This Week in Asia /

Health & Environment

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Coronavirus pandemic

An elderly man walks through a shopping district in Tokyo, Japan. Photo: Reuters

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.

16 Feb 2025 - 8:00AMvideocam

Toxic tides: life in Indonesia’s most polluted village

15 Feb 2025 - 8:00AM

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

14 Feb 2025 - 2:27PMvideocam

Indonesia’s Prabowo launches another ‘quick-win priority’ – free health checks

The programme provides a free voucher of basic health screening for every Indonesian and is set to cost US$287.3 million this year.

12 Feb 2025 - 6:54PMvideocam

A man undergoes a medical check-up for hypertension, cholesterol and diabetes in Banda Aceh on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur airport targeted by exotic animal traffickers: watchdog

Malaysian authorities seized over 74,000 animals and 194 tonnes of wildlife parts from 2014 to 2023, according to wildlife watchdog Traffic.

12 Feb 2025 - 4:03PM

South China Sea

China and Vietnam cause most damage to South China Sea’s corals: report

The report, which also lists the Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan, says the claimants’ activities have caused ‘irreparable’ damage.

12 Feb 2025 - 2:13PM

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Does Malaysia have enough water to power its data centres?

Data shows that water infrastructure in three states can only provide 142 million litres a day to firms, far short of the total 808 MLD needed.

11 Feb 2025 - 5:28PMvideocam

The Johor-Singapore Causeway. The Malaysian state is a data centre heavyweight in Southeast Asia. Photo: AP

With deforestation rising, is Indonesia missing the forest for the trees?

Indonesia lost more than 26,000 sq km of primary and secondary forests last year, according to a new NGO report.

9 Feb 2025 - 12:00PM

Pacific nations

Can China fill a US-sized void in the Pacific after Trump’s foreign aid freeze?

China could boost involvement through economic and climate adaptation projects to help Pacific nations meet development needs, analysts say.

9 Feb 2025 - 8:00AM

‘More devastating than atomic bomb’: fears mount over Japanese lab in Nagasaki

The laboratory, which will study some of the deadliest viruses, has prompted concerns over a repeat of the coronavirus pandemic.

8 Feb 2025 - 3:35PM

Ebola virus particles (blue) forming from an infected VERO E6 cell (yellow). Photo: Getty Images/Cultura RF

Russian Village closure spotlights struggle to safeguard Bali’s farmland

Case highlights ‘weak control’ over foreign investments, with parts of Parq Ubud compound built on protected rice fields and agricultural land.

6 Feb 2025 - 1:04PM

Parq Ubud was popular among Russian visitors and residents in Bali. Photo: Instagram/parqspace

Parents urged to act on vapes as Malaysian government holds back on ban

Minister says it is up to families to keep their children away from vapes, amid a rise in the number of students caught vaping.

4 Feb 2025 - 6:55PM

Melting point: Japan’s Sapporo Snow Festival skates on thin climate ice

This year’s festival came dangerously close to being cancelled, before it was saved by a last-minute snowfall.

4 Feb 2025 - 8:00AM

Japanese cave diver seeks to recover remains from 1942 Chosei mine disaster

A civic group is leading the effort, seeking to honour the victims and provide closure for their families.

1 Feb 2025 - 11:00AM

Cave diver Yoshitaka Isaji about to start his first exploration of the mine. Photo: Association to Engrave the Flooding Disaster of Chosei Coal Mine into History

Care or convenience? Debate rages over Malaysia’s ‘abandoned’ parents

High cost of private care, genuine concern over their elders’ health issues among reasons Malaysians cite for ‘abhorrent’ practice.

31 Jan 2025 - 6:31PM

An elderly man is helped into a wheelchair in Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia. Photo: AFP

Malaysia’s Lunar New Year dirty secret? Abandoning elderly relatives in hospital

A frustrated doctor’s viral TikTok video has exposed Malaysians’ hidden holiday habit of using hospital wards as makeshift nursing homes.

29 Jan 2025 - 12:01PM

Trump’s aid freeze wrecks Malaysian group’s conservation efforts

Justice for Wildlife Malaysia, which protects the nation’s animals from trafficking, says it is now scrambling for new financing sources.

28 Jan 2025 - 2:54PM

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Malaysia’s vape smuggling crackdown sparks fears over rising addiction

Authorities have arrested a group of vape smugglers who bribed customs officers based at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

27 Jan 2025 - 6:23PM

Promoters smoke electronic cigarettes at a vaping fair in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: AFP

Indian court’s ruling in rape, murder of junior doctor prompts more questions

More individuals should have been questioned in the case while working conditions in India’s hospitals remain abysmal, analysts say.

21 Jan 2025 - 7:00PM

Foodborne illness cases mar roll-out of Prabowo’s free-meal scheme in Indonesia

Despite the reported lapses in food safety, officials say Prabowo aims to accelerate the programme’s expansion.

20 Jan 2025 - 6:40PM

As Japan marks Kobe quake anniversary, fears of another major disaster mount

Tremors in the Nankai Trough, south of Kobe, have increased recently as seismologists flag higher risks of a major quake in the area.

18 Jan 2025 - 3:00PMvideocam

People mark the 30th anniversary of the 1995 “Great Hanshin Earthquake” in Kobe on Friday. Photo: AFP

Singapore braces for future floods, explores hi-tech solutions to stem the tide

As PUB warns of another heavy rainfall this weekend, analysts say there is a need to balance between stronger flood protection and costs.

17 Jan 2025 - 7:34PM

Rain clouds hover above the Marina Bay Sands hotels in Singapore. Photo: AFP

On Covid-19 anniversary, Japan’s doctors worry about complacency

A surge in influenza cases during Japan’s winter shows overconfidence regarding health precautions is creeping in, experts say.

15 Jan 2025 - 8:14AMvideocam

Malaysia urged to boost health funding to ease burden on patient care

Lack of funding, chronic manpower shortages in government hospitals leave public dependent on private healthcare sector, civil society groups say.

14 Jan 2025 - 2:53PM

As smog shrouds Thailand, Bangkok tackles toxic air with remote work

Voluntary work-from-home measures were being considered in a bid to reduce traffic congestion, the city’s governor said.

13 Jan 2025 - 3:43PMvideocam

The sun rises above buildings shrouded by smog in Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday last week. Photo: Reuters

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