November 4, 2021

*) Rebels say Ethiopia capital could fall within weeks Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa could fall within "months if not weeks", an Oromo group allied with Tigrayan rebels has told AFP. The Tigray People's Liberation Front has claimed significant gains in recent days. Ethiopia’s prime minister urged civilians to rise up and “bury”the Tigray forces in a post that Facebook has removed over incitement of violence. As fighting between rebels and Abiy Ahmed's government drags on, a joint UN-Ethiopia report reveals possible "crimes against humanity" by all sides. *) Pentagon finds no misconduct in Afghanistan drone strike A Pentagon review has concluded that the drone strike that killed Afghan children a few days before the US quit Afghanistan was not caused by misconduct or negligence. It did not recommend any disciplinary action. The review found breakdowns in communication and in the process of identifying the target of the bombing. It concluded the mistaken strike happened despite prudent measures to prevent civilian deaths. *) Global CO2 emissions for 2021 near record levels: report Global CO2 emissions, caused mainly by burning fossil fuels, are expected to be just shy of the record set in 2019. China's carbon pollution now accounts for nearly a third of global emissions, the Global Carbon Project reported. The report comes as the COP26 summit grapples for ways to beat back the threat of catastrophic warming. Emissions from gas and highly polluting coal will grow more in 2021 than they fell in 2020 during the pandemic-driven economic slowdown, the report said. *) International Criminal Court to probe abuses in Venezuela The International Criminal Court is opening a formal investigation into allegations of torture and extrajudicial killings committed by Venezuelan security forces. It’s the first time a country in Latin America is facing scrutiny for possible crimes against humanity from the court. ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan said he was aware of Venezuela's political “fault lines” and “geopolit