#Ethiopian carrier flights solo over #Pakistan amid high alert, closed airspace

At a time when many international airlines were rerouting to avoid Pakistani airspace due to heightened military activity and the risk of escalation, the ETH672 flight stood out as a rare civilian aircraft braving the tense zone.

Although Pakistan had not officially declared a complete closure of its airspace, several key flight corridors were either shut down or unavailable for civilian traffic. Despite this, the Ethiopian aircraft navigated through these restricted skies and was visible on radar moving above Pakistan.

The incident quickly became a topic of discussion on social media, with users expressing surprise and amusement at the flight’s lone passage. One user jokingly tweeted, “Ethiopian Airlines flight, please exit Pakistan immediately!”
Observers described the flight’s uninterrupted path over Pakistan during such a volatile time as highly unusual. Aviation analysts noted that such passages are typically cleared only under strict coordination and with real-time monitoring by air traffic control.

As of now, there’s no official statement from Pakistani aviation authorities regarding the flight, but the event serves as a reminder of the complex intersections between commercial aviation and geopolitical tensions.

https://english.aaj.tv/news/330415743/ethiopian-carrier-flights-solo-over-pakistan-amid-high-alert-closed-airspace

#Safricom’s #Ethiopia customer base jumps to 8.8 million

Kenyan telecommunication company-Safaricom has registered a strong growth in its customer base in Ethiopia, which hit 8.8 million as of March this year.

This is a 103.2% year-on-year growth compared to the same period last year, with the high numbers coming less than three years since entering the market in October 2022.

Safaricom was the first private telecom operator to break the state-owned monopoly of Ethio Telecom.

This followed a license granted in 2021 to the Global Partnership for Ethiopia consortium, which includes Safaricom.

Safaricom Ethiopia has since focused on expanding its network and launching services, including mobile money services (M-PESA), whose registered customers grew by more than 68 per cent to 2.4 million.

The Mpesa value in the country during the period under review hit Sh20.6 bn, with about 164.6 m in transaction volumes.

https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2025-05-09-safricoms-ethiopia-customer-base-jumps-to-88-million

Analysis: #Tigray Interim Admin’s warning over ‘dangerous’ clandestine ‘foreign engagement’ adds to mounting accusations against #TPLF

The Tigray Interim Regional Administration has cautioned against unauthorized foreign dealings, calling them “a dangerous approach that will make the Tigray region ungovernable.”

“Any contact with a foreign power whose purpose and strategic approach are unknown is unacceptable,” the regional communication bureau said.

This comes a month after Lt. Gen. Tadesse Werede reaffirmed his administration's commitment to “ending unlawful affiliations” and protecting Ethiopia’s sovereignty.

The statement coincided with this week’s controversial arrest and sudden release by the Tigray Police Commission of Tigrayan social media activist Berhane Gebregergis. He was facing accusations of meeting with Awol Seid, a figure closely linked to the Eritrean regime.

The latest development adds up to growing accusations, including by senior federal government officials, of links between the TPLF, led by its chairman Debretsion Gebremichael, and the regime in Asmara, raising the specter of a potential regional conflict.
https://addisstandard.com/?p=50064

News: #Fuel price sees another dramatic hike in #Ethiopia amid persistent shortages

The Ministry of Trade has announced new fuel prices effective 8 May, with gasoline now at 122.53 birr per liter and diesel/kerosene at 116.49 birr, among the highest rates to date. This marks the third major increase in 2025 alone, following hikes in March (diesel at 112.67 birr) and January (gasoil at 101.47 birr).

Despite the government’s claims of continued fuel subsidies, currently 28 birr per liter, shortages remain widespread, pushing black-market prices to as high as 300 birr per liter in places such as the Afar region.

Addis Standard has previously reported severe supply shortages across Oromia, Amhara, and Sidama, with major cities including Adama, Bahir Dar and Hawassa implementing quota systems or facing near-paralysis. The economic strain from rising prices and fuel scarcity is being felt across sectors, low- and fixed-income households alike, as earlier report by this publication indicated.
https://addisstandard.com/?p=50067

#Kenya: Regional conflicts, Trump’s tariffs drive foreign investors out of NSE

Kenya’s stock market is facing the risk of foreign outflows as a result of the escalating regional conflicts and the potential global trade wars triggered by the US tariffs, highlighting the sensitivity of deep-pocketed foreign investors to insecurity and political noise in frontier and emerging markets.

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) says in its latest quarterly market report (January-March) that insecurity in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Somalia is likely to harm the flow of investment capital to Nairobi.

