News Headlines - 07 February 2018

▽Facebook hired a full-time pollster to monitor Zuckerberg’s approval ratings - The Verge

Tavis McGinn applied for a job at Facebook last year hoping to work in market research. He had previously spent three years at Google, where he helped large advertisers refine their marketing campaigns across the company’s family of products. But part way through the interview process at Facebook, the recruiter told McGinn the company had something else in mind for him. How would he like to track the public perception of Mark Zuckerberg?

▽Syria used banned chemical weapons in Sunday gas attack, officials say | Fox News

Amnesty International has accused the Assad regime of showing “utter contempt” of international law following a chlorine gas attack on the town of Saraqib Sunday. This latest chemical attack comes just one day before the U.N. Security Council failed to agree on a U.S.-proposed statement Monday condemning the continued use of chemical weapons in the war-torn nation. Russia was blamed by some diplomats for its failure.

▽Two dead, more than 100 injured in Taiwan earthquake: government

At least two people were killed and more than 100 injured in an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 that hit the coastal Taiwanese city of Hualien late on Tuesday, the government said.

▽Probe into ex-President Lee expands

The prosecution searched offices of two key aides of former President Lee Myung-bak, Tuesday, over allegations they received hundreds of millions of won from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) while Lee was in office. Investigators from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office searched offices of the university and foundation related to former Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan, confiscating computer hard drives and documents. Investigators also searched the office of Jang Dasaro, a former presidential secretary for general affairs. The search is the latest development of a widening investigation into Lee, whose family members and closest aides are coming under growing suspicion over a wide range of alleged wrongdoings mostly concerning abuse of the presidential office. The search also came two weeks after prosecutors searched the home and office of the former president's brother Lee Sang-deuk in Seongbuk-gu and Yeouido in Seoul over similar allegations.

▽Norovirus Hit the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games—Here's What That Means

Dozens of Winter Olympics staffers in Pyeongcheng have been quarantined after a wave of norovirus broke out on Sunday. This includes workers, Civil Security Staff, and foreigners. (Related: "There's a Dark History Behind the Glittering Olympic Games")
About 1,200 Olympics staffers have been confined to their rooms while officials conduct testing for norovirus. To compensate, 900 military personnel were deployed on Tuesday to replace the lost workers. The Olympic Games are still on schedule to start on February 9.