Top Asian News 1:26 a.m. GMT

Ex-Defense Minister Ishiba chosen to lead Japan’s ruling party and become prime minister

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s governing party on Friday picked former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba as its leader, setting him up to become prime minister next week. The party leadership is a ticket to the top job because the Liberal Democratic Party’s governing coalition controls parliament. Considered a defense policy expert, Ishiba secured a come-from-behind win against Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, a staunch conservative who hoped to become the country’s first female prime minister. The LDP, which has enjoyed nearly unbroken rule since World War II, may have seen Ishiba’s more centrist views as crucial in pushing back challenges by the liberal-leaning opposition and winning voter support as the party reels from corruption scandals that drove down outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s popularity.

Japan’s soon-to-be prime minister faces big challenge as he tries to move past ruling party scandals

TOKYO (AP) — The person chosen Friday to lead Japan’s governing party, and become prime minister next week, is a veteran politician with deep policy experience, a taste for curry and anime — and big challenges ahead of him as he tries to unite a fractious party and hold off an opposition eager to capitalize on recent corruption scandals. Shigeru Ishiba has long been popular with voters but has often struggled to win over his conservative fellow Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers. A vocal critic of the hawkish politics of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, he was long seen as a troublesome outsider by some party members.

Australian treasurer, visiting Beijing, welcomes Chinese efforts to stimulate its economy

BEIJING (AP) — Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Friday welcomed Chinese efforts to stimulate its slowing economy, noting that its recent weakness has hurt Australia. Chalmers was wrapping up a two-day visit to Beijing, the first to China by an Australian treasurer in seven years, as strained bilateral relations mend. He told reporters that Australia’s economy was slowing because of global economic uncertainty, high interest rates and China’s slowdown. “Those three things are combining to slow our own economy considerably and when steps are taken here to boost economic activity and to boost growth in the Chinese economy, subject to the details that will be released in good time, we see that as a very, very good development for Australia,” Chalmers said.

15 killed after a landslide struck an illegal gold mine on Indonesia’s Sumatra island

PADANG, Indonesia (AP) — A landslide triggered by torrential rains struck an unauthorized gold mining operation on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, killing at least 15 people, officials said Friday. Dozens others were reported missing. Villagers were digging Thursday for grains of gold in the remote Solok district of West Sumatra province when mud plunged down the surrounding hills and buried them, said Irwan Effendi, head of the local disaster mitigation agency office. He said at least 25 people were still buried, and that three people were pulled out alive with injuries by rescuers. Search efforts in the worst-affected area, near Nagari Sungai Abu village, were hampered by mudslides that covered much of the area, blackouts and lack of telecommunications.

Myanmar’s opposition rejects a military appeal for talks on a political solution to armed conflict

BANGKOK (AP) — The main group coordinating opposition to military rule in Myanmar rejected on Friday a surprise offer from the ruling generals to hold talks on a political solution to the country’s nationwide armed conflict. Nay Phone Latt, a spokesperson for the opposition’s shadow National Unity Government, told The Associated Press that a joint statement issued earlier this year by opposition groups has already paved the way for a negotiated political solution if the army agrees to its conditions. Padoh Saw Kalae Say, a spokesperson of the Karen National Union, which represents the Karen ethnic minority, said it also will not accept the military’s offer.

A museum in Australia can bar men from the ‘Ladies Lounge’ exhibition, a regional top court says

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A museum in Australia was within its rights to bar men from a controversial art exhibit for women meant to underscore their exclusion from segments of the male-dominated society, a top regional court said on Friday. The development is the latest in the long-running saga of the “Ladies Lounge” exhibition that has provoked an uproar in the art world. Its curator, Kirsha Kaechele, admitted in June she had created all the art, including the paintings she had billed for years as works by Spanish master Pablo Picasso without anyone noticing they were fake. On Friday, Tasmania’s Supreme Court threw out on appeal an order for Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art, where the exhibit opened in 2020, to stop refusing male patrons entry to the show.

At the UN, young people push to make sure the generational shift is faster — and more substantial

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — They were sharing the world stage to discuss a plan to give young people more input in decisions that shape lives. And 26-year-old Daphne Frias, talking to the head of the United Nations, had thoughts. “Truly, it’s time for the people who do so much of the talking to do less of the talking,” the disability and climate activist told Secretary-General António Guterres. “And to have the voices of my generation ... lead.” Their exchange this month, at a leadup event to the U.N. General Assembly’s meeting of nations’ leaders, was a measure of diplomacy’s generation gap.

What to know from the UN: Netanyahu says no cease-fire, but other countries keep asking

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — After a day filled with hopes of a cease-fire between Lebanon and Israel, the U.N. General Assembly meeting Friday was a harsh reality check. Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU shut down the idea in a morning speech that he said he didn’t initially intend to make. He said he had not planned to come to the meeting this year, because his country is at war, but “after I heard the lies and slanders leveled at my country by many of the speakers at this podium, I decided to come here and set the record straight.” The week has been full of speakers calling for a cease-fire in both Lebanon and Gaza, continuing into Friday.

Dozens of children drown while bathing during 3-day Hindu festival in eastern India

PATNA, India (AP) — Dozens of children drowned while bathing in rivers and ponds in rituals that were part of a three-day Hindu festival in eastern India’s Bihar state, officials said. Heavy monsoon rains recently had raised the levels of waterways across the state. At least 46 people, including 37 children, drowned in separate incidents across the state’s 15 districts, a statement from Bihar’s disaster management department said. Authorities have recovered 43 bodies so far, and the three missing people are presumed to be dead. During the annual festival, mothers fast for 24 hours for the well-being of their children. The women are sometimes accompanied by their children when they visit rivers and ponds for cleansing rituals.

New Chinese nuclear attack submarine sank during construction, US defense official says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Satellite imagery showed that China’s newest nuclear-powered attack submarine sank alongside a pier while under construction, a senior U.S. defense official said Thursday. The sinking of China’s first Zhou-class submarine represents a setback for Beijing as it continues to build out the world’s largest navy. Beijing has become increasingly assertive in pursuing its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea, which is crucial to international trade. Meanwhile, China faces longtime territorial disputes involving others in the region including Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. The United States has sought to strengthen ties to its allies in the region and regularly sails through those waters in operations it says maintains the freedom of navigation for vessels there, angering Beijing.