Here are a few stories from around Asia you may have missed this week.
One person was killed and 304 were injured as Typhoon Koinu passed by the south of China's Taiwan region on Thursday, as reported by local authorities. The typhoon caused power outages in thousands of houses and led to the cancellation of more than 200 flights. Millions were unable to attend work and school. China's national observatory issued a yellow alert for Typhoon Koinu, the third-highest severity warning in its four-tier typhoon warning system, as it headed toward Guangdong.
Maldivian President- elect Mohamed Muizou at a press conference in Male, Maldives. September 30, 2023. /CFP
Maldives opposition candidate Mohamed Muizzu won the country’s presidential election on September 30, beating incumbent President Ibrahim Solih in a second-round runoff. The UK educated engineer has served as housing minister of the archipelago and was the present mayor of the capital city, Male when he was nominated by his party as the presidential candidate. Muizzu, of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), defeated incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) capturing 54 percent of the votes. He will be sworn in on November 17.
The switch for the discharge of nuclear contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. October 5, 2023. /CFP
On Thursday morning Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company started releasing more nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The company plans to release approximately 7,800 tonnes of nuclear wastewater, the same amount as the first discharge from August 24 to September 11, into the sea over a period of around 17 days.
Vehicles washed away in flash floods lay on top of buildings. Rangpo town, Sikkim state, India. October 5, 2023. /CFP
In India, 14 people were killed and 102 people, including 22 Army personnel, are missing in Sikkim state after flash floods in the Teesta river. The floods were caused after a cloudburst in the early hours of Wednesday, and the powerful waters swept away parts of a dam belonging to the state's largest hydropower project, which worsened the flooding. A government official said 14 bridges collapsed and more than 3,000 tourists are feared stranded in different parts of the state.
A seller offers merchandise using live streaming at a store in the Tanah Abang textile market in Jakarta, Indonesia. Oct. 4, 2023. /CFP
Popular social media app TikTok has suspended its online retail operation in Indonesia from Wednesday to comply with new rules and curbs on social commerce. Last week, the country announced a new rule that bars social commerce companies from handling direct payments for online purchases. This is part of newly tightened trade regulations aimed at ensuring local e-commerce services, said the government. TikTok is still allowed to promote products but is prohibited from operating its own e-commerce platform. At a Jakarta wholesale market, vendors told Reuters that the new rule will substantially impact their income.
(Cover: Clouds over Fuzhou city heralding Typhoon Koinu in Fujian province, China. October 5, 2023. /CFP)