News Headlines - 13 February 2018

▽Lotte chief and ex-president's friend jailed in South Korea scandal

The friend of former South Korean leader Park Geun-hye who was at the center of an influence-peddling scandal that rocked the country’s business and political elite has been sentenced to 20 years in jail, a Seoul court said on Tuesday.
The court also sentenced the chairman of the Lotte Group, the country’s fifth-largest conglomerate, to two years and six months in prison in the same case.

▽U.S. to push for 'reciprocal tax' on trade partners: Trump

The United States loses “vast amounts of money with China and Japan and South Korea and so many other countries ... It’s a little tough for them because they’ve gotten away with murder for 25 years. But we’re going to be changing policy,” he said.
Trump said his administration will impose a “reciprocal tax” to charge other countries - “some of them are so-called allies but they’re not allies on trade.”

▽Facebook personal data use and privacy settings ruled illegal by German court | The Guardian

Facebook’s default privacy settings and use of personal data are against German consumer law, according to a judgement handed down by a Berlin regional court.
The court found that Facebook collects and uses personal data without providing enough information to its members for them to render meaningful consent. The federation of German consumer organisations (VZBV), which brought the suit, argued that Facebook opted users in to features which it should not have.

▽Julian Assange: Warrant for his arrest upheld by court - BBC News

An arrest warrant for the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been upheld by Westminster Magistrates' Court.
The warrant was issued in 2012 when Mr Assange, 46, breached bail conditions by seeking political refuge at the Ecuadorean embassy... Under the warrant, Mr Assange would be arrested as soon as he left Ecuadorean soil.

▽A.N.C. Tells Jacob Zuma to Step Down as South Africa’s President - The New York Times

Top leaders of South Africa’s governing party ordered President Jacob Zuma to step down on Tuesday, saying that his continued presence was eroding the “renewed hope” felt since the election of new party leaders in December.
Ace Magashule, secretary general of the African National Congress, said that the party had not given Mr. Zuma a deadline to respond, but added that he was certain that the president would deliver a reply the next day.