Here are a few stories from around Asia you may have missed this week.
Flooding at the entrance of Universiti Malaya following heavy rain, Kuala Lumpur. October 15, 2024. / Photo courtesy Malaysia Tribune's official X account
Severe flooding triggered by heavy rain inundated Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur, and its surrounding areas on Tuesday, causing a Parliament session to be suspended and triggering a landslide on the city's northeastern outskirts. The Klang Valley area, which includes Kuala Lumpur, has seen unseasonably heavy rain in the past couple of weeks, several weeks ahead of the usual November to January rainy season.
Record number of women running in Japan election
A woman walks past a billboard for the election campaign in Tokyo. A record number of women are running in the election. Tokyo, Japan, October 16, 2024. /Xinhua
In Japan, a record 314 women have filed their candidacies for the October 27 House of Representatives election. This is a record high for any poll for the lower chamber of Japan's parliament under the current Constitution.
The total increased 70 percent from 187 in the previous Lower House election in 2021. The share of female candidates grew 5.6 percentage points to 23.4 percent but remained below the government-set target of reaching 35 percent by 2025. The previous record was 229, in the 2009 election. The number of female candidates endorsed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) rose by 22 to 55, accounting for 16.1 percent of LDP candidates.
China launches new Earth observation satellite
A Long March-4C rocket, carrying the Gaofen-12 05 satellite, blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, October 16, 2024. /China Media Group
On Wednesday, China successfully launched a new Earth observation satellite from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. A Long March-4C rocket, carrying the Gaofen-12 05 satellite, blasted off at 7:45 a.m. Beijing Time. The satellite has entered the preset orbit. It will be mainly used for land surveys, urban planning, crop yield estimation and disaster prevention.
DPRK blows up roads and rail lines connecting to ROK
This photo released by the DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows an explosion as the army blows up roads and railways connecting to the ROK at an unconfirmed location in the DPRK. October 16, 2024. /CFP
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has designated the Republic of Korea (ROK) a "hostile state," its state media said on Thursday, confirming that its national assembly had amended the constitution to drop unification as a national goal. Earlier in the week, the DPRK blew up parts of the inter-Korean roads on its side. Yonhap reported on Tuesday, citing the Republic of Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. "DPRK has detonated parts of the Gyeongui and Donghae roads north of the Military Demarcation Line," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, adding that the south had boosted its military readiness in response. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Tuesday called on all parties to work together to uphold peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
A bank employee gathers Thai baht notes at a Kasikornbank in Bangkok, Thailand, January 26, 2023. /Reuters
Thailand central bank cuts interest rate
Thailand's central bank unexpectedly cut its key interest rate on Wednesday, saying the move brought rates to a "neutral" level consistent with the economy's growth potential and downplaying the impact of government calls for policy easing on its decision. The 25-basis-point reduction was the first rate cut since May 2020, following five consecutive meetings where it held rates steady and months of pressure from the government, looking to the central bank for help with reviving sluggish growth. "The lower policy rate would not impede debt deleveraging given the expected slowdown in loan growth and would remain neutral and consistent with economic potential," the Bank of Thailand said. Deputy Finance Minister Paopoom Rojanasakul told reporters on Wednesday the rate cut would help boost growth and showed that fiscal and monetary policies were being coordinated.
(Cover: Malaysian officials inspect the site of a landslide following heavy rains in a residential area at Taman Melawati in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, October 15, 2024. /CFP)