Six In The Morning Thursday 26 November 2020

 

Ethiopia's military to begin 'final offensive' against Tigray capital

PM Abiy Ahmed makes order after dissident local leaders reject ultimatum to surrender

Jason Burke Africa correspondent

Thu 26 Nov 2020 11.29 GMT

Ethiopia’s prime minister has ordered federal military forces to launch a “final offensive” on the capital of the restive Tigray region after his 72-hour ultimatum for dissident local leaders to surrender expired.

In a statement posted on social media, Abiy Ahmed said great care would be taken to protect innocent civilians from harm and said efforts would be made by government troops to ensure the city of Mekelle, which has a population of 500,000, was not “severely damaged”.

The Latest: Germany passes over 15,000 virus deaths

Germany has passed the grim milestone of more than 15,000 deaths from the coronavirus

Via AP news wire

Germany has passed the grim milestone of more than 15,000 deaths from the coronavirus.

The Robert Koch Institute, the country’s disease control center, said Thursday that another 389 deaths were recorded overnight, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to 15,160.

Germany has seen 983,588 total cases of the coronavirus after adding 22,368 overnight, the agency said.

Lion cheaper than a pedigree kitten in Japan

The nation's once-busy zoos face a shrinking customer base, rising costs and a surplus of an attraction that has the reputation of being the king of the jungle. Julian Ryall reports from Tokyo.

The trade in wild animals is strictly regulated in Japan, and a lion cannot simply be purchased by a member of the public. But there are about 300 members of The Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums (JAZA) that sell or barter surplus animals. While some species are constantly in demand – polar bears and elephants are popular attractions, and a panda cub is guaranteed to bring in the visitors – others can struggle to find a home.

"Lions are so very cheap to obtain in Japan," said Tsuyoshi Shirawa, a veteran animal dealer and founder of Rep Japan, which specializes in buying and selling wild animals.

China will create its own technological future

The Huawei war

Huawei, backed by the Chinese state, developed and helped shape 5G, the next generation of mobile connectivity. Europe has its own potential suppliers but the US fears this and is restricting the use of Chinese technology in America. This has made Chinese tech firms ever more resilient.

by Evgeny Morozov

In 1994, when Huawei was still a minor domestic player selling switches for telephone networks, its founder Ren Zhengfei met China’s leader Jiang Zemin. Ren, a former engineer with the People’s Liberation Army who went into consumer electronics, played the patriotic card, cautioning Jiang that ‘switching equipment technology was related to national security, and that a nation that did not have its own switching equipment was like one that lacked its own military’ (1). A quarter of a century later, other countries, led by the US, have belatedly grasped the wisdom of Ren’s remarks; the technology in question today is 5G, and it is Huawei’s equipment that they regard as a danger to their national security.

Europe pushes to rescue Christmas despite sacrifice of other religions

By Zamira Rahim, CNN

Updated 1031 GMT (1831 HKT) November 26, 2020

2020 has been far from festive, but as the year comes to an end, many of Europe's governments are scrambling to avoid stringent lockdowns over the Christmas holidays.

The push to save the celebration comes despite the fact that other religious festivals -- including Christian ones -- have been marked in a muted fashion in recent months.

The UK government on Tuesday unveiled plans to temporarily relax coronavirus restrictions for five days, from December 23 to 27, allowing up to three households to celebrate together in "Christmas bubbles." This means small groups of family and friends will be able meet in person for what may be the first time in months.

Turkey court jails hundreds for life for 2016 coup plot against Erdogan

A court in Turkey has given life sentences to 337 military officers and others, in one of the biggest trials linked to the 2016 coup attempt.

Air force pilots and army commanders were among the nearly 500 defendants accused of trying to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

They allegedly directed the plot from the Akinci air base near Ankara.

Mr Erdogan says US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen masterminded the plot, which led to mass arrests.