JAPAN
Job recruiters use mahjong
Fifty graduates opted to gamble with their job prospects at a mahjong tournament set up by recruiters looking for a different way to find the next high flyer. Held in a crammed mahjong outlet in downtown Tokyo, prospects competed against each other in a tournament that began on Friday last week to gain the chance to face recruiters from six companies in the fitness, education, technology and real-estate sectors. “Mahjong is a very strategic game, so I think people who are good at it would be good at marketing. This is a new approach and I find it really interesting,” said candidate Tomoko Hasegawa, who is aspiring to become a designer. Organizers said the recruiting tournaments began in 2012 and had gained popularity, mostly among male students and also with hirers, who say the game reveals more about the candidates than their resumes.
UNITED STATES
Nude celebs in Kanye video
Rapper Kanye West set tongues wagging on Monday with his latest music video, which features nude portrayals of high-profile celebrities, including pop singer Taylor Swift, Republican presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump and comedian Bill Cosby. The video for Famous, which premiered on E! News, featured footage depicting 12 celebrities sleeping next to each other with West situated in the middle, nestled between Swift and his wife, reality star Kim Kardashian. Other celebrities include former president George W. Bush, Vogue editor Anna Wintour, rapper Chris Brown, R&B singer Ray J, transgender reality star Caitlyn Jenner, model Amber Rose and singer Rihanna, who provided vocals for the song. E! News blurred out depictions of breasts and genitals. It is not known if the portrayals are paintings or wax statues, but in some cases it appears to be the actual celebrity. E! News host Jason Kennedy said: “Kanye wants everyone to know this is not a video. This is an art visual.” The imagery was inspired by Vincent Desiderio’s 2008 painting Sleep.
UNITED STATES
Timberlake sorry for tweet
Justin Timberlake, who praised actor-activist Jesse Williams’ moving speech at the BET Awards, has apologized for responding to a tweet claiming he appropriates black culture. Timberlake on Sunday tweeted that he was inspired after Williams spoke passionately about racism and social injustice. A responder tweeted to Timberlake: “Does this mean you’re going to stop appropriating our music and culture?” Timberlake responded: “The more you realize that we are the same, the more we can have a conversation.” The pop singer said he felt “misunderstood” after some said his response was insensitive. Timberlake ended with: “I apologize to anyone that felt I was out of turn. I have nothing but LOVE FOR YOU AND ALL OF US.”
UNITED STATES
‘Suge’ sues Chris Brown
Former rap music mogul Marion “Suge” Knight sued Chris Brown and the owners of a popular nightclub on Monday after he was shot seven times at a 2014 party hosted by the R&B singer. The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court accuses Brown and the West Hollywood nightclub 1 Oak of failing to have adequate security and allowing at least one armed person into the venue during the party. Knight survived gunshot wounds to the abdomen, chest and left forearm. His attorneys say Knight’s fear months after the shooting led him to flee when he was attacked in his car, running down two men and killing one. Knight is in jail awaiting trial.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
Myanmar’s junta chief met Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) for the first time since seizing power, state media reported yesterday, the highest-level meeting with a key ally for the internationally sanctioned military leader. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, overthrowing Myanmar’s brief experiment with democracy and plunging the nation into civil war. In the four years since, his armed forces have battled dozens of ethnic armed groups and rebel militias — some with close links to China — opposed to its rule. The conflict has seen Min Aung Hlaing draw condemnation from rights groups and pursued by the
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