This Week in Asia /

Health & Environment

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Coronavirus pandemic
Climate change
Wellness
Filipino domestic workers gather on a street in Hong Kong. Indonesia and the Philippines have provided millions of helpers to the rest of Asia over the decades. Photo: Dickson Lee
Human rights

Ageing Asia needs domestic helpers, but can it keep them safe?

While the region cries out for care, top source nations the Philippines and Indonesia have tightened controls to curb exploitation and abuse.

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Malaysia

Malaysia’s new year revelry sees less waste as tougher littering laws kick in

Malaysia

‘Less than friendly’: Malaysia’s tourism minister flags visitor complaints

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India

In India, New Delhi’s smog crisis exposes the high price of clean air

The winter smog has widened the affordability gap among residents, with many lower-income families lacking the means to buy an air purifier.

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People take part in a protest against lack of action to control air pollution in New Delhi, India, in November. Photo: AP
People take part in a protest against lack of action to control air pollution in New Delhi, India, in November. Photo: AP
Extreme weather

Asia’s year of costly climate disasters spurs calls for ‘decisive action’

With Asia accounting for four of the world’s six costliest weather disasters in 2025, experts urge investment in climate resilience.

Japan

‘Built on tofu’: safety fears as Japan prepares to restart nuclear plant

While Fukushima operator Tepco says it is ‘committed to safety’ at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, critics believe it is a disaster waiting to happen.

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Indonesia

Power, protests and policy shake-ups shape Indonesia’s 2025

President Prabowo Subianto asserts his authority as he navigates the global stage and domestic challenges in his first full year in office.

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Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto closed the year on firm footing despite challenges in his first full year in office. Photo: Reuters
Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto closed the year on firm footing despite challenges in his first full year in office. Photo: Reuters
Indonesia

Seeking climate justice: Indonesian fishermen’s case against Holcim to proceed

The lawsuit states that Holcim has ‘significantly contributed to climate change with its massive CO2 emissions’.

2025 Cambodia-Thailand conflict

Thai marines rescue starving lions, bears from Cambodian border casino

Officials say the two lions, two Asiatic black bears and one sun bear suffered from underfeeding and prolonged neglect at Thmor Dar Casino.

Indonesia

‘Worse than the tsunami’ – Indonesia’s Aceh residents traumatised by flooding

A month after the disaster, residents are still struggling to recover as anger against Jakarta’s slow rescue response mounts.

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A staff member works to clean a submerged medical equipment after a flash flood at a hospital in Aceh Tamiang, northern Sumatra, on December 16. Photo: AFP
Indonesia

Rafflesia flower rediscovery in Indonesia revives push to drop colonial name

The giant flower find has renewed calls among researchers to rename its genus, which honours British colonial official Thomas Raffles.

A close-up of the rare Rafflesia flower rediscovered in West Sumatra last month by flower-hunter Septian Andriki, a team led by researcher Joko Witono, Oxford scientist Chris Thorogood and local guide Iswandi. Photo: X/Chris Thorogood
A close-up of the rare Rafflesia flower rediscovered in West Sumatra last month by flower-hunter Septian Andriki, a team led by researcher Joko Witono, Oxford scientist Chris Thorogood and local guide Iswandi. Photo: X/Chris Thorogood
Nepal

Nepal’s plan to tackle uphill task on Mount Everest: clean up waste

Over the years, the authorities have removed a mountain pile of trash and the bodies of climbers on the world’s highest peak.

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Asean

Southeast Asian floods set to threaten more wildlife due to climate change

Environmental crimes and poor oversight are also worsening the risks faced by animals and trees.

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Malaysia

‘We just want to live’: fear grips Malaysia’s LGBTQ community

With drag clubs closed and spas raided, the shrinking space for queer life in Malaysia leaves a community with nowhere left to turn.

“Anti-LGBT” and “nation destroyer” stickers are seen plastered outside the entrance of a men’s only spa in Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur, by a Malay nationalist group after the venue was raided by police in November. Photo: Facebook/pekidamalaysiarasmi
The Philippines

‘Medical pork’ row exposes political grip over Philippine health assistance

Doctors and health groups say the system allows politicians to influence who receives state medical aid, undermining universal care.

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Doctors and health groups in the Philippines said the “medical pork” system allows politicians to influence who receives state medical aid. Photo: Shutterstock
Doctors and health groups in the Philippines said the “medical pork” system allows politicians to influence who receives state medical aid. Photo: Shutterstock
Indonesia

Indonesian elephants tasked to help in flood recovery spur conservation debate

The four elephants deployed to lift debris in Aceh last week after flooding were also involved in the 2004 post-tsunami recovery efforts.

Indonesia

Don’t build on ‘active zones’, experts warn Indonesia as Sumatra recovery begins

Jakarta has pledged US$3.6 billion and a special agency to help restore homes and public facilities destroyed in last month’s cyclone.

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Indonesia

Deadly Indonesia fire fuels claims of ‘back-room dealings’ on safety

Unions blame bribery for lax enforcement after 22 workers died in a burning Jakarta office building with no emergency exits.

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Firefighters at a building in central Jakarta where a fire killed 22 people on December 9. Photo: TNS
Firefighters at a building in central Jakarta where a fire killed 22 people on December 9. Photo: TNS
Nepal

Nepal rolls out delayed tourist tracking system to keep tabs on foreign visitors

Starting next year, hotels and travel companies must begin automatically reporting visitor locations to a central government database.

Indonesia

Calls to halt Indonesia’s free meal drive after horror crash injures 21 children

One child lost 18 teeth and had to undergo reconstructive surgery. Critics blame the scheme’s ‘chaotic’ roll-out for the tragedy.

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Malaysia

‘Just say thank you’: Malaysians fume as Indonesian minister belittles flood aid

Tito Karnavian dismissed the US$60,000 aid package as ‘not much’ compared to Jakarta’s own disaster response, touching a raw nerve online.

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Indonesian Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian as he appeared on the Suara Lokal Mengglobal podcast. Photo: YouTube/HelmyYahyaBicara
Singapore

‘It’s life’: ex-NBA star in Singapore for brain cancer treatment exudes hope

Jason Collins, who is seeking an experimental treatment, has progressed from being ‘basically a vegetable’ to taking a two-hour walk.

Ex-NBA player Jason Collins, who is in Singapore for an experimental brain cancer treatment, has identified the city state as the quickest way to get the treatment. Photo: Jean Iau
Ex-NBA player Jason Collins, who is in Singapore for an experimental brain cancer treatment, has identified the city state as the quickest way to get the treatment. Photo: Jean Iau
India

Does India’s HIV success story overlook its poorest state?

Figures from one district in Bihar show thousands living with HIV, contrasting sharply with India’s broader success in cutting infections.

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Indonesia

Hong Kong fire victim sent frantic final video to husband in Indonesia

Darwati, 48, died alongside the elderly woman she cared for, refusing to abandon her ward as the Wang Fuk Court fire spread.

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Japan

Japan’s retreat from global health funding hands China diplomatic opening

Tokyo’s over 52 per cent funding cut to a global body fighting Aids and malaria risks damaging its hard-won reputation as a ‘peace nation’.

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Mothers wait for their babies to receive a malaria vaccine in Malawi in 2019. Japan has slashed funding to a global health agency fighting infectious diseases. Photo: AFP
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