia desk The governor of an Indonesian province bearing the brunt of weeks of raging forest fires has sought to douse anger over his trip to Singapore, as Jakarta “welcomed” help from its neighbours choked by transboundary haze to contain the crisis. East Kalimantan Governor Rudy Mas’ud, who was spotted having breakfast with his wife at the famous integrated resort Marina Bay Sands in a photo posted online on Sunday, said he travelled to the city state for a medical check-up. Rudy’s clarification came... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3371110/indonesian-governors-singapore-trip-adds-fury-forest-fire-haze-crisis https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3371110/indonesian-governors-singapore-trip-adds-fury-forest-fire-haze-crisis Fri, 16 Oct 2026 05:45:12 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Malaysia has ruled out taking stronger measures against Indonesia over the worsening regional haze, even as widespread school closures and mounting public frustration fuel calls to punish those responsible for forest fires in the neighbouring country. “We need to safeguard the close relationship between the two countries. So, we are not going as far as sending a diplomatic note or taking legal action,” Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan told local media on Thursday. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3371108/anwar-says-malaysia-has-done-everything-we-can-against-haze-critics-say-it-can-do-more https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3371108/anwar-says-malaysia-has-done-everything-we-can-against-haze-critics-say-it-can-do-more Fri, 16 Oct 2026 05:11:13 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran As the Philippines braces for months of drought and shortages amid the deleterious effects of El Nino, questions are mounting over whether it could have been better prepared to deal with a crisis that had been predicted well in advance. The government’s haphazard response to the climate phenomenon reflects its persistent track record of failing to adequately plan, according to climate and risk specialists. El Nino is a weather phenomenon that triggers changes in winds and rainfall patterns,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3371075/philippines-geared-el-nino-critics-say-water-planning-has-run-dry https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3371075/philippines-geared-el-nino-critics-say-water-planning-has-run-dry Fri, 16 Oct 2026 04:00:07 +0000 Kolette Lim Kolette Lim Every time Kristaen Albert returns home, he reaches for one of the dozen cans of oxygen on a table by the entrance of his house in Central Kalimantan. The air in his neighbourhood has turned dusty amber, with air quality far exceeding hazardous levels. “My breathing is noticeably heavier whenever I step outside. It’s hard to concentrate and stay focused, and it is really affecting my work,” Albert, a 31-year-old software engineer, told This Week in Asia. “Living in this haze is awful.” “The... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3370998/indonesians-urge-singapore-malaysia-sue-jakarta-haze-blankets-region https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3370998/indonesians-urge-singapore-malaysia-sue-jakarta-haze-blankets-region Thu, 15 Oct 2026 08:42:40 +0000 Bibek Bhandari Bibek Bhandari Nepal has weathered three disasters in six weeks, including the deadly August flash flood, making this year one of the deadliest in a country where monsoon rains already frequently wreak havoc. Experts warn that climate change is only making matters worse. The rock-ice avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border that opened the floodgates in the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers on August 26 killed more than 1,450 people, with nearly 6,000 others still missing. It was followed by a massive landslide... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3370977/inside-nepals-unending-cycle-avalanches-floods-and-landslides https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3370977/inside-nepals-unending-cycle-avalanches-floods-and-landslides Thu, 15 Oct 2026 08:00:05 +0000 Kolette Lim Kolette Lim When Daniela Cruz arrived in Singapore last week, hazy skies obscured the picture-perfect sights she had seen on social media, offering a different view of the city state from the one she had expected. The 27-year-old bank associate had travelled from Australia for the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix, but the smoky weather dampened her experience. “The buildings we saw on social media were covered in haze, and it made conditions extremely hot and humid,” she said. The haze blanketing... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3370882/cloudy-outlook-how-haze-crisis-testing-singapores-events-economy https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3370882/cloudy-outlook-how-haze-crisis-testing-singapores-events-economy Wed, 14 Oct 2026 09:34:28 +0000 Resty Woro Yuniar Resty Woro Yuniar An Indonesian official’s claim that the country exports “oxygen” and not just smoke to its neighbours has renewed criticism of Jakarta’s handling of its annual forest fires, with analysts warning that defensive nationalism risks undermining regional cooperation to tackle the recurring haze crisis. The remarks by Syahganda Nainggolan, the newly appointed head of the Government Communication Agency, reignited criticism over Indonesia’s handling of its ongoing forest and peatland fires, which have... