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This Week in Asia /

Health & Environment

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Coronavirus pandemic

The alligator weed can proliferate even from fragments. Photo: Conservation Auckland

Japan snaps into action as alligator weed chokes waterways

The seemingly innocuous alligator weed, or Alternanthera philoxeroides, poses a real problem, especially to rice farmers.

19 Jan 2026 - 9:32AM

How a crop of young farmers is reshaping agriculture in Southeast Asia

19 Jan 2026 - 8:00AM

The Philippines

Philippines’ Cebu residents cry foul over mounting garbage, health risks

16 Jan 2026 - 5:35PM

Thai PM moves to strip scandal-hit firm of contracts after second deadly accident

Amid public anger, PM Anutin issued an order to end two contracts and blacklist Italian-Thai Development after two crane disasters killed 34 people.

15 Jan 2026 - 9:49PMvideocam

A crushed car sits among the debris after a crane collapses at the under-construction Rama II Expressway on Thursday. Photo: Xinhua

Indonesia hails ‘99.9% successful’ free meals scheme amid food safety concerns

Critics have called for a ‘temporary halt’ to the programme to allow for further evaluation as food poisoning cases continue to grow.

13 Jan 2026 - 8:46PMvideocam

Fury erupts over ‘mound of death’ in South Korea’s worst air disaster

Opposition MPs accuse officials of trying to bury a report that blames a known design flaw for the nation’s deadliest crash.

13 Jan 2026 - 5:09PMvideocam

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‘Who can we trust?’: Nestle formula recall rattles Malaysian parents

Despite assurances that local stocks are safe, wary parents are scouring ingredient lists and doing their own ‘due diligence’.

13 Jan 2026 - 11:08AM

Health warnings related to baby milk formula recall have been issued by dozens of governments, from Europe and Australia to Brazil, South Africa, Hong Kong and Singapore. Photo: Shutterstock

As the crow flies: how Tokyo’s 25-year pest purge ended in triumph

A mix of civic discipline, careful waste management and a willingness among Tokyo residents to change their habits helped rein in the crisis.

13 Jan 2026 - 9:30AM

‘Easier targets’: is Japan safe for foreigners if disaster strikes?

Rising xenophobia, ‘vigilante’ patrols and memories of 1923 have rights advocates concerned that history could repeat itself.

14 Jan 2026 - 9:13AMvideocam

Singapore takes stock of lessons from Hong Kong’s Tai Po blaze

The city state will study and incorporate into policy frameworks relevant observations made by the Hong Kong authorities about the fire.

12 Jan 2026 - 9:39PMvideocam

The Tai Po blaze in Hong Kong, which broke out on November 26 last year, killed 161 people, injured 79 and displaced nearly 5,000 residents. Photo: AFP

The Philippines

Soaring healthcare costs in the Philippines: are doctors’ fees to blame?

Doctors have hit back, saying that they are being unfairly blamed for deeper systemic failures in healthcare financing.

12 Jan 2026 - 1:10PM

Medical professionals attend to a patient at the government-run National Kidney and Transplant Institute in Quezon City, Metro Manila, the Philippines. Photo: Getty Images

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.

3 Jan 2026 - 12:00PMvideocam

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

Some 42 litterbugs caught in a nationwide operation face fines and community service amid stringent enforcement of waste laws.

2 Jan 2026 - 11:59AM

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

Authorities have also called for a major clean-up ahead of Visit Malaysia 2026 in response to reports of dirtiness in tourist areas.

1 Jan 2026 - 3:33PM

Tourists take pictures with Malaysia’s Petronas Twin Towers in the background in Kuala Lumpur. The country aims to attract 47 million international visitors during the Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign. Photo: AFP

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

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.

30 Dec 2025 - 5:09PM

‘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.

27 Dec 2025 - 3:03PMvideocam

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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

‘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

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’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

‘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

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