News Headlines - 15 March 2019
Japanese Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda is likely to retire without serving another term at a time when French prosecutors are investigating him for suspected corruption in Japan’s successful bid to host the 2020 Games, sources said Friday... The prosecuting judge now suspects Takeda of paying bribes to secure the winning bid, a judicial source said... The International Olympic Committee’s ethics commission has opened an ethics file on Takeda, who is also an IOC member and chairs its marketing commission.
▽18-yr-old boy accused of 15-million-yen 'Monacoin' cryptocurrency theft - The Mainichi
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has sent papers to prosecutors accusing an 18-year-old boy of stealing some 15 million yen worth of Monacoin virtual currency... The boy specifically stands accused of accessing Monappy, an online wallet service for storing cryptocurrency, between Aug. 14 and Sept. 1 last year to withdraw the Monacoin. The teenager took advantage of website vulnerabilities arising from access overload glitches.
▽Itochu amasses 40 percent stake in Descente in rare Japan hostile bid | Reuters
Trading house Itochu Corp said on Friday it has amassed a 40 percent stake in sportswear maker Descente Ltd, setting the stage for a rare hostile takeover in Japan’s consensus-driven market... Itochu, which previously held around 30 percent of Descente shares, offered in late January to buy more from other shareholders at a 50 percent premium.
Google LLC said Thursday that a team led by engineer Emma Haruka Iwao from Japan has broken a Guinness World Record by calculating pi to the 31.4 trillionth digit, around 9 trillion more than the previous record set in 2016.
The accomplishment, announced on the day dubbed “Pi Day” as its first three digits are 3.14, was achieved by using Google Cloud infrastructure, the tech giant said.
▽Boeing Halts 737 MAX Deliveries After Two Fatal Crashes - WSJ
Boeing Co. suffered dual setbacks Thursday when it paused deliveries of its 737 MAX jetliner and a U.S. Air Force official raised concerns about one of the company’s biggest military-plane programs. The aircraft manufacturer said it has suspended deliveries of its 737 MAX following the grounding of the aircraft by aviation regulators around the world after two fatal crashes within five months.
