In Addis Ababa, President Sahle-Work Zewde met with his German counterpart Monday, and told President Frank-Walter Steinmeier that it was the right time for his nation to come to Ethiopia. That seemed evident when Steinmeier also participated in signing ceremonies with Volkswagen, as the German automaker announced an assembly plant…
The United States says 52 al-Shabaab militants were killed in an airstrike on Saturday that targeted them near the town of Jilib in Somalia’s Middle Juba region. The airstrike came in response to an al-Shabaab attack against Somali National Army Forces, according to the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). The AFP…
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed welcomed China’s foreign minister Wang Yi on Thursday, as Wang continues a tour that takes him on official visits to African Union headquarters as well as Burkina Faso, The Gambia and Senegal this week. Abiy noted China’s “immense contribution to Ethiopia,” his office said. “Prime…
Last month, Ethiopia officially announced plans to launch its first earth observatory satellite, with China footing 75% of the $8 million bill and providing technical assistance. Such comprehensive assistance is of course welcome news for Ethiopia’s burgeoning space program, but it’s an open question to what extent the government is aware…
Monica is a freelance journalist based in Kenya
Ethiopia’s rapid reforms under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appear to be paying dividends in tourism and international travel, with Addis Ababa becoming the new “gateway to Africa.” That’s according to data from industry analysts at Forward Keys, who found an “extraordinary rise” for Ethiopia as a destination and transfer hub…
More than 400 Ethiopian migrants who have been stranded in Yemen are headed home, as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) begins flights to take them to Addis Ababa. The first group of 102 Ethiopians landed in Addis Ababa on Monday, with another 316 arriving by Thursday through a Voluntary…
Eritrea, isolated by UN sanctions for a decade until they were lifted on 14 November 2018, is now working to regain its place in Africa and the international community. The sanctions were lifted after Eritrea made steps towards peace with its neighbours after being locked into deadly conflict for decades—Eritrean…
I am a London-based researcher specialized in security issues and environmental protection. He is currently writing a book about the role lobbying plays in keeping African leaders in power.
The government of Eritrea responded to Wednesday’s United Nations Security Council decision to lift international sanctions with a sharply worded statement that reflected both its acceptance of the decision and its longstanding defiance over the sanctions. “The Government of Eritrea welcomes this belated decision to redress injustice, almost a decade…
Ethiopian athlete Feyisa Lilesa, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist in the marathon in Rio de Janeiro, has returned home to a country he placed in the international spotlight with his crossed-arm protest gesture on behalf of the Oromo people and human rights. Feyisa, born in the Oromia village of Jeldu, arrived…
The Dubai-based DP World says construction has begun on its new facility in the Somaliland port of Berbera. President Muse Bihi Abdi and DP World Group CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem launched the first phase of work during a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday. The project includes a 400-meter quay and 250,000…
Harriett Baldwin, the British Foreign Office development minister for Africa, has completed a tour of East African nations to announce development and humanitarian aid from the United Kingdom. Baldwin made stops in Uganda, Ethiopia and Somalia, including a visit with President Muse Bihi in Somaliland to pledge UK support for economic…
In Ethiopia, millions of Oromo celebrated Irreecha at the weekend, an annual thanksgiving festival that just two years ago was marred by violent protests and mass arrests of Oromo activists. The Ethiopian government claimed a death toll of 669 people, though that number was disputed by other observers. This year,…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
In an interview with the Saudi government-linked Asharq al-Awsat earlier this week, Djibouti’s president Ismail Omar Guelleh credited Saudi Arabia’s King Salman for mediating the historic peace agreement between Djibouti’s long-warring neighbors Ethiopia and Eritrea. He also thanked for the Saudis for their role in his own country’s ongoing normalization…
I am a London-based researcher specialized in security issues and environmental protection. He is currently writing a book about the role lobbying plays in keeping African leaders in power.
Funeral services were held in Hanoi on Wednesday to honor President Tran Dai Quang of Vietnam, who died on Friday after a serious illness. He was 62. The ceremonies began at 7 a.m. local time, with Acting President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh burning ceremonial incense and leading state officials to…
Ethiopia’s progress under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has moved at an impressive speed, but a more transparent, democratic and peaceful nation isn’t the reality in Ethiopia’s ethnic Somali region. That needs to change in the country’s eastern region, the Human Rights Watch NGO said Monday. “To break with the past,…