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 6, 2018) Prisoners at the Jail Ogaden in the Somali region of Ethiopia have been transferred to several other prisons in the region after a report by the Human Rights Watch exposed torture and human rights abuse at the notorious detention center. Abdulahi Hussien, a former advisor to Abdi Illey, the regional president, told ...

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 ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (July 4, 2018) The federal prosecutor said five officials with the government prison administration have been fired for perpetrating torture and other human rights abuses against political and other prisoners. Freed political prisoners have exposed on ESAT and other media outlets that torture against inmates by prison officer and their bosses have been a common ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (July 3, 2018) Ethiopian and Sudanese troops have engaged in a brief battle after soldiers for the latter killed and injured several Ethiopian farmers. As information trickles slowly from the area, ESAT has learnt that the latest wave of attack by the Sudanese began three weeks ago when its army killed several Ethiopian farmers on ...