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

After months of political uncertainty, Thailand got a new prime minister after Srettha Thavisin of the populist Pheu Thai party won the backing of parliament. He was confirmed as prime minister after receiving the royal endorsement on Wednesday. He is a businessman specializing in residential complexes and is one of Thailand's largest property developers. 

"The good of the country is my highest priority. I am confident the next four years will be years of change," Thavisin said after accepting the position.

India became the first country to land a spacecraft, the Chandrayaan-3, near the southern pole of the moon on Wednesday. On Thursday the moon rover of Chandrayaan-3 exited the spacecraft to begin its exploration of the lunar surface, the country's space agency said. 

The rover has two payloads – the LASER Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) and the Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS). The objectives of the LIBS are to conduct elemental analysis and derive the chemical composition and mineralogical composition to further understand the lunar surface. The APXS will determine the elemental composition of lunar soil and rocks around the landing site.

Sixteen people lost their lives and 36 were injured due to floods in Pakistan's Punjab province. More than 200,000 people were evacuated from their homes as the Sutlej river broke its banks. 

The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that "over 238,000 people and 17,000 livestock have reportedly been relocated to safer areas, and a significant amount of farmland and crops have been submerged, causing further damage to the affected communities." 

Japan on Thursday started releasing treated, nuclear-contaminated water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. The move is seen as highly controversial and has drawn criticism from China which calls it "irresponsible" and has suspended the imports of all aquatic products from Japan. 

Other countries in Asia have also condemned the move. In the current fiscal year through next March, a total of 31,200 tonnes are slated for discharge, the plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company said.

Election officials on Tuesday formally approved the candidacies of three men vying to be Singapore's next president. They are Tan Kin Lian, 75, an ex-CEO of Income Insurance Singapore, one of the city's largest insurers, Ng Kok Song, 75, former chief investment officer of state investor GIC, and former deputy prime minister and economist, 66-year-old Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

(Cover: The Pheu Thai Party's Sretha Thavisin (center), greets supporters at the party headquarters after the parliament's prime ministerial vote in Bangkok on August 22, 2023. /CFP)