India's inauguration of temple symbolic of Modi's Hindu nationalism

Today's news: Taiwan says it has detected six more Chinese spy balloons flying over the island; In May, construction will begin on a new mosque in Ayodhya, India; Putin says he plans to visit Pyongyang soon; Israeli Foreign Minister Katz and his Palestinian counterpart al-Maliki will attend the EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels separately: Tajikistan continues the work of "de-Russification" of its civil code.

INDIA

In India today is the day of the consecration of the new temple monument dedicated to Ram in Ayodhya, the place of worship built where in 1992 Hindu fanatics razed the previous mosque - dating back to 1500 - in the northern Indian city . This affair has marked relations between communities for decades, sparking riots that led to the death of at least 2,000 people, mostly Muslims. Strongly supported by Prime Minister Modi, the event represents a true manifesto of Hindu nationalism

CHINA

A landslide in China's Yunnan province has killed two people and left at least 47 missing, according to state media China Central Television (CCTV). Two villages in the southwestern city of Zhaotong were hit at 5.51am (local time) on Monday. More than 500 people have been evacuated as rescuers try to reach those buried. There are more than 300 rescue personnel on site and more than 50 emergency units, including fire trucks and excavators, working in sub-zero temperatures.

TAIWAN

Taiwan's Defense Ministry said six more Chinese spy balloons were spotted flying over the Taiwan Strait over the past weekend. One crossed the island. The ministry earlier this month had already accused China of threatening aviation safety and waging psychological warfare against the island's population with spy balloons, a few days before the January 13 elections.

NORTH KOREA - RUSSIA

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his willingness to visit Pyongyang soon during a meeting with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui - in Russia - last week. This was reported by the North Korean state news agency KCNA. Putin also thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for inviting him. It would be the Russian leader's first trip to North Korea in more than two decades.

ISRAEL - PALESTINE

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki will participate separately in the meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Brussels, largely dedicated to the Middle East, but which will also take stock of the war in Ukraine . The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan and the secretary general of the League of Arab States will also participate.

YEMEN

Two US Navy Seals, who disappeared in the Gulf of Aden south of Yemen earlier this month during a raid on a boat carrying Iranian weapons, have now been declared dead by the US. The soldiers boarded the ship in an operation on January 11 near the coast of Somalia, US Central Command said, in a joint operation with Spain and Japan.

RUSSIA

Schools and institutes in 52 regions of Russia are preparing orders for models of military drones for educational purposes, for a total sum of 1.2 billion rubles, over 10 million euros, following the proposal of the Ministry of Education of open special courses with the use of drones for "lessons on homeland security and defense".

TAJIKISTAN

The deputies of the parliament of Tajikistan have excluded the Russian word graždani (citizens) from the Civil Procedural Code, replacing it with the Tajik term madani, continuing the work of "de-Russification" at the legislative level which began in 2022, and linguists propose to remove the word prezident, to be replaced with kišvardor (leader of the country) or raisčumkhur (president).

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