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3370743/indonesias-haze-rhetoric-unempathetic-oxygen-quip-tests-regional-cooperation https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3370743/indonesias-haze-rhetoric-unempathetic-oxygen-quip-tests-regional-cooperation Tue, 13 Oct 2026 10:00:45 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysians have reacted with sarcasm and disbelief to an Indonesian official’s claim that his country provides the region’s oxygen, as toxic smoke from forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan chokes neighbouring nations. Syahganda Nainggolan, head of Indonesia’s government communications agency, prompted the backlash after invoking his country’s forests when questioned on Saturday about the severe smog that has forced school closures and triggered health warnings across Malaysia and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3370587/smokescreen-politics-malaysians-mock-indonesian-officials-we-send-oxygen-haze-defence https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3370587/smokescreen-politics-malaysians-mock-indonesian-officials-we-send-oxygen-haze-defence Mon, 12 Oct 2026 08:57:55 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Roziah Jelali has a tip or two on catching a turtle poacher: carrying a pair of binoculars and having patience in spades are key to doing the job well. The 36-year-old Malaysian volunteer ranger once spent three months in Sabah tracking a man whom she suspected of illegally capturing protected turtles. Once thriving off the azure seas of Omadal Island in the Malaysian state, many turtles had been hunted down, killed and sold for their meat, according to conservation experts. Recounting the 2023... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3370466/unsung-turtle-conservation-heroes-malaysias-sabah-unite-fight-poachers https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3370466/unsung-turtle-conservation-heroes-malaysias-sabah-unite-fight-poachers Sun, 11 Oct 2026 04:00:28 +0000 Vincent Tan Vincent Tan On Facebook, public hospitals in Malaysia’s Bornean states have been rolling out “Selamat Datang” [welcome] banner posts to embrace medical staff reporting for duty. Tawau Hospital on Sabah’s east coast recently published a group photograph welcoming newly arrived medical officers. Kinabatangan Hospital posted similar banners hailing arrivals across various departments, while in neighbouring Sarawak, Kapit Hospital accompanied its greeting with a portrait of a newly arrived doctor. But behind... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3370432/why-warm-welcomes-cant-stop-malaysias-doctor-exodus-borneo https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3370432/why-warm-welcomes-cant-stop-malaysias-doctor-exodus-borneo Sun, 11 Oct 2026 02:00:15 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele As dawn breaks on Mataking Island off Sabah’s east coast, a tiny green turtle crawls across the sand, driven by instinct towards the surf before disappearing into the ocean on a journey that could cover thousands of kilometres. Where it goes is impossible to know, but with a huge dose of luck on its epic travels, it may return to the same Malaysian beach decades later to lay eggs of its own. The hatchling is one of tens of thousands that emerge from Sabah’s beaches each year, as the species... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3370371/how-dna-fingerprinting-keeping-malaysias-green-turtles-safe-poachers https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3370371/how-dna-fingerprinting-keeping-malaysias-green-turtles-safe-poachers Sat, 10 Oct 2026 08:00:51 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele Malaysia is facing renewed pressure to clamp down on its companies over their alleged links to forest fires abroad, as recurring haze from Indonesia continues to disrupt schools and daily life despite years of regional efforts to tackle the problem. On Thursday, Malaysia ordered schools to close across several states, including Johor, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and the Rompin district in Pahang, while sporting events scheduled for the weekend were cancelled. The latest... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3370388/malaysia-urged-police-its-firms-indonesia-haze-shuts-schools https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3370388/malaysia-urged-police-its-firms-indonesia-haze-shuts-schools Sat, 10 Oct 2026 02:00:12 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones A care scandal has erupted in Thailand after a nursing home was exposed for confining old and sick residents in beds covered by iron cages with barely a foot of space above their heads. Images of bedridden patients at the Sothornchai Nursing Home in Kanchanaburi, western Thailand, have shocked Thais since they were shared earlier this week on the television current affairs show Hone Krasae. Thailand is projected to be a super-ageing society in the coming years, with authorities warning of a care... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3370178/iron-cage-beds-elderly-home-thailand-fuel-anger-owner-defends-innovation https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3370178/iron-cage-beds-elderly-home-thailand-fuel-anger-owner-defends-innovation Thu, 08 Oct 2026 08:33:13 +0000 Vincent Tan Vincent Tan Australia may have vast tracts of land and political will to support the growth of the artificial intelligence industry, but the development of data centres to power the technology is proving more challenging. Last month, property developer Goodman Group withdrew its application for a 90-megawatt data centre in Lane Cove, on Sydney’s lower north shore, after months of opposition from residents about the potential impact on their electricity and water supplies, noise pollution and other... