World News Roundup: India's Modi leads consecration of grand Ram temple in Ayodhya; Russia is acting to thwart Ukrainian attacks on civilians, infrastructure -Kremlin and more

Apart from a $6 billion makeover of the northern city of Ayodhya, where Modi opened the first phase of a Ram Temple, the federal government has spent nearly $120 million to develop dozens of Hindu pilgrimage sites in the past decade, according to government data, and more funding is planned. India's Modi leads consecration of grand Ram temple in Ayodhya Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the consecration on Monday of a grand temple to the Hindu god Lord Ram on a site believed to be his birthplace, in a historic event for the Hindu majority of the world's most populous nation.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

Temple tourism set to soar under India's Modi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated one of the holiest Hindu temples and his government has been spending millions of dollars to develop many others, boosting tourism and his appeal among the majority community ahead of elections. Apart from a $6 billion makeover of the northern city of Ayodhya, where Modi opened the first phase of a Ram Temple, the federal government has spent nearly $120 million to develop dozens of Hindu pilgrimage sites in the past decade, according to government data, and more funding is planned.

India's Modi leads consecration of grand Ram temple in Ayodhya

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the consecration on Monday of a grand temple to the Hindu god Lord Ram on a site believed to be his birthplace, in a historic event for the Hindu majority of the world's most populous nation. Portrayed as a Hindu awakening from centuries of subjugation by Muslim and colonial powers, the event is also being seen as a crucial element in the prelude to Modi's campaign for a rare third term in general elections due by May.

Russia is acting to thwart Ukrainian attacks on civilians, infrastructure -Kremlin

Russia is taking all "necessary measures" to defend its citizens and key infrastructure from Ukrainian attacks, the Kremlin said on Monday, a day after Moscow accused Kyiv's forces of killing 27 people in shelling of a Russian-held city in eastern Ukraine. Also on Sunday Russian company Novatek was forced to suspend some operations at a huge Baltic Sea fuel export terminal after what Ukrainian media said was the latest in a series of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian energy facilities.

Ukraine war drives shift in Russian nuclear thinking -study

The war in Ukraine has dented Russia's confidence in its conventional forces and increased the importance to Moscow of non-strategic nuclear weapons (NSNWs) as a means of deterring and defeating NATO in a potential future conflict, a leading Western think-tank said on Monday. NSNWs include all nuclear weapons with a range of up to 5,500 km (3,400 miles), starting with tactical arms designed for use on the battlefield - as opposed to longer-range strategic nuclear weapons that Russia or the U.S. could use to strike each other's homeland.

Storm Isha hits travels and power services across UK

Britain's rail network was disrupted, flights were cancelled and thousands of homes were left without power on Monday after the country was battered by Storm Isha overnight. Scotland was worst hit as gusts of over 90 miles per hour (144 km/h) led to the cancellation of all train services. Dozens of flights from Edinburgh and Glasgow airports were also cancelled.

China vows judicial disclosure after outcry over plan to curb access to rulings

China's top court has pledged to "deepen judicial disclosure" after its plan to curtail access to court decisions faced unusual public criticism from lawyers and legal experts. The Supreme People's Court (SPC) announced in December it would create a new database of over 2,000 cases accessible to scholars, lawyers and experts. Academics believe the new database will eventually replace an existing, open database of 143 million court documents that remains online for now.

Israeli forces storm Khan Younis hospital in bloodiest fighting of 2024

Israeli forces, advancing deep into western Khan Younis in Gaza's bloodiest fighting of the new year so far, stormed one hospital and placed another under siege on Monday, cutting the wounded off from trauma care, Palestinian officials said. Troops advanced for the first time into the al-Mawasi district near the Mediterranean Coast, west of Khan Younis, the main city in southern Gaza. There, they stormed the Al-Khair hospital and were arresting medical staff, Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf al Qidra told Reuters.

Exclusive-China lobbies countries to praise its rights record ahead of UN review - diplomats

China has been lobbying non-Western countries to praise its human rights record ahead of a key U.N. meeting where it will face questions and criticism over its actions in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, according to diplomats and documents. Four diplomats told Reuters that China's mission at the United Nations in Geneva had been sending memos to envoys in the build-up to the review of Beijing's record by the U.N. Human Rights Council scheduled for Tuesday.

Relatives of Gaza hostages storm Israeli parliament panel as protests mount

A group of relatives of Israelis held hostage by Palestinian gunmen in Gaza stormed a parliamentary committee session in Jerusalem on Monday, demanding that the lawmakers do more to try to free their loved ones. The action by about 20 people signalled growing domestic dissent in the fourth month of the Gaza war against Hamas.

Iran's FM to visit Pakistan to rebuild ties after missile strikes

Pakistan said on Monday Iran's foreign minister will visit the country next week, signaling efforts to mend relations after the neighbours exchanged missile strikes last week at what they said were militant targets. Ambassadors of both countries have also been asked to return to their posts by Jan. 26, the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement. Iran's foreign ministry confirmed that Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian would visit on Monday, and said its ambassador would resume duties in Islamabad on Friday.