News Headlines - 31 January 2020

▽Brexit: The UK has officially left the EU - what happens next? - BBC News

It's official - the UK has left the European Union.
A cause for celebration for some, a sobering moment for others. The UK formally ended its EU membership at the stroke of midnight on Friday in Brussels, 23:00 GMT in London.
A projection of a countdown clock in Downing Street marked the occasion.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has hailed the "dawn of a new era", promising "real national renewal" after 47 years of EU membership.

▽Alastair Stewart's exit due to multiple 'errors of judgment' | The Guardian

Stewart resigned on Wednesday, three weeks after he sent a tweet to a black man including the term “angry ape”. The message, quoting the Shakespeare play Measure for Measure, was sent to political adviser Martin Shapland during a disagreement between the two.

▽Huawei sold more phones than Apple in 2019 despite no Google apps - Business Insider

Huawei sold more smartphones than Apple in 2019, according to market research from Counterpoint Research and Strategy Analytics.
Between figures from both reports, Huawei sold around 240 million smartphones in 2019 compared to Apple's 197 million. It also means that Huawei took Apple over as second-largest smartphone maker in the world. Huawei also sold about 35 million more smartphones than it did in 2018. Samsung is holding its first place lead with about 295 million smartphones sold in 2019.

▽Australia state announces inquiry into catastrophic bush fires | Al Jazeera

New South Wales, the Australian state worst hit by this season's enormous bushfires, has announced an independent inquiry into the continuing blazes, including the reasons why they started and the role that climate change may have played.
The six-month inquiry that will begin this week will examine how state authorities prepared and responded to the "unprecedented" 2019-20 bushfire crisis, state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Thursday.

▽French man killed in avalanche on Japan ski mountain - The Straits Times

The body of a French man was found on Friday (Jan 31) after an avalanche struck a northern Japanese mountain where he was backcountry skiing with seven other French citizens, local police said.
The death of Mr Sylvain Lethier, 38, was confirmed after a rescue team found his body off the slopes of the Tomamu ski resort in the northern Hokkaido region, a brief police statement said.
The avalanche happened on Thursday afternoon, when the group of eight went off the resort's ski courses to venture into the untouched snow on the mountain.