By Olusegun Obasanjo and Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe Africa has so far escaped the worst health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the continent looks like it could be the worst hit from the economic fallout of the crisis: 80 million Africans could be pushed into extreme poverty if action is…
Ethiopia is again on edge, and there’s no reason why anyone at home or in the international community should be surprised. For all of the optimism that came with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s leadership and his commitment to enacting democratic reforms, there’s always been a drumbeat of analysts warning that…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Abiy Ahmed, the head of the Oromo Peoples Democratic Organization (OPDO), has been named the new prime minister of Ethiopia and its ruling EPRDF coalition. Abiy’s election was confirmed Wednesday after he received 108 votes from Ethiopia’s ruling council of 180 seats. Forty-five of them come from the OPDO, which…
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson of the United States will travel next week to Addis Ababa, where he will meet with the Ethiopian government as well as with leaders of the African Union Commission. Tillerson’s visit is part of a five-nation tour that begins March 6 and runs through March…
Ethiopia declared a three-month state of emergency beginning today, the state Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) announced Friday. The move follows the sudden resignation of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and his departure from the chairman role of the EPRDF party on Thursday. The state of emergency will leave the military in…
Ethiopia’s decision to release all political prisoners and close the infamous Maekelawi detention center is welcome news, but it’s also been met with guarded optimism about what that will mean. “Ethiopia has promised to release all political prisoners, among whom the Oromo are the overwhelming majority, but we can’t take…
President Uhuru Kenyatta has arrived in China to attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) in Beijing, which runs through May 15. The Government of Kenya announced in April that it was one of more than 100 participating nations, with the heads of state of at least…
The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said Tuesday that 669 people were killed in the waves of protests that began in 2015, the majority of them in the volatile Oromia region. Dr. Addisu Gebregziabher, head of the EHRC, said the numbers were based on investigations of incidents in Oromia, as…
The toll has soared to 113 people who died last weekend in a landslide at an Ethiopian trash dump, and dozens remain missing as the search for victims continues near Addis Ababa. The accident happened Saturday night at the dump on the outskirts of the city where people often gather to…
On Monday, Barack Obama met with the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn on the first visit by a serving U.S. president to the country. Ethiopia is currently one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. However, the country has been highly criticised for its human rights record, something that Obama…
Yesterday United States President Barack Obama arrived in Ethiopia where he is scheduled to stay for two days. He is the first serving U.S. president to visit the country. His plane arrived at Addis Ababa’s international airport on Sunday after his three-day visit in Kenya. He was greeted by the…