News Headlines - 13 June 2020

▽Ex-President Park’s longtime friend sentenced to 18 years in prison

The Supreme Court upheld on Thursday an 18-year prison sentence for a longtime confidante of former President Park Geun-hye for her role in the influence-peddling scandal that eventually brought down Park’s presidency in 2017.
Choi Seo-won, formerly known as Choi Soon-sil, was sentenced to 18 years in prison, a fine of 20 billion won ($16.7 million) and forfeiture of 6.3 billion won for a list of corruption offenses as the highest court rejected her appeal against a lower court ruling.
Prosecutors welcomed the ruling as a befitting end to the scandal, which shook the nation and led to a special counsel investigation and five trials in the last three years. Choi was arrested in November 2016.

▽Toyota chief promises shareholders profits despite pandemic - The Mainichi

Toyota Motor Corp. CEO Akio Toyoda assured shareholders Thursday that the auto giant will stay in the black for the current business year even if the coronavirus crisis "exceeds the Lehman shock," thanks to years of cost-cutting efforts... The Japanese firm last month expected its group operating profit to fall nearly 80 percent from the previous year to 500 billion yen ($4.7 billion), the lowest in nine years. But it also said rigorous cost reductions will help ease the impact from the pandemic on global sales.

▽JR Central lifts covers on N700S bullet train to rekindle ridership | The Japan Times

Central Japan Railway Co. gave the media a ride Saturday on its new N700S bullet train, which is set to enter service on July 1.
An N700S carrying reporters traveled between Tokyo Station and Shin-Osaka Station in Osaka Prefecture to let them try its latest high-speed offering on the Tokaido bullet train line... It is the first all-new Tokaido shinkansen since the N700 series was launched 13 yeas ago. For the N700S, indirect lighting has been introduced to create a relaxed atmosphere in passenger areas, while the surfaces of the seat and backrest move together while reclining to reduce fatigue during long trips.

▽Sun-Like Star Kepler-160 Has Super-Earth in Habitable Zone | Sci-News.com

Astronomers using data from NASA’s Kepler space telescope have discovered two new planets in the Kepler-160 planetary system. One of the new planets is the super-Earth-sized transiting world in the host star’s habitable zone.
Kepler-160 is a Sun-like star located 3,141 light-years away in the constellation of Lyra... In 2010, astronomers detected two massive transiting planets, Kepler-160b and c, in very close orbits around the star.
Kepler-160b has a radius of 1.7 times that of the Earth and is in a 4.3-day orbit, while Kepler-160c, with a radius of about 3.1 Earth radii, orbits the star with a period of 13.7 days.

▽JK Rowling reveals she is survivor of domestic abuse and sexual assault | The Guardian

JK Rowling has revealed her experience of domestic abuse and sexual assault for the first time, in a lengthy and highly personal essay written in response to criticism of her public comments on transgender issues.
In a 3,600-word statement published on her website on Wednesday, Rowling described in more detail than ever how she became involved in an increasingly bitter and polarised debate around the concept of gender identity.
The author revealed she was “a domestic abuse and sexual assault survivor”, citing this alongside her belief in freedom of speech and experience as a teacher as reasons behind her position.