The regulator reckons that the volatile situation on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) is likely to be exacerbated by the contentious tariffs imposed by the US President Donald Trump as foreign investors sell their stocks in search of secure investment environments that are unlikely to be significantly affected by the proposed policy reforms in Washington DC.“Political instability in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Somalia is likely to have a negative spillover effect on the Kenyan domestic market by posing insecurity threats harming the flow of investment capital into Kenya,” the regulator says.

https://www.zawya.com/en/economy/africa/kenya-regional-conflicts-trumps-tariffs-drive-foreign-investors-out-of-nse-bpfr2u26

News: Ongoing war forces hundreds of schools in #Amhara region to scrap this year’s school leaving national exams

The ongoing war in the Amhara region has forced hundreds of schools to scrap plans to administer this year’s national 12th-grade exams. Out of 685 secondary schools in the region, only 470 will proceed with the exams, leaving tens of thousands of students unable to complete their high school education, according to Eyerus Mengistu, Deputy Head of the Amhara Regional State Education Bureau.

While nearly 100,000 students from relatively secure areas have registered, the majority have been forced out of school, many now working in agriculture or displaced with their families.

From makeshift tutorials in towns like Sekota to zones like North Gojjam where students have turned to farming, Addis Standard’s multiple reports lay bare the education system in the region is tattering.

Over 3.9 million students are out of school and more than 3,600 schools are closed in the Amhara region, which is compounded by displacement. Only around 2 million, far below the target of 7 million, are registered for this academic year.

https://addisstandard.com/?p=50071

#Editorial: Before the silence turns to strife: The government must heed the voices of peoples’ healers

In its latest editorial, #AddisStandard calls on the #Ethiopian government to urgently address the longstanding and legitimate demands of the country’s medical professionals, cautioning that “the writing is on the wall” as a nationwide strike looms on May 11.

The editorial stresses that the ongoing peaceful demonstrations are not acts of rebellion, but “the final pleas of a profession that has given its all and received next to nothing in return.”

The editorial urges authorities to recognize the dire conditions under which healthcare workers have labored, amid war, crumbling infrastructure, and systemic neglect. Informed by its own years - long coverage, the editorial highlights shocking reports of medical staff dying for lack of care or resorting to begging. Their demands - adequate pay, safety, professional recognition, among others - are not luxuries, but “basic professional expectations in any society that claims to value human life.”

This is not, the editorial insists, “a political stunt,” but a demand for dignity, justice, and survival.

The silence from the government will echo in hospital corridors and emergency rooms, where help used to be. This publication calls on the state to respond not with threats, but with negotiation and action, urging leadership to rise to the moment: “Let it not be remembered that Ethiopia gambled with the health of its people when it could have chosen to invest in those who hold their lives in their hands.” The time to act, is now, before silence gives way to strife.
https://addisstandard.com/?p=50076

News: #Ethiopian Federal Police launches first-ever maritime police to safeguard #GERD reservoir

The Ethiopian Federal Police has launched the country’s first-ever maritime police force to protect the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) reservoir.

With GERD’s artificial lake spanning 1,680 square kilometers and holding up to 74 billion cubic meters of water, the new force, referred to as the coastal or maritime police, is tasked with preventing crimes and potential maritime threats around the strategically important site.

“It has become necessary to organize a police force capable of protecting this long and wide artificial lake,” said Commander Eskedar Birhan. Equipped with specialized weaponry and training, the unit is a response to growing security needs following the reservoir’s full operational capacity and the Federal Police’s earlier plans to procure protective boats through domestic manufacturing.

The announcement coincides with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s confirmation that GERD has completed its water filling process, reaching its full capacity without disrupting downstream flows. “Now GERD is 100% full, the same as the Aswan Dam,” he told parliament, assuring that no harm had come to Egypt’s water reserves during the process.

https://addisstandard.com/ethiopian-federal-police-launches-first-ever-maritime-police-to-safeguard-gerd-reservoir/

#Turkiye discovers 20bn barrels of crude oil in #Somalia

Turkiye has discovered up to 20 billion barrels of crude oil in Somalia, amid Ankara’s exploration drive to find further energy sources in the Horn of Africa region, according to Turkish and Somalia media outlets.

Media reports state that Turkish exploration missions discovered reserves “estimated to contain up to 20 billion barrels of commercially viable crude oil.” While “two blocks it operates in the region have reportedly resulted in significant yields,” the “third block is still being explored and is expected to also contain sufficient commercial quantities of oil.”

