The Director-General of the Ethiopian National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), Temesgen Tiruneh, received the Director-General of Internal Security Affairs of South Sudan, General Akol Koor Kuc.
During the discussion held in Addis Ababa on Thursday, the two discussed bilateral and regional issues of mutual concern.
They reviewed the progress of agreements signed three weeks ago between the two Security Services to exchange information on regional issues, cooperate in capacity building and address regional threats.
They evaluated successful works done to combat terrorism, illicit movement of firearms and trafficking in human beings at border areas as well as to ensure regional peace and security through the exchange of information.
They also agreed to further cement the strategic partnership between the two countries as well as to work closely and collectively in areas of information and security sectors to ensure peace and stability in the Horn of Africa.
South Sudanese delegation led by Akol Koor Kuc yesterday visited and discussed with officials of the Information Network Security Agency (INSA). The talks focused on information and cyber-security issues. (FBC)
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Surge in Severe COVID-19 Cases Raise Concern in Ethiopia
The sudden increase in severe COVID-19 cases raised grave concerns in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) management in Ethiopia, the Ministry of Health disclosed on Wednesday.
According to the Ministry, COVID-19 positivity rate and severe COVID-19 cases and deaths from the virus suddenly increased in the first two days of the week.
Briefing the media, Health Communication Director Tegene Regassa (MeD) said the sudden increase of severe cases has posed grave treatment concern for the country.
The number of severe cases that never exceeded 200 in a day has jumped over 300 in a day, during the past two days alone, he said.
Noting that the country has no more than 500 mechanical ventilators, Tegene pointed out accepting 615 patients with severe cases in two days is a matter of grave concern.
He revealed that the Ministry is seeking additional support as the number of severe cases is beyond the capacity of its ICU.
Death rate is also increasing, the communication director said. (ENA)
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Tour guides appeal to gov’t support to resist pandemic impact
Tour Guides called on the government to facilitate support to resist the economic impacts they are facing these days due to Coronavirus pandemic.
The tour guides emphasized that they are still facing economic challenges since the Coronavirus restricted movement of tourists, which has exposed them to income loss.
Tour Guide Belay Gidey on Wednesday told The Ethiopian Herald that the tourist flow has seen a significant decrease for the past one year.
The pandemic is highly affecting tour guides who received payment per day but are left barehanded these days, he added. The informant also indicated that his friends in the sector have left their rental houses to live back with their families as they have no way of paying.
The government should facilitate support for tour guides to resist the impact of the pandemic as it did for hotels and travel agencies, he noted.
The government ought to preserve the existing tour guides, he emphasized. (The Ethiopian Herald)
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MfM pumps EUR 13 mln to undertake multipurpose projects
Menschen fur Menschen Foundation (MfM) disclosed it has pumped EUR 13 million Euro to carry out multipurpose projects during this fiscal year.
On Tuesday, Member of the Board of Directors, Sebastian Brandis told media crew that the allocated budget targets planting 16.5 million multipurpose trees, coffee and fruits; thereby, helping low income families in various parts of the country. It is also working to construct eight new and finalize 20 on-going schools that benefit over 25,000 students this year.
The foundation has been implementing multi-sector integrated rural development projects, among others, sustainable Land Management, Agricultural Development, Social Development and Capacity Building.
MfM development projects are pro-poor and gender sensitive focusing on improvement of livelihoods, environment protection and capacity building of the needy people.
(The Ethiopian Herald)
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UAE dismantles Eritrea base as it pulls back after Yemen war
The United Arab Emirates is dismantling parts of its military base it runs in the East African nation of Eritrea after it pulled back from the grinding war in nearby Yemen, satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press show.
The UAE built a port and expanded an airstrip in Assab beginning in September 2015, using the facility as a base to ferry heavy weaponry and Sudanese troops into Yemen as it fought alongside a Saudi-led coalition against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels there.
But the country once praised as “Little Sparta” by former U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis appears to have found the limits of its military expansion in Yemen’s stalemate conflict, experts say.
After it withdrew troops from the conflict, the satellite photos show it began shipping off equipment and tearing down even newly built structures.
“The Emiratis are paring back their strategic ambitions and are pulling out of places where they had presence,” said Ryan Bohl, an analyst at the Texas-based private intelligence firm, Stratfor. (AP)
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Four al-Shabaab terrorists killed, 21 captured in Somalia
At least four al-Shabaab terrorists were killed and over 21 others were captured during operations in Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region, the African Union Peacekeeping Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) said Thursday.
Military operations against the al-Shabaab terrorist group were conducted by Burundian forces serving under the AMISOM and the Somali national army.
“In the vicinity of Qoor Deere, four al-Shabaab terrorists were killed and weapons were seized,” AMISOM said in a statement.
Outside the town of Jowhar, the administrative capital of Hirshabelle State, at least 21 al-Shabaab terrorists were arrested, while others were killed in a shootout, according to the statement.
“The upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections are important to Somalia and we are ready to secure them in our areas of responsibility,” Burundi contingent commander Brig. Gen. Telesphore Baranderaka said.
This comes hours after the Somali army chief of staff, Gen. Odawa Yusuf Rageh, said Thursday that Somali Special Forces had killed at least 20 terrorists in a military operation in Somalia’s southern province of Lower Shabelle. (Anadolu)
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Bashir’s party urges protests after arrests
Sudan’s Islamic Movement on Tuesday called on supporters to stage rallies after dozens of members of the movement and former President Omar al-Bashir’s party were arrested.
In an audio message, the movement’s Secretary-General Ahmed Karti urged supporters to maintain the peaceful nature of their protests. He also called on the security forces to protect public and private property.
Last week, security forces rounded up dozens of members of the Islamic Movement and Al-Bashir’s National Congress Party.
There was no comment from the Sudanese government on Karti’s call for protests.
Meanwhile, the Forces for Freedom and Change alliance, which spearheaded the protests that led to Al-Bashir’s ousting in 2019, called on the Sudanese prosecution to arrest supporters of Bashir involved in recent acts of vandalism in the country.
In December, the chairman of Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, formed a committee to bring Al-Bashir-era officials to accountability over corruption.
Al-Bashir’s party, however, said the move was politically driven and aimed to take revenge on the party. (Anadolu)
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Biden considers appointment of special envoy for Horn of Africa
The Biden administration is weighing plans to establish a new special envoy for the Horn of Africa, to address political instability and conflict in the East African region, including a brewing civil war and humanitarian crisis in northern Ethiopia, current and former officials familiar with the matter told Foreign Policy.
The new special envoy post could fill a diplomatic leadership gap in the administration’s foreign-policy ranks as it works to install other senior officials in the State Department, a process that could take weeks or even months to complete, as they require presidential nomination and a Senate confirmation. Special envoy posts do not require Senate confirmation. (FP)
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