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☆ Safaricom launches M-Pesa mobile money service in Ethiopia
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Dawit Endeshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A customer displays the package of a Safaricom Ethiopia sim card during the service launch in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, October 6, 2022. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsADDIS ABABA, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Safaricom's (SCOM.NR) M-Pesa mobile money service went live in Ethiopia on Wednesday, in a boost to the Kenyan telecoms operator as it seeks to kickstart growth in one of Africa's biggest economies. The company also faces stiff competition from Ethio Telecom, whose profits more than doubled in its latest financial year. In July, Ethio Telecom reported having more than 34 million subscribers to its mobile money service Telebirr. Mobile money services are common in East Africa, allowing customers to send and receive money and pay for goods and services.

Persons: Safaricom, Stanley Njoroge, Dawit, Elias Biryabarema, Aaron Ross, Jane Merriman Organizations: REUTERS, Tiksa, South Africa’s Vodacom, Britain’s Vodafone, Democratic, Ethio Telecom, Thomson Locations: Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, ADDIS ABABA, Horn of Africa, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Tanzania, Mobile, East Africa

CNN —At least 26 people have been killed in an explosion in the town of Finote Selam in northwestern Ethiopia, amid heavy fighting between government forces and a local militia group. Tenaw told CNN that people reported hearing only one explosion, the cause of which is unclear. The Ethiopian government declared a six-month state of emergency in the Amhara region on August 4 after days of clashes. The United Nations “called on all sides to respect human rights and take steps to deescalate the situation,” noting that “previous states of emergency have been accompanied by violations of human rights” in a statement Friday. CNN has reached out to the federal government, the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, and the Amhara regional government for comment.

Persons: Manaye Tenaw, Tenaw, EHRC, ” “ EHRC, Finote Selam, ”, United Nations “, Antony Blinken, “, I’ve, ” Blinken Organizations: CNN, Human Rights, Ethiopian, Dar, United Nations, Ethiopian National Defense Forces, Amhara, Eritrean Defense Forces, Front, State Locations: Finote, Ethiopia, Fano, Amhara, Debre Birhan, Gondar, Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, America, Tigray

☆ Opinion | The Deluge Facing Africa’s Leaders Is Going to Get Worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Alex De Waal | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

An uninterrupted swath of African countries from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea is now under military rule. Some of the putschists deposed elected leaders, like Niger’s president, Mohamed Bazoum. Others forestalled elections or even overthrew the leaders they had installed. Throughout much of Africa, citizens also overwhelmingly want democracy, but they get frustrated when elected leaders don’t deliver. When people do welcome a coup, it’s often because they see it as the path to a better elected government.

Persons: Mohamed Bazoum, Russia’s Wagner, can’t, don’t, it’s Organizations: African, Russia’s Wagner Group Locations: Mali, Guinea, Chad, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Niger, Washington, Brussels, London, Addis Ababa, African Union, Moscow, Africa

☆ Ethiopia cracks down on gay sex in hotels, other venues
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ADDIS ABABA, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Security forces in Ethiopia are cracking down on hotels, bars and restaurants in the capital Addis Ababa where gay sexual activity is alleged to take place, the city administration said on Thursday. Rights groups say the LGBT community in Ethiopia remains underground because LGBT people face high levels of discrimination and fear violence and ostracism if their identities are discovered. The Addis Ababa Peace and Security Administration Bureau, a government body, said it was taking action "against institutions where homosexual acts are carried out" following tip-offs from the public, and had already raided a guest house in the city. Gay sex is prohibited by law in Ethiopia, but there are no recent reports of people being convicted for engaging in consensual same-sex sexual activity. (This story has been corrected to change sourcing from Ethiopia News Agency to Addis Ababa Peace and Security Administration Bureau in paragraphs 1, 4 and 5)Reporting by Tiksa Negeri, Writing by Hereward Holland, Editing by William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Guramayle, Hereward Holland, William Maclean Organizations: Security, Rights, Addis Ababa Peace, Security Administration Bureau, Facebook, Ethiopia News Agency, Security Administration, Tiksa Negeri, Thomson Locations: ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Ghana, Uganda

☆ Ethiopian military pushes back militiamen in two Amhara towns
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Dawit Endeshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A partial view of the Lalibela town in the Amhara Region, Ethiopia, January 25, 2022. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri//File PhotoADDIS ABABA, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Ethiopia's military has pushed local militiamen out of two towns in the Amhara region, residents said on Wednesday, in its first big battlefield breakthroughs since fighting erupted last week. A local official in Gondar said the military was "almost in full control of the city". Another Gondar resident said he had seen the military enter the city centre on Tuesday afternoon. Two Lalibela residents told Reuters that ENDF troops entered the town on Wednesday morning following intense fighting on Lalibela's outskirts the previous day.