The discovery follows an agreement signed last month between Turkiye and Somalia on onshore oil and gas exploration in the East African nation; under the Turkish Petroleum Corporation and Somali Petroleum Authority. The deal has drawn criticism, with reports noting that it grants the Turkish energy authorities around 90 percent of the rights for Somalia’s oil and gas output, and exempting Turkish entities from paying upfront costs such as bonuses and administrative fees.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250509-turkiye-discovers-20bn-barrels-of-crude-oil-in-somalia/

#South_Sudan clashes block aid to 60,000 malnourished children

Fighting along the Nile River in South Sudan has blocked humanitarian assistance from reaching more than 60,000 malnourished children in the northeast of the country for nearly a month, according to a joint statement by the World Food Programme (#WFP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (#UNICEF) released on Thursday.

The agencies warned that nutrition supplies destined for Upper Nile State—where malnutrition levels are among the highest in the country—are expected to be depleted by the end of May. “Children are already the first to suffer during emergencies,” said Mary-Ellen McGroarty, WFP’s representative in South Sudan, adding that without access to nutrition supplies, the region is “likely to see escalating malnutrition in areas already at breaking point.”

UNICEF representative Obia Achieng stated that the agencies had “reluctantly taken the unprecedented step of holding back supplies,” citing the risk that they “will not reach the children that so desperately need them” due to “ongoing fighting, looting and disruption of the river route.”

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/south-sudan-clashes-block-aid-60000-malnourished-children-2025-05-08/

Commentary: Why #Ethiopian university lecturers’ strike failed: A cautionary tale for health professionals

In 2022, Ethiopian university lecturers launched a year-long campaign demanding better pay, housing, and working conditions. But the movement ended in failure, leaving lecturers with little more than a symbolic 500 ETB raise, while top administrators saw their housing allowances quadruple. “Despite the legitimacy of our demands, disunity and political manipulation dismantled the momentum,” writes a former university lecturer and Campus President of the Lecturers’ Association at Arba Minch University, who was also one of strike organizers.

A combination of identity-related tensions, poor timing, and economic vulnerability doomed the lecturers' strike. Attempts to label the movement as politically motivated- linked to Fano or instability in Amhara - fractured support across regions. Many lecturers were forced to choose between survival and solidarity. “Some returned to work just to check their emails,” the writer notes. Ethiopian health professionals must heed these hard lessons.

Strikes fail without unity, strategy, and sustained pressure. The lecturers' movement collapsed within days, despite plans for an indefinite strike. Internal confusion, fear of repression, and premature decisions demoralized participants. “I had interviews lined up with international media when the committee abruptly ended it,” recalls the author. Health workers mobilizing today must organize with clarity, resilience, and foresight.

https://addisstandard.com/commentary-why-ethiopian-university-lecturers-strike-failed-a-cautionary-tale-for-health-professionals/

121 #Ethiopians repatriated from #Myanmar, ministry says; hundreds remain in camps held by armed groups

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (#MoFA) said 121 Ethiopian nationals who had been held in “difficult conditions” in Myanmar were repatriated this week, with 41 returning on Thursday and 80 more on Friday. The Ministry said the return was facilitated “through coordination with Ethiopia’s Embassy in India” and added that “efforts are being made to return other Ethiopians who are in difficult situations in Myanmar to their country.”

The repatriated individuals were among African nationals trafficked into Myanmar with false job offers, later forced to work in scam compounds. Survivors described “long working hours, physical abuse, and psychological trauma.” According to the Associated Press, following a crackdown by Myanmar authorities in February under pressure from China and Thailand, thousands of trafficked individuals were released and moved to makeshift camps controlled by armed groups. Over 270 Africans, mostly Ethiopians, attempted to flee one such camp in April but were intercepted by armed guards. The Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), which held them, later agreed to transfer them to Myawaddy, an area under the Kayin Border Guard Force (BGF), for repatriation processing.

https://addisstandard.com/?p=50085

#Somaliland Parliament moves to suspend talks with #Somalia

The Somaliland House of Representatives has received a motion calling for the official suspension of talks with Somalia, marking an escalation in the strained relationship between the two. The motion follows an earlier proposal by the Somaliland government to terminate the talks, citing Somalia’s continued interference in Somaliland’s sovereignty and internal affairs.

Introduced by members of the House, the motion has been referred to the legislature’s legal advisor for review. The advisor will evaluate its compliance with legal and procedural standards before it proceeds further.

Somaliland has accused Somalia of undermining its internal governance, particularly through support for militias in the eastern Sool region. These actions, according to Somaliland officials, are part of a broader campaign to destabilize the region and obstruct Somaliland’s pursuit of international recognition as an independent state.

