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This Week in Asia /

Health & Environment

Related Topics:
Coronavirus pandemic
Climate change
Wellness
A night market in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, where local authorities have stepped up enforcement against littering as part of a broader push to improve cleanliness. Photo: Shutterstock
Malaysia

Malaysia’s Johor books 5 Singaporeans for littering under new enforcement regime

The cases come as the country enforces new rules sending littering offences to court as the Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign rolls out.

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Japan

Long and short of it: why Okinawa lost crown as Japan’s island of longevity

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Japan

Japan snaps into action as alligator weed chokes waterways

Malaysia

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

Young people across Southeast Asia are using city spaces and new technologies to improve on traditional farming methods to grow produce.

Once seen as an unlikely career path for university graduates, farming is quietly being rebranded across Southeast Asia. Photo: Ushar Daniele
Once seen as an unlikely career path for university graduates, farming is quietly being rebranded across Southeast Asia. Photo: Ushar Daniele
The Philippines

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

The fatal collapse of a garbage landfill in Cebu has also exposed lax enforcement and poor waste management.

Thailand

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.

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Indonesia

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.

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Indonesian students eat free meals at a school in Keutapang, Aceh Besar in September. Photo: EPA
Indonesian students eat free meals at a school in Keutapang, Aceh Besar in September. Photo: EPA
South Korea

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.

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Malaysia

‘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’.

Japan

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.

A crow caws from an overhead power line. A survey conducted in December showed the number of crows in Japan’s capital had fallen to less than 20 per cent of its early-2000s peak. Photo: dpa
Japan

‘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.

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Foreign tourists visit a temple in Tokyo, Japan, last month. Photo: EPA
Foreign tourists visit a temple in Tokyo, Japan, last month. Photo: EPA
Singapore

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.

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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.

Human rights

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.

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Filipino domestic workers gather on a street in Hong Kong. Indonesia and the Philippines have provided millions of helpers to the rest of Asia over the decades. Photo: Dickson Lee
Malaysia

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.

Fireworks explode near the Petronas Twin Towers during New Year’s Eve celebrations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: Xinhua
Fireworks explode near the Petronas Twin Towers during New Year’s Eve celebrations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: Xinhua
Malaysia

‘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.

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India

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.

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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.

A commuter wades through floodwaters from Cyclone Ditwah in Chennai on December 2. Flooding in India and Pakistan has killed over 1,860 people and caused up to US$6 billion in damages in 2025, according to a new report. Photo: AFP
A commuter wades through floodwaters from Cyclone Ditwah in Chennai on December 2. Flooding in India and Pakistan has killed over 1,860 people and caused up to US$6 billion in damages in 2025, according to a new report. Photo: AFP
Japan

‘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.

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Indonesia

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.

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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’.

Edi Mulyono and Asmania, two of four plaintiffs who have filed a lawsuit against cement company Holcim for its role in climate change, stand in front of Holcim’s Eclepens cement plant in 2023. Photo: Lorenz Kumme/HEKS/EPER
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.

Two bears found caged inside a Cambodian casino were later rescued by Thai marines. Photo: Facebook/DNP1362
Two bears found caged inside a Cambodian casino were later rescued by Thai marines. Photo: Facebook/DNP1362
Indonesia

‘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.

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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.

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.

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A Nepalese sherpa collecting garbage left by climbers at an altitude of 8,000 metres during the Everest clean-up expedition at Mount Everest in 2010. Photo: AFP
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