Health & Environment
Water, water everywhere? Not necessarily in rain-ridden Malaysia
Clean water and sanitation were recognised as basic human rights by the UN in 2010 but still, around two million citizens in Malaysia do not have enough access to fit-to-drink H2O.
Long Covid casts a long shadow over Asia as patients cry out for a cure
Studies suggest that 10 per cent of infections result in the postviral condition, which has no known cure. But neither Singapore nor Malaysia track how many people have it.
‘I’m busy’: overworked Malaysian doctor turns away patient amid hospital strain
The case of an accident victim who was turned away has highlighted how Malaysia’s stretched healthcare system is taking a toll on both health workers and patients.
Japan shivers as cold snap set to bring more chaos to homes, roads, crops
The cold snap affected road conditions as dozens of passenger cars and trucks were stranded for more than a day on the Shin-Meishin Expressway.
Is this Indian city Asia’s next big medical tourism hub?
Low cost, short waiting times, world-class infrastructure and skilled practitioners are some push factors for Chennai as a medical tourism hub, even as critics highlight neglect of services for lower-income citizens.
Australia defends ‘moderate’ Covid testing mandate for China arrivals
Pre-departure testing was a reasonable condition to impose on travellers from China as there was ‘very little information’ about the spread of Covid in the country, Australian Health Minister Mark Butler told reporters.
South Korea hunts Chinese Covid-positive escapee who fled quarantine hotel
The 41-year-old passenger, who tested positive for Covid on arrival, fled from a quarantine hotel on Yeongjong Island off the west coast of Incheon, South Korean police said.
Australia’s Covid test for mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau visitors ‘racist’
Australia’s top health official and Chinese-Australians are slamming the government’s decision to require visitors arriving from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau to test negative for Covid-19, calling the move ‘racist’.
Malaysia, Thailand on edge as tourists from Covid-hit China ready for travel
Malaysians question rush to allow Chinese tourists to enter, worried the influx will push country back into lockdown.
Malaysia to screen poop on flights from China for Covid-19
Travellers from China will only be screened for fever, Malaysia’s health minister said, but waste water from their inbound flights will be tested.
Will North Korea follow China in ending zero-Covid policy?
While Pyongyang often looks to its neighbour Beijing, in this instance it does not have China’s medical facilities, vaccine doses, testing equipment – or enough food and medicine.
This Year in Singapore: post-Covid life, a PM-in-waiting, gay sex ban ends
The city state says its ‘back in business’, hosting a flurry of major events and rebuilding itself as a global aviation hub, even as some doctors voice concern about Covid complacency.
Tokyo shops limit medicine purchases as Chinese empty stocks amid Covid-19 wave
Places like Singapore and Taiwan have also seen similar trends, with customers bulk-buying fever and pain relief medications to be shipped to China, forcing pharmacies to roll out measures to curb the practice.
Vietnam’s illegal sand miners cause the mighty Mekong’s banks to crumble
Sand mining is eating away at the foundations of the Mekong Delta, with a recent report finding that the practice had done more to alter sediment flows in the river than even the controversial hydropower dams upstream.
Malaysia mourns deadly landslide tragedy as rescuers hunt for final victim
Once found, the 11-year-old pupil of a Chinese primary school in Kuala Lumpur will become the 31st victim of a landslide that tore through a hillside campsite in Batang Kali last week as the campers slept.
‘Drink water and rest’: Singapore reacts to city’s Chinese panic buying Panadol
Medicine stocks are vanishing from pharmacy shelves in Singapore as worried Chinese nationals hoover up supplies to send home to their loved ones. It’s sparked a debate on limiting sales – as some entrepreneurs seek to cash in.
Anger in Malaysia as minister leaves country while deadly floods rage
Malaysian internet users are divided between blaming an absent state leader and east coast residents who voted for Malay nationalist and Islamist faction Perikatan Nasional in last month’s watershed national election.
Worker deaths revive safety concerns in Indonesia’s China-backed rail project
Latest safety lapse to hit construction of Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, which has suffered delays, massive cost overruns and series of accidents.
Pee break: how Japan’s winter broke these see-through toilets
Public toilets in two Tokyo parks – that use ‘smart glass’ to instantly turn opaque once the door is locked from the inside – left users exposed after the glass panels malfunctioned.
Asia on alert for new Covid-19 strains as China reopens
Potential mutation of virus could be milder but more transmissible, experts say, urging Asian countries to guard against fresh respiratory viruses in winter.