News Headlines - 28 September 2017

▽Japan Election Turmoil Sets Up Two-Horse Race: Abe Versus Koike - Bloomberg

Japan’s main opposition party agreed to merge with a new group created by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, setting her up as the main challenger to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as he dissolved parliament ahead of an Oct. 22 election.

▽Toyota, Mazda, Denso creating company to hasten electric car development- Nikkei Asian Review

Toyota Motor, Mazda Motor and Denso on Thursday announced they are jointly setting up EV C.A. Spirit, a company to promote the development of electric vehicles.
Toyota will own a 90% stake in the company. Mazda and Denso will equally split the remainder. EV C.A. Spirit will be capitalized at 10 million yen ($88,386).

▽Munich prosecutors arrest ex-Porsche executive in Audi emissions probe: source

Munich prosecutors have arrested a former board member of Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) unit Porsche in connection with an emissions scandal at carmaker Audi, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
Wolfgang Hatz, former Research and Development chief at Porsche and head of powertrain development at Audi and parent Volkswagen in previous roles, was taken into custody, the person said, marking the first arrest of a former board member of one of Volkswagen’s units in Germany.

▽Microsoft is releasing Office 2019 next year - The Verge

Microsoft is announcing its next major release of Office today at Ignite in Orlando, with a planned release for next year. Office 2019 (arriving in the second half of 2018) will include the usual Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook client apps, alongside server versions of Exchange, SharePoint, and Skype for Business. Microsoft is planning to release preview copies of Office 2019 in the middle of 2018, and the software is primarily designed for organizations that aren’t using the cloud Office 365 versions.

▽EasyJet says it could be flying electric planes within a decade | The Guardian

EasyJet could be flying planes powered by batteries rather than petroleum to destinations including Paris and Amsterdam within a decade.
The UK carrier has formed a partnership with US firm Wright Electric, which is developing a battery-propelled aircraft for flights under two hours.