Today’s news: On 27th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China, John Lee extols ‘national security’; Beijing gives away two pandas. Five dead in Zamboanga fireworks warehouse explosion. New banknotes in Japan with larger numbers to help seniors and tourists. 110 new languages, including Cantonese and Punjabi, are now available on Google Translate.
MYANMAR-JAPAN
Four supermarket chain executives, including a Japanese executive from the Aeon Orange joint venture, were detained in Myanmar accused of selling rice at inflated prices, as the war-ravaged country’s ruling junta struggles to stabilise the economy. Authorities said they had detained 11 people, including rice traders and mill officials and retailers, accusing them of inflating prices by 31 to 70 per cent above prescribed levels. Tokyo said it was working to secure their release as soon as possible.
HONG KONG-CHINA
Hong Kong celebrates today 27 years since its return under the sovereignty of the People’s Republic of ChinaHong Kong Chief Executive John Lee took the occasion to praise the passage of the new National Security Law in March, which will be a “sharp sword” against the “tiny minority” that “undermines” the “one country, two systems” formula. To mark the anniversary, Beijing announced that it would donate a new pair of pandas to Hong Kong and extend visa-free entry into mainland China to permanent residents of Hong Kong and Macau who are not Chinese nationals.
PHILIPPINES
Five people, including a four-year-old child, die in a powerful explosion in a warehouse Fireworks in Zamboangasouthern Philippines. The blast created a 20-metre crater, dismantled the walls of the warehouse and sent debris raining down on a nearby soft drink factory, a grain and flour warehouse and nearby homes. The city’s disaster office confirmed the death toll and said 38 other people had been injured in the accident, eight of them seriously.
SRI LANKA-RUSSIA
Sri Lanka has demanded compensation from Russia for 17 citizens killed during the Ukraine war who were recruited under false pretences, raising the issue of payment of adequate sums to the families of the fallen and wounded, and the return of the others, during a visit to Moscow by a delegation led by Colombo Deputy Foreign Minister Tarak Balasurya.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
The Mohamed bin Zayed Fund for Species Conservation has launched a $1.5 million partnership to support young conservationists. The organization – the umbrella organization of one of the world’s largest oil producers – said the funds will provide financial support over the next three years to those fighting to protect and preserve the environment and wildlife in developing countries.
JAPAN
Japan will start broadcasting on July 3 new banknotes which it says will use a world-first, state-of-the-art holography that makes portraits of historical figures appear to rotate in 3D on the banknotes in an anti-counterfeiting move. In the first design change in 20 years, the 10,000, 5,000 and 1,000 yen notes will have their denomination numbers printed larger than the current versions, making them easier for people of all ages and nationalities to recognise.
ASIA
Have been added 110 new languages to the Google Translate service, thanks to the contribution of generative artificial intelligence. This brings the number of available languages to 244. The new languages include Cantonese, Punjabi, and several languages of the indigenous peoples of the Volga region of Russia and other minor Russian peoples, such as Udmurt, Bashkir, Kuwaiti, Lucan-Marikh, Buryat, Chechen, Komi, Ossetian, Tuvinian, Kukotskaya, Jakutskaya, and one of the Sami languages.
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