India's Jammu and Kashmir has received 16.2 million tourists this year, a record since the country's independence from British rule in 1947. Kashmir is known for its snow-capped mountains, apple orchards and houseboats on a beautiful lake. The centrally administered province has seen a revival in domestic tourism since COVID-19 restrictions ended this year.

In one of the worst football disasters ever, 131 people were killed in a stampede at a football match at the Kanjuruhan Stadium in the Indonesian province of East Java. Another 547 people were injured.

Several thousand fans descended onto the pitch to shake the hands of players for home team Arema FC after the loss to their fierce rivals. Police tried to force spectators back to the confined stands, pushing them with their batons and riot shields. They then resorted to tear gas, which is said to have caused panic and the subsequent stampede. Chief security minister Mahfud MD said the government would form a fact-finding team to probe the incident.

The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka on Friday granted permission for proceedings against former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The court also agreed to allow proceedings against the country's former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, its former finance minister and two of its former central bank governors.

The case, filed by a rights group, calls for accountability for the island nation's leadership for its worst financial crisis in more than seven decades. Gotabaya Rajapaksa had fled the country in April 2022, when protesters took to the streets and returned in September, to live under police protection.

A former Thai police officer went on a rampage gunning down and knifing people, including young children at a childcare center, in the rural town of Uthai Sawan, 500 kilometers northeast of Bangkok. In total, 34 people were killed, 23 of them children.

Police identified the attacker as Panya Khamrap, 34, a former police sergeant who had been discharged over drug allegations and who was facing trial on a drugs charge.

Reuters described it as: "The worst child death tolls in a massacre by a single killer in recent history."

During the National Day holiday week in China, both online and offline shopping gained momentum in the country, thanks to heightened consumer enthusiasm and the implementation of pro-consumption policies. The annual seven-day holiday commemorates the founding of the People's Republic of China.

During this year's holiday, various pro-consumption activities were launched nationwide to boost spending and sustain the recovery of China's consumer market, said Shu Jueting, a spokesperson with the country's Ministry of Commerce.

Local governments came up with different measures including handing out consumption vouchers and organizing festivals to boost tourism and spending.

(Cover: Tourists and locals walk in the Siraj Bagh tulip garden on March 31, 2022, in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian administered Kashmir, India, where more than 2 million tulips were expected to bloom during spring season 2022. /CFP)