ESAT News (March 20, 2017) Two government officials accused of embezzling millions of dollars have reportedly left the country, according to ESAT’s sources. Director of the Ethiopian Pharmaceuticals Fund and Supply Agency, Meskele Lera and his deputy Wondwossen Ayele  were accused of squandering close to 100 million dollars obtained from donor countries for the purchase and distribution of pharmaceuticals ...

  ESAT News (March 20, 2017) Ethiopia’s prisoner of conscience, Andargachew Tsige, has now spent 1000 days on Ethiopia’s death row, after the country’s security forces kidnapped and rendered him there in June 2014, Reprieve, an international human rights organization following his case said in a statement. An Ethiopian born British citizen, Andargachew ‘Andy’ Tsege, a vocal critic of Ethiopia’s ...

  ESAT News (March 17, 2017) Agricultural productivity has declined to 2.5 % from 7% due to the severe drought in the country but food security has been achieved, Hailemariam Desalegn said in a contradictory statement. Addressing the parliament on Thursday, the prime minister said the drought in some regions of the country has negatively impacted agricultural production. But he ...

  ESAT News (March 17, 2017) The Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that now is the time for Ethiopia to give the UN Working Group access, and stop hiding its rights record from scrutiny. Senior researcher with the right group, Felix Horne, said although the regime announced this week that some of the restrictions of the state of emergency ...

ESAT News (March 17, 2017) South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that gunmen from the Murle tribe in Boma State had carried out an attack on Ethiopia’s Gambella region and fled along with dozens of children. An Ethiopian envoy was in Juba on Thursday to find the abducted children and discuss security issues along the common border between ...

  ESAT News (March 16, 2017) Over five mln USD that was allocated for the resettlement of people uprooted due to government projects was embezzled by officials and clan leaders. Presenting a six-month report to the House of People’s Representatives, Hailemariam Desalegn, the prime minister, said the money has been stolen by officials at various levels and clan leaders of ...

ESAT News (March 16, 2017) A US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday blocked an Ethiopian American from suing the Ethiopian government over hacking his computer and using spyware to monitor his activity. Early in February, lawyers for the plaintiff had presented their arguments at an appellate court in DC for their client to be ...

ESAT News (March 17, 2017 Somali pirates who hijacked an oil tanker have released it without condition, the BBC reported quoting officials. The announcement came hours after the pirates and naval forces exchanged gunfire over a boat believed to be carrying supplies to the hijackers, according to the report. The tanker, which was en route from Djibouti to the Somali ...

  ESAT News (March 13, 2017)The death toll from a landfill landslide in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa reached 113, local media reported quoting city administration. Mayor of Addis Ababa, Diriba Kuma told reporters that 75 of the victims were women. Residents near the landfill who spoke to reporters however say the number is much higher than official estimates. The search ...

ESAT News (March 15, 2017) Murle bandits from neighboring South Sudan killed 28 people and kidnapped 43 children in Gambella, western Ethiopia on Sunday and Monday, Reuters reported quoting a regional spokesperson. The cross border raid occurred in Gog and Jor areas bordering South Sudan, Chol Chany, a regional spokesperson said. “Murle bandits carried out the attack. They fled along ...