Tensions intensified recently when Somaliland Armed Forces seized a significant cache of weapons following clashes with militias in the eastern Sanaag region. The weapons, some stored in wooden ammunition crates labeled with Somalia’s Ministry of Defense markings, have raised concerns over the diversion of foreign military aid, originally intended for counter-terrorism, to fuel local conflicts.
https://www.horndiplomat.com/2025/05/somaliland-house-of-representatives-moves-to-officially-suspend-talks-with-somalia/

News Analysis: #TPLF warns, once again, of ‘grave threat’ to #Pretoria Agreement amid looming recognition dispute with Electoral Board

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has once again warned that the refusal to reinstate its legal recognition poses a “serious threat” to the Pretoria Agreement, accusing the federal government and the National Election Board of Ethiopia (#NEBE) of undermining the accord. In a statement released late Friday from its head office in Mekelle, the party said, “The Pretoria Agreement is the primary legal document directly linking our organization and the FDRE government,” and warned that “denying our legal recognition undermines the very foundation of the peace accord.” It accused NEBE of acting “under the guise of ‘legal cover’” while continuing “its political stance that undermines trust.”

The party also said it never accepted the registration certificate NEBE claims to have issued on August 9, 2024. “Perhaps NEBE refers to revoking the certificate it claims to have issued… which we never accepted,” the statement said. The TPLF further disclosed that it had postponed its 14th regular congress in July 2024 “after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and other federal officials suggested its legal recognition would be restored before the congress was held,” a promise it said “was not honored.”

Calling on the African Union, #IGAD, and the broader international community to “take responsibility for enforcing the Pretoria Agreement,” the TPLF said, “The electoral board can only administer us when it grants us the recognition we have requested and is our right.” It concluded, “The Pretoria Agreement is the apple of our eye. Our organization and the peace-loving people of #Tigray will continue to work in good faith to implement it.”

https://addisstandard.com/?p=50093

#India and #Pakistan agree to ceasefire

The two nuclear-armed countries agreed to start talks on a “broad set of issues at a neutral site,” U.S. says.

The two sides early Saturday had exchanged some of the heaviest airstrikes since their armed confrontation began on Wednesday, prompting further calls for deescalation between the two nuclear-armed states.

India’s army in a post on X had accused Pakistan of “blatant escalation with drone strikes and other munitions” along the country’s western borders saying that the army “will thwart enemy designs.” India had accused Pakistan of harboring terrorist groups that carried out a deadly attack on tourists last month in India-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan has denied involvement.

The two countries have fought a series of wars since gaining their independence from Britain in 1947, largely over the Kashmir region, to which both sides lay claim.

https://www.politico.eu/article/india-pakistan-conflict-escalates-closer-full-scale-war/

Suspension of #USAID deepens humanitarian strain in #Tigray camps; displaced residents say “we ration lentils like they’re a treasure”

At the 70 Kare IDP Center near #Mekelle, Tigray’s largest displacement site, 35-year-old Leterbrhan holds a plate with a few lentils and asks, “What does Trump eat? Here, we ration lentils like they’re a treasure.” Displaced by the Tigray war (2020–2022), she lives with her one-year-old daughter in a camp where, despite a peace agreement signed in Pretoria in 2022, many continue to live under precarious conditions. Now, residents say they are also facing the consequences of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) suspension, ordered by President Donald Trump at the beginning of 2025.

“Since Trump took office as president of the United States, three people have left to embark on migration routes out of fear, desperation, and loss of hope. They are now imprisoned in Libya,” said Mehari Abadi, a coordinator at the Haki IDP Center, where 2,250 displaced persons currently reside. Gebreslassie Hailemichal, another coordinator, detailed the reductions in food rations: “In January, February, and March 2024, we received a 15-kilogram bag of wheat from USAID per person. From April to September, the amount changed from 15 to 12 kilograms per person. In October, November, and December, we were informed that we would receive 9,200 bir [$68] per family, but the reality is that they only paid for two of those three months.”

“It is very difficult to express how I feel, how we feel. We are alone, and we know it. The only thing left is to pray to God for help or simply wait for death,” said 65-year-old Genet Araya, who has lived at the Haki Center since October 2022. Tirhas Teweldemdh, another displaced woman at the center, said: “Why does [Trump] ignore us before the peace agreement [signed in Pretoria, South Africa, in 2022] is fully implemented? He is the richest man in the world; we are the poorest. He plays with our hunger, why does he do this? I would tell Trump that if I could speak to him… We have no options, there’s no hope, all we can do is wait to die.”

