Briefly

SWEDEN

French writer wins Nobel literature prize

French author Annie Ernaux won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday for "the courage and clinical acuity" in her largely autobiographical books examining personal memory and social inequality. In explaining its choice, the Swedish Academy said Ernaux, 82, "consistently and from different angles, examines a life marked by strong disparities regarding gender, language and class". The first French woman to win the literature prize, Ernaux said winning was "a responsibility". "I was very surprised... I never thought it would be on my landscape as a writer," Ernaux told Swedish broadcaster SVT. She has previously said that writing is a political act, opening our eyes for social inequality.

INDIA

8 dead, 13 injured during ceremony

At least eight people were killed and 13 others injured after being hit by a flash flood during an idol immersion ceremony in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, local government officials said on Thursday. The flash flood hit the Mal river on Wednesday night in Jalpaiguri district. Officials said hundreds of people had gathered on the banks of the Mal river to participate in a religious festival that included an immersion ceremony of idols. The strong water currents swept some of them inside the river along its banks. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in a statement that around 70 people were saved by the efforts of police, civil defense volunteers and local youth.

MYANMAR

Court jails Japanese filmmaker for 10 yrs

A court in Myanmar has jailed a Japanese documentary filmmaker for 10 years for violating sedition and communications laws, Japan's Kyodo News reported on Thursday. Toru Kubota, 26, was arrested in July at a protest in Myanmar's main city of Yangon. At the time, it was reported he faced charges of breaking an immigration law and encouraging activists against the government. On Wednesday, Kubota was sentenced to three years for sedition and seven years for violating a law on electronic communications, Kyodo reported, citing a source familiar with the case. Japan has called for Kubota's release.

ECUADOR

Prison clashes lead to 5 deaths

At least five people were killed and 23 injured in clashes between inmates at a prison in the Ecuadoran city of Guayaquil, the country's prison authority said on Thursday. "At this moment, we have registered 18 prisoners injured, five police officers injured and five inmates killed," the organization said on Twitter about the incident that took place on Wednesday. The prison authority said the Guayaquil deaths were a result of "confrontations" between inmates at the Guayas 1 prison.

Agencies Via Xinhua