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

COVID-19 cases are on the rise in South Korea as outdoor gatherings increase amid spring weather, new data showed on Tuesday. The country reported 13,375 new COVID-19 infections, including 16 cases from overseas, bringing the total caseload to 30,857,275, the country's Disease Control and Prevention Agency said. 

Tuesday's tally was up from 4,349 the previous day and 12,124 a week ago. The figure hit the highest in seven weeks, since February 14. The country scrapped a face mask mandate in January.

Thailand's capital, Bangkok, was sizzling hot on Thursday, with a heat index of 50.2 degrees Celsius, according to the Thai Meteorological Department. The heat index is how hot something feels like to the human body. 

The capital's southeastern Bang Na district topped the forecast for the five hottest places in the country. The Bangkok Post newspaper reported that "authorities have issued a health alert as a heatwave sweeps across many provinces."

Malaysia's parliament on Monday passed laws removing the mandatory death penalty, trimming the number of offenses punishable by death and abolishing natural-life prison sentences. 

Lawmakers voted to remove the death penalty as the mandatory sentence for 11 serious crimes, including murder and terrorism. The country has had a moratorium on executions since 2018, when it first promised to abolish capital punishment entirely. Ismail Sabri Yaakob, then Malaysian prime minister, began the legislative process in June 2022. The new law, once enacted, will apply retrospectively, allowing those on death row 90 days to seek a review of their sentences.

China's first commercial liquid-fueled carrier rocket, Tianlong-2 Y1, was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China on April 2. The rocket took off at 4:48 p.m. Beijing Time, carrying a satellite into pre-set orbit. 

The purpose of the flight was to verify the overall plan of the rocket and systematic coordination, as well as obtain the flight environment parameters of the launch vehicle. The satellite will be used for technology verification of remote sensing experiment. Developed by Chinese commercial rocket company Space Pioneer, the medium-sized rocket is a three-stage launch vehicle propelled by kerosene and liquid oxygen. The mission was the first flight for Tianlong-2 carrier rocket.

Twelve people were killed in a stampede during the distribution of food aid in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi on March 30. 

Thousands of people gathered at flour distribution centers set up across the country, as part of a government-backed program to ease the impact of inflation, which is running above 30 percent. The Dawn newspaper reported that "the costs of basic goods have surged, with flour prices rising more than 45 percent in the past year."

(Cover: People wearing face masks at Seoul railway station in South Korea after the country lifted its mask mandate, Seoul, South Korea, January 30, 2023. /CFP)