Top Asian News 7:24 p.m. GMT

Modi inaugurates ambitious rail project connecting Kashmir to Indian plains

NEW DELHI (AP) — Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated one of the most ambitious railway projects ever built in India, which will connect the Kashmir Valley to the vast Indian plains by train for the first time. Dubbed by government-operated Indian Railways as one of the most challenging tracks in the world, the 272-kilometer (169-mile) line begins in the garrison city of Udhampur in Jammu region and runs through Indian-controlled Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar. The line ends in Baramulla, a town near the highly militarized Line of Control dividing the Himalayan region between India and Pakistan. The line travels through 36 tunnels and over 943 bridges.

Less spending, high prices and fewer animal sacrifices at this year’s Eid al-Adha celebrations

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Less spending, higher prices and fewer animal sacrifices subdued the usual festive mood as the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha was celebrated around the world. Eid al-Adha, known as the “Feast of Sacrifice,” coincides with the final rites of the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. It’s a joyous occasion, for which food is a hallmark, with devout Muslims buying and slaughtering animals and sharing two-thirds of the meat with the poor. Palestinians across the war-ravaged Gaza Strip marked the start of the three-day feast early Friday with prayers outside destroyed mosques and homes. For the second year since the war with Israel broke out, no Muslims in Gaza were able to travel to Saudi Arabia to perform the traditional pilgrimage.

China’s Panchen Lama pledges loyalty to the Communist Party in a meeting with Xi

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The man picked by Beijing as the second highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism pledged adherence to the ruling Communist Party’s dictates Friday during a rare face-to-face meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, state media reported. Gyaltsen Norbu, who is rarely seen in public, met behind closed doors with Xi Jinping in Zhongnanhai, the government compound in the center of Beijing, about 3,700 kilometers (about 2,300 miles) from his home monastery of Tashilhumpo, high on the Tibetan steppe. Gyaltsen Norbu, 35, said he would “firmly support the leadership of the Communist Party of China, and resolutely safeguard the unity of the motherland and national unity,” the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong charged under Beijing-imposed security law for a second time

HONG KONG (AP) — Prominent Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong on Friday was charged with conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security under a Beijing-imposed law that critics say has crushed Hong Kong’s once-thriving pro-democracy movement. The prosecution was the second time Wong has been charged under the sweeping national security law. He was already convicted in a separate subversion case linked to an unofficial primary election and was sentenced last year to four years and eight months in jail for that charge. The prosecution accused Wong, 28, of conspiring with fellow activist Nathan Law and others to ask foreign countries, institutions, organizations or individuals outside of China to impose sanctions or blockades, or engage in other hostile actions, against Hong Kong and China.

North Korea says it has raised a capsized destroyer upright as it continues repair

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Friday it had righted a capsized destroyer and moored it at a pier in the northeastern port of Chongjin as it continues to repair the new warship leader Kim Jong Un has described as a significant asset for his nuclear-armed military. The report by North Korean state media aligned with South Korean military assessments and recent commercial satellite images. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said experts will closely examine the ship’s hull before beginning the next phase of restoration, which will take place at a dry dock at the neighboring port of Rajin and is expected to last seven to 10 days.

Japanese court rejects damage claims against utility executives over Fukushima disaster

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese court ruled former executives at the utility managing the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were not accountable for the 2011 meltdown crisis and do not need to pay damages to the company. The Tokyo High Court ruling on Friday reversed a lower court decision in 2022 ordering four former executives of the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings to pay 13 trillion yen ($90 billion) to the company, saying they had failed to take the utmost safety precautions despite knowing the risks of a serious accident in a major tsunami. A magitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 destroyed key cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, causing its three reactors to melt down, spreading large amounts of radiation in the area and keeping tens of thousands of residents from returning home due to radioactive contamination and other safety concerns.

Musk’s Starlink gets key license to launch satellite internet services in India

NEW DELHI (AP) — India has granted a key license to Elon Musk’s Starlink, bringing the satellite provider a step closer to launching its commercial internet services in the country, a top Indian government official said on Friday. “Yes. License has been granted,” said the official with direct knowledge of the matter at the department of telecommunications. The official declined to be identified because the information isn’t public. The approval comes at a time when Musk is embroiled in a public spat with U.S. President Donald Trump, which threatens billions of dollars’ worth in contracts between Starlink and the U.S. government.

Myanmar arrests 16 suspects, including 6-year-old girl, over alleged links to assassination

BANGKOK (AP) — Security forces in military-ruled Myanmar have arrested a six-year-old girl along with 15 other people suspected of involvement in the assassination of a retired high-ranking army officer, state-run media reported on Friday. Former Brig. Gen. Cho Tun Aung, 68, was shot outside his home in Mayangon township, in Yangon, the country’s biggest city, on May 22. A militant group calling itself the Golden Valley Warriors claimed responsibility for the attack. The killing of Cho Tun Aung, who was a former ambassador to Cambodia, was the latest attack against figures linked to the ruling military since Myanmar was plunged into civil war after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

Carney invites Modi to G7 summit despite strained ties between Canada and India

TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit in Alberta later this month, an invitation Modi accepted despite strained ties between the countries. The countries expelled each other’s top diplomats last year over the killing of a Sikh Canadian activist in Canada and allegations of other crimes. The invitation prompted anger from the World Sikh Organization of Canada, which wrote to Carney in May asking him not to invite Modi. Tensions remain high between Canada and India over accusations about Indian government agents being involved in the murder of a Canadian activist for Sikh separatism in British Columbia in 2023.

Private lunar lander from Japan crashes into moon in failed mission

A private lunar lander from Japan crashed while attempting a touchdown Friday, the latest casualty in the commercial rush to the moon. The Tokyo-based company ispace declared the mission a failure several hours after communication was lost with the lander. Flight controllers scrambled to gain contact, but were met with only silence and said they were concluding the mission. Communications ceased less than two minutes before the spacecraft’s scheduled landing on the moon with a mini rover. Until then, the descent from lunar orbit seemed to be going well. CEO and founder Takeshi Hakamada apologized to everyone who contributed to the mission, the second lunar strikeout for ispace.