Top Asian News 3:43 a.m. GMT

Nobel Peace Prize given to Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo for its work against nuclear weapons

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organization of survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, for its activism against nuclear weapons. Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said the award was made as the “taboo against the use of nuclear weapons is under pressure.” Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a shift in his country’s nuclear doctrine, in a move aimed at discouraging the West from allowing Ukraine to strike Russia with longer-range weapons. It appeared to significantly lower the threshold for the possible use of Russia’s nuclear arsenal.

Nobel prize for A-bomb survivors’ group boosts hope for Japanese seeking a nuke-free world

TOKYO (AP) — For many Japanese survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and their relatives, Friday’s awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to a Japanese organization against nuclear weapons gives them hope for a new momentum to push for a nuclear-free world — starting from getting their own government to sign the nuclear weapons ban treaty. Nihon Hidankyo, an organization of survivors of the two U.S. atomic bombings, became the first Japanese recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 50 years since the late Prime Minister Eisaku Sato was honored in 1974 for his contribution to regional stability and Japan’s signing of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Blinken tells ASEAN the US is worried about China’s ‘dangerous’ actions in disputed sea.

VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Southeast Asian leaders Friday that the U.S. is concerned about China’s “increasingly dangerous and unlawful” activities in the disputed South China Sea during an annual summit meeting, and pledged the U.S. will continue to uphold freedom of navigation in the vital sea trade route. His comments at a meeting with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ drew swift condemnation from Beijing, which blamed U.S. and other military presences from beyond the region for instability in the waterway, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety. China has overlapping claims with ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, as well as Taiwan.

North Korea accuses South Korea of flying drones to its capital and threatens to attack next time

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has accused rival South Korea of flying drones to its capital to drop anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets and threatened to respond with force if such flights occur again. South Korea issued a vague denial of the allegation. North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday that South Korean drones were detected in the night skies of Pyongyang on Oct. 3 and Wednesday and Thursday this week. The ministry accused the South of violating North Korea’s “sacred” sovereignty and threatening its security, and described the alleged flights as a “dangerous provocation” that could escalate to an armed conflict and even war.

Gunmen kill 21 miners in southwest Pakistan ahead of an Asian security summit

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen killed 21 miners and wounded six others in Pakistan’s southwest, a police official said Friday, drawing condemnation from authorities as a search was launched for the assailants. The latest attack in the restive Balochistan province came days ahead of a major security summit being hosted in the capital. The gunmen stormed the accommodation at a coal mine in Duki district late Thursday night, rounded up the men and opened fire, police official Hamayun Khan Nasir said. He said the attackers also fired rockets, lobbed grenades at the mine and damaged machinery before fleeing. Most of the casualties were from Pashto-speaking areas of Balochistan.

New arrests revive concern that nonviolent political protesters in Myanmar may be tortured

BANGKOK (AP) — Concern was rising on Friday that two nonviolent activists opposed to military rule in Myanmar are at high risk of torture after being arrested in raids this week in Yangon, the country’s biggest city. Paing Phyo Min, 27, a leading member of AJAY — the Anti-Junta Alliance Yangon — and Shein Wai Aung, a participant in peaceful protests, were arrested separately on Wednesday night, one of AJAY’s leaders, Nan Lin, told The Associated Press. He said that four other young activists were arrested just hours after participating in a brief Sept. 19 protest in Yangon against high commodity prices and military conscription.

Hindus in Bangladesh celebrate their largest festival under tight security following attacks

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Schoolteacher Supriya Sarker is glad to celebrate Bangladesh’s largest Hindu festival of Durga Puja but feels the festivities would be more jubilant without the fear and violence that overshadow this year’s event. The weeklong celebration that ends in the Muslim-majority Bangladesh on Sunday with immersions of the Hindu Goddess has strained the Hindu community with reports of vandalism, violence and intimidation in parts of Bangladesh, which has seen harassment and attacks on Hindus, who make up about 8% of the country’s nearly 170 million people, or more than 13 million people. Despite pledges to keep the festival safe, this year’s version was subdued coming following the ousting of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and attacks on minority groups, especially Hindus.

Boeing’s lawyers argue for settlement opposed by relatives of those killed in 737 Max crashes

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Relatives of passengers who died in two crashes of Boeing 737 Max planes came to a federal court in Texas on Friday to listen as their lawyers asked a judge to throw out a plea agreement that the aircraft manufacturer struck with prosecutors and put the company on trial. Their lawyers argued that Boeing’s punishment — mainly a fine amounting to about $244 million — would be too light for misleading regulators about a flight-control system that malfunctioned before the crashes. They accused Boeing and the Justice Department of airbrushing facts and ignoring that 346 people died in the crashes.

An ex-judge from mainland China is set to take Macao’s top job. What’s at stake for the casino hub?

MACAO (AP) — Some 400 pro-establishment electors are set to approve the sole candidate for Macao’s chief executive job on Sunday, making him the Chinese casino hub ’s first leader born in mainland China. It’s a break from the longtime practice of choosing locally-born leaders, usually from prominent business families, for the former Portuguese colony. Nearly the entire election committee — 386 of 400 members — have nominated Sam Hou Fai, the territory’s longtime chief judge, for the Oct. 13 vote. Local political observers say many Macao residents appear indifferent to Sam’s origins. Some see elections as having little to do with them, since the vast majority of the territory’s 687,000 people cannot vote.

New Zealand ship didn’t sink because its captain was a woman, the ‘appalled’ defense minister says

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s defense minister issued stinging rebukes of what she said were “vile” and “misogynistic” online remarks by “armchair admirals” about the woman captain of a navy ship that ran aground, caught fire and sank off the coast of Samoa. “Seriously, it’s 2024,” Judith Collins told reporters Thursday. “What the hell’s going on here?” After days of comments on social media directed at the gender of Commander Yvonne Gray, Collins urged the public to “be better.” Women members of the military had also faced verbal abuse in the street in New Zealand since the ship — one of nine in the country’s navy — was lost on Sunday, Collins said.