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3370115/data-centre-opposition-growing-australia-there-middle-ground https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3370115/data-centre-opposition-growing-australia-there-middle-ground Thu, 08 Oct 2026 03:00:18 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Monsoon floods in Thailand have killed 60 people since mid-September, officials said, as surging waters exact an increasing economic toll – destroying homes and crops, killing livestock and flooding factories. Bangkok buckled at the end of September as 300mm (11.8 inches) of rain – around one month’s worth – hit its creaking drainage system over just three days. The floodwaters have largely retreated from the capital, giving city officials crucial breathing space to clear the stinking,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3370074/nothing-left-deadly-floods-slam-thai-economy-and-strain-bangkok-ahead-imf-meeting https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3370074/nothing-left-deadly-floods-slam-thai-economy-and-strain-bangkok-ahead-imf-meeting Wed, 07 Oct 2026 11:40:06 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Jeff Kingston used to take long walks with his dogs across the hills of Gunma in central Japan. But not this year. He has good reason. Kingston says he has encountered bears in those mountains more than 100 times over the years and been charged by aggressive bears around a dozen times. In 2014, a black bear knocked him down and attacked him across the skull with its claws, leaving a gash that required nine stitches. “This year, I have actively refrained from going into the hills precisely... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3369955/bear-attacks-rise-japan-fearful-residents-change-daily-routines https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3369955/bear-attacks-rise-japan-fearful-residents-change-daily-routines Wed, 07 Oct 2026 00:00:28 +0000 Aisyah Llewellyn Aisyah Llewellyn A cluster of whale and whale shark strandings across Indonesia – five in the past three weeks alone – has raised questions over whether such incidents are becoming more frequent, with experts pointing to a mix of environmental shifts, human activity and improved reporting as possible explanations. On September 25, a whale shark became stranded and died on a beach in Aceh province, just days after a decomposed whale carcass was discovered in a mangrove in Riau province. Another whale was found... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3369613/5-dead-3-weeks-are-indonesias-whale-strandings-rise https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3369613/5-dead-3-weeks-are-indonesias-whale-strandings-rise Sun, 04 Oct 2026 08:00:14 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones As floodwaters surged from Bangkok’s drains, Fon’s car sank faster than her hopes of escaping the floods unscathed. She had bought it less than a month earlier. “I woke up at 5am but it was too late,” the 24-year-old said, recalling her decision last weekend to wait until dawn to move her car to a nearby shopping centre. “My car was already submerged. I hadn’t even started making the payments and it’s gone.” Relentless rain paralysed Thailand’s capital this September, dumping a month’s worth of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3369592/sinking-city-rising-rage-bangkoks-floods-fuel-fury-over-government-inaction https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3369592/sinking-city-rising-rage-bangkoks-floods-fuel-fury-over-government-inaction Sun, 04 Oct 2026 00:00:12 +0000 Jean Iau Jean Iau Just under a third of Singaporeans, or 31.4 per cent, believe that nuclear energy promises a clean power source with the greatest potential in the city state, representing the highest acceptance rate in Southeast Asia, a new study has found. The approval rate represented an 11.1 per cent increase from 2024, the Southeast Asia Climate Outlook 2026 Survey found, even as solar energy continued to be the most popular choice. Singapore is studying advanced nuclear technologies, including small... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3369437/nearly-third-singaporeans-open-nuclear-energys-potential-highest-asean-study https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3369437/nearly-third-singaporeans-open-nuclear-energys-potential-highest-asean-study Thu, 01 Oct 2026 07:25:33 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran Researchers have identified a potential source of uranium in a long-explored mining district in the southern Philippines, as Manila moves to establish nuclear power and expand its critical minerals industry. The discovery, which could provide uranium for the nuclear fuel cycle if further exploration confirms its viability, was made in the Larap-Paracale mining district in Camarines Norte province, where exploration began in the 1950s. Researchers from the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3369386/philippines-uranium-find-vital-boost-nuclear-energy-ambitions https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3369386/philippines-uranium-find-vital-boost-nuclear-energy-ambitions Thu, 01 Oct 2026 02:00:11 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones A Thai man who zipped a jet ski across flooded Bangkok streets received a suspended jail sentence on Monday for causing a public nuisance after he used the capital – where tens of thousands of households remain submerged – as a backdrop for social media content. The stunt, widely shared on social media on Sunday evening, became a conduit for public anger over both the handling of the flood response and how climate calamities are experienced unevenly in the capital of one of Asia’s least equal... