Top Asian News 5:33 p.m. GMT

Han Kang wins the Nobel Prize for literature. She’s the first South Korean to do so

STOCKHOLM (AP) — South Korean poet and novelist Han Kang was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature Thursday for a poetic and unsettling body of work that the Nobel committee said “confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.” A slow-burning international literary star who has won multiple awards in South Korea and Europe, Han is the first Asian woman and the first South Korean writer to win the Nobel literature prize. She was awarded for books, including “The Vegetarian” and “Human Acts,” that explore the pain of being human and the scars of Korea’s turbulent history. Nobel literature committee member Anna-Karin Palm said Han writes about “trauma, pain and loss,” whether individual or collective, “with the same compassion and care.” “And this, I think, is something that is quite remarkable,” Palm said.

South Koreans react with joy and amazement at writer Han Kang’s Nobel win

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Koreans reacted with joy and astonishment on Thursday after learning that homegrown writer Han Kang won the Nobel Prize in literature, an unexpected moment that stoked national pride about the country’s growing cultural influence. Han, known for her experimental and often disturbing stories that explore human traumas and violence and incorporate the brutal moments of South Korea’s modern history, is the country’s first writer to win the preeminent award in world literature. Han’s triumph adds to the growing global influence of South Korean culture, which in recent years included the successes of director Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning “Parasite,” the brutal Netflix survival drama “Squid Game” and K-pop groups like BTS and BLACKPINK.

Ratan Tata, an Indian industry legend and business icon dies aged 86

NEW DELHI (AP) — Ratan Tata, one of India’s most influential business leaders, was cremated after a state funeral in the country’s financial capital on Thursday. The veteran industrialist, former chairman of a $100 billion conglomerate Tata Group, died at a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday night at the age of 86. India’s Home Minister Amit Shah, officials of the Tata Group and the local government, and Tata’s relatives were present at the funeral, where the Mumbai police honored him with a ceremonial gun salute. He was later cremated in an electric crematorium. Earlier Thursday, his body was taken to Mumbai’s National Centre for the Performing Arts, where thousands of people including industrialists, state officials and some of India’s top celebrities lined up to pay their final respects to a man seen by many as an industry legend and icon.

Taiwan celebrates its National Day holiday against a background of Chinese threats

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan celebrated its National Day holiday Thursday against the background of threats from China, which claims the self-governing island republic as its own territory. Thursday’s commemorations included military displays, but no heavy military equipment such as those seen in years past. Addressing the threat from China, President Lai Ching-te took a firm but measured line while offering cooperation on areas from fighting infectious diseases to maintaining “regional peace and stability.” “We hope that China will live up to the expectations of the international community, that it will apply its influence and work with other countries toward ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and end conflicts in the Middle East,” Lai said.

China defiant over South China Sea skirmishes in ASEAN talks and blames meddling by foreign forces

VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — Southeast Asian leaders stepped up pressure on China to respect international law following clashes in the disputed South China Sea, but Chinese Premier Li Qiang was defiant during annual summit talks on Thursday as he blamed “external forces” for interfering in regional affairs. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ meeting with Li followed recent violent confrontations at sea between China and ASEAN members Philippines and Vietnam that heightened unease over China’s increasingly assertive actions in the contested waters. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said it was “regrettable that the overall situation in the South China Sea remains tense and unchanged” due to China’s actions, which he said violated international law.

China will lift 4-year ban on Australian lobster imports, Australia’s prime minister says

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — China will resume importing Australian live lobsters by the end of the year, removing the final major obstacle to bilateral trade that once cost Australian exporters more than 20 billion Australian dollars ($13 billion) a year, Australia’s prime minister said Thursday. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made the announcement after meeting Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian summit in Vientiane, Laos. The ban on lobsters was the last of a series of official and unofficial trade barriers that Beijing has agreed to lift since Albanese’s center-left Labor Party government was elected in 2022. “I’m pleased to announce that Premier Li and I have agreed on a timetable to resume full lobster trade by the end of this year,” Albanese told reporters.

Hong Kong court rejects activist Jimmy Lai’s bid to have a jury trial for libel case

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court rejected jailed publisher Jimmy Lai ’s request to have a jury trial for his libel case against a pro-Beijing newspaper Thursday, the latest setback for the activist who suffered multiple blows in other legal battles. Lai, the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, is one of the city’s leading activists who was prosecuted under a sweeping national security law during Beijing’s crackdown on dissent. He has been the subject of criticism by pro-Beijing media outlets for years. The 76-year-old brought the case against Ta Kung Pao in 2020, alleging that the publication had maliciously suggested he was planning to illegally abscond from the city and would breach his bail condition.

Indonesia arrests a suspect wanted by China for running a $14 billion investment scam

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s immigration officers on the tourist island of Bali have arrested a Chinese suspect sought by Beijing for helping run over $14 billion investment scam to clients in China, officials said Thursday. The 39-year-old man, identified only by his initial, LQ, was arrested on Oct. 1, when an immigration auto-gate in Bali’s Ngurah Rai international airport denied him departure for Singapore. The biometric data in the computer registry at the airport identified him as a suspect wanted by Beijing, which led to his arrest, according to Silmy Karim, the immigration chief at Indonesia’s law and human rights ministry.

Cambodian fishermen turn to raising eels as Tonle Sap lake runs out of fish

KAMPONG PHLUK, Cambodia (AP) — Em Phat, 53, studies his eel tanks with the intensity of a man gambling with his livelihood. For millennia, fishermen like him have relied on the bounty of the Tonle Sap in Cambodia, Southeast Asia’s largest lake and the epicenter of the world’s most productive inland fishery. But climate change, dams upstream on the Mekong River that sustains the lake, and deforestation in the region have changed everything. There aren’t enough fish and living by the lake has become dangerous as storms intensify due to global warming. “Being a fisherman is hard,” he said. Phat hopes that raising eels — a delicacy in Asian markets like China, Japan and South Korea — will provide a way forward.

AP PHOTOS: Tata is a household name for hundreds of millions across India

NEW DELHI, India (AP) — It’s hard to imagine many Indian households that aren’t somehow touched by the $100 billion conglomerate named for the family of Ratan Tata, who died in a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday at the age of 86. Tata has been a mythical name in Indian consumers’ imaginations for generations. Every day, all across India, people consume the Tata Group’s salt and lentils, commute to work on Tata buses passing Tata cars and trucks after applying Tata beauty products in homes built from Tata steel. In Kashmir, Firdosa Jan makes tea for her family from a packet labeled Tata Tea Gold.