Egypt and Ethiopia will join the BRICS group of nations, in a decision on expansion made at the 15th summit of leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China and host South Africa. The two African nations, often at odds with each other, will take up membership in January 2024. Also joining…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
A Human Rights Watch investigation released Monday found hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers were killed by Saudi border guards when they tried to cross into the country along the border with Yemen. “Human Rights Watch research indicates that, at time of writing, the killings are continuing,” said the…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Russian officials say President Vladimir Putin is open to providing grain to developing African nations to ensure food security, despite an end to a Black Sea Initiative that ensured exports would continue amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told reporters Saturday that Moscow will find a…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
The United States recently announced $416 million in new USAID funding for the Horn of Africa, much of which is destined for humanitarian aid in Ethiopia. But as of Thursday, that aid has been cut off due to what USAID and the Ethiopian government called “deeply concerning revelations of food…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Egypt’s foreign ministry says Ethiopia is wrong in again claiming that Cairo politicizes the progress on its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a US$4.8 billion hydropower project that Egypt, as well as Sudan, claim will siphon away water resources from their nations. Hamdi Loza, the Egyptian deputy foreign minister for…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
African countries account for seven of the 10 most at-risk nations for climate disaster, according to a new report from the International Rescue Committee (IRC). The organization, with global headquarters in the United States, put Somalia at the top of the list due to its extreme food insecurity made worse…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
The government of Eritrea has denied allegations that its military forces engaged in war crimes during the Tigray conflict in northern Ethiopia, a conflict in which it has often claimed its personnel were not involved. The denial issued Tuesday followed a statement from Tony Blinken, the United States Secretary of…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
As if the Nile River isn’t already affected by enough climate and regional geopolitical pressure, now there’s a new report on how heavy metal toxicity may be causing irreversible damage to its waters. Scientists with the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California found that the impacts…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Secretary of State Antony Blinken of the United States has announced US$331 million in new funding for humanitarian aid in Ethiopia, where he met with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and other leaders on Wednesday as part of an African tour that continues through the end of the week. Blinken said…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
A high-level Ethiopian delegation’s visit to Beijing has led to speculation about how China is dealing with the African nation’s deepening debt crisis, but a spokeswoman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied any plans to restructure Ethiopian debt. “China takes the debt issue of developing countries seriously…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Africa’s largest hydropower dam, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, is the focal point of still-unresolved tensions between Ethiopia, neighboring Sudan and downstream Egypt because of impacts to Nile River water resources. Most recently, talks in Egypt included the GERD diplomatic impasse during a visit from Tony Blinken, the United States…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Newly appointed Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang arrived in Ethiopia on Tuesday, as part of Beijing’s tradition to begin each year with a diplomatic tour of African nations. Talks in Ethiopia focused on investment and economic development, according to Ethiopian officials. “The relationship between the two countries remains steadfast,” said…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Ethiopian leaders representing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government met with Tigrayan officials on Monday in Mekelle, for talks viewed as a milestone in ending more than two years of catastrophic conflict in which up to 600,000 people have died. The delegation led by Tagesse Chaffo Dullo, speaker of Ethiopia’s parliament,…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
A newly filed lawsuit in Kenya seeks US$1.6 billion from social media giant Meta, in order to establish a victims compensation fund on behalf of people targeted for violence in Ethiopia because of widely shared Facebook posts. Amnesty International announced Wednesday that it filed the suit along with six other…
The United States has again urged the Ethiopian government and Tigray leaders to negotiate a peace deal, while insisting that Eritrea needs to step away from fueling conflict in the northern Ethiopian region. Ned Price, spokesman for the U.S. Department of State, said Tuesday that the U.S. does not favor…