Mariejo Ramos

Despite being seen as one Asia's most LGBTQ+ friendly countries, the Philippines does not have a national law that could address the discrimination and legal challenges queer Filipinos face.

Religious groups and conservative lawmakers have for years fiercely opposed attempts to pass a law that would provide fair and equal access to basic social services, opportunities, healthcare, protection and justice to the LGBTQ+ community.

Impoverished fishing communities in the Philippines are caught in a David-and-Goliath fight with industrial fishing companies after the country’s top court loosened restrictions on commercial operations in protected coastal waters.

Already facing threats from extreme weather and urban development that have destroyed fish breeding grounds, fishers fear they may now have to compete with large vessels in municipal waters, the 15-km (9 mile) stretch of sea off the coastlines of cities.

At a tense meeting in Nigeria's capital Abuja, health workers poured over drug registers and testing records to gauge whether U.S. aid cuts would unravel years of painstaking work against tuberculosis in one of Africa's hardest hit countries.

For several days in May, they brainstormed ways to limit the fallout from a halt to U.S. funding for the TB Local Network (TB LON), which delivers screening, diagnosis and treatment.

Often battered by typhoons and floods, protecting the coastline is a priority for the sugar-producing Philippines province of Negros Occidental.

But instead of man-made defences, local leaders have turned to reviving natural barriers with 100-metre-wide strips of vegetation, including coastal mangroves and beach forest species to counter erosion and protect from storms.

A draft law in the Philippines could be the first step towards recognising same-sex partnerships, signalling a major shift in a country where Congress has rejected proposals against the discrimination of LGBTQ+ people for a quarter-century.

Party-list representative Percival Cendaña filed a measure in November last year to protect LGBTQ+ couples from stigma and discrimination in health settings.

When former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested in March for crimes against humanity, social media was soon awash with messages of love and support.

U.S. President Donald Trump was quick to offer his backing.

A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake that hit Myanmar on March 28 has killed more than 3,000 people in a country already ravaged by armed conflict after the military seized power in 2021.

The diplomatically isolated junta has made a rare plea for international help, as has the National Unity Government (NUG), made up of lawmakers in exile following the military coup.

On the coast of typhoon-prone Philippines, mangroves resembling upside-down tree roots help to protect people from storms and act as a nursery for animals like fish and clams.

When the severe Typhoon Rai hit Siargao Island in 2021, for example, more than 8,000 hectares of mangrove forests broke the energy of the waves and protected coastal villagers, contributing to a low fatality rate, wetland experts say.

Since he was 15, Junrey Longos has lived among lush mangrove forests and turquoise waters in Del Carmen, his hometown in the Philippines' surfing capital on Siargao Island.

Once an illegal fisher who would cut the woody tropical trees to be sold as fuel, he now protects them as part of a civilian fisheries patrol force.

China is best placed to replace the United States as a key foreign donor in Asia but may be reluctant to fully fill the void, while South Korea and Japan may struggle to give enough, experts said.

From critical maternal health care to funding disaster relief, life-saving projects in Asia hang in the balance after President Donald Trump paused foreign aid and moved to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).