News Headlines - 08 July 2020

▽Former Japanese justice minister, lawmaker wife indicted for suspected vote-buying - Reuters

Former Japanese Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai and his lawmaker wife Anri were indicted on Wednesday on suspicion of vote-buying, following the couple’s arrest last month, Tokyo prosecutors said... Tokyo prosecutors said in a statement the couple had paid 1.7 million yen (￡12,609.97) to five people last year to help Anri get an upper house seat, while separately Katsuyuki had paid a total 27.31 million yen (￡202,575.46) to 103 people to help her get elected.

▽TikTok says it will exit Hong Kong market within days - Reuters

TikTok will exit the Hong Kong market within days, a spokesman told Reuters late on Monday, as other technology companies including Facebook Inc suspend processing government requests for user data in the region.
The short form video app owned by China-based ByteDance has made the decision to exit the region following China’s establishment of a sweeping new national security law for the semi-autonomous city.

▽Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's President, tests positive for coronavirus - CNN

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has tested positive for Covid-19, following months of downplaying the virus.
Bolsonaro himself announced the result, speaking on Brazilian TV channels Tuesday. "Everyone knew that it would reach a considerable part of the population sooner or later. It was positive for me," he said, referring to the Covid-19 test he took Monday.

▽Africa’s coronavirus cases pass 500,000, says WHO - World - TASS

The total number of coronavirus cases in African countries rose by 18,119 to 507,187 in the past day, and the death toll climbed by 443 to 11,959, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Africa said on Wednesday.
According to the WHO, African’s coronavirus recoveries have reached 245,000.
South Africa accounts for the majority of cases (215,855) and fatalities (3,502). Egypt has so far reported 77,279 cases and 3,489 deaths. The coronavirus death toll stands at 968 in Algeria.

▽Famed clothier Brooks Brothers files for bankruptcy - The Mainichi

Brooks Brothers, the 200-year-old company that dressed nearly every U.S. president, filed for bankruptcy protection Wednesday, the latest major clothing seller to be toppled by the coronavirus pandemic.
Founded in New York in 1818, Brooks Brothers survived two world wars, the Great Depression and even managed to stay afloat as dress standards eased in the office. But the pandemic pushed it into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with so many stores closed and, with millions working from home, a crisp suit pushed to the very bottom of shopping lists.
Brooks Brothers will permanently close more than a quarter of its 200 stores.