This Week in Asia /

Health & Environment

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Coronavirus pandemic

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

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.

31 Dec 2025 - 10:30AMvideocam

Extreme weather

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

30 Dec 2025 - 5:09PM

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

27 Dec 2025 - 3:03PMvideocam

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.

26 Dec 2025 - 4:00PMvideocam

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

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’.

25 Dec 2025 - 8:00AM

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.

24 Dec 2025 - 6:20PM

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‘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.

24 Dec 2025 - 11:00AMvideocam

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

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.

23 Dec 2025 - 7:04PM

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.

23 Dec 2025 - 12:30PMvideocam

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.

23 Dec 2025 - 7:39PMvideocam

An elephant clearing logs and debris on December 8 in a village affected by flooding in Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia. Photo: AP

‘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.

21 Dec 2025 - 2:35PM

“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.

20 Dec 2025 - 3:30PMvideocam

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.

19 Dec 2025 - 11:00AM

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.

18 Dec 2025 - 6:00PMvideocam

A fallen tree spray painted with “Help” lies among debris in Aceh Tamiang, northern Sumatra, on Tuesday in the aftermath of last month’s flash floods. Photo: AFP

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.

17 Dec 2025 - 6:00PMvideocam

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

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.

17 Dec 2025 - 5:10PM

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.

17 Dec 2025 - 5:06PMvideocam

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‘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.

17 Dec 2025 - 5:59PMvideocam

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

‘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.

15 Dec 2025 - 7:29PM

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.

15 Dec 2025 - 7:45PMvideocam

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.

15 Dec 2025 - 4:19PMvideocam

Indonesian national Eli Cahyono (left) pictured with his wife Darwati, who died in the Wang Fuk Court fire. Photo: Handout

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’.

15 Dec 2025 - 3:08PMvideocam

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

Japan tremors raise fears of overdue megaquake killing 199,000

Authorities are urging residents to review evacuation plans as simulations suggest a ‘maximum-class’ winter night quake could trap thousands.

15 Dec 2025 - 3:17PMvideocam

Ex-NBA player with deadly brain cancer turns to Singapore for new treatment

Jason Collins, who said he could die within weeks, praised Singapore as ‘the city of the future’, where he got approval ‘within 48 hours’.

14 Dec 2025 - 10:18AM

Airbnb ban in Bali? Indonesia says no, but crackdown on illegal stays looms

Bali’s governor wants to ban the online platform but the island’s problems with illegal rentals go beyond Airbnb, critics say.

11 Dec 2025 - 10:51PMvideocam

An aerial view of Denpasar shows the many hotels and lodgings in the area. Photo: Shutterstock

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