Persons: Amhara's, Africa's, Spokespeople, Fano, ENDF, Bahir Dar, Aaron Ross, William Maclean, Peter Graff, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Tiksa, Ethiopian National Defence Force, Ethiopian Airlines, Bahir, Reuters, Fano, Facebook, Thomson Locations: Amhara Region, Ethiopia, ADDIS ABABA, Amhara, Gondar, Lalibela, Fano, Tigray, Lalibela's, Bahir

A partial view of the Lalibela town in the Amhara Region, Ethiopia, January 25, 2022. In that war, federal forces faced battle-hardened fighters loyal to Tigray's ruling party, who at one point advanced hundreds of kilometres towards the capital Addis Ababa. Following the Tigray deal, his government held preliminary talks with rebels in the Oromiya region, Ethiopia's largest, about ending a decades-long insurgency. But anger was building in Amhara, where the Tigray deal deepened existing suspicions of Abiy's government. It said the status of lands claimed by both Amhara and Tigray, which Amhara forces captured during the war, should be resolved "in accordance with the constitution".

Persons: Abiy, Tewodrose Tirfe, Temesgen, Ethiopia's, Fano, Addisu Lashitew, Befekadu Hailu, Aaron Ross, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Tiksa, Fano, Amhara Association of America, Brookings Institution, Protesters, Thomson Locations: Amhara Region, Ethiopia, NAIROBI, Tigray, Amhara, Fano, Africa, Eritrea, Sudan, Addis Ababa, Oromiya

☆ Ethiopia accuses Amhara militia of trying to overthrow government
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Dawit Endeshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File PhotoADDIS ABABA, Aug 7 (Reuters) - A senior Ethiopian official accused militiamen in the Amhara region of seeking to overthrow the regional and federal governments following days of fighting that led the authorities to declare a state of emergency. Clashes between Fano militiamen and the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) continued over the weekend. The conflict has quickly become Ethiopia's most serious security crisis since a two-year civil war in Tigray region, which neighbours Amhara, ended in November. Fano is a part-time militia that draws volunteers from the local population and was an ally of the ENDF during the Tigray war. Violent protests erupted across Amhara in April after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered that security forces from Ethiopia's 11 regions be disbanded and integrated into the police or national army.

Persons: Abi Adi, Amhara's, Temesgen Tiruneh, Temesgen, Legesse Tulu, Abiy Ahmed, Dawit Endeshaw, George Obulutsa, Aaron Ross, Nick Macfie Organizations: Ethiopian National Defence Force, Amhara Special Forces, REUTERS, Tiksa, Ethiopian, Fana Broadcasting, Protesters, Thomson Locations: Tigray, Tigray Region, Ethiopia, ADDIS ABABA, Amhara, Fano, Gondar, Ethiopia's

☆ Ethiopia declares state of emergency following militia clashes
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A partial view of the Lalibela town in the Amhara Region, Ethiopia, January 25, 2022. Picture taken January 25, 2022. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File PhotoADDIS ABABA, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Ethiopia's federal government on Friday declared a state of emergency following days of clashes in the Amhara region between the military and local militiamen. The statement by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office announcing the state of emergency did not say whether it applied only in Amhara or across the country. Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw; Writing by Aaron Ross; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Abiy, Dawit Endeshaw, Aaron Ross, Toby Chopra Organizations: REUTERS, Tiksa, Ethiopian National Defence Force, Thomson Locations: Amhara Region, Ethiopia, ADDIS ABABA, Amhara, Fano

