News Headlines - 03 March 2020

▽Ex-Japan justice minister's aide arrested over election scandal - The Mainichi

Shinsuke Takaya, 43, was arrested by prosecutors along with Hiroshi Tatemichi, 54, a state-paid secretary of Kawai's wife, ruling party upper house member Anri Kawai.
The third person arrested was Yugo Waki, 71, one of Anri Kawai's campaign staff members.
The three are suspected of paying a combined 2.04 million yen ($18,900) to 14 campaign staffers between July 19 and 23 last year, during an upper house election in the Hiroshima constituency. The payments exceeded the legal cap of daily allowances for such workers in violation of the public office election law.

▽Coronavirus: France to requisition face masks for use by health professionals, those infected

French authorities will requisition all face mask stocks and production in the coming months, President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday, reserving them for use by those infected with the coronavirus and those working in the healthcare industry... Fears of catching the virus have sparked a run on masks as well as sanitising hand gel in France, leading some stores and online retailers to hike prices.
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said earlier Tuesday that he had ordered France's consumer and anti-fraud watchdog to open an investigation after reports that prices had doubled or even tripled.

▽2,000 surgical masks stolen from French hospital - France 24

Around 2,000 surgical masks have been stolen from a hospital in the southern French city of Marseille in the midst of a coronavirus outbreak, health authorities said Tuesday.
The masks were pilfered from a part of Conception hospital that is accessible only to staff and patients who have undergone surgery, the Marseille hospitals authority (AP-HM) told AFP.

▽Coronavirus: Iran temporarily frees 54,000 prisoners to combat spread - BBC News

Iran has temporarily released more than 54,000 prisoners in an effort to combat the spread of the new coronavirus disease in crowded jails.
Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili told reporters the inmates were allowed out of prison after testing negative for Covid-19 and posting bail.

▽BMW gets most radical logo change in over 100 years | Creative Bloq

BMW has revealed a brand new logo to coincide with the release of its i4 concept car and yes, it's another addition to the flat design movement. Gone is the classic black outer ring (now completely transparent), and the 3D and lighting effects have been removed to create a minimal new look. The circle design remains, as do the white and blue colours of the company's home state of Bavaria.
We're fans of the newly clear design. Its simplicity suggests it has been refreshed with digital in mind, but it also acknowledges the logo's 103-year heritage - a solid example of both classic and modern logo design. Jens Thiemer, senior vice president customer and brand, says "BMW is becoming a relationship brand," (the new Tinder?) and the transparent logo was designed to "radiate more openness and clarity".