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

Thailand and Cambodia agree on ceasefire and ASEAN observers

Cambodia and Thailand’s top defense officials agreed on Thursday to allow ASEAN observers to inspect disputed border areas and help ensure hostilities do not restart following a violent five-day conflict that ended in a ceasefire late in July. 

The Southeast Asian neighbors saw the worst fighting in over a decade in July, including exchanges of artillery fire and jet fighter bombing runs that claimed at least 43 lives and displaced more than 300,000 people on both sides of the border. The situation calmed after diplomatic interventions from China and Malaysia, the chair of ASEAN. “Both sides agreed on the terms of implementation of the ceasefire and improving communication between the two armies,” Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said on social media.

China conducts key test for manned lunar lander

China successfully tested the landing and takeoff of its manned lunar lander, Lanyue, at a test site in northern China's Hebei Province on Wednesday, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). The Wednesday test was the country's first for extraterrestrial landing and takeoff of a crewed spacecraft. 

The CMSA stated that the test verified the integrated performance of the lander's key systems, including the descent and ascent procedures, control systems, engine shutdown during lunar touchdown, and the compatibility between subsystems such as guidance, navigation, and control and propulsion. The Lanyue lunar lander is a newly developed spacecraft intended for China's future manned lunar exploration missions.

ROK starts dismantling loudspeakers aimed at DPRK

The Republic of Korea (ROK) on Monday started removing loudspeakers blaring negative broadcasts over the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) border, according to the Defense Ministry in Seoul. This move comes as President Lee Jae-myung's new government aims to ease tensions with Pyongyang. 

Shortly after he took office in June, Lee's administration switched off propaganda broadcasts criticizing the DPRK government as it looks to revive stalled dialogue with its neighbor. The ROK’s removal of the loudspeakers is just a "practical measure to help ease tensions between the South and the North," the ministry said in a statement on Monday.

17 heat records broken in a single day in Japan

Seventeen heat records were broken in Japan on Monday, the country's weather agency reported, after it experienced its hottest June and July on record. 

The city of Komatsu, in Ishikawa's central region, set a new record of 40.3 degrees Celsius, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). Toyama city in Toyama Prefecture, also in the central region, reached 39.8 degrees Celsius, its highest temperature recorded since records began, the JMA said. Fifteen other locations across cities and towns also hit new highs of between 35.7 degrees Celsius and 39.8 degrees Celsius, based on data from the JMA, which tracks temperatures at over 900 points across Japan. On July 30, Japan recorded its highest temperature ever – a scorching 41.2 degrees Celsius in the Hyogo region in the west.

Flooding leaves 14 dead or missing in northern Vietnam

Flooding caused by heavy rain led to the deaths of 14 people or their disappearance in Vietnam's northern province of Dien Bien, according to state media. On Friday, floodwaters rose quickly after hours of heavy rain, flooding homes in low-lying areas and triggering flash floods and mudslides in the mountainous regions of the province, reported the Tien Phong newspaper. 

The mountain village of Xa Dung was hit the hardest, with one death and six people missing, the report stated. Due to the floods, several parts of the province have lost power and been cut off from traffic, a statement from the provincial People's Committee revealed. Two children in Hang Pu Xi village were buried in mudslides, and rescuers have yet to recover their bodies, the same statement added. Media reports indicate that ongoing heavy rain is hampering the search for the missing.

(Cover: Thai delegates led by Deputy Defense Minister Natthaphon Narkphanit and Cambodian delegates led by Defense Minister General Tea Seiha, joined by Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, pose ahead of the Extraordinary General Border Committee in Kuala Lumpur, August 7, 2025. /Reuters)