This Week in Asia /

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Coronavirus pandemic

The Monster Wolf robot emits LED light and loud sounds to scare off wild animals when activated. Photo: Kyodo

Fur real? In Japan, rise in bear attacks spurs demand for robot wolf, AI cameras

Authorities in a prefecture have also deployed drones that mimic dogs barking and spark fireworks to scare off bears.

10 Dec 2025 - 8:00PM

‘She loved us so much’: Indonesian family mourns mother killed in Hong Kong fire

10 Dec 2025 - 3:55PMvideocam

Is Indonesian disaster response failing Sumatra’s flood victims?

9 Dec 2025 - 6:31PMvideocam

The Philippines

6 cyclones, 5 weeks: Philippines can’t escape its endless cycle of disaster

Corruption, complacency and climate chaos conspire to turn the Philippines’ natural hazards into man-made tragedies.

6 Dec 2025 - 8:17AMvideocam

Satellite imagery shows Super Typhoon Fung-wong as it approaches the Philippines on November 9. Photo: NOAA/EPA

In wake of Hong Kong blaze, Southeast Asia’s fire hazards come under scrutiny

Serious structural defects and inefficient bureaucracy tainted by corruption are common in the region, fire safety experts say.

4 Dec 2025 - 6:42PM

Extreme weather

Asia’s floods kill over 1,000, lay bare human cost of climate inaction

From Indonesia’s deadliest disaster since 2018 to a state of emergency in Sri Lanka, Asia reels from a week of climate-fuelled destruction.

3 Dec 2025 - 5:45PMvideocam

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Indonesia’s cyclone tragedy exposes lethal cost of forest destruction

Green groups say plantations and mines have degraded Sumatra’s land, amplifying a disaster that killed more than 700 and displaced thousands.

4 Dec 2025 - 3:26PMvideocam

Men stand on logs swept away by flash floods in Batang Toru, North Sumatra, Indonesia, on Tuesday. The flooding has affected about 1.5 million people and displaced 570,000. Photo: AP

‘She asked me to forgive her’: Indonesian helper in Tai Po fire makes last call

Erawati leaves behind a six-year-old son who cannot understand why ‘mummy doesn’t call any more’.

2 Dec 2025 - 6:23PMvideocam

Last frontier: Nepal slashes pricey permit, but will it boost tourism, economy?

Upper Mustang residents worry that they will not be able to reap the benefits from the cheaper permit and instead be like ‘animals in a zoo’.

30 Nov 2025 - 4:25PM

‘We’ve lost everything’: deaths in Indonesia’s flood-hit Sumatra rise to 174

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced in North Sumatra and Aceh, while hundreds are missing.

28 Nov 2025 - 9:15PM

Rescuers carry the body of a victim at a village hit by a flood in Malalak, West Sumatra, Indonesia, on Friday. Photo: AP

A paper-eating invasive pest could wreak havoc on Japan’s cultural treasures

Boosting awareness about the fast-breeding ghost silverfish among archivists and curators is crucial to stop its spread, an expert says.

28 Nov 2025 - 8:00AMvideocam

Priceless documents and artefacts at Japan’s temples and shrines could be damaged by a fast-spreading invasive insect. Photo: Shutterstock

Floodwaters recede in Thailand but Malaysia braces for new deluge

Thai rescuers struggle to reach communities outside urban areas as swathes of Thailand’s south and Malaysia’s north remain under water.

28 Nov 2025 - 5:08PMvideocam

‘Desert island’: trapped Thais plead for rescue as floodwaters rise

The navy will deploy an aircraft carrier and deliver meals to help those in the flood-hit south, amid public outcry over chaotic relief efforts.

25 Nov 2025 - 8:32PM

How did divisive China-backed Bali cliff lift get greenlit in the first place?

Indonesia has a ‘governance paradox’, with the central government often permitting projects that go against local vision, experts say.

25 Nov 2025 - 7:04PM

Before and after images of Kelingking Beach on the island of Nusa Penida. Photo: X / pendakilawas

Visitor in Thailand who fed turtle a plastic wristband sought by park officials

Plastic items, even a single piece, are extremely dangerous to sea turtles, according to wildlife experts.

25 Nov 2025 - 1:52PMvideocam

A sea turtle at a park in Thailand was fed a plastic wristband by a visitor, prompting park authorities to launch an investigation. Photo: Facebook/Mu Ko Similan National Park

‘Flood after flood’ hits Thailand and Vietnam, with Malaysia next in line

Scores have died and entire communities displaced as a late-season monsoon surge overwhelms fragile flood-management systems.

25 Nov 2025 - 12:27PMvideocam

‘Important steps’: what Cop30 deal means for climate unity and Global South

Despite the limited outcome, the summit also reveals how developing nations can still influence the global transition, analysts say.

24 Nov 2025 - 5:29PM

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Bali hostel poisoning mystery deepens after Chinese traveller’s death

Officials have yet to declare a cause of death, with evidence of both food and fumigation poisoning adding to the uncertainty.

24 Nov 2025 - 3:23PMvideocam

Chinese tourist Deqing Zhuoga was found dead at the Clandestino Hostel in Canggu, Bali, on September 2. Photos: Facebook / Deqing Zhuoga / Clandestino Hostel

China-India relations

India, China align on climate at Cop30 as ties thaw

Analysts say pairing China’s cleantech prowess with India’s energy needs has the potential to redefine Asia’s decarbonisation trajectory.

3 Dec 2025 - 10:22AMvideocam

The Philippines

‘Please stop’: Philippines nickel mining boom brings floods and failed crops

Nickel is vital to the global green transition, but its extraction is bringing environmental disaster to Filipinos on the front line.

23 Nov 2025 - 2:00PM

In Indonesia, US and Canada, ‘online hoaxes’ fuel measles deaths

With over 3,400 confirmed cases and more than 20 child deaths, Indonesia’s outbreaks reflect immunisation gaps and growing vaccine hesitancy.

20 Nov 2025 - 8:56AM

A healthcare worker administers a measles vaccine to a junior school student in Jakarta on August 4. Photo: AFP

Fake labels on food trays plague Indonesia’s free meals scheme

Critics urge authorities to investigate reports that some manufacturers had used Chinese-made food trays that were not halal certified.

19 Nov 2025 - 6:30PMvideocam

Indonesian pupils eat free meals at an elementary school in Banda Aceh in October. The programme’s rapid scale-up has revealed significant regulatory and quality-control gaps. Photo: EPA

South Korean teen dies after 8 hospitals refuse to treat him

The 18-year-old went into cardiac arrest after the hospitals had reportedly cited a lack of paediatric specialists for refusing care.

19 Nov 2025 - 4:39PMvideocam

Can banning PUBG fight extremism? Indonesia proposes video game curbs

Officials explicitly mentioned the wildly popular battle royale shooter PUBG: Battlegrounds as Indonesia weighs new regulations.

19 Nov 2025 - 4:32PMvideocam

The Philippines

Marcos family feud: Philippine president ‘microdoses’ cocaine, sister claims

Senator Imee Marcos’ explosive allegations of drug use and cover-up tactics against her own brother have deepened a bitter family feud.

19 Nov 2025 - 4:09PMvideocam

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jnr and his sister Imee pictured during a wreath-laying ceremony to mark their late father’s 100th birthday in 2017. Photo: AFP

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