WASHINGTON, July 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. assistant secretary of State for African affairs, Molly Phee, will travel to Addis Ababa on Monday and Tuesday to meet with African leaders and Sudanese civilians on how to end the conflict in Sudan, the State Department said on Sunday. Diplomatic efforts to halt fighting between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have so far proved ineffective, with competing initiatives creating confusion over how the warring parties might be brought to negotiate. During her travel, Phee will meet with Sudanese civilians and with senior representatives of governments in the region, the East African bloc Intergovernmental Authority on Development and the African Union Commission, according to the State Department. Egypt said on Sunday it would host a summit of Sudan's neighbors on July 13 to discuss ways to end the conflict between the rival Sudanese military factions. Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Molly Phee, Phee, Kanishka Singh, Leslie Adler Organizations: U.S, State Department, Rapid Support Forces, Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, East, Authority, Development, African Union Commission, Thomson Locations: Addis Ababa, Sudan, Khartoum, Sudan's, El Obeid, Egypt, Jeddah, United States, Saudi Arabia, East, Kenya, Washington

☆ Want a Last-Minute Ticket to Wimbledon? No Problem. Just Get in Line.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( David Waldstein | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Moisture infiltrated the tent, she did not get any sleep and she vowed never to do it again. “You go through it and say, ‘Never again,’ but then of course you want to.”They were prepared to awake at 6 a.m. Thursday (after being in line almost 18 hours). Campers are given 30 minutes to dismantle their tents and put them in daily storage, then get into the line and wait — wait for it — for four more hours until the gates open. Among those still hoping to get in on Wednesday was a group of teenage tennis players from the Time To Play Tennis Academy in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. “But it’s Wimbledon.

Persons: Maria Balhetchet, Felix Bailey, Balhetchet, Nick Kyrgios, Stefanos Tsitsipas, “, ”, ‘, Doug Robinson, Robinson Organizations: —, Tennis Academy, Wimbledon, England Locations: Dorset, England, Zimbabwe’s, Harare, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, London

☆ BMW taps abstract artist Julie Mehretu to paint its latest Art Car
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Now, Ethiopian American artist Julie Mehretu, known for her work in abstract painting, has been chosen to create the company’s next Art Car. The first BMW Art Car was painted in 1975 by the American sculptor Alexander Calder after French racing driver Hervé Poulain brought the idea to BMW. The first woman to take on a BMW Art Car was South African artist Esther Mahlangu, who in 1991 painted a 525i sedan. Esther Mahlangu's Art Car featured the bold colors and geometric patterns used in the traditional arts and crafts of the Southern Ndebele people. Enes Kucevic/BMWMehretu’s will be the 20th BMW Art Car.

Persons: Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, Jenny Holzer, Robert Rauschenberg, Julie Mehretu, Alexander Calder, Hervé Poulain, Poulain, Calder, Roy Lichtenstein, Warhol, Esther Mahlangu, Holzer, Esther Mahlangu's, Enes, Marian Goodman, Josefina Santos, BMW Mehretu, Madeleine Grynsztejn, ”, Julie, ” Grynsztejn, ” Mehretu, I've, ” Julian Kroehl, City’s Solomon R, hasn’t, Mehretu, “ Organizations: CNN, BMW, Ethiopian, Le, CSL, BMW Le, Fine Arts, Rhode Island School of Design, MacArthur, US Department of State, of, Pritzker, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Daytona, Guggenheim Museum Locations: Ethiopian American, American, African, Southern, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, United States, New York, Daytona Beach , Florida, New

[1/3] A nurse prepares to administer the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine under the COVAX scheme against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the Eka Kotebe General Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 13, 2021. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File PhotoLONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - Several billions of dollars left in a scheme to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to the world’s poorest could be diverted to prepare for other pandemics or to support vaccine manufacturing in Africa, the scheme's partners said. The initiative is set to wind up at the end of this year, although some of its work will continue. With demand for COVID-19 vaccines dwindling, the partners are now working out how best to use the remaining cash – a significant sum in global health – alongside the donors who originally pledged it. Another idea that has gained traction is to use some of the money to boost vaccine manufacturing in Africa, Saraka-Yao said.

