Here are a few stories from around Asia you may have missed this week.
Heavily flooded Hong Kong sees pedestrians wade through the water to cross the street, Hong Kong SAR, China, September 7, 2023. /CFP
The year's 11th typhoon, Haikui, hit east Asia this week. It made landfall on China's Taiwan island on Sunday and left a trail of destruction. More than 217,000 households temporarily lost power on the island. It then landed on the Chinese mainland in the coastal areas of Dongshan County of Fujian Province and Raoping County of Guangdong Province, bringing gales of up to 18 and 20 meters per second near its center.
Two people have been confirmed dead and another remains missing after the typhoon triggered flooding in parts of Fuzhou City in Fujian Province. Some 114,400 people were transferred from dangerous areas in the province. The torrential rain spread to and deluged Hong Kong on Friday, leading to widespread flooding. It submerged streets, shopping malls and metro stations, as authorities shut schools and asked workers to stay at home.
Singaporean president-elect Tharman Shanmugaratnam greets supporters as results of the presidential election were announced on September 1, 2023. /CFP
Former Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has been elected Singapore's ninth president with 70.4 percent of the total votes.
The 66-year-old Harvard-educated economist was formerly the finance minister and the central bank chairman. His rivals Ng Kok Song and Tan Kin Lian received 15.72 and 13.88 percent of the votes respectively. Over 2.48 million Singaporeans voted in the presidential election.
A view of the central business district in Jakarta, Indonesia. /CFP
Indonesia is introducing a golden visa scheme to attract foreign individual and corporate investors in an attempt to boost its the economy. The five-year visa requires individual investors to set up a company worth $2.5 million, while for the 10-year visa, a $5-million investment is required, according to a press release issued on Sunday by the Ministry of Law and Human Rights.
"The golden visa is granting a residence permit for an extended period of five to 10 years," director general of immigration Silmy Karim said in the statement.
Schoolteachers hold a massive rally in front of the National Assembly in Seoul to mourn recent suicides of teachers distressed by disgruntled parents and unruly students, Seoul, South Korea, September 4, 2023. /CFP
Around 50,000 South Korean teachers rallied in Seoul on Monday to demand better protection of their rights. They said they wanted to highlight what they called widespread harassment by overbearing parents that has spurred some teachers to take their own lives.
After a young teacher was found dead in an apparent suicide in July, complaints by public school teachers have grown about mistreatment by parents and students, such as accusations of child abuse for disciplining pupils.
Japan's H-IIA rocket carrying a lunar surface probe and other objects is launched from the Tanegashima Space Center, September 7, 2023. /CFP
Japan launched its lunar exploration spacecraft on Thursday aboard a domestically made H-IIA rocket, with the aim of becoming the world's fifth country to land on the moon early next year. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said the rocket took off from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan as planned.
On board the rocket is JAXA's Smart Lander (SLIM) for exploring the moon, which will be tasked with demonstrating accurate landing techniques and examining moon rocks. Dubbed the "moon sniper," Japan aims to land SLIM within 100 meters of its target site on the lunar surface. The $100-million mission is expected to reach the moon by February. Unfavorable weather led to three postponements in just one week last month.
(Cover: Roads were heavily flooded and many vehicles stalled as Typhoon Haikui hit Quanzhou National Highway 324 in Luojiang District, Quanzhou, Fujian Province, China, September 5, 2023. /CFP)