JAPAN
Shorts-wearing encouraged
Tokyo’s metropolitan government is encouraging staff to wear shorts to work to cut reliance on air-conditioning, an official said yesterday, as concerns grow over high energy costs. The loosened dress code is part of an upgraded version of “Cool Biz” — an energy-saving initiative started by the Ministry of the Environment in 2005 that encouraged bureaucrats to ditch ties and jackets in summer, and saw some turn up to work in Okinawan-style collared T-shirts. An energy crunch threatened by the Middle East war is “one of the factors” that prompted the capital to take it up a notch and start allowing its workers to don shorts this month, said the official, who declined to be named. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, who herself started the Cool Biz campaign as minister of the environment two decades ago, is all in. This summer, “we encourage ‘cool’ attire that prioritizes comfort, including polo shirts, T-shirts and sneakers and — depending on job responsibilities — shorts,” she told reporters earlier this month, citing “a severe outlook for the supply and demand of electricity.”
THAILAND
PM meets with Wang Yi
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) agreed to boost collaboration in fighting transnational crime and cyberscams, government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek said yesterday amid a visit by the Chinese envoy aimed at improving the countries’ strategic partnership and expanding cooperation. Anutin thanked China for its continued support for Thailand, while Wang congratulated Anutin on retaining his office after an election, and expressed confidence that bilateral ties would continue to improve, Dhnadirek said.
INDIA
‘Hellhole’ remark slammed
The government said that comments shared by US President Donald Trump that described the country as a “hellhole” were “uninformed,” adding that they were inappropriate and inconsistent with the strong relationship between the two countries. The comments were made by political commentator Michael Savage in an episode of The Savage Nation talk radio show. Trump posted a transcript of the show on Truth Social on Thursday without any comments. “A baby here becomes an instant citizen, and then they bring the entire family in from China or India or some other hellhole on the planet,” Savage said, according to the transcript. “That there’s almost no loyalty to this country amongst the immigrant class coming in today, which was not always the case. No, they’re not like the European Americans of today and their ancestors.” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said that “the remarks are obviously uninformed, inappropriate and in poor taste.”
UNITED STATES
Putin invited to G20
Washington would invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to a G20 summit in Miami, an official said on Thursday, but President Donald Trump said he doubted his counterpart would attend. “All G20 members will be invited to attend ministerial meetings and the leaders’ summit,” a senior Trump administration official said in a statement. Trump, questioned later by a reporter, seemed unaware of any invitation. “I don’t know that he’s coming. I doubt he’d come, to be honest with you,” Trump said, but added: “If he came, it would be probably very helpful.”
A humanoid robot that won a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday ran faster than the human world record in a show of China’s technological leaps. The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, completed the 21km race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, said a WeChat post by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town, where the race began. That was faster than the human world record holder, Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in about 57 minutes in March at the Lisbon road race. The performance by the robot marked a significant step forward
Four contenders are squaring up to succeed Antonio Guterres as secretary-general of the UN, which faces unprecedented global instability, wars and its own crushing budget crisis. Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal’s Macky Sall are each to face grillings by 193 member states and non-governmental organizations for three hours today and tomorrow. It is only the second time the UN has held a public question-and-answer, a format created in 2016 to boost transparency. Ultimately the five permanent members of the UN’s top body, the Security Council, hold the power, wielding vetoes over who leads the
South Korea’s air force yesterday apologized for a 2021 midair collision involving two fighter jets, a day after auditors said the pilots were taking selfies and filming during the flight and held them responsible for the accident. “We sincerely apologize to the public for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman told a news conference, adding that one of the pilots involved had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary action and has since left the military. The apology followed a report released on Wednesday by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection,
An earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.7 off northern Japan on Monday prompted a short-lived tsunami alert and the advisory of a higher risk of a possible mega-quake for coastal areas there. The Cabinet Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency said there was a 1% chance for a mega-quake, compared to a 0.1% chance during normal times, in the next week or so following the powerful quake near the Chishima and Japan trenches. Officials said the advisory was not a quake prediction but urged residents in 182 towns along the northeastern coasts to raise their preparedness while continuing their daily lives. Prime
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