Persons: drugmakers, ”, Marie, Ange Saraka, Gavi’s, Yao, Melinda Gates, ” Saraka, Gavi, Muhammad Ali Pate, David Marlow, Seth Berkley, Jennifer Rigby, Christina Fincher Organizations: AstraZeneca, Oxford, REUTERS, Tiksa, Gavi, Vaccine Alliance, World Health Organization, WHO, Coalition for, Reuters, Melinda Gates Foundation, Thomson Locations: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Africa, COVAX, United States, Germany, Nigeria

WHAT IS THE COMMON FRAMEWORK? The Common Framework requires debtor countries to secure restructuring assurances from any bilateral lenders first and commercial and multilateral lenders second - to Beijing's dismay. "We call on multilateral financial institutions and commercial lenders, who are the main creditors for developing countries, to participate in developing countries' debt relief efforts," Mao said. In Paris, analysts expect China to continue to voice support for the Common Framework but for debt relief to be dispensed "case-by-case". The last time global policymakers met to discuss the Common Framework in Washington, China proposed the IMF should speed up and improve information sharing on debt sustainability analyses.

Persons: Li Qiang, acceding, Yi Gang, Mao Ning, Mao, Qin Gang, Sri, Wang Wenbin, Joe Cash, Ryan Woo, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: Paris Club, International Monetary Fund, Bank, IMF, World Bank, Foreign Ministry, China's, France, Thomson Locations: Paris, China, Zambia, Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, United States, U.S, Beijing, Washington, CHINA, Addis Ababa, Japan, India, France, Sri Lanka's

Summary Fighting, which has plunged millions into hunger, expands westwardAssassination of West Darfur governor threatens further fightingDiplomatic peace efforts face pushbackCAIRO/DUBAI, June 15 (Reuters) - The conflict in Sudan hit the two-month mark on Thursday with no sign of a resolution as diplomatic peace efforts hit roadblocks and the risk of a broader ethnic war rises. It has shut down the economy, plunging millions of Sudanese into hunger and dependence on foreign aid, and shattered the health system. EL GENEINA ASSASSINATIONOn Wednesday, the governor of West Darfur, Khamis Abbakar, accused the RSF and allied Arab militias of carrying out a genocidal attack in El Geneina. Hours later, Abbakar was killed, and the Sudanese Alliance armed group he led blamed the RSF for killing him while in their custody. The RSF has denied responsibility and says that criminals and Bashir loyalists have been known to steal uniforms.

Persons: pushback, autocrat Omar al, Bashir, Khamis Abbakar, Abbakar, Hamit, Saboura Ahmed, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Waleed Adam, RSF, Khalid Abdelaziz, Nafisa Eltahir, Maggie Michael, Adam Makary, Dawit, Nick Macfie Organizations: Darfur, Rapid Support Forces, Sudanese Alliance, Sudanese Transparency, Unit, Thomson Locations: pushback CAIRO, DUBAI, Sudan, U.S, El Geneina, West Darfur, Chad, Darfur, Kordofan, El, Chadian, sudanese, Sudan's Darfur, Sudanese, Khartoum, Omdurman, Bahri, Jeddah, East, Kenya, Ethiopia, East Khartoum, Dubai, Nafisa, Cairo, Addis Ababa

☆ US suspends food aid to Ethiopia, says it's not reaching needy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Giulia Paravicini | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/Pool/File PhotoNAIROBI, June 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said on Thursday it was suspending food aid to Ethiopia because its donations were being diverted from people in need. The USAID spokesperson said the agency intended to resume food assistance as soon as it was confident in the integrity of the system. USAID and the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) had already suspended food aid to the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray last month in response to information that large amounts of aid there were being diverted. In the 2022 fiscal year, USAID disbursed nearly $1.5 billion in humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia, most of it food aid. WFP is also investigating "systemic" food diversion across Ethiopia, according to an email sent last week by the agency's deputy director to staff in Ethiopia.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Sean Jones, Finance Ahmed Shide, Demeke Mekonnen, Blinken, Giulia Paravicini, Doina Chiacu, Christina Fincher, Mark Potter Organizations: Logistics Center, USAID, Ethiopian, Finance, REUTERS, Tiksa, U.S . Agency for International Development, Reuters, Resilience, Spokespeople, The State Department, Food Programme, WFP, Thomson Locations: Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, NAIROBI, United States, Tigray, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopian, Washington

