ESAT News (October 12, 2017) Somalia’s defense minister and army chief have resigned as the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab group steps up attacks on army bases across south and central Somalia, Associated Press reported quoting an official in the prime minister’s office. Defense Minister Abdirashid Abdullahi Mohamed has resigned, citing lack of consultations on issues related to his ministry. The official says ...

ESAT News (October 11, 2017) Protesters took to the streets in Ambo, Shashemene, Wollega, Hararghe, Adaba and other towns in the Oromo region denouncing the regime and demanding for the release of political prisoners. Four people were reportedly killed when security forces used lethal force to disperse protesters in Shashemene. At least twenty were injured. What triggered the renewed protests ...

ESAT News (October 11, 2017) Nine people were killed in clashes between the Afaris and security forces of the Tigray region in an area called Danti in Megalle district on the border between the two regions. Six people were killed and nine others wounded on the Tigray side while three were killed and three others injured on the Afari side, ...

ESAT News (October 10, 2017) Staff of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Nairobi, Kenya have been accused by Ethiopian political refugees of demanding bribes and even sexual favors to facilitate their applications for refugee status. In a damning article published on The Star of Kenya, Ethiopian refugees gave accounts of how staff at the UNHCR office ...

ESAT News (October 10, 2017) Ethiopia has devalued its currency, the Birr (ETB), by 15%. The dollar will be exchanged against 26.9 Birr effective tomorrow October 11, 2017, compared to the current 23.4 Birr, according to the National Bank of Ethiopia. Speaking at a press conference in Addis Ababa, Vice Governor of NBE, Yohannes Ayalew said the move will help ...

ESAT News (October 9, 2017) Ethiopia will devalue its currency to attract foreign investment and close the gap in foreign trade, President Mulatu Teshome said at the opening of the bicameral parliament on Monday. He said his government is faced with a serious shortage of hard currency and export trade has dwindled in last three years. Mulatu said major projects ...

ESAT News (October 9, 2017) Cholera is spreading in an alarming rate from Dire Dawa in the east to Benishangul in the west and from the Capital Addis Ababa to the northern city of Mekelle claiming lives along its route. Reports reaching ESAT from Benishangul Gumuz say 10 people have died due to cholera in Gobela town, Dangul district. The ...

ESAT News (October 9, 2017) News of the resignation of Abadula Gemeda, Speaker of the Ethiopian Parliament over the weekend and his brief televised statement on Sunday gave no clues as to the real reasons for his resignation. Seen as a rubber stamp speaker by many, but a force to be reckoned with by his supporters, the former defense minister ...

ESAT News (October 6, 2017) Acute malnutrition crisis and disease outbreaks is worsening in the Somali region of Eastern Ethiopia, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), an international medical humanitarian organisation. The MSF crises update says three rainy seasons in a row without substantial rains have led to a humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia. Crops have failed, cattle have died and ...

ESAT News (October 6, 2017) The leader of SPLM-IO, Riek Machar met with Ethiopian and Sudanese foreign ministers in South Africa and discussed peace in South Sudan. Sudan Tribune, quoting a statement from the Sudanese foreign ministry, Workneh Gebeyehu of Ethiopia and his Sudanese counterpart Ibrahim Ghandour met with Riek Machar as part of the High- Level Revitalization Forum of ...