by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (August 8, 2018) One of the suspects on trial for the June 23 assassination attempt on the life of Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed was the anti-terrorism head with the Ethiopian National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), the country’s spy agency. Tesfaye Urge, one of the about 30 suspects arrested after the June 23 assassination ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (August 2, 2018) A photo of former Ethiopian communist leader, Mengistu Hailemariam and Hailemariam Desalegn, a former Prime Minister, that surfaced on the social media on Wednesday as they met in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare has opened old wounds. Some insist Mengistu should face justice while others argued for his pardon. Mengistu’s last name and Desalegn’s ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (July 16, 2018) Eritrea reopened its Embassy in Addis Ababa, two decades after the compound near the soccer stadium in the capital was deserted by the Eritreans and was used for unspecified purposes by the Ethiopian government. The flag raising ceremony at the Embassy came at the conclusion of a three day visit by Eritrean ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (July 13, 2018) One of the activities on the sidelines of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s visit to the United States is the meeting between the exiled synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church and the synod in Addis Ababa. Three archbishops representing each sides will meet in Washington, DC, next week to iron out their ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (July 11, 2018) Ethiopian Airlines will make its first flight to Asmara, Eritrea, on Wednesday July 18, twenty years after the African giant carrier ceased to fly to its northern neighbor. Fitsum Arega, Chief of Staff for Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed made the announcement in a tweet saying holders of Ethiopian and Eritrean passports ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (July 8, 2018) Ululation of joy and euphoria in the Eritrean capital Asmara early Sunday as Eritreans welcome an Ethiopian leader after two decades of war and bitterness. Well before Ethiopian Airlines carrying Abiy Ahmed touched down at the Asmara International Airport, residents of the city lined up the streets waving the flags of the ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (July 6, 2018) Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed says he expects the country’s economic growth to be under 10% this year. The Premier was speaking today at the Parliament that has approved a budget of 12.6 billion dollars for the fiscal year that begins next week. Ahmed said focus should be given to the growth ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (July 5, 2018) Ethiopia’s parliament has revoked terrorist labels on three opposition groups, namely Patriotic Ginbot 7, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF).   The three groups and two others, al Shabaab and al Qaeda, were labeled terrorists by a rubber stamp Parliament, the House of People’s Representatives, seven ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (July 5, 2018) A damning report by a rights watchdog exposed horrific torture committed against prisoners in Jail Ogaden, a prison in the Somali region of Eastern Ethiopia. Located in the regional capital JiJiga, Jail Ogaden holds prisoners accused of being members and supporters of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), a Front that until ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (July 4, 2018) The Liyou police with the Somali region in Eastern Ethiopia attacked residents of Babile and Chinaksen in East Hararghe killing at least three and displacing hundreds of people. A resident who spoke to ESAT from Babile said forces of the Liyou police have set 60 houses on fire and several domestic animals ...