There was some relief from the scorching heat in India as South Asia's annual monsoon hit, but it also brought misery causing at least 29 deaths. 

In India's Himachal Pradesh state flash floods swept away more than a dozen cars and caused at least three deaths, and left more than a 100 roads blocked. In northeast India's Assam state at least 19 people were killed in flood waters with a week of relentless rains forcing thousands of people to move to relief camps. Amidst rain, Muslims in Bangladesh celebrated Eid al Adha. Eid prayers were held at mosques and public places across the country.

South Koreans became a year or two younger on Wednesday as new laws that require using only the international method of counting age took effect, replacing the country's traditional method. 

Under the traditional system commonly used in South Korean life, people are deemed to be a year old at birth and a year is added every January 1. The country has since the early 1960s used the international norm of calculating from zero at birth and adding a year on every birthday for medical and legal documents. But many South Koreans continued to use the traditional method for everything else.

The World Economic Forum's "Summer Davos" returned to China's Tianjin from June 27–29 after four years, headlining the theme "Entrepreneurship: The Driving Force of the Global Economy." 

Chinese Premier Li Qiang addressed the opening ceremony, saying "China has been the power source of the steady growth of the world economy in the past decade."

The Sri Lankan government approved a debt restructuring program at a special cabinet meeting on Wednesday. 

Pledging to put its mammoth debt burden on a sustainable track, Sri Lanka tied down a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund in March, which helped it recover from the country's worst financial crisis in seven decades. Aiming to contain any potential market volatility, the country declared a five-day holiday from June 29 to July 3.

(Cover: People on a damaged bridge over the Daranga River after flash floods washed away a section of the bridge following monsoon rains in Baska district, Assam state, India, June 23, 2023. /CFP)