#Nigeria risks joining #Eritrea as the only African countries on U.S. religious freedom blacklist

Nigeria could soon be designated a "Country of Particular Concern" (CPC) by the #United_States, a label currently applied to only one other African nation, Eritrea.

The designation is reserved for states accused of engaging in or tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.

In its 2025 Annual Report, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended Nigeria’s re-designation, citing the enforcement of blasphemy laws in 12 northern states and at the federal level, which have led to prosecutions and imprisonment of individuals accused of insulting religion.

The report also highlighted violent attacks by non-state actors, including Fulani herders, armed gangs, Boko Haram, and Islamic State West Africa Province..

https://africa.businessinsider.com/local/lifestyle/nigeria-risks-joining-eritrea-as-the-only-african-countries-on-us-religious-freedom/v804d6d

Floods kill 19, affect nearly 640,000 in #South_Sudan: UN

Widespread flooding caused by heavy rains in South Sudan has killed 19 people and affected an estimated 639,225 others across 26 counties in six states, a United Nations (#UN) humanitarian agency said on Friday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said nearly 175,000 people are displaced, sheltering on higher ground in 16 counties.

"Health risks are rising, with increasing cases of malaria, respiratory infections, and diarrhea," OCHA said in its latest humanitarian report released in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

It said at least 121 health facilities have been impacted amid reports of 144 snake bites and 3,391 malnutrition cases across 11 counties.

https://english.news.cn/africa/20251004/729bbfe4805844e0b6dc98f8638e52ba/c.html

#Opinion: #Irreechaa and Christ: Beyond politics, beyond demonization

In his opinion piece “Irreechaa and Christ: Beyond politics, beyond demonization,” the author Naol Befkadu Kebede, MD, delivers a pointed rebuttal to recent theological and political interpretations of Irreechaa by two scholars, arguing that both misrepresent and diminish the festival’s deeper cultural and spiritual significance. He takes aim at Yonas Gorfe’s view that ties Irreechaa to #Oromo nationalism and Kebede Bedhadha’s framing of #Waaqeffannaa as demonic, insisting that “both miss the question of how a Christian relates to their roots.” The author contends that their approaches, one politicizing and the other demonizing, “end in erasure,” replacing authentic Oromoness with sectarian identities that declare, in effect, “to be an Oromo is to be a born-again Christian.”

Rejecting both extremes, the author argues that Christian faith does not require cultural amnesia. “Can one be a Christian and still embrace their roots without compromise?” he asks. “Must conversion always mean cultural amnesia?” He grounds his argument in scripture, asserting that being “a new creation in Christ” does not entail escaping one’s community but living “as a redeemed presence within it.”

Attending Irreechaa, he writes, “is not to regress spiritually but to confess our belonging, to say we are part of our people and their story.” For him, the Christian calling is not to sever ties with culture, but to redeem them through faith.

He further draws on historical and theological precedents to reinforce this view. The apostles, he notes, remained connected to their Jewish rituals even after their conversion, while global Christianity has always grown through “translation and incarnation, not erasure.” Quoting theologians like Lamin Sanneh and Kwame Bediako, the author underscores that “Christianity is never foreign anywhere” and warns that when African Christians reject their heritage, “the gospel is impoverished.” For the Oromo, he writes, the task is not to redefine themselves as Orthodox, Protestant, or Muslim first, but to “safeguard the uniqueness of Oromoness even as they embrace Christ.”

Ultimately, the opinion challenges Ethiopian theologians to “wrestle” with, rather than reject, Irreechaa and Waaqeffannaa. “Too many of our contemporary writings on Irreechaa and Waaqeffannaa betray weaknesses,” he argues, “either weaponizing the festival as nationalist politics or casting it off in fear as a demonic threat.” True theology, he insists, must listen, discern, and redeem rather than erase. His concluding warning is both cultural and spiritual: “If we lose our roots, we lose more than culture. We lose the very ground where the gospel can take root and bear fruit.”

https://addisstandard.com/?p=52748

#GERD prevented ‘historic destruction’ in #Sudan, #Egypt, Ethiopia asserts

#Ethiopia has dismissed accusations made by the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), calling them “falsehoods” and “misrepresentations.”

In a statement on Friday, 3 October 2025, Egypt’s ministry claimed Ethiopia’s dam management “lacks the most basic principles of responsibility and transparency.”

In response, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Water and Irrigation in a statement released 4 October 2025, argued that regulated water flow from the dam has reduced peak flood magnitudes and minimized damage downstream.

Citing data recorded in Sudan, the statement noted that prior to the GERD, peak floods in the months of August & September often exceeded 800 million cubic meters per day. In comparison, the average daily release from the GERD in the same months this year was 154.7 million cubic meters & 472 million cubic meters, respectively.

https://addisstandard.com/?p=52747

The HORA ARSEDI IRREECHA is being celebrated with great splendor in the city of Bishoftu.

The celebration has drawn the presence of Abba Gadas (traditional Oromo leaders), Hada Sinqes (traditional Oromo women leaders), and members of the community, youth, farmers, from various parts of the Oromia region. And foreign nationals.

Video: Addis Standard

#Ethiopia hits back at 'false' #Egyptian claims over mega-dam

Ethiopia on Saturday hit back at Egypt's "false" claim that it had triggered floods in Sudan by opening the gates of its Grand Renaissance Dam.

Ethiopia on Saturday hit back at Egypt's "false" claim that it had triggered floods in Sudan by opening the gates of its Nile mega-dam, a regional bone of contention.

