News Headlines - 14 January 2020
A government panel has given the green light for NHK to start simultaneously broadcasting its TV programs online as the popularity of streaming grows.
The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry’s panel said in a draft report Friday that the plan for the simulcasting service is “appropriate.” NHK aims to launch it in fiscal 2019.
The ministry plans to submit a bill to revise the broadcast law, which prohibits simultaneous streaming on the grounds it could harm private TV networks. Disaster reports and live sports coverage are among the few exceptions under the law.
The report also says that NHK must conduct management reforms to improve compliance and review its system for collecting subscription fees before launching the simulcasting service.
▽Yamaha warns musicians not to climb in instrument cases after Ghosn escape - Reuters
Yamaha Corporation, has warned people not to try and squeeze inside musical instrument cases after reports former Nissan Motor boss Carlos Ghosn fled Japan concealed inside in one.
“We won’t mention the reason, but there have been many tweets about climbing inside large musical instrument cases. A warning after any unfortunate accident would be too late, so we ask everyone not to try it,” the Japanese company said in a post on its twitter account on Jan. 11.
▽Fugitive businessman Carlos Ghosn demands €15 million from Renault | Euronews
Carlos Ghosn, the former Renault boss who has fled Japan where he faces prosecution, has started a legal battle with the French carmaker to claim an annual pension of nearly €800,000 as well as €15 million in shares.
The fugitive businessman is challenging Renault in court, after the company announced last year he had lost his rights to his top-level pension as he was believed to have resigned from his post while in prison in Japan... The board of directors also considered the former CEO to have lost his rights to shares allocated to him between 2015 and 2018. Their settlement was subject to him maintaining a presence in the company four years after their allocation, “except in the event of retirement”.
▽Google parent company’s top lawyer leaving amid claims of misconduct
The chief legal officer of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, who recently came under fire for his relationships with women who worked at the company, announced Friday that he will retire at the end of the month.
David Drummond connected his exit to the December departure of Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, writing in an email sent to employees that “the company is entering an exciting new phase, and I believe that it’s also the right time for me to make way for the next generation of leaders.”
Drummond joined Google in 2002 and became its first general counsel. He moved to Alphabet in 2015, after Google created the holding company and became one of its subsidiaries. He played a key role in landmark decisions, including Google’s exit from China, and oversaw its acquisitions of Android and YouTube.
In August, former Google attorney Jennifer Blakely wrote in an essay on Medium that she had a longtime affair with Drummond. Shortly after they had a child together, she said she was moved from the legal department and abandoned by Drummond.
Blakely also accused Drummond of having extramarital affairs with other women at the company, a claim that has been further investigated by a law firm that Alphabet’s board hired to examine its handling of allegations of sexual misconduct by company executives, according to documents obtained by the New York Times.
▽The Venezuelan Parliament says that in 2019 inflation closed at 7,374, 4% | MbS News
The parliamentarian explained that inflation in December 2019 was 33.1%, while that of November had closed at 35%.
“That is, we remain on a path of high inflation, below 50%, but high inflation,” he said... According to the update of the economic projections of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), accumulated inflation would close in 2019 at 200,000%, and in 2020 at 500,000%.
