SINGAPORE -- The Shangri-La Dialogue 2026, Asia's premier defense and security summit, opened on Friday in Singapore amid growing geopolitical tensions.
The three-day event, which focuses on major security challenges facing the region, is expected to bring together more than 550 delegates from over 40 countries and regions. (Singapore-Shangri-La Dialogue, WORLD INSIGHTS)
- - - -
MANILA -- Sixty-four Chinese nationals detained by the Philippine authorities were released on Thursday evening, and six other Chinese nationals are undergoing release procedures, according to a statement from the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines on Friday.
These Chinese citizens had been working at a steel plant in Misamis Oriental province in the southern Philippines, and were taken into custody by Philippine law enforcement authorities on May 15. (Philippines-Detained Chinese, 1ST LD WRITETHRU)
- - - -
MACAO -- Held in Macao, BEYOND Expo 2026, a leading technology and innovation showcase, has put the industrial integration of AI from digital systems into physical industries on full display.
Themed "AI: Digital to Physical," the expo opened on Wednesday and runs through Saturday. According to the organizers, the expo features a wide range of programs and has attracted nearly 800 international exhibitors. At the venue, visitors can see robots with various capabilities, smart devices, and other products that embody cutting-edge technologies. (Macao-AI-Expo, ROUNDUP)
- - - -
TOKYO -- A total of 1,078 food and beverage products in Japan will see price hikes in June, a sharp jump from 84 in May, as companies move to pass on rising costs, partly linked to the Middle East crisis, to consumers, a research institute said on Friday.
Teikoku Databank Ltd. said a broad wave of price increases is expected to continue through summer and beyond, and projects the annual total of affected products to exceed 10,000, which would mark the fifth straight year above that threshold since the institute began tracking the data in 2022. (Japan-Price) ■