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3369083/thai-mans-jet-ski-stunt-fuels-anger-unequal-bangkok-poor-hit-hardest-floods https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3369083/thai-mans-jet-ski-stunt-fuels-anger-unequal-bangkok-poor-hit-hardest-floods Mon, 28 Sep 2026 11:20:33 +0000 Vincent Tan Vincent Tan This year’s haze crisis has added to the heat woes squeezing livestock farmers in Malaysia and Indonesia as they struggle to keep their animals cool, fed and productive. While it is difficult to separately assess the effects of haze-related smoke from heat, water shortages, feed and disease, farmers and industry groups say the cumulative strain is severely affecting animal health, productivity and their finances. In Selama, Perak, poultry keeper Zaiful Zakaria, 42, had begun installing... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368925/chickens-malaysia-are-producing-fewer-eggs-haze-leading-cause https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368925/chickens-malaysia-are-producing-fewer-eggs-haze-leading-cause Mon, 28 Sep 2026 01:30:15 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Bangkok residents stranded by neck-deep floodwaters on Sunday appealed for clean water and food, as Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul cut short a diplomatic trip to the United Kingdom to monitor the response amid growing criticism online. In the worst floods to hit the Thai capital in 15 years, life has ground to a standstill in parts of the city since Friday evening, prompting the town hall to declare a disaster in all 50 districts. Days of incessant rains that overwhelmed Bangkok’s... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368937/bangkok-floods-trap-residents-pm-anutin-cuts-uk-trip-short-tackle-crisis https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368937/bangkok-floods-trap-residents-pm-anutin-cuts-uk-trip-short-tackle-crisis Sun, 27 Sep 2026 07:37:54 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Entire Bangkok neighbourhoods were inundated on Saturday as the city government declared a flood disaster after the worst rains in years overwhelmed the Thai capital, submerging roads, cars and forcing thousands to leave their homes. Bangkok is flood-prone, especially during the monsoon season, but waters rarely linger for long. Nonetheless, the city’s drainage is notoriously ill-equipped to handle storm bursts as it struggles to cope with waters that have reached at least two feet (60cm) and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368898/thailands-bangkok-declares-flood-disaster-across-city-thousands-flee-homes https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368898/thailands-bangkok-declares-flood-disaster-across-city-thousands-flee-homes Sat, 26 Sep 2026 09:02:20 +0000 Sam Beltran Sam Beltran The Philippines’ decision to block messaging platform Discord for less than a day following a series of school shootings has raised questions about the government’s response to child safety online, with analysts describing the move as a show of regulatory muscle that did little to address underlying problems. The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) announced on Thursday that it had lifted the ban after what officials described as successful negotiations with Discord... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368812/philippines-short-lived-discord-ban-exposes-cracks-online-safety-strategy https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368812/philippines-short-lived-discord-ban-exposes-cracks-online-safety-strategy Fri, 25 Sep 2026 09:31:31 +0000 Julian Ryall Julian Ryall Unregulated companies are running a brisk trade across Japan storing and disposing unclaimed corpses, with a recent report revealing how such “cut-price morgues” are cashing in on legal loopholes to discard the nation’s dead. The business has shed light on the growing number of “lonely deaths” of elderly Japanese as the traditional nuclear family fades. Some industry insiders have expressed shock at the trend and are calling for regulation to block potential loopholes, while others point to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368738/japans-cut-price-morgues-cash-legal-loopholes-lonely-deaths-rise https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368738/japans-cut-price-morgues-cash-legal-loopholes-lonely-deaths-rise Fri, 25 Sep 2026 04:00:17 +0000 Iman Muttaqin Yusof Iman Muttaqin Yusof Malaysia’s haze crisis has flared again just weeks after emergency measures and cloud-seeding operations brought temporary relief, with experts warning that smoke from Indonesian fires could continue drifting across the country until monsoon winds change. All 108 schools in Serian, a district in the state of Sarawak on Malaysian Borneo, were ordered to close on Thursday after the air pollutant index (API) breached 200 on Wednesday night, forcing pupils back to home-based learning. By noon,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368641/open-close-reopen-return-choking-haze-traps-malaysian-schools-limbo https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3368641/open-close-reopen-return-choking-haze-traps-malaysian-schools-limbo Thu, 24 Sep 2026 08:53:37 +0000