News Headlines - 12 February 2020

▽U.K. virus 'super-spreader' says he has recovered | The Japan Times

A British businessman who became known as a “super-spreader” of the COVID-19 coronavirus said Tuesday he had fully recovered but remained in isolation in a central London hospital.
Steve Walsh issued a statement via his company from Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospital after catching the virus on a business trip in Singapore.
He is believed to have infected at least 11 other Britons - five in a ski chalet in the French Alps and another five who have since returned to his home city of Brighton on England’s southeast coast.

▽How the CIA used Crypto AG encryption devices to spy on countries for decades - Washington Post

For more than half a century, governments all over the world trusted a single company to keep the communications of their spies, soldiers and diplomats secret.
The company, Crypto AG, got its first break with a contract to build code-making machines for U.S. troops during World War II... The Swiss firm made millions of dollars selling equipment to more than 120 countries well into the 21st century. Its clients included Iran, military juntas in Latin America, nuclear rivals India and Pakistan, and even the Vatican.
But what none of its customers ever knew was that Crypto AG was secretly owned by the CIA in a highly classified partnership with West German intelligence. These spy agencies rigged the company’s devices so they could easily break the codes that countries used to send encrypted messages.

▽Nissan files $90 million suit against Ghosn for 'fraudulent activity'

Japanese car giant Nissan on Wednesday filed a civil lawsuit to reclaim some 10 billion yen ($90 million) from former chairman Carlos Ghosn for what it called “years of his misconduct and fraudulent activity”.

▽Ferrari F1 2020 launch: A grandiose launch for the SF1000 but can Ferrari stop Mercedes? - BBC Sport

The trend in recent years has been for low-key launches - Mercedes and Red Bull, for example, are not holding events at all this year, preferring to run their cars in private at Silverstone this week and release their own pictures and press releases.
But F1's most famous team went grandiose for the car they have called the SF1000, to reflect the fact that the team will reach the landmark of their 1,000th World Championship grand prix this season.

▽Pope refuses to endorse married priests in the Amazon. Here's why - CNN

Last year, Pope Francis called for "bold proposals" to meet the spiritual needs of Catholics in the Amazon, a vast region with a scarcity of clerics.
But in a papal document released Wednesday, Francis ignored the boldest one: allowing married priests.
Instead, Francis' highly anticipated document on the Amazon region, Querida Amazonia (Beloved Amazon) focuses mostly on cultural and environmental issues. Francis spices the 32-page document with plenty of poetry, but offers few, if any, pragmatic changes for the church.