Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA, June 11 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ethiopia’s upper house of parliament has agreed to extend the prime minster and government’s term in office beyond October because elections have been delayed.

Polls were due to be held in August – the first since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018 – but officials have postponed them because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The country’s nine regional governments have also had their terms extended in a binding ruling by the House of Federation.

09 June 2020; MEMO: The Ethiopian Prime Minister Abe Ahmed said that “the decision to fill the Renaissance Dam is irreversible.” He added that Addis Ababa will not go to war with Sudan as the two countries “agree on the settlement of border disputes.”

He added that his country is not seeking to harm others, pointing out that the Renaissance Dam is mainly aimed at the development of Ethiopia, according to statements broadcasted by Al-Arabiya TV channel.

ADDIS ABABA, June 3 (NNN-ENA) – Ethiopia received donation of 520,000 masks and other medical supplies from five Chinese business companies and Dongguan municipal government.

The COVID-19 medical supplies donation to Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa city administration, which also includes a large number of disinfectants, forehead thermometers and respirators is expected to play a critical role in helping Ethiopia overcome the challenge posed by COVID-19.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — A new report by the rights group Amnesty International accuses Ethiopia’s security forces of extrajudicial killings and mass detentions even as the country’s reformist prime minister was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

22 May 2020; MEMO: Ethiopia’s Irrigation Minister Seleshi Bekele told resident African ambassadors in Addis Ababa that his country has so far completed 73 per cent of the Renaissance Dam, adding that Ethiopia intends to fill the dam’s reservoir with water in July, the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) reported.

ADDIS ABABA, May 20 (NNN-ENA) – The number of confirmed COVID-19 positive cases across Africa rose from 84,634 Monday afternoon, to 88,172 as of Tuesday afternoon, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The continental disease control and prevention agency, which noted that the virus has so far spread into 54 African countries, also disclosed that some 33,863 people, who have been infected with the COVID-19, have recovered across the continent as of Tuesday afternoon.

9 May 2020; MEMO: Ethiopia has signed a deal to build a new dam along with other works for 2.5 billion Ethiopian birr ($76 million), The New Khalij reported on Friday.

The Ethiopian Irrigation Development Commission has awarded the construction of irrigation facilities to three contractors: Ethiopian Construction Works Corporation, Sur Construction plc, and Afar Water Works Construction Enterprise.

ADDIS ABABA, April 6 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the socio-economic condition of "almost all African countries" and appears to worsen dramatically as the tourism, air transport and the oil industry sectors "visibly impacted," according to a new report published by the African Union (AU) on Monday.

ADDIS ABABA, March 28 (NNN-XINHUA) — The death toll from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the African continent has reached 83 as confirmed positives cases surpassed 3,243 as of Friday, the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said.

The Africa CDC, specialized agency of the 55-member African Union (AU), in its latest situation update said the cases were spread across 46 African countries.

ADDIS ABABA, Marc h 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 4,000 prisoners will be released in Ethiopia as the government continues to take measures to control the spread of Coronavirus.

The country’s attorney general said that prisoners convicted of minor offences and women with babies were among those who would be freed.

Foreigners charged with involvement in with smuggling and drug trafficking would also be released and deported to their countries of origin.