Here are a few stories from around Asia you may have missed this week.
Damage caused by a mudslide in Ayabe, Kyoto prefecture in western Japan, following heavy rain, due to Typhoon Lan hitting the region August 15, 2023. /CFP
Sixty people were injured, bullet train services suspended and over 900 flights were canceled after a second typhoon hit Japan in as many weeks. Typhoon Lan, approaching from the Pacific Ocean, made landfall on Tuesday at the southern tip of Wakayama prefecture, some 400 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, bringing heavy rain and powerful winds across a large part of central and western Japan during the peak summer holiday season. Power outages hit 90,000 households and 240,000 people were ordered to move to safety.
Pakistani President Arif Alvi (right) administers the oath of office to Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar as caretaker prime minister during a ceremony, Islamabad, Pakistan, August 14, 2023. /CFP
Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar was sworn in as Pakistan's caretaker prime minister on Monday ahead of the country's national elections. He will lead Pakistan through to the next elections due by November. Kakar has been a member of the Senate of Pakistan since March 2018. He was elected to the Senate as an independent candidate in the general seat from the southwest Balochistan province in the 2018 Senate election.
Buildings are seen in the haze caused by the air pollution in Jakarta, Indonesia, August 16, 2023. /CFP
As Indonesia's capital Jakarta fights against pollution, the country has decided that it will force drivers to undergo emission tests and consider ordering half of its civil servants to work from home, officials said on Monday. The Straits Times reported that "Jakarta has been consistently ranked among the 10 most polluted cities globally since May and last week topped global rankings compiled by Swiss air quality technology company IQAir. On Monday, Jakarta ranked second." During a cabinet meeting on Monday, Indonesian President Joko Widodo blamed the problem largely on the "excessive road traffic, long dry season, and manufacturing industry mainly those using coal."
China's Kuaizhou-1A carrier rocket sent five new satellites into space from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province on Monday. The satellites will mainly be used for providing commercial remote-sensing services. The satellites belonging to the Head-3 micro-satellite constellation were launched at 1:32 p.m. (Beijing time) and entered the planned orbit successfully.
A Chinese soldier (left) and an Indian soldier try to fasten the fence together at the Nathula Pass on the China-India border, July 5, 2006. /CFP
The 19th round of the China-India Corps Commander Level Meeting was held at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on the Indian side on Sunday and Monday. The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday spoke positively about progress made during the latest round of the Corps Commander level meeting. Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said the two sides had a "positive, constructive and in-depth" discussion on the resolution of the remaining issues along the Line of Actual Control in the Western Sector of China-India border areas.
(Cover: A road next to Sajigawa River is washed away as Typhoon Lan hit Western Japan, Tottori, Japan, August 16, 2023. /CFP)