This Week in Asia /

Health & Environment

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Coronavirus pandemic

“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

‘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

The Philippines

‘Medical pork’ row exposes political grip over Philippine health assistance

20 Dec 2025 - 3:30PMvideocam

Indonesian elephants tasked to help in flood recovery spur conservation debate

19 Dec 2025 - 11:00AM

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 - 6:00PMvideocam

A fallen tree spray painted with “Help” lies among debris in Aceh Tamiang, northern Sumatra, on Tuesday in the aftermath of last month’s flash floods. Photo: AFP

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 - 6:00PMvideocam

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

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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 - 5:06PMvideocam

Indonesian students eat a free school meal in Aceh Besar earlier this year. Photo: EPA

‘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 - 5:59PMvideocam

‘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

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 - 7:45PMvideocam

A student displays messages painted on his hands during an HIV/AIDS awareness campaign in Chandigarh, India. The country has made significant progress in controlling the disease, though concerns persist in some regions. Photo: Reuters

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 - 4:19PMvideocam

Indonesian national Eli Cahyono (left) pictured with his wife Darwati, who died in the Wang Fuk Court fire. Photo: Handout

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 - 3:08PMvideocam

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 - 3:17PMvideocam

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

Jason Collins, then a player with the Brooklyn Nets, warmed up before a match against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Centre in Los Angeles, California in 2014. Photo: AFP

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 - 10:51PMvideocam

An aerial view of Denpasar shows the many hotels and lodgings in the area. Photo: Shutterstock

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 - 3:33PMvideocam

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

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‘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 - 3:55PMvideocam

Indonesian domestic worker Siti Khotimah, who died in the Wang Fuk Court fire in Hong Kong. Photo: Handout

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 - 6:31PMvideocam

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

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

A person watches as a major fire engulfs residential buildings at Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong on November 26. Photo: dpa

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

People walk past the ruins of houses in a village affected by heavy flooding in Batang Toru, Indonesia’s North Sumatra province, on Wednesday. Photo: AP

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

‘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

Visitors watch the sunrise in the mountains of Nepal’s Upper Mustang. Photo: Getty Images

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