Ethiopian Airlines launched new destinations to Athens, Greece, Chennai in India, Damman in Saudi Arabia, Jakarta in Indonesia and Bahrain.
Starting from July 1, 2022 these new routes would be added to the airline’s 127 international destinations. This comes as the airline opens a five-star terminal hotel inside the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.
Ethiopian Airlines General Manager for Nigeria, Shimeles Arage, said travelers who need to refresh pre-flight or those with shorter stopovers, can use the hotel’s 24-hour spacious, pet-friendly rooms and suites.
He also revealed that the hotel is located within the airport terminal building and only a maximum of one-night stay is permitted due to the government’s regulation but that once guests check-in at the hotel, they cannot leave the premises.
Ethiopian commands the lion’s share of the Pan-African passenger and cargo network, operating the youngest and most modern fleet to more than 130 international passenger and cargo destinations across five continents.
(The Sun)
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Landmines add to drought woes of Ethiopian herders
The battle between the Ethiopian government-aligned troops and Tigrayan forces may have stopped, but herders in western Afar region are left fighting for their survival.
The record drought in the Horn of Africa that has killed millions of livestock has been made worse by landmines left by combatants.
Herder Hassen Arebti Hassen’s 4-year-old daughter was injured by a landmine, and the weapons are also killing his animals. He said landmines are everywhere, and many animals have stepped on them and died.
Landmines and other explosives are so common in the area that some locals use the wood from their crates as building materials.
Nine-year-old Ali Omer said his 10-year-old friend was killed by a landmine while they were herding goats together.
“We were just there to take care of the goats, but my friend died,” he said.
Omer said his friend was playing, throwing stones at the landmine, but then he picked it up and threw it to the ground.
(VOA)
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Chinese engagement propels Ethiopia’s development of industrial parks
Ethiopia aspires to further strengthen cooperation with China in the development of industrial parks to realize its aspiration of becoming the manufacturing hub of Africa, an Ethiopian government official said.
Speaking to Xinhua recently, Sandokan Debebe, CEO of Ethiopia’s Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC), said Chinese engagement in Ethiopia’s industrial parks development endeavor is very significant. He said the Ethiopian government envisages further strengthening its cooperation with China to tap into the sector’s huge potential in enabling the country’s economic transformation.
Sandokan told Xinhua in a recent interview that despite the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and other international phenomenon, Ethiopia anticipates to remain China’s preferred destination in the African continent in the development of industrial parks and investments inside the parks.
As the East African country envisions becoming the manufacturing hub of the African continent with extensive investments in the development of industrial parks, Sandokan emphasized that Chinese engagement is powering Ethiopia’s ambition.
“They (Chinese partners) are going side by side, and it is definitely accelerating our journey of changing our economic structure from agriculture sector to industry-led economy,” said Sandokan.
(People’s daily online)
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Lone referral hospital in Ethiopia’s Afar Region struggles as malnutrition soars
Record-breaking drought in Ethiopia has caused child malnutrition rates to soar in the northern Afar region, where the only referral hospital says babies are dying within hours of arrival. Ethiopia’s war with Tigrayan forces has left less than 10 percent of the region’s clinics functioning and hospitals struggling to cope.
Doctors at the hospital in Afar say they have admitted 369 severely malnourished children in the past three months.
With only two pediatricians serving an area of more than one million people, Dubti General Hospital is overwhelmed with weak children and desperate mothers.
Aina Kadr’s one year old son has been on therapeutic feeding for two weeks. “When we came here, he wasn’t eating food or drinking water,” she said adding, “We were afraid he would die.”
The worst drought in the Horn of Africa in four decades has left millions of Ethiopians to face hunger and malnutrition. The UN says Afar’s rate of admitted malnourished children jumped by 30 percent in March and then another 28 percent in April.
The acting head of Dubti General Hospital, Muhammad Yusuf, said they’ve gone from admitting five children per month to five per day.
(VOA)
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HORN in BRIEF
MSG Group inks a deal for a cement plant in Berbera, Somaliland
MSG Group of Companies through its DIFC Dubai based subsidiary company, Horn Holding Group ltd (HHG), has signed an agreement with Bedeschi SPA for the construction of phase one of a full cement plant. It will take about 18 months with an installed production capacity of 700,000 tons of cement per annum.
The entire full plant project will take three years to complete with a production capacity of 3300 tons of cement and 3000 tons of clinker per day.
The agreement is a result of negotiations lasting over a year led by Bergs & More a leading law, tax and financial advisory firm with well established presence in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Somaliland is a net importer of cement hence this facility will put it not only on the map of a cement producing nation but also as an exporter of cement, earning the country the much-needed revenues.
An estimate of 300 Somali landers are expected to benefit directly from this project by way of employment and another 200 plus citizens to benefit indirectly.
(World Cement)
Djibouti celebrates 45th anniversary of independence
Djibouti President, Ismail Omar Guelleh, believes the country must rise to the level of current and future challenges, as the country celebrates its 45th anniversary of independence.
Guelleh conveyed the statement during his speech on Monday on the occasion of the traditional reception held to commemorate the 45th anniversary of Djibouti’s Independence Day.
During his speech, the Djibouti president touched upon the milestones of the path that Djibouti has followed and is still following in accordance with steady steps, clear visions towards achieving a brighter tomorrow and an ambitious future.
The president of the Republic referred to the continuous success of the Djiboutian society in gaining high resilience to face the challenges and external shocks facing the world and Djibouti. He pointed out that those shocks have become increasingly interconnected in an open and connected world, in which the winds of globalization extend without borders or barriers.
(Antara)
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UAE hosts high-level meeting of amended Djibouti Code of Conduct
In line with its commitment to support the security and safety of the maritime industry, the UAE hosted the 2022 high-level workshop of the amended Djibouti Code of Conduct (DCoC), concerning the repression of piracy and armed robbery in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden area.
The workshop was held between June 28–30, 2022, at the Intercontinental Festival City hotel in Dubai, in the presence of Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure.
The workshop witnessed the presence of around 80 officials, including ministers, representing 17 countries. There were also representatives from ‘Friends of DCoC’ that includes international agencies and countries including France and the US were present.
The latest amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct was adopted at the 2017 Jeddah meeting by countries in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden area.
The Jeddah Amendment, developed from the initial version of the DCoC, covers measures to tackle a range of illicit activities, including piracy, arms trafficking, trafficking in narcotics, illegal trade in wildlife, illegal oil bunkering, crude oil theft, human trafficking, human smuggling, and illegal dumping of toxic waste in regional and international waters in the region.
(Emirates news)
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Rwanda to maintain subsidies despite IMF concerns
The Government’s subsidies on some products or services are not permanent and are meant to tame price hikes in order to lower costs for consumers, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning said.
Uzziel Ndajijimana responded to a question during the post-budget press conference held at the Ministry’s headquarters in Kigali on June 30, on the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s recommendation of June 23 that Rwandan authorities should focus on increasing the coverage and benefits of existing social protection programs in a targeted manner and phase out fuel subsidies.
These subsidies were introduced to cushion citizens against adverse effects of COVID-19 and spillover effects of the Russia-Ukraine war. The subsidies cover fuel, fertilizer and public transport.
The recommendation to phase our subsidies was made after the IMF Executive Board completed the sixth review of the Policy Coordination Instrument for Rwanda on June 22, 2022.
IMF said that rising inflationary pressures, exacerbated by rising commodity prices, are compounding the policy challenges of balancing economic recovery with maintaining price stability.
(The new times)
