News Headlines - 13 April 2018

▽Toys R Us in talks to sell majority stake in Asia unit, including Japan business | The Japan Times

A spokeswoman at Toys R Us Japan headquarters in Kawasaki confirmed Thursday that Toys R Us Asia Ltd., its parent, is in talks with multiple entities to sell most of its holdings in Asia.
The Hong Kong-based joint venture with Fung Retailing Ltd. includes over 400 physical stores and eight online stores across Hong Kong, Japan, China, Macau, Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand, according to its website.

▽Amazon spent nearly $23 billion on R&D last year - Recode

Tech companies claimed the top five spots in the U.S. for research and development spending again last year, investing a combined total of $76 billion. Amazon was at the top of the list, spending $22.6 billion in 2017, 41 percent more than in 2016 (when it also topped the list)... Amazon is followed in R&D spending by Alphabet, Intel, Microsoft and Apple.
Facebook rose from 13th place in 2016 to ninth in 2017 as it increased R&D spending 32 percent to $7.8 billion. Part of the spending jump could likely be attributed to Facebook’s Building 8, the company’s secretive hardware research lab.

▽North Americans world's biggest TV addicts, watching four hours a day

Eurodata TV Worldwide said that television viewing was holding up despite more and more people watching online platforms like Netflix and Amazon.
Americans and Canadians are the biggest TV addicts, said the report, watching four hours and three minutes on average daily.
European viewers came next watching three hours 49 minutes a day in 2017, just ahead of Russia and Brazil, the data gathered from 95 countries showed.

▽Queen cracks joke about Donald Trump in David Attenborough TV documentary - CNN

While strolling through Buckingham Palace Garden with naturalist David Attenborough for a TV documentary, the tranquility is shattered by the sound of a helicopter flying above, giving the Queen an opportunity to show off her sense of humor.
"Why do they always go round and round when you want to talk?" she asks. "It sounds like President Trump ... or President Obama."

▽'Dassai' rice wine becoming a local brew in NY - NHK WORLD

The makers of a famous Japanese sake brand plan to bring their product closer to customers in the US. They've decided to start producing the "Dassai" brand of rice wine at their own facility in the state of New York.
Sake brewer Asahi Shuzo has been exporting the brand from its base in western Japan for more than 10 years.