REUTERS/Baz RatnerMay 30 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge ruled late on Tuesday that relatives of those killed in a 2019 Boeing (BA.N) 737 MAX Ethiopian Airlines crash may seek compensation for pain and suffering of passengers before the plane hit the ground. Boeing in 2021 agreed to acknowledge liability for compensatory damages in lawsuits filed by families of the 157 people killed in the fatal Ethiopian 737 MAX crash. A total of 346 people were killed in two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes - including the earlier October 2018 Lion Air crash in Indonesia. The Ethiopian Airlines crash prompted the worldwide grounding of the MAX in March 2019 for 20 months, costing Boeing more than $20 billion. As a result of the 2021 agreement, lawyers for the Ethiopian Airlines victims agreed not to seek punitive damages and Boeing did not challenge the lawsuits being filed in Illinois.

Persons: Baz Ratner, planemaker, Jorge Alonso, Alonso, District Judge Reed O'Connor, David Shepardson, Christian Schmollinger Organizations: Boeing, Ethiopian Airlines, REUTERS, U.S, District, MAX, Justice, Thomson Locations: Bishoftu, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, U.S, Illinois, Indonesia, Texas

☆ Judge rejects Boeing argument that plane crash victims, having died on impact, did not suffer long
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A federal judge rejected arguments from attorneys for Boeing that it should not have to pay for the pain and suffering of 157 victims of a March 2019 Boeing 737 Max crash because they all died on impact. Ethiopians search for remains at the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 plane crash before a commemoration ceremony at the scene of the crash, near the town of Bishoftu, southeast of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Baz Ratner Baz Ratner/ReutersThe flight was an Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed on March 10, 2019. One of the attorneys for the Ethiopian Airlines crash victims praised the judge’s ruling. “We are deeply sorry to all who lost loved ones on Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Flight 302,” it said.

Persons: Jorge Alonso, Alonso, “, ”, Baz Ratner Baz Ratner, Robert Clifford, ” Clifford Organizations: CNN, Boeing, Federal, Ethiopian Airlines, REUTERS, Ethiopian, Lion Air Locations: Chicago, Bishoftu, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

☆ Sudanese army suspends ceasefire talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The RSF said in a statement late on Tuesday it was committed to the ceasefire "despite repeated violations" by the army. CHALLENGING NEGOTIATIONSCommenting on the Sudanese army's withdrawal from the Jeddah talks, Mohamed El Hacen Lebatt, African Union spokesperson on the crisis in Sudan, said: "It is not surprising. We hope the mediator will succeed to bring both parties for working on an expected ceasefire." Before the ceasefire deal was renewed, an army source said the army had demanded the RSF withdraw from civilian homes and hospitals as a condition for an extension. After the five-day extension was agreed, talks continued on the truce terms.

Persons: Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah, Hemedti's, Dagalo, Mohamed El Hacen, Hemedti, Omar al, Bashir, Khalid Abdelaziz, Nafisa Eltahir, Dawit, Michael Georgy, Edmund Blair, Mark Heinrich, Grant McCool Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, Nations, REUTERS, Union, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Khartoum, KHARTOUM, Saudi, Jeddah, Khartoum's Mogran, Omdurman, Bahri, Sudan, au, Saudi Arabia, United States, Darfur, Sudan's, Port Sudan, Dubai, Nafisa, Cairo, Addis Ababa

“I remember total silence,” she says. “Even the babies realized this was a special moment.” Then a plane landed, its seats removed to make way for as many passengers as possible. Kanotopsky, who is now 46 and works for the Jewish Agency for Israel, told me her life story a few weeks ago as we sat aboard an Ethiopian Airlines jet flying from Addis Ababa to Tel Aviv. By June, this chapter of aliyah, Jewish immigration to Israel, will end, and this door to Ethiopians will be closed, at least for now. The problem is, there are still anywhere from 9,000 to 12,000 people in Ethiopia who practice Judaism and believe themselves to be Jews — even if the state of Israel believes their familial ties to Judaism are too weak.

