News Headlines - 20 March 2018

▽Japanese pension data entry outsourced to Chinese firm - The Mainichi

An information processing firm in Tokyo assigned to process the personal data of around 5 million pensioners outsourced part of the task to a Chinese company in violation of a contract that prohibited subcontracts, according to the Japan Pension Service.
The outsourcing came under the spotlight after it was revealed that around 1.3 million people received lower pension benefits in February than they were entitled to as income tax breaks were not adequately reflected.

▽US & South Korea announce start date for major military exercise - CNNPolitics

The "Foal Eagle and Key Resolve" drills would begin on April 1 for four weeks, both countries said in a statement. Last year, Foal Eagle began on March 1 and continued until the end of April, lasting a total of two months.

▽Stephen Hawking’s parting shot is multi-cosmic | The Sunday Times

As his family were coming together to plan the funeral of the “world’s most famous scientist”, his academic colleagues learnt that he has left behind a final groundbreaking research paper — completed on his deathbed — describing how humanity might detect other universes.
The research, submitted two weeks ago, sets out the maths needed for a space probe to find experimental evidence for the existence of a “multiverse”. This is the idea that our cosmos is only one of many universes.

▽London’s free tap water scheme aims to slash plastic pollution | Euronews

London mayor Sadiq Khan, who is trying to encourage more businesses to sign up, says the average adult in the UK capital buys 175 bottles a year.
The scheme encourages people to fill up their bottles instead of buying a plastic one and later throwing it away.

▽Dublin overtakes London in terms of expense, city report finds

Dublin is ranked 19th out of 133 cities, while London has fallen to 30th place, its lowest ranking in 20 years.
The survey by The Economist Intelligence Unit said the weakening of sterling since the Brexit vote had pushed the UK capital down the rankings.