News Headlines - 19 September 2020

▽Abe visits war-linked Yasukuni Shrine for first time since 2013 | The Japan Times

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan's war dead, on Saturday, his first visit since December 2013, after refraining from doing so for most of his term to avoid angering China and South Korea... Abe's visit comes just days after Yoshihide Suga succeeded him as Japan's leader. The nation's longest-serving leader stepped down, citing health problems.

▽Pope gives green light for extension of accord with Beijing | Reuters

Pope Francis has signed off on a two-year extension of a deal with China on the appointment of bishops that critics have condemned as a sell-out to the communist government, a senior Vatican source said on Monday.
The two-year provisional deal, which gives the pope the final say on the appointment of bishops, took effect on Oct. 22, 2018 and, if the Chinese side agrees - seen as virtually a given - will be extended without any changes, the source said.

▽Essex lorry deaths: Four people jailed in Vietnam - BBC News

Four people have been jailed in Vietnam for their roles in the death of 39 migrants found in a lorry in Essex, according to state media reports.
The men, women and children were discovered in a refrigerated trailer in Grays on 23 October.
The four defendants were found guilty of "organising, brokering illegal emigration" after a one-day trial in Ha Tinh, VnExpress reported... The four defendants, aged between 24 and 36, were given sentences ranging from two-and-a-half to seven-and-a-half years.

▽Uber's self-driving operator charged over fatal crash - BBC News

The back-up driver of an Uber self-driving car that killed a pedestrian has been charged with negligent homicide.
Elaine Herzberg, aged 49, was hit by the car as she wheeled a bicycle across the road in Tempe, Arizona, in 2018.
Investigators said the car's safety driver, Rafael Vasquez, had been streaming an episode of the television show The Voice at the time... Dash-cam footage released by police showed Ms Vasquez looking down, away from the road, for several seconds immediately before the crash, while the car was travelling at 39mph (63km/h).

▽Multi-million settlement reached in Breonna Taylor lawsuit | PBS NewsHour

The city of Louisville will pay several million dollars to the mother of Breonna Taylor and install police reforms as part of a settlement of a lawsuit from Taylor’s family, The Associated Press has learned.
The settlement would be the largest sum paid by the city for a police misconduct case, according to a person who has seen the settlement... Taylor’s shooting by police serving a narcotics warrant at her home has sparked months of protests in Louisville and calls nationwide for the officers to be charged in her death.