This Week in Asia /
Health & Environment
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Coronavirus pandemic
Climate change
Wellness
Indonesia
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’.
4 hours ago
2025 Cambodia-Thailand conflict
Thai marines rescue starving lions, bears from Cambodian border casino
24 Dec 2025 - 6:20PM
Indonesia
‘Worse than the tsunami’ – Indonesia’s Aceh residents traumatised by flooding
24 Dec 2025 - 11:00AM
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Indonesia
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
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 - 12:30PM
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Asean
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 - 7:39PM
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Malaysia
‘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 - 3:30PM
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Indonesia
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
Indonesia
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 - 6:00PM
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Indonesia
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 - 6:00PM
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Firefighters at a building in central Jakarta where a fire killed 22 people on December 9. Photo: TNS
Nepal
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
Indonesia
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 - 5:06PM
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Malaysia
‘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 - 5:59PM
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Singapore
‘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
Ex-NBA player Jason Collins, who is in Singapore for an experimental brain cancer treatment, has identified the city state as the quickest way to get the treatment. Photo: Jean Iau
India
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 - 7:45PM
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Indonesia
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 - 4:19PM
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Japan
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 - 3:08PM
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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
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 - 3:17PM
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Singapore
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
Indonesia
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 - 10:51PM
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South Korea
South Korea to end cosmetic surgery tax break that fuelled medical tourism boom
The Korean Association of Plastic Surgeons warned that ending the VAT refund scheme could drive foreign patients to rival destinations.
11 Dec 2025 - 3:33PM
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Shin Sang-ho, director of Krismas Plastic Surgery in Seoul, prepares to administer a Botox injection in December 2020. Photo: Reuters
Japan
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
Indonesia
‘She loved us so much’: Indonesian family mourns mother killed in Hong Kong fire
Siti Khotimah was working to fund her children’s education when she died in the Tai Po fire. Her husband wants to see that wish fulfilled.
10 Dec 2025 - 3:55PM
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Indonesia
Is Indonesian disaster response failing Sumatra’s flood victims?
Prabowo’s government is ‘busy bragging about its quick reaction’ while deaths mount and people suffer from lack of aid, critics say.
9 Dec 2025 - 6:31PM
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