Here are a few stories from around Asia you may have missed this week.

At least 31 people were killed when an inter-island ferry with about 250 passengers and crew onboard caught fire off the province of Basilan on Wednesday, according to The Manila Times.

The Lady Mary Joy 3 was traveling from Zamboanga City to Jolo Island when the fire broke out. The Manila Times reported that "rescuers, including the Philippine Coast Guard and fishermen, saved 195 passengers and 35 crew as the blaze ripped through the ferry off Baluk-Baluk Island in Basilan province.”

The process to end the mandatory death sentence in Malaysia began on Monday with the tabling of the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Bill 2023 in parliament. 

The bill was tabled by Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, the minister in the prime minister's department in charge of law and institutional reforms. It will be debated during the current sitting of parliament and should be passed before April 4, when the sitting ends.

A court in India found opposition leader and member of parliament Rahul Gandhi guilty of defamation on March 23 for a speech he made in 2019 in which he referred to thieves as having the surname Modi, and sentenced him to two years in prison. 

Gandhi was found guilty by a court in Surat, a city in Gujarat, which is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state. He was given bail and the sentence was suspended for 30 days. Parliament disqualified him the next day and asked him to vacate his government-allotted housing in Delhi. Opposition parties have filed a petition at the Supreme Court against what they said was the targeting of opposition leaders by central agencies.

Thailand beat its target for tourist arrivals in the first quarter, receiving 6.15 million visitors from January to March 27, government spokesperson Traisuree Taisaranakul said on Wednesday. 

The government had set a target of 6 million arrivals in the three months ending in March this year. The country's Tourism Council on Wednesday said at least 30 million tourists were expected to visit the country this year and spend 1.5 trillion baht ($43.74 billion).

At least two people were killed and 56 others injured in a stampede during free flour distribution in Pakistan's Sahiwal last week. The incident reportedly took place as a result of mismanagement and flawed arrangements for free wheat flour distribution among the under-privileged. 

Thousands of people gathered at the centers set up across the country as part of the government's efforts to stem the impact of inflation, which is above 30 percent, the highest in 50 years. Costs of basic goods have surged, with flour prices rising over 45 percent in the past year.

(Cover: The Philippine Coast Guard responds to a fire onboard M/V Lady Mary Joy 3 in the waters off Baluk-Baluk Island, Hadji Muhtamad, Basilan, Philippines, March 29, 2023. /Reuters)