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

30 die in snowstorms in Japan

Thirty people were killed in Japan after winter storms hit northern and western cities. On Tuesday, soldiers and swarms of snowplows battled to clear record-breaking snowfall.

Japan regularly receives some of the highest snowfall in the world, making it a top destination for winter sports. Troops from the Self-Defense Forces were drafted in to help authorities struggling to clear a nearly 2-meter pileup of snow in the city of Aomori, the largest in four decades. About 1,000 snowplows began clearing 3,800 kilometers of roads in Sapporo, the largest city in the Hokkaido region. The snow temporarily closed Hokkaido's main airport last week, stranding hundreds of passengers. More than 100 people have suffered serious injuries nationwide in snow-related incidents since late January.

Pakistani military concludes operation against separatists in Balochistan

Pakistani forces used drones and helicopters to wrest control of a southwestern town from separatist insurgents after a three-day battle, police said on Wednesday, as the death toll from the violence rose to 58 among civilians and security personnel.

Saturday's coordinated attacks by the proscribed Baloch Liberation Army brought Pakistan's largest province to a near standstill as insurgents set off explosives and exchanged fire with security forces in more than a dozen locations. "On January 31, at around 5:30 in the morning, some miscreants snuck into our homes and took over the property," said Maria Shamoon, assistant commissioner of Noshki district, adding that the attackers seized the government complex and held the deputy commissioner hostage. Security officials said they had killed 197 militants, including 41 on Friday, in military operations that preceded the insurgents' attacks. Trains through Quetta have not been operating since Saturday, an official from the national railways operator said, and mobile internet was also down across much of the province.

Former South Korean president Park Geun-hye's home seized over unpaid debt

Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye's home in Daegu has been placed under provisional seizure after a court ruled that she failed to repay 1 billion won ($683,300) in outstanding debt owed to the operators of a local YouTube channel.

According to media reports on Thursday, the Seoul Central District Court approved a request by YouTube channel HoverLab and its chief, Kim Se-eui, to seize the property. Park had borrowed 2.5 billion won from Kim in 2022 to purchase the home after receiving a pardon from the Moon Jae-in administration while serving a 20-year prison term.

Yoo Yeong-ha of the main opposition People Power Party, a longtime confidant of Park, acquired the property in Park's name using the borrowed funds. Yoo and Park left the debt unpaid for four years, according to Kim, who disclosed the development on his channel.

Park owes 900 million won to Kim and 100 million won to HoverLab.

Myanmar plans a new supervisory entity to oversee government

Myanmar's government will form a new entity to oversee both the military and civilian administration. Just days after the final phase of a national election, which will see a parliament convene next month and power transferred to a civilian government, the ruling government announced plans on Tuesday in state media to create a five-member Union Consultative Council. Its mandate is exceptionally broad, granting it control over every critical component of national security and the legislative process, according to Naing Min Khant, program associate at the Institute for Strategy and Policy – Myanmar.

The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party swept the election, winning 81 percent of seats in both the upper and lower houses of parliament.

India faces hotter, drier February, threatening winter crops

India will be warmer and drier in February after an unusually warm January, increasing risks to key winter-sown crops such as wheat, rapeseed, and chickpeas.

Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director-general of the India Meteorological Department, said on Saturday that the country's northwestern wheat-growing region is likely to receive less than 78 percent of its long-term average rainfall. He added that maximum and minimum temperatures in most parts of India will be above average in February. Crops such as wheat and barley could suffer yield losses, as higher-than-normal temperatures may accelerate crop growth and shorten the growing period. "Below-normal cold-wave days are likely over several parts of northwestern and adjoining central India," he said. The states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in the north, along with Madhya Pradesh in central India, are the country's top wheat-growing regions.

(Cover: Japan Ground Self-Defense Force's 5th Infantry Regiment, stationed in Aomori Prefecture, carrying out snow removal in a town in Aomori Prefecture on February 3, 2026. /CFP)