☆ Ethiopia to offer up to five banking licenses to foreign investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Dawit Endeshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ADDIS ABABA, May 3 (Reuters) - Ethiopia will issue up to five banking licenses to foreign investors in the next five years, part of plans to open up the financial services sector to foreign competition, a senior central bank official said on Wednesday. "We will give three to five licenses within five years," vice governor of the central bank Solomon Desta told reporters. Ethiopia's banking industry is dominated by state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, and the sector has 29 players, all of them locally owned. Desta said foreign investors would have different options to enter the industry, including forming joint ventures with domestic players, or establishing local subsidiaries. Foreign investors have long eyed sectors including banking, telecoms, transportation and aviation in Ethiopia, a country of more than 100 million people and one of the biggest economies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

☆ Ethiopians savour first night of annual 'Addis Jazz Festival'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Ethiopian traditional dancers perform during the Jazz show at the Ethio-Jazz Festival in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia April 29, 2023. REUTERS/Tiksa NegeriADDIS ABABA, April 30 (Reuters) - Young Ethiopians packed into the compound of the Swedish embassy in Addis Ababa on Saturday night to savour an "Ethio Jazz" performance, an annual festival that celebrates Ethiopia's love for the musical genre. On a neon-lit stage in the country's capital, artists played various Ethiopian jazz music pieces as hundreds of revellers danced, mimed and quaffed beer to celebrate the second edition of the so-called Addis Jazz Festival (AJF). AJF debuted in 2019 and was conceived as a platform to promote Ethiopian jazz as well as to bring international jazz to Ethiopia. Artists at the concert included some of Ethiopia's well- known talents, like the Young Addis jazz group, who performed some of their best hits, like "Adwa."

☆ Sudan's Bashir moved to military hospital before fighting, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, April 26 (Reuters) - Sudan's toppled leader Omar al-Bashir was moved from Kober prison to a military hospital in the Sudanese capital before heavy fighting broke out there on April 15, two sources at the hospital said. Both Bashir and Haroun are wanted by the International Criminal Court over alleged atrocities in Darfur. Fighting flared anew in Sudan late on Tuesday despite a ceasefire declaration by the warring factions as more people fled Khartoum in the chaos. But he said that neither party showed readiness to "seriously negotiate, suggesting that both think that securing a military victory over the other is possible." Several more flights were expected later on Wednesday to evacuate the remaining Turkish citizens who had crossed over to Ethiopia from Sudan.

WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) - All U.S. government personnel were evacuated from Washington's embassy in Khartoum, as well as a small number of diplomatic personnel from other countries, U.S. officials said on Saturday, as fighting rocks Sudan. The operation evacuated fewer than 100 people, the officials told reporters. "We evacuated all of the U.S. personnel and dependents assigned to Embassy Khartoum," said Under Secretary of State for Management John Bass. A substantial number of local staff remain in Khartoum supporting the embassy, where Washington decided to suspend operations on Saturday due to the security risks, Bass said. U.S. forces spent just an hour on the ground in Sudan before taking off again, entering and exiting Sudan without being fired upon by the warring factions on the ground, the military said.

☆ Facebook depends on local partners to flag hateful content. In Ethiopia, those partners say they were ignored.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( Tekendra Parmar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

Trusted partners say warnings were ignoredInsider spoke with six current and former trusted partners from Ethiopia who said that Facebook routinely ignored their pleas to take down content that they deemed hateful or likely to incite violence. Some of the trusted partners declined to be named because they've faced death threats and fear for their own safety. Multiple trusted partners in Ethiopia said hate speech is still proliferating on the platform. Rafiq Copeland, a senior adviser at InterNews, one of Meta's longest-standing trusted partners globally, told Insider that the core complaints of trusted partners in Ethiopia have come up in other Rest of World countries. Even in Addis Ababa, it seemed that everyone knew about the Facebook posts, and many people now saw him as a traitor.

☆ Exclusive: Ethiopia seeking $2 billion under IMF program, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Jorgelina Do Rosario | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - Ethiopia is in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to borrow at least $2 billion under a reform program, four sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. In this first debt analysis, the IMF calculated that Ethiopia is set to face a financing gap of at least $6 billion until 2026, according to two sources close to the negotiations. That would still leave a funding hole of roughly $4 billion over that period should the country succeed in securing the amount under discussion. Talks are still ongoing in Washington this week during the IMF and World Bank spring meetings. "The scope of the support for Ethiopia is yet not set in stone, both parts are still working on the debt sustainability analysis," one of the sources said.

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