Top Asian News 4:59 a.m. GMT

India’s Modi is set to open a controversial temple in Ayodhya in a grand event months before polls

AYODHYA, India (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday was set to open a contentious Hindu temple built on the ruins of an ancient mosque in the holy city of Ayodhya. The grand event, which will be attended by thousands, is expected to benefit the Indian leader in the polls just months before a general election. The inauguration of the temple, which is still under construction, is dedicated to Hinduism’s most revered deity Lord Ram. It fulfills a demand made by millions of Hindus for over 100 years and delivers on a crucial campaign pledge from Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

A temple to one of Hinduism’s holiest deities is opening in India. What’s its significance?

AYODHYA, India (AP) — About 80 chartered flights have landed at the new international airport of India’s holy city of Ayodhya for Monday’s partial opening of the controversial grand temple for one of Hinduism’s most revered deities, Lord Ram. Ayodhya’s airport can barely accommodate the influx of private jets. “The planes will depart after dropping guests,” airport manager Saurabh Singh said. The temple was built over an ancient razed mosque, and most political opposition leaders are boycotting the temple’s opening, saying it doesn’t befit a secular India. However, the list of attendees boasts some of India’s most influential people: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, industrialists Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani and Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan.

Landslide in mountainous southwestern China buries 47 people

BEIJING (AP) — A landslide in southwestern China’s mountainous Yunnan province early Monday buried 47 people and forced the evacuation of 200 more. The disaster struck just before 6 a.m. in the village of Liangshui, under the town of Tangfang in Zhenxiong County. The county publicity department said rescue efforts were underway to find victims buried in 18 separate houses. There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries. The cause of the landslide wasn’t immediately known, although photos from the scene appeared to show snow on the ground. The landslide came just over a month after China’s most powerful earthquake in years struck to the northwest in a remote region between Gansu and Qinghai province.

North Korea stresses alignment with Russia against US and says Putin could visit at an early date

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his willingness to visit the North at an unspecified “early date” as the countries continue to align in the face of their separate, intensifying confrontations with the United States. The North Korean Foreign Ministry highlighted Putin’s intent for a visit following North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui’s meetings with Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow last week. The ministry said in a statement published by state media that the two countries agreed to further strategic and tactical cooperation with Russia to establish a “new multi-polarized international order,” a reference to their efforts to build a united front against Washington.

Taiwan says 6 Chinese balloons flew through its airspace, and warplanes and ships also detected

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan said Monday that six Chinese balloons either flew over the island or through airspace just north of it, while Chinese warplanes and navy ships were also detected in the area. The dispatch of such balloons, which generally disappear into the Pacific to the east, appears to be on the rise, though their purpose has not been publicly announced. The Defense Ministry noted the balloon sightings on a list of Chinese People’s Liberation Army activity in the waters and airspace around Taiwan. One passed near the southern city of Pingtung, while the others flew just north of the port of Keelung, where Taiwan has an important naval base.

A Russian private jet carrying 6 people crashes in Afghanistan. The Taliban say some survived

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Russian private jet carrying six people crashed in a remote area of rural Afghanistan but the pilot and some of the others on board survived, the Taliban said Sunday. The crash happened Saturday in a mountainous area in Badakhshan province, regional spokesman Zabihullah Amiri said, adding that a rescue team was dispatched to the area. The province is some 250 kilometers (155 miles) northeast of Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul. It is a rural, mountainous area, home to only several thousand people. The Taliban’s Transportation and Civil Aviation Ministry issued a statement online saying the plane was found in the province’s Kuf Ab district, near the Aruz Koh mountain.

Air pollution and politics pose cross-border challenges in South Asia

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — The air smells burnt in Lahore, a city in Pakistan’s east that used to be famous for its gardens but has become infamous for its terrible air quality. Toxic smog has sickened tens of thousands of people in recent months. Flights have been canceled. Artificial rain was deployed last December to battle smog, a national first. Nothing seems to be working. Lahore is in an airshed, an area where pollutants from industry, transportation and other human activities get trapped because of local weather and topography so they cannot disperse easily. Airsheds also contribute to cross-border pollution. Under certain wind conditions, 30% of pollution in the Indian capital New Delhi can come from Pakistan’s Punjab province, where Lahore is the capital.

Indonesia’s Mount Merapi unleashes lava as other volcanoes flare up, forcing thousands to evacuate

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s Mount Merapi erupted Sunday, spreading searing gas clouds and avalanches of lava down its slopes as other active volcanoes flared up across the country, forcing the evacuation of thousands. On the densely populated island of Java, Merapi unleashed clouds of hot ash and a mixture of rock, and lava that traveled up to 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) down its slopes, said Agus Budi Santoso, the head of Indonesia’s Geological Disaster Technology Research and Development Center. A column of hot clouds blasted 100 meters (about 109 yards) into the air as ash blanketed several villages without casualties, he added.

Japan becomes the fifth country to land a spacecraft on the moon

TOKYO (AP) — Japan became the fifth country in history to reach the moon when one of its spacecrafts without astronauts successfully made a soft landing on the lunar surface early Saturday. However, space officials said they needed more time to analyze whether the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, achieved its mission priority of making a pinpoint landing. They also said the craft’s solar panel had failed to generate power, which could shorten its activity on the moon. Space officials believe that the SLIM’s small rovers were launched as planned and that data was being transmitted back to Earth, said Hitoshi Kuninaka, head of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, a unit of Japan’s space agency.

Japan joins an elite club by landing on the moon. What are others doing?

TOKYO (AP) — Japan landed a spacecraft on the moon Saturday, an attempt at the world’s first “pinpoint lunar landing.” The milestone puts Japan in a club previously occupied by only the United States, the Soviet Union, India and China. A raft of countries and companies are also plotting moon missions. Success means international scientific and diplomatic accolades and potential domestic political gains. Failure means a very expensive, and public, embarrassment. Here’s a look at high-profile recent and upcoming attempts, and what they might mean. ___ NASA plans to send astronauts to fly around the moon next year, and to land there in 2026.