■JAPAN
Prince turns three
The likely future emperor, Prince Hisahito, the first male heir born in four decades, turned three years old yesterday. Newspapers published photos of the prince wearing a kimono embroidered with images of a crane, a symbol of Japan and longevity. TV news showed the smiling boy, nicknamed “Yuyu” and “Yuchan” by his parents, running into his father’s arms. Hisahito is third in line to succeed Emperor Akihito, 75. His uncle, 49-year-old Crown Prince Naruhito, is first in line, followed by his younger brother and Hisahito’s father, Akishino.
■NORTH KOREA
Part II of Kim film released
The government says it has produced the second part of a multi-part documentary chronicling the life of leader Kim Jong-il. The official Korean Central News Agency said in a dispatch yesterday that the second part of the film, dubbed Glorifying the Revolutionary Traditions, focuses on Kim’s efforts to preserve historic and “revolutionary” sites in the country starting in the 1950s. The film is reminiscent of a 20-part documentary made of Kim’s father the year before he died in 1994.
■SOUTH KOREA
Campers reported missing
Police said yesterday that six campers reported missing in the north of the country might have been swept away by a huge wave released by a North Korean dam upriver. The six disappeared at dawn yesterday from their campsite on the banks of the Imjin River in Yeoncheon. A police official said investigators suspected the Hwanggang Dam had released a massive volume of water that swept away the campers because there had been no rainfall in the area recently. TV footage showed police and troops searching for the missing.
■MALAYSIA
McDonald’s back in court
US fast food giant McDonald’s, which has waged an eight-year legal battle with local restaurant McCurry, will today petition the nation’s highest court in its campaign to strip the eatery of the “Mc” prefix. In April, an appeals court overturned a 2006 high court decision that McCurry — whose menu features local delicacies such as fish head curry — had illegally infringed on the US chain’s trademark. “They [McDonald’s] have said that we are passing off as McDonald’s. But the food we serve is different,” McCurry owner Kanages Suppiah said yesterday. Kanages said the family-owned business is hoping the April decision in its favor will be upheld so that they can so they can go ahead with plans to open other branches. “I am keeping my fingers crossed. I hope we will win. We have only one shop. Because of this [legal] problem we have been unable to expand,” she said. The McCurry restaurant, which owners say is short for Malaysian Chicken Curry Restaurant, was established in 1999. McDonald’s has 185 outlets in the country.
■THAILAND
Gunmen kill three Muslims
Gunmen shot and killed three Muslims from the same family in the latest violence in Yala Province, local police said yesterday. A village chief, aged 61, his daughter, 33, and her 42-year-old husband, an assistant village chief, were shot and killed while they were sitting in their house on Saturday night. Police said a group of separatists raided the house and opened fire on the family, before fleeing the scene. The attacks were the latest in a series to hit the region during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
■VIETNAM
Dual national found guilty
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