News Headlines - 12 September 2017

▽How Honda lost its mojo - and the mission to get it back

Honda was once a leader in innovation. Its engines dominated Formula One and set new standards for fuel efficiency and clean technology. But in recent years the firm has lost its edge. Now Honda is trying to rediscover its ‘racing spirit.’

▽This tiny sensor could sleep for years between detection events | TechCrunch

It’s easy enough to put an always-on camera somewhere it can live off solar power or the grid, but deep in nature, underground, or in other unusual circumstances every drop of power is precious. Luckily, a new type of sensor developed for DARPA uses none at all until the thing it’s built to detect happens to show up. That means it can sit for years without so much as a battery top-up.
The idea is that you could put a few of these things in, say, the miles of tunnels underneath a decommissioned nuclear power plant or a mining complex, but not have to wire them all for electricity. But as soon as something appears, it’s seen and transmitted immediately. The power requirements would have to be almost nil, of course, which is why DARPA called the program Near Zero Power RF and Sensor Operation.

▽Russia offers a bridge across history to connect Tokyo to the Trans-Siberian railway

The ambitious plan gave a welcome dose of optimism to a region engulfed by tension over the North Korean nuclear tests.
Such a road and rail bridge would tie together two countries - Russia and Japan - that have not signed a formal peace agreement ending the Second World War due to a dispute over the Kuril Islands.

▽Interpol posts fugitive Red Bull scion 'wanted' notice | Bangkok Post

Interpol has posted its red notice for Vorayuth Yoovidhya online publicly, informing the world the scion to the Red Bull energy drink fortune is wanted in Thailand for reckless driving causing the death of a policeman five years ago.

▽Bodyguard shot dead in apparent Kobe yakuza feud | The Japan Times

A man believed to be a bodyguard of the head of a yakuza splinter group linked to the largest crime syndicate in the country was shot dead during a violent ambush Tuesday in Kobe, police said.