Top Asian News 2:40 a.m. GMT

What’s the future of baseball in Japan as the best players leave for MLB?

TOKYO (AP) — Shohei Ohtani is widely regarded as the best player in Major League Baseball, and Ichiro Suzuki enters the Hall of Fame later this year, reminders that some of the top talent in American baseball is now Japanese. That’s a point of pride at home, but also a reason to worry. What happens to baseball in Japan, to the country’s pro league, if the stars all leave for the United States? About a dozen Japanese played in MLB last season, headlined by Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. They came up through Nippon Professional Baseball and waited for free agency under the Japanese system, or were allowed to go earlier by their clubs.

Shohei Ohtani merchandise is prompting long lines — even in the rain — in Tokyo

TOKYO (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers gave Shohei Ohtani an unprecedented $700 million contract hoping to drive interest — and the dollars that come with it — from fans across the Pacific. It seems to be working. He’s the main attraction as the Dodgers and Chicago Cubs open the MLB regular season on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Tokyo Dome. He’s also producing off the field, the marquee name at a sprawling souvenir store that fills an exhibition hall in the Tokyo Dome complex. MLB calls the setup its “largest ever special-event store.” “Isn’t it crazy?” said Lillian Izawa, who did a slow walk through the store, wedged between shoppers and shelves of souvenirs, most carrying Ohtani’s name, face or No.

India and New Zealand look to bolster ties after reviving free trade talks

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his New Zealand counterpart, Christopher Luxon, met Monday seeking to deepen their defense and economic ties, a day after the countries announced the revival of negotiations for a free trade agreement. Modi and Luxon met in New Delhi and signed agreements on enhancing cooperation in defense, food processing, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy and critical minerals. Luxon said he held “highly productive meetings” with Modi and other Indian leaders that will improve ties between India and New Zealand. The defense relationship includes joint military training, he said. “New Zealand is committed to doing more with India across a wide range of areas — defense and security, trade and economics, people-to-people ties, education, tourism, sports and culture,” Luxon said at joint press conference with Modi.

AP PHOTOS: Mass iftar brings together thousands of Muslims at Jakarta’s Istiqlal mosque

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A mass iftar at Jakarta’s Istiqlal Grand Mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia, draws thousands every year during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. For millions of Muslims, the ritual of fasting from dusk to dawn brings forth increased worship and religious reflection. Charity and good deeds remain high on the agenda of the faithful. At Istiqlal, the mosque’s charity committee, locals and vendors come together to provide about 4,500 free meals daily throughout Ramadan for passersby, travelers, and those who can’t afford food, said Ahmad Mulyadi, one of the organizers. “The number of people usually far exceeds the food available, but for now that is all we can provide,” Mulyadi said.

Iguanas likely crossed the Pacific millions of years ago on a record-setting rafting trip

NEW YORK (AP) — Researchers have long wondered how iguanas got to Fiji, a collection of remote islands in the South Pacific. Most modern-day iguanas live in the Americas — thousands of miles and one giant ocean away. They thought maybe they scurried there through Asia or Australia before volcanic activity pushed Fiji so far away. But new research suggests that millions of years ago, iguanas pulled off the 5,000 mile (8,000 kilometer) odyssey on a raft of floating vegetation — masses of uprooted trees and small plants. That journey is thought to be a record — further than any other land-dwelling vertebrate has ever traveled on the ocean.

A UN rights expert blasts the impact of US aid cuts on Myanmar

GENEVA (AP) — Myanmar’s people are already feeling the “crushing impact” from the “sudden, chaotic withdrawal” of U.S. and other humanitarian aid, an independent human rights expert said Monday, calling on the world community to do more. Tom Andrews, a monitor on rights in Myanmar commissioned by the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council, said he would appeal to its 47 member countries to issue a “declaration of conscience against this unfolding disaster” — a humanitarian crisis — “and I will urge them to follow up those words with action.” “Action that includes funding vital, life-sustaining programs that are being slashed and burned and jeopardized,” he told reporters on Monday, before addressing the council on Wednesday.

Hong Kong billionaire property developer Lee Shau Kee dies at 97

HONG KONG (AP) — Lee Shau Kee, a Hong Kong billionaire property developer who led one of the biggest real estate empires in the former British territory, has died. He was 97. The company that he founded said that Lee died on Monday evening peacefully with his family by his side. No cause of death was given. Lee founded Henderson Land Development Co. Ltd. in 1976, and was its chairman and managing director until 2019. He was succeeded by his sons, Peter Lee and Martin Lee, the company’s chairpersons. Forbes listed Lee as Hong Kong’s second-richest person with $29.2 billion in its latest ranking.

A Japanese man handed 7-year sentence in Belarus on charges of working for Japanese intelligence

A Japanese man was sentenced Monday to seven years in prison in Belarus after he was convicted of working for Japan’s intelligence service. Masatoshi Nakanishi, who has been in custody since his arrest in July, was accused of taking pictures of military and civilian facilities for Japanese intelligence, inflicting damage to Belarus’ national security. The Minsk City Court convicted and sentenced Nakanishi after a two-month trial that went on behind closed doors. He also was ordered to pay a fine equivalent to about $6,700. Belarusian authorities had rejected the Japanese Embassy’s request to attend the proceedings. Belarus’ Viasna Human Rights Centre declared Nakanishi a political prisoner.

Search for US student in Dominican Republic intensifies

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic (AP) — The search for a U.S. college student who went missing in the Dominican Republic intensified on Monday, one day after a man questioned by authorities visited the beach where she was last seen and spoke with officials. Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old student at the University of Pittsburgh and an Indian citizen, vanished before dawn on March 6 in the resort town of Punta Cana. Authorities are scouring waters in case she drowned. Minnesota student Joshua Riibe has not been named as a suspect but has been detained by Dominican police and is believed to be the last person to see Konanki.

Southern California Hindu temple desecrated with anti-India and anti-Hindu graffiti calls for peace

CHINO HILLS, Calif. (AP) — The recent desecration of an iconic Hindu temple in Southern California with anti-Hindu and anti-Indian government graffiti has heightened concerns among South Asian groups following a slew of such incidents over the past year. Devotees who arrived early morning on March 8 at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Chino Hills were shocked to find the words “Hindustan Murdabad,” which means “death to” or “down with” Hindus and India, scrawled on a pink stone sign bearing the temple’s name, said Mehul Patel, a volunteer with the organization. Expletive-laden graffiti targeting India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi was written on one of the outer brick walls and abutting sidewalk, he said.