By Tedla Woldeyohannes, Ph.D.* January 3, 2017 The question whether there is a shared Ethiopian national identity or Ethiopiawinet (ኢትዮጵያዊነት) has recently become a hot issue. The main purpose of this article is to examine some of the reasons that appear to lead to a denial of a shared Ethiopian national identity or something close…
By David Love Israel Defense Forces – Standing Guard in Nablus (From Wikimedia Commons) In Israel, hundreds of citizens of Ethiopian descent are refusing to serve reserve duty in the Israel Defense Forces, citing racial discrimination by the Israeli government in various state agencies, including the police. As David Sheen reported in the San Francisco Bay…
AFP Moscow (AFP) – A Russian military plane headed to Syria has disappeared from radar after taking off from the southern city of Adler, local news agencies reported the defence ministry as saying Sunday. The ministry said that there are 91 people onboard and that search and rescue groups had been dispatched to locate the…
By Tom O’Connor International Business Times President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin both expressed their support for expanding their respective nations’ nuclear capabilities in separate statements on Thursday. The Russian leader told an annual meeting with his chiefs of defense that the Russian arsenal was already capable of overcoming any potential aggressors, but that nuclear expansion…
William Davison | The Guardian From uneven development to authoritarian government, the morass of issues facing the city of Gondar offer a snapshot of Ethiopia’s wider problems A coach torched by anti-government protesters in Gondar, Ethiopia. William Davison in Gondar In Gondar, a city in Ethiopia’s northern highlands, a lone tourist pauses to take a photo of…
Egypt-Gulf relations tested by Saudi visit to Ethiopia dam A Saudi visit to Ethiopia and a tweet falsely attributed to a Qatari official have harmed relations between Cairo and Gulf monarchies Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir and Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry at a meeting in Jeddah in 2015 (AFP) By MEE staff Egyptian media lashed out…
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Human rights groups are asking Ethiopia’s government to immediately disclose the whereabouts of a popular local journalist who has been behind bars since October 2014. The Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia and Defenders on Wednesday called it “unacceptable” that the government was unwilling or unable to provide Temesgen Desalegn’s relatives…
BBC A bomb explosion in the Coptic Christian cathedral complex in the Egyptian capital Cairo has killed at least 25 people, officials say. Dozens of others were injured in the blast in a chapel adjoining St Mark’s cathedral during a Sunday service. Many of the victims are thought to be women and children. Egypt’s Christian…
The State Department continues to warn U.S. citizens of the risks of travel to Ethiopia due to the potential for civil unrest related to sporadic and unpredictable anti-government protests that began in November 2015. The U.S. Embassy’s ability to provide consular services in many parts of the country may be limited without warning due to the…
By Matt Khoury, for CNNPhotos: ‘Odyssey’ by Louisa Seton Mursi women – The scarification on shoulder of the woman standing on the right is prominent. Denoting beauty, the process involves cutting the skin with a razor and applying ash from fires to infect the wound. The scar tissue then causes the skin to protrude. (CNN)Kenyan-raised,…