Top Asian News 10:09 p.m. GMT

A party like no other? Asia’s richest man celebrates son’s prenuptials with a star-studded bash

NEW DELHI (AP) — What happens when the son of Asia’s richest man is about to get married? His father throws a three-day prenuptial bash four months before the actual ceremony. Tycoons from around the world, heads of state, as well as Hollywood and Bollywood stars descended on the small western Indian city of Jamnagar on Friday where billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani is kickstarting a big fat wedding celebration for his youngest son. The nearly 1,200-person guest list includes pop superstar Rihanna, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Sunder Picha, Ivanka Trump and Bollywood celebrity Shah Rukh Khan. All eyes are on Anant Ambani, 28, and his long-time girlfriend Radhika Merchant, 29, who will tie the knot in July.

Haruki Murakami unveils his new short story at a Tokyo literary event

TOKYO (AP) — Only 1,100 lucky audience members were there to hear the yet-to-be published short story “Kaho,” read aloud by bestselling Japanese author Haruki Murakami himself. The reading took place at a Friday night book event called “The Owl Reads in Spring” — a fundraiser for the Waseda International House of Literature library at Murakami’s alma mater in Tokyo, also featuring award-winning author Mieko Kawakami. “It’s freshly made, only about 10 days ago,” Murakami told the audience, adding that he wrote it for the event. The last Murakami short released was “First Person Singular,” more than three years ago. His prolific literary work also includes essays, non-fiction and translation.

Last surviving member of the first team to conquer Mount Everest says it is crowded and dirty now

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The only surviving member of the mountaineering expedition that first conquered Mount Everest said Saturday that the world’s highest peak is too crowded and dirty, and the mountain is a god that needs to be respected. Kanchha Sherpa, 91, was among the 35 members in the team that put New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay atop the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) peak on May 29, 1953. “It would be better for the mountain to reduce the number of climbers,” Kanchha said in an interview in Kathmandu on Saturday, “Right now there is always a big crowd of people at the summit.” Since the first conquest, the peak has been climbed thousands of times, and it gets more crowded every year.

Norway’s hospitalized king gets a pacemaker in Malaysia after falling ill during vacation

HELSINKI (AP) — King Harald of Norway was implanted with a temporary pacemaker Saturday at a hospital in Malaysia’s resort island of Langkawi, where Europe’s oldest monarch was being treated for an infection during a vacation this week, the Norwegian royal house said. “The pacemaker was implanted due to a low heart rate,” the Royal House of Norway said in a brief statement, adding that the procedure conducted at Hospital Sultanah Maliha was successful. Following the operation, Harald, 87, would likely be transported back to Norway “within the next couple of days,” the statement said. “His Majesty is doing well under the circumstances but still requires rest.

Bangladeshi leader says a shopping mall that caught fire had no emergency exits. Death toll climbs

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A six-story shopping mall that caught fire in the Bangladeshi capital had no fire exits, the country’s prime minister said Friday, as the death toll climbed to at least 46 and rescuers searched for more victims. The fire started late Thursday in a restaurant on the first floor of the Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall in downtown Dhaka. More than a dozen firefighting units were deployed. Firefighters rescued survivors and pulled out bodies, and by early Friday, at least 43 people were confirmed dead. Three injured people died later, said Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen. He said the toll could rise as at least a dozen critically injured people were being treated in two state-run hospitals.

Scandinavian Airlines medevac plane lands in Malaysian island where Norwegian king is hospitalized

LANGKAWI, Malaysia (AP) — A Scandinavian Airlines medical evacuation plane arrived on Friday in Malaysia’s northern resort island of Langkawi, where the Norwegian king is in hospital and being treated for an infection. King Harald V, Europe’s oldest monarch at 87, was hospitalized after he fell ill during a vacation, the royal palace in Oslo announced on Tuesday. There were no details of his illness. His son, Crown Prince Haakon, has said his father’s condition was improving and that he needed rest before being brought back. Norwegian TV2 said that a Scandinavian aircraft with the tail number LN-RPJ took off from Oslo Airport on Thursday, The Boeing 737-700 airline, which has previously been used as a flying ambulance, landed in Langkawi on Friday.

China pledges to increase opportunities for foreign companies as it seeks to boost its economy

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese Vice President Han Zheng pledged Friday to provide more opportunities for foreign companies in China as the government tries to restore confidence in the world’s second largest economy. Han told an audience of American business people in Beijing that the government would continue to open up more industries to foreign investment and create a market-oriented and law-based international business environment. “China’s development achievements have been made through opening up,” he said at an American Chamber of Commerce in China banquet. “We will unwaveringly adhere to a high level of opening-up to the outside world.” Chamber officials portrayed his appearance at the annual dinner as a positive signal that the government is serious about addressing the concerns of U.S.

India’s richest man is bringing Rihanna and 1,200 guests to a pre-wedding bash for his son

JAMNAGAR, India (AP) — It might be the biggest party this small west Indian city has ever seen. As billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani prepares for the wedding of his son this summer, he’s expecting billionaires from around the world, heads of state, and Hollywood and Bollywood royalty to attend a three-day bash in the family’s hometown, starting Friday. The nearly 1,200-person guest list includes Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Sunder Pichai and Ivanka Trump; Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Kumar Mangalam Birla; legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar; and Bollywood celebrities such as Deepika Padukone, Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee. They’ll be entertained by pop superstar Rihanna, magician David Blaine and famous Bollywood singers.

Cambodia’s pioneering post-Khmer Rouge era Phnom Penh Post newspaper will stop print publication

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — The Phnom Penh Post, a newspaper founded in 1992 as Cambodia sought to re-establish stability and democracy after decades of war and unrest, said Friday that it will stop publishing in print this month, the latest blow to the country’s dwindling independent media. The Post was founded as an English-language biweekly in 1992. It later added a Khmer-language edition, and in 2008 began publishing daily. It wrote on social media accounts that it would stop publishing both English and Khmer editions by March 29, citing a decline in advertising revenues due to a pandemic-related economic downturn, which added to financial difficulties caused by the spread of social media and other new technology.

Tuvalu’s new premier says democracy and loyalty are reasons for preferring Taiwan over Beijing

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The new prime minister in the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu said on Friday his country shares democratic values with Taiwan and reaffirmed that his government would maintain diplomatic ties with Taipei, ruling out a shift to Beijing. Prime Minister Feleti Teo spoke to The Associated Press via Zoom, his first interview with international media since his government took office earlier this week. “Our ties with Taiwan are purely based on democratic principles and they have been very loyal to us,” Teo said. Teo, a 61-year-old first-time lawmaker, and his eight Cabinet ministers were sworn into office on Wednesday, a month after general elections in the strategically significant nation of 11,500 people half way between Australia and Hawaii.