This Week in Asia /

Health & Environment

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Coronavirus pandemic
Climate change
Wellness
Cats are fed at a shelter in Bogor, West Java province, Indonesia, in December 2019. Photo: Reuters
Indonesia

Can Jakarta’s ‘cat island’ boost tourism and solve its stray cat problem?

Jakarta’s innovative “cat island” plan aims to solve its stray cat crisis, promote tourism and establish a safe feline haven.

Indonesia

Indonesia denies marijuana farm cover-up after video of cannabis crops emerges

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Thailand

British woman trapped in toilet dies in Thai dive boat fire

South Korea

Vietnamese woman gives birth in South Korean ambulance amid doctor shortage

South Korea is facing a 13-month-long medical crisis after doctors walked out over a plan to increase admission quotas at medical schools.

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An ambulance seen in Pocheon, South Korea. Photo: AP
An ambulance seen in Pocheon, South Korea. Photo: AP
Indonesia

Indonesia’s clean energy transition in doubt after US withdrawal from JETP

Despite Jakarta’s ambitious net-zero goals, analysts say the country has limited political will to fulfil its climate commitments on its own.

South Korea

South Korean medical schools threaten to expel striking students

The government proposed increasing the medical school admission quota to address a doctor shortage, but students argue poor working conditions are the real issue.

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Indonesia

Is Jakarta prepared for climate change and more frequent floods?

Extreme weather and poor urban planning have exacerbated Jakarta’s annual flooding, displacing residents and highlighting critical infrastructure failures.

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Emergency workers evacuate people from their flooded homes on March 4, following heavy rains in South Jakarta. Photo: dpa
Emergency workers evacuate people from their flooded homes on March 4, following heavy rains in South Jakarta. Photo: dpa
Singapore

Singapore bans Malaysian coffee brand for containing erectile dysfunction drug

The Singapore Food Agency warned consumers not to consume Kopi Penumbuk, citing potential health risks including heart attack and stroke.

Malaysia

Malaysia mandates safety tests after Chinese woman loses leg in ceiling collapse

The accident could have been caused by the age of the building in Sabah’s Kota Kinabbalu and structural weakness in the ceiling, authorities say.

Japan

Fears mount in Japan of a massive 2011-style earthquake on disaster anniversary

Scientists warn seismic energy accumulating under the Chishima Trench off Hokkaido has the potential to trigger a magnitude-8.8 earthquake.

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Houses swallowed by a tsunami burn in Sendai, Miyagi prefecture, on March 11, 2011 after a huge earthquake struck off Japan’s northeastern coast. Photo: Kyodo/AP
Malaysia

Should there be an age limit for climbers on Malaysia’s Mount Kinabalu?

Industry player says the state’s natural attractions are ‘too special to only be marketed to hardcore adventurers’.

Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia’s Sabah state. Photo: Nam Cheah
Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia’s Sabah state. Photo: Nam Cheah
Indonesia

Set sail for convenience: Bali eyes water taxis to tackle traffic woes

The Indonesian island’s ambitious maritime plans don’t stop at water taxis, either – seaplane services could soon be on the way as well.

Japan

Thousands flee as Japan’s biggest wildfire in decades rages on

An area of at least 2,100 hectares in Ofunato, Iwate prefecture, has been destroyed by the blaze. At least one person has died.

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India

Can Modi’s call to cut down on cooking oil help address India’s obesity crisis?

The prime minister calls it a small change for better health, but experts say bigger action is needed to prevent a crisis.

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Street vendor frying mutton samosa in Bangalore. Photo: Getty Images
Indonesia

Indonesia’s Bali warns tourists of rabies risk after local death from dog bite

The man, 35, died six months after getting bitten and not reporting his injury to receive a post-bite vaccine.

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A dog in Bali being given rabies vaccination. Photo: AP
A dog in Bali being given rabies vaccination. Photo: AP
Thailand

‘Zombie cigarettes’: Thai authorities warn of deadly drug-laced vapes

The e-cigarettes contain the narcotic etomidate, an anaesthetic agent that is potentially fatal.

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Australia

Australia hospital under fire after 3 child deaths occur within 6 weeks

Latrobe Regional Hospital in Victoria is facing scrutiny over the allegedly preventable deaths and accusations of mismanagement.

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The Philippines

Birth of rare Philippine eagle chick lifts survival hopes

Riley was born at the National Bird Breeding Sanctuary in Davao City, the first Philippine eagle chick hatched without human help.

Riley is the first Philippine Eagle chick to be hatched without human intervention. Photo: Philippine Eagle Foundation
Riley is the first Philippine Eagle chick to be hatched without human intervention. Photo: Philippine Eagle Foundation
Sri Lanka

Blackout exposes Sri Lanka’s precarious path to greater reliance on renewables

Experts warn of further grid instability as Sri Lanka pushes for 70 per cent renewable energy by 2030.

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Nepal

Interns expose dark side of medical training in Nepal

An explosive social media post has ignited a movement to address the grim conditions faced by Nepal’s aspiring healthcare professionals.

Australia

67 false killer whales die in stranding in Australia, 90 others to be euthanised

Experts are investigating the cause of the stranding, which is unusual for this species in the region.

An official checks on a stranded false killer while in Tasmania. Photo: Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania/AFP
Malaysia

Bleached and broken: how mass tourism is killing Malaysia’s coral paradise

Beneath Redang’s turquoise waters lies a growing crisis of coral bleaching, trash and human negligence.

A diver documents the extent of coral bleaching on a reef in Malaysia. Photo: Reef Check Malaysia
A diver documents the extent of coral bleaching on a reef in Malaysia. Photo: Reef Check Malaysia
Japan

Japan’s 2035 tipping point looms as cities set to shrink amid population ageing

Japan faces urban population decline by 2035, with ageing societies challenging city sustainability and prompting calls for immigration reform.

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Indonesia

Toxic tides: life in Indonesia’s most polluted village

Once a pristine fishing hamlet, Tanjung Uma is now drowning in garbage and disease as it bears the brunt of unchecked waste and environmental collapse.

Cambodia

‘People can die’: US funding freeze decimates Mekong demining work

Demining advocates argue the US has a moral obligation to solve a problem it helped create.

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A member of a demining team prepares to detonate unexploded ordnance in Vietnam’s Quang Tri province: Photo: AFP
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