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This Week in Asia /

Health & Environment

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Coronavirus pandemic
Climate change
Wellness
Elderly citizens use sewing machines at the Yong-en Active Hub in Singapore. Photo: Kolette Lim
Singapore

‘Super-aged’ Singapore’s secret to growing old well? Stay busy

Forget doing nothing. At the city state’s active hubs, the soundtrack to ageing is sewing machines, exercise bikes and guitar lessons.

Climate change

Himalayan glacial loss threatens 2 billion as Asia’s ‘water tower’ shrinks

Ageing society

Mortal combat: Southeast Asia fights fears of death to plan for the end

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India

India’s weight-loss drug price war begins as key patent expires

Generic slimming drugs are expected to flood a market where one in four adults are currently either overweight or obese.

A group of women walk on a street in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. About a quarter of India’s adult population is either overweight or obese. Photo: LightRocket via Getty Images
A group of women walk on a street in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. About a quarter of India’s adult population is either overweight or obese. Photo: LightRocket via Getty Images
Malaysia

Malaysia’s ‘shielded’ medical tourism sector to benefit from Iran war’s impact

With the war affecting the outlook of Dubai’s medical hub, Malaysia could draw more patients from the Middle East.

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Artificial intelligence

Too hot to handle? Southeast Asia’s AI data centre gold rush strains power grids

Data centres crave cold. Southeast Asia is anything but. Now, the AI boom is pushing tropical engineering to the limit.

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Asean

Asean bets on new framework to remedy ‘uneven’ disaster response

The new ‘ASPECT’ initiative could help boost quicker collective regional responses during large-scale or evolving disasters, analysts say.

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Rescuers evacuate a woman after Tropical Storm Penha hit the area in Iligan, Philippines’ Lanao del Norte province, on February 6. Photo: AFP
Rescuers evacuate a woman after Tropical Storm Penha hit the area in Iligan, Philippines’ Lanao del Norte province, on February 6. Photo: AFP
Malaysia

‘Ocean is our income’: the Malaysian fishers being pushed out by progress

Malaysia’s government says the Port Klang expansion is sustainable and essential. Local Mah Meri fishers fear for their livelihoods.

US, Israel war on Iran

No longer safe: Iran war puts 9 million Indian workers in the line of fire

As missiles fly, drone strikes from Dubai to Doha are shattering the illusion of safety for millions of Indian expats living in the Gulf.

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India

‘Death is a release’: Indian parents win right to grant son a dignified death

Harish Rana was comatose and bedridden for over a decade. Now, the Supreme Court has ruled that his ‘endless misery’ can finally end.

Harish Rana, an engineering student, has been in a vegetative state for the last 13 years after falling from the fourth floor of his hostel. Photo: Handout
Indonesia

‘Quite severe’: coastal erosion threatens future of Bali’s famed Kuta Beach

Experts warn extreme weather and decades of coastal development on the resort island have worsened the situation.

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Tourists relax on Kuta Beach in Bali, Indonesia, in December 2025. Officials say the erosion on Kuta Beach is “quite severe”. Photo: EPA
Tourists relax on Kuta Beach in Bali, Indonesia, in December 2025. Officials say the erosion on Kuta Beach is “quite severe”. Photo: EPA
The Philippines

250 men went down with a WWII ‘hell ship’. Now the US is coming back for them

Eight decades after the Oryoku Maru was sunk by American bombs, specialist divers are returning to retrieve the 250 men still trapped inside.

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Indonesia

Why Indonesia’s waste-to-energy goal may not be ‘quick fix’ for landfill crisis

With billions to be spent on new waste-to-energy plants, critics are questioning the potential cost to Indonesian cities and the environment.

US, Israel war on Iran

Sowing the seeds of hunger: war on Iran puts Asia’s next harvest at risk

As Gulf gas plants go offline, missing fertiliser shipments today could mean empty shelves and record food prices by autumn.

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Farmers sow paddy saplings in a field on the outskirts of Guwahati, India, last month. Photo: AP
Thailand

Thai police thought she was drunk. She was already dying

A 21-year-old died because an assumption was made. The same assumption later left a stroke victim in a coma with 50-50 odds of survival.

A Thai officer interacts with a woman who was brought to a police station instead of a hospital following a motorcycle crash in Bangkok. Photo: Facebook / anuwatf.ch7
A Thai officer interacts with a woman who was brought to a police station instead of a hospital following a motorcycle crash in Bangkok. Photo: Facebook / anuwatf.ch7
Malaysia

Malaysia slashes gym licence fees by 80% to fight urban obesity

Faced with some of Southeast Asia’s highest obesity rates, officials are dangling a regulatory ‘carrot’ to gym operators – but will it work?

Singapore

Singapore’s ban on caged lorries revives debate over migrant worker transport

The government says the move improves workers’ safety, but advocacy groups say the wider transport risks remain.

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Indonesia

Indonesia to ban under-16s from ‘high-risk’ social media platforms

Minister Meutya Hafid said the restrictions would protect children from online harms, but experts warned enforcement might prove difficult.

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A student uses a mobile phone for online learning in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, in 2020. Photo: EPA
A student uses a mobile phone for online learning in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, in 2020. Photo: EPA
Japan

Muslims in Japan were falsely blamed for illegal buildings. Then came the fires

It started with social media posts falsely blaming Muslims for building violations. Then came the fires.

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Malaysia

Viral clip of Malaysian man clinging to ex-wife’s moving car leads to arrest

Police said the man clung to the car for around 2km and that he tested positive for ketamine use.

Japan

Japan on track for hottest summer ever as ocean temperatures surge

Various regions across Japan are expected to register above-normal temperatures between June and August, the weather agency says.

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A man cooling down under a water misting system on a hot day in Tokyo in September last year. Photo: AFP
Thailand

Thailand’s captive tiger industry faces backlash after 72 big cats die

‘By the time we realised they were sick, it was too late,’ said an official, as welfare groups decry a life of misery and confinement.

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A tiger chained to be photographed by tourists is seen at a tiger park in Pattaya, Thailand. Photo: AFP
A tiger chained to be photographed by tourists is seen at a tiger park in Pattaya, Thailand. Photo: AFP
Malaysia

‘Just ask for it’: Malaysia’s vape crackdown fails to break the habit

An estimated 1.4 million Malaysian adults vape, despite existing curbs. Many say new laws will simply push them back to cigarettes.

Malaysia

Can Malaysia’s ban stop global flow of toxic e-waste?

Malaysian customs recently intercepted nearly 200 tonnes of e-waste, but high shipping volumes make detection a ‘challenge’, officials say.

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Indonesia

Indonesians weigh peril and promise of Jakarta – the world’s most populous city

Extreme heat, floods, pollution, congested traffic and a tough job market are some of the major challenges faced by the city’s residents.

A view of traffic during evening rush hours in the business district in Jakarta, Indonesia, on February 3. Photo: Reuters
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