News Headlines - 22 December 2019

▽Volkswagen fined $125 million for misleading customers about emissions - ABC News

Volkswagen has been hit with a double whammy in one day - fined $125 million for misleading consumers about its diesel emissions and hit with allegations that it broke responsible lending laws.
Volkswagen AG, the German parent company, has been slugged with the highest penalty order ever made by the Federal Court for contravening consumer law.
The car manufacturer admitted it did not disclose to the Australian government its cars had two-mode software that hid the true nature of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.

▽Bezos-Backed Fusion Startup Raises $100 Million for Demo System - Bloomberg

A nuclear fusion start-up backed by billionaire Jeff Bezos raised more than $100 million to help design and build a demonstration power plant.
The company lined up $65 million in Series E financing led by Singapore’s Temasek Holdings Pte, and is getting another $38 million from Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund, General Fusion Inc. said in a statement Monday. It’s now attracted more than $200 million in financing.

▽Banksy's 'Scar of Bethlehem' nativity unveiled in West Bank hotel - Reuters

British street artist Banksy has brought a somber Christmas spirit to a hotel he founded in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, with a nativity scene evoking the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Dubbed “Scar of Bethlehem”, the display (pictured here) features a miniature Jesus, Mary and Joseph under a rendition of Israel’s concrete West Bank barrier punctured by bullet holes, the largest of which resembles a star over the manger.

▽Vatican's 'vampire' prints of rarely seen 20th century art on show - Reuters

They could be called the Vatican’s vampire prints - works by masters such as Henri Matisse, Edvard Munch and Salvador Dali so delicate that they usually lie dormant for years in dark storage in its museums.
Now, 150 etchings, woodcuts, aquatints, lithographs and other types of 20th century graphic art are being shown in the light of day - many for the first time - at the Braccio Carlo Magno exhibition hall off St. Peter’s Square.

▽2020 Olympic organizers unveil course for Sapporo marathons | The Japan Times

The course for the men’s and women’s marathon competitions in Sapporo for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has been set, the organizers announced on Thursday... The races will start and finish at Sapporo Odori Park, which is located in the center of Sapporo. The course consists of an approximately 20-km loop and the majority of it is used for the Hokkaido Marathon, which is held every August. After the athletes go around it once, they will then circle a route of roughly 10 km, using the northern part of the 20-km loop.