“We stopped working on January 24, 2025,” said Mebrahtom Belay, head of USAID in Tigray. “Our major problem has been that the budget is managed at the national level, and despite our request for better communication, from Tigray we rarely knew what the budget was for most of the campaigns.” Mebrahtom noted that “the budget for rehabilitating 40% of public facilities had been approved, but sadly, it has now been interrupted.” On the HIV program, which USAID also funded, he added: “What Trump did is not correct… It’s true that there should have been more thorough audits, but punishing innocent people in this way for the mismanagement of a few is not the solution.”

https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-05-11/hunger-looms-in-tigrays-refugee-camps-what-does-trump-eat-here-we-ration-lentils-to-make-them-last.html

#Somalia reopens #Doolow airport after months-long suspension

Somalia's federal government has reopened Doolow airport in the Gedo region, lifting a flight ban that had been in place since late December 2024, according to a statement from the Ministry of Internal Security.

Federal Internal Security Minister Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail Fartaag said the decision followed “a thorough security review” and commitments from Doolow authorities to ensure airport safety and compliance with national aviation laws. The airstrip was initially closed after a Halla Airlines flight, operating the #Mogadishu–Kismayo–Mogadishu route, was reportedly diverted “without clearance” and “forcefully landed” in Doolow—a move the federal government described as a violation of Somali airspace regulations.

The reopening comes amid mounting pressure from residents and regional officials. Minister Fartaag cited “the pressing needs of the Gedo population, particularly with the Hajj season approaching,” and added that the government had acted “based on assurances” from both local officials and regional security forces. The closure had been criticized by the Jubaland administration, which accused the federal government of using the flight suspension as a political tool.


https://www.garoweonline.com/en/news/somalia/somalia-govt-reopens-doolow-airport-after-months-long-flight-ban

#Ethiopian media under siege ahead of 2026 Elections

#Ethiopia’s media landscape is once again gripped by a “climate of fear” as journalists face arrests, raids, and terrorism charges, raising serious concerns about press freedom in the lead-up to national elections scheduled for 2026.

Recently, journalists have found themselves increasingly targeted. Three staff members from #AddisStandard were detained for hours last month after a police raid on the publication’s offices. Authorities confiscated laptops and mobile phones...The reasons behind the detentions remain unclear.

Another case in April saw a journalist from The Reporter detained while covering grievances of former soldiers dismissed without compensation. These incidents have fueled widespread unease among Ethiopian media workers.

Adding to concerns, lawmakers recently passed a legislative amendment that tightens state control over media regulation, transferring oversight to the prime minister’s office, weakening the independence of the media authority.

Journalists interviewed by AFP, all using pseudonyms for safety, described a deeply troubling atmosphere. One, referred to as “Tesfa,” said the situation is now “more dire than ever.” Others recounted deleting apps and messages out of fear that private communications could be used against them.

On World Press Freedom Day, 14 diplomatic missions - including those from the UK, France, and Belgium - issued a joint statement condemning the “significant pressure” placed on freedom of expression in Ethiopia.

https://newscentral.africa/ethiopian-media-under-siege-ahead-of-2026-elections/

#Ethiopia: Health professionals at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital hold protest ahead of nationwide strike demanding better pay, benefits, and working conditions

Health professionals at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital held a pre-strike protest on Monday, ahead of a nationwide strike planned for Tuesday to demand better salaries, benefits, and working conditions. Protesters carried placards reading, “We Save Lives But Can’t Afford Rent,” “Stop Harassing Health Workers,” and “Healthy Citizens Build a Strong Economy.” The demonstration follows similar actions held earlier this month in public hospitals nationwide, including over the weekend in Debre Tabor, Debre Markos, Bahir Dar’s Tibebe Ghion, and Felege Hiwot hospitals, where health professionals raised concerns over “delayed salaries, unfulfilled benefit payments, and deteriorating workplace conditions.”

Speaking to Addis Standard, one health professional actively participating in the movement said the nationwide strike is intended to be “a partial strike which preserves emergency, labor, and ICU services,” and added, “we don’t think that’s harmful to the people.” The professional stated, “We really care for our people,” and explained that their oath “obliged us not to harm patients, so we will never do that.” However, he cautioned that if authorities “do any harm to those who are involved in the partial strike, we will be obliged to get into full strike,” and warned that “the government will be fully responsible for all deaths and morbidity that will happen owing to that.”

https://addisstandard.com/?p=50109