Vietnamese farmer Tran Ngoc Thang has been raising betta fish in individual bottles for the past 20 years. The colourful fighting fish is known to be aggressive and was once prized for its combative nature. The fish used to be pitted against each other in fights and were used in betting matches. Now they are bought mostly for ornamental purposes. 
 

In a room filled with drawers of Lego, Vietnam’s Dang Hoang introduces his collection of millions of Lego pieces. A Lego collector for over a decade, his masterpieces are mostly inspired by scenes close to home. On the hunt for new designs, he also meets other like-minded builders to form a community of enthusiasts.
 

A Chinese grandmother fought back after being punched by a man on the streets of downtown San Francisco on March 17, 2021. The 76-year-old victim said she instinctively defended herself by hitting the attacker with a wooden stick. Local police said suspect Steven Jenkins had earlier assaulted another Asian in the area. The earlier victim, 83-year-old  Ngoc Pham from Vietnam, sustained cuts and bruises as well as fractures to his nose and possibly his neck. The latest string of attacks on Asian-Americans came as the US Congress held a hearing on the fatal spa shootings in Atlanta that killed eight people, including six Asian women, who were also remembered at a vigil held in New York.
 

Kyuta Kumagai is a world champion sumo wrestler in the under-10 category. But behind the success of the young Japanese winner are endless hours of hard work, sweat and tears from hours of training, as well as steadfast support from his father. 
 

Thailand’s Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr Hospital has begun serving food dishes that contain small amounts of cannabis. This is said to mark a return to Thailand’s culinary past, where the use of the plant in food has historically been part of their culture. 
The drug had long been used in traditional Thai medicine and cooking, but the possession, sale and use of cannabis was criminalised in 1934. Last month, the country removed the plant from its narcotics list.

Tens of thousands of devoted pilgrims flocked to the Ganges River for a holy dip as they celebrated the Hindu festival Kumbh Mela. The pilgrimage usually attracts millions of people, but the Covid-19 pandemic has not deterred the most devoted from taking part in the celebration.

Torrential rain in Indonesia caused severe floods in North Sumatra’s Medan city on December 3, 2020. At least five people were killed and thousands were affected. Heavy rainfall has caused four rivers to overflow in the region.
 

Thailand’s protests began in March 2020 but lost momentum due to the Covid-19 pandemic before restarting in July. Tensions escalated in mid-October when tens of thousands of young protesters took to the streets, mostly in Bangkok but also in other parts of Thailand. The demonstrators demand the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a new democratic constitution and reform of the Thai monarchy. Police have responded with water cannons and by arresting protesters. The government has also issued an emergency decree and banned gatherings to curb the protests. But the unrest in Thailand has only intensified and spread.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reportedly apologised on September 25, 2020 after a South Korean official was shot dead and cremated by North Korean officials.  He was discovered on September 24, 2020 near the inter-Korean sea border after he went missing on Monday. The 47-year-old man was allegedly attempting to defect to North Korea before he was interrogated and killed. Seoul has strongly condemned what they said was an “outrageous act”.
 

Vietnamese police raided a warehouse on September 25, 2020 that was found to be reselling used condoms. During the raid, police found about 345,000 used condoms in the warehouse. A detained woman said the used condoms were boiled in water before they are resold. She said she was paid US$0.17 for each kilogram (2.2 lbs) of recycled condoms that she had washed, dried and reshaped.

After a recent coronavirus case surge that lasted for weeks, South Korea’s new infection numbers were below 200 for an eighth consecutive day on September 10, 2020. During the latest wave of cases, the nation has also been dealing with a two-week strike by trainee doctors opposed to government plans to increase the number of medical students. Health care experts said that persistent untraceable transmissions and a spate of cluster infections mean it is still too soon for the country to ease social-distancing rules.
 

