Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopia’s prime minister on Wednesday ordered the military to confront one of the country’s regional governments after he said it attacked a military base overnight, citing months of “provocation and incitement” and declaring that “the last red line has been crossed.”

The statement by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office, and the reported attack by the well-armed Tigray People’s Liberation Front, immediately raised concerns that one of Africa’s most populous and powerful countries could plunge back into war.

ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- African countries have conducted over 17 million COVID-19 tests, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said on Friday.

"Over 17 million tests for COVID-19 have been conducted to date with a positivity rate of 9.5 percent," the Africa CDC said in its latest situation update.

As of Friday afternoon, the number of confirmed cases in the African continent has reached 1,759,794 as the death toll related to the pandemic stood at 42,336, the continental disease control and prevention agency said.

ADDIS ABABA/NAIROBI (Reuters) - COVID-19 cases are accelerating in some parts of Africa and governments should step up preparations for a second wave, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.

Over the past four week, cases have increased by 45% per week on average in Kenya, by 19% in Democratic Republic of Congo and by 8% in Egypt, the African Union-run organisation’s head John Nkengasong said.

“The time to prepare for a second wave is truly now,” he said, urging governments “not to get into prevention fatigue mode.”

26 Oct 2020; MEMO: Ethiopia on Saturday summoned the US ambassador over what it called an “incitement of war” between Ethiopia and Egypt from President Donald Trump over their dispute about the filling and operation of a massive hydropower dam, Reuters reports.

Trump called on Friday for an agreement between the countries, but added it was a dangerous situation and that Cairo could end up “blowing up that dam”.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — From a filthy cell in Saudi Arabia, the Ethiopian migrant spoke on a smuggled phone, fearing to give his name. Some 300 countrymen are detained with him, he said. And no one knows when Ethiopia’s government might bring them home.

27 Sep 2020; MEMO: Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told the United Nations on Friday that his country has “no intention” of harming Sudan and Egypt with a giant hydropower dam on the Blue Nile that has caused a bitter water dispute between the three countries, Reuters reports.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept 24 (NNN-ENA) – The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), yesterday said that, 17 African countries and regions are under full border closure, due to concerns related to the rapid spread of COVID-19 in Africa.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) Commission on Saturday disclosed an urgent need to collect illicit weapons in possession of civilians in Africa as an estimated 40 million weapons presently under the possession of civilians across the continent.

The statement was made by Smail Chergui, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, in a statement issued in relation to the Africa Amnesty Month, which is the implementation of the AU theme of the year 2020 "Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa's Development".

ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) Commission on Wednesday suspended Mali from the pan-African bloc following the forced detention of senior officials, including the country's president and prime minister.

The decision to suspend Mali from AU membership was made by the Peace and Security Council of the AU Commission during its latest meeting that dwelt upon the situation in the western Africa country.

ADDIS ABABA, Aug 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ethiopian Defence Minister Lemma Megerssa and two other top officials have been temporarily suspended from the ruling Prosperity Party’s central committee.

Lemma was once a close ally of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and a key figure in the country’s political and economic reform over the past few years.

Prior to being appointed as a defence minister he was the head of the country’s most-populous state, Oromia.