Top Asian News 4:56 a.m. GMT

7.1 magnitude earthquake rattles part of western China, injuring 6 people and collapsing 47 homes

BEIJING (AP) — A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck a sparsely populated part of China’s western Xinjiang region early Tuesday, injuring six people and damaging or collapsing more than 120 homes in freezing cold weather, authorities said. The quake was the latest in a series of seismic events and natural disasters to hit the vast country’s western regions. The quake rocked Uchturpan county in Aksu prefecture shortly after 2 a.m., the China Earthquake Networks Center said. Around 200 rescuers were dispatched to the epicenter. The county is called Wushi in the Mandarin language spoken by most Chinese. Of the six people hurt, two had serious injuries and four were minor.

Modi opens Hindu temple built on ruins on razed mosque, in political triumph for prime minister

AYODHYA, India (AP) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened a controversial Hindu temple Monday that was built on the ruins of a razed historic mosque — a political triumph for the populist leader who is seeking to transform the country from a secular democracy into a Hindu state. The temple, dedicated to Hinduism’s Lord Ram, sits on a site in the northern city of Ayodhya where Hindu mobs tore down a mosque three decades ago. Its fraught history is still an open wound for many Muslims, who have increasingly come under attack by Hindu nationalist groups. Some see the temple as the biggest example yet of the rise of Hindu supremacy under Modi’s tenure.

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.

Two survivors rescued after landslide buried homes in freezing weather in southwest China, 11 died

BEIJING (AP) — At least 11 people died in a landslide Monday that buried 47 people in freezing weather in a remote mountainous area in southwestern China, and two survivors were rescued. The disaster struck just before 6 a.m. in the village of Liangshui in the northeastern part of Yunnan province. By 10 p.m., 11 bodies had been retrieved and about 500 people were evacuated from the area. Rescue crews continued to try and find victims who were buried in about 18 homes, the Zhenxiong county publicity department said. Reports said the 11 bodies were from the group that was initially buried by the landslide.

Taliban is enforcing restrictions on single and unaccompanied Afghan women, UN says

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban are restricting Afghan women’s access to work, travel and health care if they are unmarried or don’t have a male guardian, according to a U.N report published Monday. In one incident, officials from the Vice and Virtue Ministry advised a woman to get married if she wanted to keep her job at a health care facility, saying it was inappropriate for an unwed woman to work, it said. The Taliban have barred women from most areas of public life and stopped girls from going to school beyond the sixth grade as part of harsh measures they imposed after taking power in 2021, despite initially promising more moderate rule.

More flooding forecast for Australia’s northeast as storm in Coral Sea nears cyclone strength

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — A tropical low strengthening over the Coral Sea on Tuesday is forecast to be the second cyclone is as many months to bring destructive winds and more flooding to Australia’s northeast coast. The system expected to be named Tropical Cyclone Kirrily later Tuesday or Wednesday morning was tracking west toward the Queensland state coast near the city of Townsville and forecast to make landfall overnight Thursday. Winds gusting up to 120 kph (75 mph) were expected as it crossed the Whitsunday Islands on Wednesday evening before increasing to 150 kph (93 mph) on the Australian mainland.

China’s critics and allies have 45 seconds each to speak in latest U.N. review of its human rights

GENEVA (AP) — China faces international scrutiny Tuesday over domestic polices in places like Hong Kong, Tibet and the western Xinjiang region as the global power receives its latest U.N.-backed review of its human rights record. An extraordinarily high number of more than 160 countries — some critics of Beijing, some allies — have registered to take part in a discussion around China’s rights record. That means each will have no longer than 45 seconds to speak. China, whose delegation will be led by its top ambassador in Geneva, Chen Xu, can field a delegation that has up to 70 minutes to make its case.

As his son faces a graft probe, a Malaysian ex-PM says the government wants to prosecute its rivals

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP) — Former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad attacked a graft probe into his associates as politically motivated, a week after his eldest son was ordered to hand over information to investigators. Mahathir, a two-time prime minister who’s been a fixture in Malaysian politics for decades, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government is using corruption charges to go after political rivals. Mahathir came out of retirement in the wake of the massive 1MDB corruption scandal, joining hands with the opposition in 2018 for a short second term as premier after ousting a long-ruling coalition he once led. Businessman Mirzan Mahathir and tycoon Daim Zainuddin were revealed to hold millions offshore in the Pandora Papers, a 2021 document leak that revealed offshore accounts held by some of the world’s wealthiest people and politicians.

Iran’s foreign minister will visit Pakistan next week after tit-for-tat airstrikes

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Iran’s foreign minister will visit Pakistan next week, the two countries said Monday, following unprecedented attacks on either side of the border last week that appeared to target Baluch militant groups with similar separatist goals. The countries accuse each other of providing a haven to the groups in their respective territories. Pakistan’s military and political leadership last Friday moved to de-escalate tensions with Iran. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said that Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian spoke to Pakistani counterpart Jalil Abbas Jilani to defuse the flare-up. Pakistan said in a statement Amirabdollahian that would visit the country on Jan.

Japanese carmaker that faked safety tests sees long wait to reopen factories

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese automaker that cheated on safety tests for decades said Monday it doesn’t expect to resume shipping cars any time soon. The Japanese government ordered a subsidiary of Toyota to halt production of its entire lineup after reports of faked safety test results emerged last year. The Daihatsu Motor Co. skipped mandatory safety tests by copying data from testing on one side of cars to the other, and used timers to ensure airbags went off in tests, a review found. No major accidents have been reported in connection with the cheating, but the news has raised serious questions about oversight at Daihatsu, as well as its corporate parent Toyota.