News Headlines - 22 August 2019

▽South Korea decides to exit intelligence-sharing pact with Japan | The Japan Times

In a stunning move that could further upend already fraying ties between Japan and South Korea, Seoul on Thursday announced that it would scrap a key intelligence-sharing pact with Tokyo, with the South’s presidential Blue House saying in a statement that it did not meet Seoul’s “national interests” to maintain the deal amid the intensifying spat between the two neighbors.
Citing a “grave change” in security cooperation conditions that it attributed to the recent strengthening of export controls by the Japanese government, the Blue House said it planned to inform Tokyo of the move to end the General Security of Military Information Agreement before a Saturday deadline, the South’s Yonhap news agency said.

▽Moon hit by trusted aide's scandal

President Moon Jae-in is facing growing calls to withdraw his nomination of Cho Kuk as justice minister due to a widening scandal involving one of his most trusted aides.
The allegations of irregularities regarding his daughter's academic history, in addition to the possible evasion of military service and the dual nationality of his son, who also holds U.S. citizenship, have produced a huge public backlash. A recent poll showed that almost 50 percent of respondents thought Cho was an inappropriate choice for justice minister.
Even some ruling party lawmakers have started to voice concerns about the impact of the Cho scandal on Moon's leadership.

▽MIT president says school received about $800k from Jeffrey Epstein foundations - The Boston Globe

MIT’s president on Thursday disclosed that the school had received about $800,000 from foundations controlled by Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased financier who was charged with sex trafficking dozens of minors, and offered a “profound and humble’’ apology to Epstein’s victims on behalf of the university... The statement - released Thursday night - follows days of controversy over Epstein’s donations to the MIT Media Lab. Two researchers said recently that they were severing their ties to the lab because of the donations.

▽Yamaha Motor Partners with Sony to Develop SC-1 Sociable Cart - The Japan Times

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. announced today that it has developed the SC-1 Sociable Cart, a vehicle that delivers a new low-speed mobility experience, jointly with Sony Corporation. The SC-1 brings together a fusion of Yamaha Motor’s autonomous driving technology and Sony’s entertainment imaging technology. The two companies plan to launch Japanese domestic services using this model in fiscal 2019. The SC-1 was developed solely for the purpose of providing a new mobility experience, and will not be made available for sale.

▽Mayor of Paris candidate vows to make French fluent in English

The Academie Francaise has long fought to stop English words creeping into common French parlance, but an ally of President Emmanuel Macron is vowing to make Parisians fluent in English.
Benjamin Griveaux made the pledge as part of his campaign to become mayor of Paris... “My aim is for all Parisian children to be bilingual” by the age of 16, he said. Mr Griveaux, who at 41 is the same age as the president, wants to introduce English in nurseries and get schools to organise extra-curricular activities in English.