The two sides in Ethiopia’s civil war have begun formal peace talks for the first time since the conflict started nearly two years ago. The African Union-brokered talks are being held in South Africa, where a spokesperson for the president confirmed the news. The fighting in and around Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region is thought to have left tens of thousands dead. It has also created a humanitarian emergency in its aftermath. Soldiers from both sides – the federal government and Tigrayan forces – have also been accused of war crimes and carrying out atrocities. There are few details of what exactly happening in the negotiations or what is on the agenda.  The talks have been “convened to find a peaceful and sustainable solution to the devastating conflict in the Tigray region” and will end on Sunday, Vincent Magwenya, spokesman for President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters. The AU, along with the UN and US, has been urging the Ethiopian federal government to sit down with its Tigrayan opponents for months.(BBC)…[+]

Clothing giant Adidas has cut ties with rapper Ye, known as Kanye West, saying it does “not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech”. Adidas’s Yeezy brand collaboration with Mr West was put under review, after he showed a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt design at Paris Fashion Week. Days later, the rapper posted antisemitic comments on his Twitter account. His products will be pulled from sale with immediate effect, said Adidas. The sportswear brand has previously said the Yeezy brand collaboration with Ye was one of the most successful in the company’s history. Cutting the partnership means Adidas will make a net loss of £217m in 2022 as a result, it said. Ye had previously accused Adidas of stealing his designs, in a now-deleted Instagram post. In a statement on Tuesday, Adidas wrote: “Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech. Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.”(BBC)…[+]

Former US Defence Secretary Ash Carter, who served in the final two years of Barack Obama’s presidency, has died aged 68. He suffered a sudden cardiac event in Boston on Monday, his family said. As the country’s 25th defence secretary, he oversaw the military strategy that pushed back the Islamic State group (IS) in Syria and Iraq. Mr Carter is also credited with lifting the ban on transgender people serving in the US military. The policy change in 2016 allowed troops to transition gender while serving. It also set standards for medical care and prevented service members from being discharged or denied re-enlistment based on their gender identity. But the move, which was phased in during the final year of the Obama presidency, was rolled back one year later by former President Donald Trump. It has since been reinstated by President Joe Biden. Mr Carter made other significant changes to the Department of Defense (DoD), such as opening all military occupations to women without exception for the first time. About 10% of positions were still closed to women at the time of the announcement in 2016.(BBC)…[+]