China shares over 22,000 kilometres (13,670 miles) of border with 14 countries, but Beijing has disputes with many of its neighbours over where some of these international lines are drawn. The various territorial claims, citing history, politics and geography, have resulted in clashes and occasionally, outright military confrontations. Land borders aside, China also says its territory includes nearly all of the South China Sea, despite competing claims to parts of those waters made by many Southeast Asian countries. As tensions rise between China and the United States, Beijing has adopted a more aggressive attitude, pledging to defend China's “sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Thousands of young protesters took to the streets of the Thai capital Bangkok on August 16, 2020, in the latest of a series of anti-government protests that have been ongoing for the past month. The Sunday demonstration was considered one of the largest since Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha came to power in a 2014 coup. The student-led movement is calling for a new constitution, the dissolution of parliament, an end to judicial harassment of dissenters and reform of the monarchy. Small groups of pro-government supporters also showed up, singing the Thai national anthem and vowing to defend the monarchy.
 

China and South Korea say they will collaborate on IT, high-end equipment and intelligent manufacturing, food, medicine and other fields through a new zone made up of several industrial estates. The China-ROK (Changchun) International Cooperation Demonstration Zone was unveiled on June 29, 2020, near Changchun, the capital of China’s northeastern province of Jilin.

On May 20, 2020, Malaysian authorities arrested more than 200 undocumented immigrants during a raid in PJ Old Town, a section of the city of Petaling Jaya near the capital Kuala Lumpur. Officials said the raid targeting migrants was intended to help curb the spread of coronavirus and done in an area that is locked down to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. Malaysia was expected to lift its controls on public movements on June 9.
 

A Phnom Penh theatre that has hosted shadow puppet performances for 26 years is being forced to close because of problems related to the coronavirus pandemic. The Cambodian capital’s Sovanna Phum Theatre will be taken over by the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, in hopes the troupe can eventually continue performing under the same name. The traditional Cambodian performance art dates back to the 7th century, and has been on UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list since 2005.

To grasp the scale of Covid-19 infections in the country, Japan has set up more walk-through and drive-through facilities. Medical experts stressed the need to test more people for coronavirus after seeing a recent rise in the rate of people testing positive. As of April 24, 2020, there had been 11,950 coronavirus cases and 299 deaths recorded in Japan.

An annular solar eclipse was visible on December 26, 2019 in the Middle East and Asia along a 118-kilometre wide path. The rare “ring of fire” could be seen from countries including Saudi Arabia, Oman, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines.

People across Asia marked International Human Rights Day on December 10, 2019, with rallies and street demonstrations. In Hong Kong, hundreds gathered at the Central Government Complex to push for universal suffrage and an investigation into alleged police brutality – demands which have been central to citywide protests that began in June. In the Philippines, human rights activists used the day to protest against President Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial war on drugs. Meanwhile in Indonesia, about 100 protesters focused on religious freedom and freedom of speech – concerns which have sparked violent protests since the approval in September of a law critics say reduces the effectiveness of the country’s anti-corruption agency.

Authorities in the Indonesian city of Bandung launched an unusual project called ‘chickenisation’ to distract children from their smartphones. Around 2,000 4-day-old chicks will be given to pupils at elementary and junior high schools and the youngsters must take care of their new pets. This project has been welcomed by parents, who believe taking care of pets is more beneficial for their kids.

Many of the 39 people found dead in a refrigerated truck in southeastern England are now believed to have been Vietnamese nationals. 

The Philippines initiated a vaccination campaign on October 14, 2019, nearly a month after Manila declared a polio outbreak on September 19. 

Thailand paid tribute to the country’s late King Bhumibol Adulyadej on October 13, 2019, with a ceremony led by soldiers and government officials on the third anniversary of his death at age 88. 

Philippine youth detention homes are known as “Houses of Hope”, but former inmates say that they endured sexual and physical abuse. Former detainees are describing how they are still struggling to recover from their experiences.

Monks at a Buddhist temple in Thailand are wearing robes made from recycled plastic bottles. The men hope to preserve the environment by reducing the amount of plastic trash that reaches landfills and often the world’s oceans.