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

On Wednesday, more than 10,000 South Korean community doctors and certified nursing assistants initiated a strike, protesting against a nursing bill they believe would harm their jobs, despite its aim to improve nurses' pay and working conditions. The bill, which passed in parliament last week, intended to assist nurses who have been experiencing burnout and a shrinking talent pool while battling COVID-19 on the frontlines.

Go First, an Indian low-cost airline, has surprisingly filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, attributing its decision to "faulty" American-made Pratt & Whitney engines, which grounded about half its fleet. The number of grounded aircraft "due to Pratt & Whitney's faulty engines" increased from 7 percent of its fleet in December 2019 to 50 percent in December 2022, resulting in the airline losing 108 billion rupees ($1.32 billion) in revenue.

Japan is witnessing a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, with Tokyo reporting 2,604 new cases on Tuesday, approximately 700 more than the previous week. The daily tally in the capital city surpassed the 2,000 mark for the first time since February 14, with cases increasing nationwide. The Japan Times reported, "Experts have warned of another infection wave, just as COVID-19 is scheduled to be downgraded to the same level as seasonal flu next week." The seven-day average of new cases rose to 1,622, compared to 1,357 a week earlier.

The cancellation of dozens of flights at the Philippines' main airport Terminal 3 was caused by an electrical outage, according to the airport authority on Monday. The outage, which lasted nine hours, led to the cancellation of 48 Cebu Pacific domestic flights and impacted at least 9,000 passengers. Some airport engineers attributed the problem to a "fault current" that disrupted the electrical system, causing congestion at check-in counters and stranding passengers. This incident marks the second time this year that flights have been affected by technical issues at the airport.

The global economy is expected to receive a boost from a surge of Chinese tourists who traveled abroad during the Labor Day break, one of the country's biggest holidays. It unlocked the vast potential of their consuming power after three years of COVID-19 restrictions on outbound travel. China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced on Wednesday that a total of 274 million domestic trips were made nationwide during the Labor Day holiday in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 70.83 percent, surpassing the 2019 level for the same holiday.

(Cover: Nurses prepare doses of COVID-19 vaccines at a vaccination center in Seoul, South Korea, April 1, 2021. /AFP)