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

Thailand's parliament elected political neophyte Paetongtarn Shinawatra as its youngest prime minister on Friday, only a day after she was thrust into the spotlight amid a power struggle between the country's bickering elites. The 37-year-old daughter of political heavyweight Thaksin Shinawatra sailed through a parliament vote just two days after ally Srettha Thavisin was dismissed as premier by the Kingdom's constitutional court. She will become Thailand's second female prime minister after her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra. In her first comments as prime minister, Paetongtarn said she had been saddened and confused by Srettha's dismissal and decided it was time to step up. "I talked to Srettha, my family and people in my party and decided it was about time to do something for the country and the party," she told reporters.

Thousands of women marched across several Indian cities this week, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for strict punishment for crimes against women, as outrage and protests against the gruesome rape and murder of a doctor escalated. Holding candles and posters that said "reclaim the night,"  women held marches across cities, including the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, where the rape and murder of a trainee doctor last week triggered protests by fellow medics, demanding better and safer working conditions. The 31-year-old doctor was found dead last week. A civilian police volunteer was subsequently arrested in the case. Protests spread on Tuesday, with more than 8,000 government doctors in the western Maharashtra state, home to the financial capital of Mumbai, halting work in all hospital departments except emergency services.

Unionized workers at Samsung Electronics began a four-day strike on Thursday in the south of Seoul, South Korea, demanding wage hikes and improved bonus systems. This action comes two weeks after the union ended its 25-day strike on August 1, transitioning to a long-term strategy that includes partial stoppages to press their demands. During the strike, Samsung's largest union, representing more than 30 percent of its total workforce, will refuse holiday work and all flexible schedules. Samsung said in a statement: "The company plans to ensure there are no production disruptions and adheres to the no-work, no-pay principles, while we continue our effort to resume talks with the union.”

Indonesian President Joko Widodo held his first cabinet meeting in the nation's future capital of Nusantara on Monday. Appearing with his successor, President-elect Prabowo Subianto, in front of a palace that is under construction, Widodo insisted that the controversial $33 billion construction effort will be worth it. He began working from the city two weeks ago, using an office inside the construction site of the massive new palace that is being built in the shape of a mythical eagle, the symbol of the country. "The Nusantara capital is a canvas that carves the future. Not all countries have the opportunity and the ability to build their capital city starting from zero," Widodo said. President-elect Subianto vowed that his administration will continue work on the new city after it takes office on October 20.

Singapore on Tuesday announced that eligible adult Singaporeans will receive a one-off special payment of between 200 and 400 Singaporean dollars in September 2024 to help with the rising cost of living. This will apply to more than 2.4 million Singaporeans aged 21 and above, and is applicable to those whose assessable income is up to 100,000 Singaporean dollars, said the ministry of finance.

(Cover: Pheu Thai Party leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the youngest daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, joins hands with coalition party leaders at a press conference as she is named the candidate to be Thailand's next prime minister at Shinawatra Tower in Bangkok on August 15, 2024. /CFP)