Six In The Morning Friday 25 November 2022

Ukraine war: Merkel says 

she lacked power to influence 

Putin

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has defended her policy towards Russia prior to the February invasion of Ukraine, saying she had run out of power to influence Vladimir Putin.

She said she had tried to convene European talks with the Russian president and French President Emmanuel Macron in the summer of 2021.

"But I didn't have the power to get my way," she told Spiegel news.

"Really everyone knew: in autumn she'll be gone," she said.

Far-right extremist gets Israeli security job as coalition deals struck

Appointment of Itamar Ben-Gvir raises fears of further escalation in Israeli-Palestinian tensions

Reuters in Jerusalem

The far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir will be Israel’s national security minister under a coalition deal with Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, in what is likely to be the most rightwing government in the country’s history.

The agreement comes after the prime minister-designate’s alliance won a comfortable victory in this month’s parliamentary election, Israel’s fifth in less than four years.

Netanyahu is still in talks with three other parties on forming his new government.

Man who found Haribo’s lost £4m cheque is rewarded with bags of sweets

The man, who expected a larger gesture, thought the gift was ‘cheap’

Thomas Kingsley

A man who found a cheque to Haribo worth £4 million was given six packets of sweets as a reward from the confectioner.

Anouar G, 38, from Frankfurt , Germany, spotted the cheque on a train platform after visiting his mum. He said he saw the cheque fluttering on the floor during his journey.

After reading the cheque, Anouar said he was in disbelief, telling German tabloid Bild: “There was such a large sum on it that I couldn’t even pronounce it.”

Amazon admits to 'limited' Black Friday strikes

Unions around the globe called for coordinated strikes in dozens of countries on one of the busiest days for Amazon. On Friday, Amazon acknowledged strikes in nine centers across Germany.

Amazon acknowledged "limited" strikes in nine out of its 20 German fulfillment centers on Friday as international unions called for worldwide strikes to mark Black Friday.

Black Friday is marked nearly worldwide on the Friday after the US holiday of Thanksgiving with significant discounts. It's considered one of the year's busiest shopping days.

What did Amazon say?

A spokesperson for Amazon in Germany defended the giant retailer, which has been the target of global calls for protests in over 20 countries.

Global wildlife summit approves shark protection plan

Delegates at a global summit on trade in endangered species on Friday approved a plan to protect 54 more shark species, a move that could drastically reduce the lucrative and cruel shark fin trade.

Members of the requiem shark and the hammerhead shark families will now have their trade tightly controlled under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

The proposal was adopted by consensus on the final day of the two-week meeting by delegates from 183 countries and the European Union.

As anger rises and tragedies mount, China shows no sign of budging on zero-Covid

Zhou, an auto dealer in northeastern China, last saw his father alive in a video chat on the afternoon of November 1, hours after their home on the far outskirts of Beijing was locked down.

At the time, they didn’t even realize the snap Covid restrictions had been imposed – there was no warning beforehand, and the apartment building where Zhou’s parents and his 10-year-old son lived did not have any cases, he said.

The family found out the hard way, when Zhou’s father was denied immediate emergency medical help after he suddenly began struggling to breathe during the video call. Zhou and his son made a dozen calls for an ambulance, he said, claiming security guards blocked relatives from entering the building to take the 58-year-old grandfather to a hospital.