Addis Ababa inaugurated its Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD), Africa's largest hydroelectric project, in early September.

Cairo has meanwhile spent more than a decade vehemently criticising the dam over concerns that the "existential threat" will dry up its primary water supply: the Nile, which supplies 97 percent of the water it uses.

On Friday, the Egyptian water ministry said the dam had released "enormous water quantities" immediately after its inauguration, which had "resulted in the flooding of agricultural lands and the submersion of numerous villages" in neighbouring Sudan.

Flooding has affected multiple Sudanese regions including the capital Khartoum for several weeks, which Sudanese authorities attribute to climate change, exceptional rainfall and the opening of the dam's gates.

In a statement published on Saturday, Ethiopia's water ministry called Egypt's statements "false and defamatory" and an attempt to "mislead the international community".

Flooding in Sudan is due to the White Nile tributary's rising water levels and has "nothing to do with Ethiopia", it said.

https://www.newarab.com/news/ethiopia-hits-back-false-egyptian-claims-over-mega-dam

#Somaliland and #Puntland sign #Nairobi accord to strengthen security and cross-border trade

After Oct. 4–5 face-to-face talks, their first in years, Somaliland and Puntland signed a joint security and cooperation accord in Nairobi, pledging to coordinate against al-Shabab, back reconciliation in Erigavo and ease cross-border trade.

The two-day meeting, held on Oct. 4–5, brought together ministers and senior security officials from both sides. A joint communiqué described the talks as “historic,” saying they fostered “a new atmosphere of trust and mutual confidence.”

Under the agreement, both sides committed to jointly combating terrorism and cross-border militancy, including operations against al-Shabab and the Islamic State group. They pledged to share intelligence and coordinate border patrols to prevent infiltration by armed groups.

The communiqué said the two sides will also cooperate in maritime security, targeting piracy and illicit trafficking, and work to dismantle organized crime networks undermining peace and trade in the Horn of Africa.

https://hiiraan.com/news4/2025/Oct/203198/somaliland_and_puntland_sign_nairobi_accord_to_strengthen_security_and_cross_border_trade.aspx

#Somali forces end six-hour prison siege in Mogadishu, killing seven attackers; #AU, #IGAD condemn assault

Somali government forces have ended a six-hour siege by al-Shabab militants at a major prison near the president’s office in #Mogadishu, killing all seven attackers, the government announced on Sunday.

According to the government, no civilians or security officers were killed during the Saturday assault, which targeted the Godka Jilacow prison. The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group claimed responsibility for the attack, which is among a series of assaults it has carried out in Somalia in recent years.

The incident occurred just hours after the federal government lifted several long-standing roadblocks in the capital. The barriers, initially installed to protect key government sites, had been criticized by residents for obstructing traffic and economic activity.

https://web.facebook.com/AddisstandardEng/posts/pfbid0tKWWsUQzYbHCNk5dnbQ9SDSSnaosFyGhph1jy3Bst1nwy7f6T1dqHwaDostcBUWNl

#Op_ed: From Self-Determination to Peace: #Ethiopia’s constitutional promise in practice

In this op-ed, Dagnachew Ayenew examines the intricate relationship between Ethiopia’s constitutional “right to self-determination” and the urgent “right to peace.” He notes that the 1995 Constitution enshrines the right of “nations, nationalities, and peoples” to self-determination—including secession—making it one of the most far-reaching constitutional guarantees in the world. However, this provision has proven to be a “double-edged sword.” While it addressed long-standing demands for autonomy, Dagnachew contends that it has also been “manipulated by federal authorities” to preserve centralized control, leaving the promise of genuine self-rule largely unrealized.

He further states that the “gap between constitutional promises and political reality” has been a major driver of recurrent unrest. When self-determination is curtailed through “centralization or repression,” the author argues, grievances accumulate and eventually erupt into conflict—as evidenced by the 2014 Oromo protests and the subsequent war in #Tigray and the conflicts in the #Amhara and #Oromia regions.

The article also underscores that Ethiopia’s “right to peace,” though implicit in law, remains precarious. Despite the 2022 #Pretoria Agreement and the establishment of the National Dialogue Commission, “fragile implementation, exclusion, and renewed violence” persist. Weak institutions, internal factionalism, and politicized constitutional interpretations continue to “undermine trust and the realization of sustainable peace.”

The author emphasizes that moving from constitutional promise to enduring peace requires “clarity of legal mechanisms,” authentic regional autonomy, inclusive peace processes, and equitable economic development. Sustainable peace, he argues, demands that all groups “see their identity, aspirations, and dignity respected.” The right to peace, Dagnachew notes, “should not be viewed as subsequent to self determination, nor as its reward—rather, it must be its essential companion.”

https://addisstandard.com/?p=52753

#Sudan’s Democratic Bloc holds talks on political process

A key Sudanese political coalition began internal talks on Sunday to unify its vision for a national dialogue, just as uncertainty clouds a broader African Union-led peace initiative scheduled for this week.

The Forces of Freedom and Change – Democratic Bloc (FFC-DB), a major pro-army coalition, is holding a two-day workshop in Port Sudan, organized by the French mediation organization Promediation.

The workshop aims to define the parameters of a future Sudanese-led dialogue, including its participants, location, and the role of international mediation, according to bloc spokesman Mohammed Zakaria.

Leaders of the coalition stressed the need for a unified internal front. Minni Arko Minnawi, head of the bloc’s political committee, said joint action between civilian and military leaders was essential for stability.

https://sudantribune.com/article/305726