News Headlines - 05 January 2021

▽Extraordinary warning to Trump by 10 former Pentagon chiefs - The Washington Post

In an extraordinary rebuke of President Donald Trump, all 10 living former secretaries of defense cautioned Sunday against any move to involve the military in pursuing claims of election fraud, arguing that it would take the country into “dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory.”
The 10 men, both Democrats and Republicans, signed on to an opinion article published in The Washington Post that implicitly questioned Trump’s willingness to follow his Constitutional duty to peacefully relinquish power on Jan. 20. Following the Nov. 3 election and subsequent recounts in some states, as well as unsuccessful court challenges, the outcome is clear, wrote, while not specifying Trump in the article.

▽More than 170 business leaders sign letter urging Congress to accept Electoral College results - CNN

More than 170 prominent business leaders signed a letter urging Congress to accept the Electoral College results that declared Joe Biden as the next President of the United States... The letter was published Monday by the nonprofit Partnership for New York City, a major advocacy group for the business community.

▽Trump Bans Transactions with 8 Chinese Apps Including Alipay | Voice of America

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese software applications, including Ant Group's Alipay, the White House said, escalating tensions with Beijing before President-elect Joe Biden takes office this month.
The order, first reported by Reuters, tasks the Commerce Department with defining which transactions will be banned under the directive and targets Tencent Holdings Ltd.'s QQ Wallet and WeChat Pay as well.

▽Where is Jack Ma? Tech tycoon silent as China gets tough with his business - CNN

Jack Ma's businesses are under enormous pressure right now. But the co-founder of China's most successful tech empire and legendary billionaire entrepreneur hasn't been heard from in months.
Ma hasn't made a public appearance or social media post since late October, just over a week before a much anticipated stock market listing of Alibaba's financial affiliate, Ant Group, was blocked at the last minute by Chinese regulators.

▽Yokozuna Hakuho tests positive for coronavirus | The Japan Times

Yokozuna Hakuho looks unlikely to contest the upcoming New Year Grand Sumo tournament after learning Tuesday he has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The Japan Sumo Association said the Mongolian-born grand champion received the positive result from a polymerase chain reaction test taken on Monday.
Hakuho, who has won a record 44 top-division titles, has been preparing for the New Year meet starting Sunday at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan.
He is the first wrestler from among sumo's elite ranks atop the first-tier makuuchi division to test positive for the virus.