LIVE UPDATES Tracking Hurricane Milton: Storm becomes world's strongest of 2024
After reaching peak intensity with wind speeds of 180 m.p.h. (285 km/h) on Monday night, Milton became the strongest storm on our planet for 2024.
One of several Japanese officials charged in a widespread bribery scandal involving Tokyo Olympic organizers was found guilty Tuesday but avoided jail time.
The verdict in Tokyo District Court for Joji Matsui, the former head of Amuse consulting company, was the first for someone on the receiving end of the bribes from companies seeking sponsorships and licensing for the 2020 Games.
Matsui was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for four years.
Presiding Judge Kenji Yasunaga said the facts showed Matsui had allowed his company bank account to be used to disguise the transfer of funds to Haruyuki Takahashi, who, as an executive on the Japanese Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee, wielded considerable influence in selecting sponsors.
Yasunaga said the bribes involved, totaling about 27 million yen (US$186,000), were significant and "the damage to public trust has been great."
Matsui, who acknowledged guilt during the trial, remained silent and nodded.
His defence had argued Matsui was just following orders from Takahashi. That and his expression of remorse were factors in the decision on a suspended sentence, which kept him out of prison.
Takahashi has been charged with receiving bribes from five companies, estimated at nearly 200 million yen (US$1.4 million). The date for his trial has not yet been set. He has denied the charges.
Previous verdicts in the sprawling Olympic bribery scandal, in which 15 people have been charged, have included suspended sentences.
They included officials at Sun Arrow, which made the Olympic mascots, and clothing manufacturer Aoki Holdings, tapped to dress the Japanese Olympic team.
Another verdict is set for next week, for Shinji Ueno, former president of ADK, an advertising company, also accused of bribing Takahashi.
Corruption concerns have dogged the Olympics.
Last month, French police searched the headquarters of the Paris Olympic organizing committee as part of an investigation into contracts linked to the Games, according to French prosecutors. Paris is set to host the Summer Olympics next year.
The northern Japanese city of Sapporo had initially hoped to raise its hand for the 2030 Winter Olympics, although the bid has has recently been muted amid the Tokyo bribery trials.
A separate trial is ongoing in Japan involving bid-rigging for contracts related to the 2020 Tokyo Games. Advertising giant Dentsu is among those accused in that scandal.
After reaching peak intensity with wind speeds of 180 m.p.h. (285 km/h) on Monday night, Milton became the strongest storm on our planet for 2024.
Hurricane Milton is expected to leave a path of devastation across central Florida, from Tampa in the west to Daytona Beach in the east.
A seasoned American meteorologist became emotional on air as he gave an update on a major hurricane, later suggesting the reason behind his strong reaction.
The minority Liberal government is not considering proroguing Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Tuesday, despite persisting uncertainty over who is willing to keep propping them up and procedural wrangling over a Conservative led-privilege debate.
A British Columbia provincial court judge says a Boston Bar man who shot a teacup Chihuahua named Bear claiming it was menacing his chickens was not justified in killing the animal.
Former cabinet minister Marc Garneau, who describes himself in his new book as always-a-Liberal, 'but a decidedly blue one,' says he hopes the party still has room for someone like him.
The renewed pleas of people in Fort Chipewyan, Alta. for government to take action cleaning up contamination in their community have reached the ears of federal Transport Minister Anita Anand.
Emotions boiled over after a judge acquitted two out of three defendants in a manslaughter case, while the third accused has since died.
On September 11, Madeleine Gervais was the victim of a theft in Ottawa's west end. It happened in the Loblaws parking lot in College Square, when she was approached by a man and a woman who insisted to help her load her groceries into her car.
A B.C. couple is getting desperate – and creative – in their search for their missing dog.
Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.
A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.
Bernie Hicks, known as the ‘Batman of Amherst,’ always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.
Bubi’s Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.
Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and the Government of Ontario have awarded a $1.8 billion fixed-price contract to design, build and finance a new Far North hospital.
Manitobans are in cleanup mode after intense winds barreled through southern parts of the province this weekend.
Avry Wortman, 13, scored two touchdowns on Sunday during her team's win in the under 14 Greater Moncton Football Association.
A gargantuan gourd – affectionately named ‘Orangina’ by the urban gardeners who grew it in the front yard of their Vancouver home – earned the massive honour of being named B.C.’s heaviest giant pumpkin Saturday.