ESAT News (February 12, 2019) Fire gutted churches and mosques in Halaba southern Ethiopia and Gondar in the north in what locals say was a deliberate attack to incite religious unrest. A resident of Alaba Kulito, a town sitting 38 miles west of Shashemene, told ESAT that 12 evangelical churches were set ablaze by a group of youth claiming to ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (February 11, 2019) The 32nd African Union summit in Addis Ababa elected Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as its chairman for the year 2019, while also announcing South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for the for the year 2020. El-Sisi will replace Rwandan President Paul Kagame. The summit of the heads of state and government has ...

ESAT News (February 11, 2019) The bodies of four Ethiopians killed Saturday when a military helicopter crashed inside the compound of the UN peacekeeping mission in the disputed region between South Sudan and Sudan arrived home on Sunday. According to a statement by the United Nations, 23 passengers were on board when the helicopter crashed during a routine reconnaissance flight ...

  by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (February 8, 2019) The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) has transferred 1740 soldiers to the government in a ceremony held in the capital of the Somali region Jigjiga to mark the end of armed struggle. The vice administrator of the region, Mustafa Mohammed welcomed the decision by the ONLF to move from armed struggle ...

By Engidu Woldie ESAT News (February 8, 2019) The annual report on freedom in the world by Freedom House says Ethiopia has made some improvements in the areas of press freedom and eased restrictions on opposition political parties. The report however said the country still remains not free as it “remains beset by political factionalism and intercommunal violence, abuses by ...

ESAT News (January 6, 2019) Eritrea announced on Tuesday that it will send a cultural troupe to Ethiopia to perform in major cities across the country, a sign of improved relations between the two former foes. The statement by the Eritrean Ministry of Information says the cultural troupe, which includes legendary and young musicians, will begin its performance in Bahir ...

By Engidu Woldie ESAT News (February 6, 2019) A Dutch company has lost a legal battle against Ethiopia for the patent of Teff flour, the ingredient for Injera, an Ethiopian staple. The Dutch company, Health and Performance Food International, had registered patents for Teff products in Italy, England, Germany and Austria, breaching agreements with Ethiopia. Last year, Ethiopia took the ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (February 5, 2019) The African Union will unveil the commemorative statue of Emperor Haile Selassie at the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union on 10 February 2019 in Addis Ababa. The Emperor’s statue will be the second to be erected at the AU headquarter. In 2012, the statue of Ghanaian Pan-Africanist ...

ESAT News (February 4, 2019) A four day curfew has been lifted in Jigjiga, the capital of the Somali regional state in eastern Ethiopia. The curfew was imposed last Thursday banning public gatherings in the regional capital. The curfew also came on the day a high court in Addis Ababa brought formal charges against the former president of the Somali ...

by Engidu Woldie ESAT News (February 4, 2019) The Ethiopian Statistics Agency said it will go ahead with the population and housing census as scheduled on April 7, 2019 despite concern that displacement and deadly conflicts in some areas of the country would make the job difficult. Public relations head with the Agency, Safi Gemede told ESAT that the displaced ...