A special ceremony to celebrate the forthcoming 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital.

The reception ceremony, which was organized in a hybrid format, brought together senior Ethiopian government officials, Chinese diplomats in Ethiopia, representatives from the business community as well as members of academia and scholars. Representatives from Chinese companies, the Chinese Medical Team, and Confucius institutes in Ethiopia attended the ceremony via online video link.

Ethiopia’s former President, Mulatu Teshome said in a speech that since the founding of the PRC, China has grown into the second largest economy in the world, and people’s lives have significantly improved.

“The success of China is the success of people known for their industry, wisdom and fortitude; it is the success of a governance and development model that adapts to basic national conditions; it is the success of people-centered, results-oriented and forward-looking leadership,” Mulatu said.

He further extolled the ever-expanding China-Ethiopia comprehensive, strategic and cooperative partnership as well as the positive contributions of Chinese engagements in Ethiopia.

(People’s daily online)

Cerba Lancet Africa signs strategic partnership with International Clinical Laboratories in Ethiopia

Cerba Lancet Africa, a benchmark in the field of medical diagnosis in Africa, announced it has signed a strategic partnership with International Clinical Laboratories (ICL) Ethiopia, the leading private clinical pathology laboratory in the country serving more than three million patients over the past 17 years.

Cerba Lancet Africa is majority owned by the French group, Cerba HealthCare, benefiting from a unique positioning on the whole value chain of medical diagnosis: alongside a worldwide presence through its expertise in clinical pathology for clinical trials.

Cerba Lancet Africa CEO Stéphane Carré commented “This partnership reflects our desire to develop the existing diagnostic offering in Africa, meeting the needs of the greatest number of people across the continent. We share with ICL management team the same desire to actively and continually upgrade the clinical pathology services in Ethiopia to enable healthcare providers to deliver essential medical support to patients throughout the country.”

The Group has sound positions in Europe and Africa thanks to its historical activities in routine and specialty clinical pathology. Cerba HealthCare set foot on the African continent in 2019 where it operates in 15 countries under the Cerba Lancet Africa umbrella, providing access to accurate diagnosis and high-quality care to more almost 3 million people yearly.

(Business wire)

Detectives probe origin of cocaine worth Sh1.4 billion seized at Ethiopian airport

Kenyan detectives have opened an investigation into the origin of cocaine weighing 97 kilos worth more than Sh1.4 billion that was seized at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.

They also want to establish how the haul in two boxes managed to pass through checks at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

The officials handling the case said they will talk to customs and Kenya Airports Authority staff that was on duty when the cargo passed before being intercepted at Bole.

The airport officials held a meeting on Wednesday and Thursday to review the passage of the cargo and establish the possible loophole that led to the tragedy. This has put officials at the airport on the spot over their safety to ensure such narcotics don’t pass.

Sources said the seizure is a warning that Kenya is now a major transit route for the narcotics probably destined for Europe. It is believed the narcotics were packaged at a house in Embakasi area as books and later moved in a taxi to the airport.

(The star)

Former Archbishop of Canterbury calls for sacred Ethiopian tablet to be repatriated

A former Archbishop of Canterbury has called on Westminster Abbey to return a sacred tablet to Ethiopia after branding the issue a ‘matter of faith’.

Lord Carey of Clifton, 86, is understood to want the sacred object to be repatriated to the Horn of Africa after it was seized following the Battle of Magdala in 1868.

A Tabot, viewed by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as a sacred likeness to the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed, sits inside the Lady Chapel in Westminster.

The Ethiopian state has called for it to be repatriated, which may need to be approved by King Charles, because the Abbey falls under his direct jurisdiction.

Earlier this year, Lord Carey called for The British Museum to hand back its 11 sacred Tabots, which he said are ‘essential to Ethiopian worship’. The former archbishop led the Church of England between 1991 and 2002, and called the repatriation a ‘matter of faith’.

“It is cruel to deprive believers of access to faith and tabots are essential to Ethiopian worship.”

(Mail online)

HORN

Kenya Power to spend $331,000 in pilot transition to electric vehicles

State-owned Kenya Power said it has started the process of phasing out vehicles that run on fossil fuels for electric ones as a way of adopting “sustainable ways of doing business.”

The company, mandated to distribute electricity to final retail consumers in the country, said in a statement that it has set aside USD 331,372 in this financial year to facilitate the pilot stage of the transition.

This first stage will involve the purchase of three electric vehicles, two pick-ups and one four-wheel-drive, and the construction of three electric vehicle charging stations in Nairobi, to be used by the company and for demonstration to the public.

Kenya Power has already invited bids for the construction of an e-mobility network infrastructure system (Enis) for the initial charging stations, which will allow payment through mobile money and credit cards, according to the statement.

Acting Managing Director, Geoffrey Muli, said the company is initiating this transition as a demonstration of its commitment to “substantially reduce its carbon footprint,” adding that they will also purchase electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers for its operations.

(the east African)

Six medical workers in Uganda test positive for Ebola

Six Ugandan health workers have tested positive for Ebola as the virus spreads through three districts in the central region of the East African country.

Emmanuel Ainebyoona, the Health Ministry spokesperson, in a social media message said “Six medical personnel have tested positive for Ebola. We are told they worked on a probable case of Ebola in the theatre.”

Earlier, Minister of Health, Ruth Aceng said despite the infections, the medical team remains committed and the situation was under control.

While addressing the nation Wednesday evening, President Yoweri Museveni announced that 24 Ebola cases had been confirmed in the country, with five deaths being registered.

Uganda declared an Ebola outbreak on September 20 after a case of the rare Sudan strain was detected in Mubende district, a town in the central region of Uganda.

(People’s daily online)

Suicide bombing in Somalia targets military base

At least one soldier was killed and six others injured in Somalia when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a military base in the west of the capital Mogadishu.

Somalia’s al-Qaida-allied group, al-Shabab, claimed responsibility for the bombing.

The suicide bomber had disguised himself as a regular soldier and joined others as they went into a military base early Sunday before he detonated the explosive at the checkpoint. A nurse at Madina Hospital in Mogadishu told Reuters they had received one dead soldier and six others who were wounded.

Al-Shabab claimed it had killed 32 soldiers.

“A Mujahid suicide bomber killed 32 apostate soldiers and injured over 40 others inside a base in Mogadishu today,” Al Andalus radio station, which is affiliated with the group, said, quoting Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabab’s military operations spokesperson.

Abu Musab said they had targeted the base because recruitment activity was being conducted there.

Al-Shabab has been liberated from many areas in the Hiran region (central Somalia) in the past few days, and this group carries out suicide attacks in the capital when they are under military pressure.

(horseed media)

S. Sudan plans to build harbor in Djibouti to hurt Kenyan port

South Sudan has bought a piece of land in Djibouti for the construction of a harbor in its latest effort to find an alternative to the port of Mombasa which is facing an onslaught from Dar-es-Salaam.

South Sudan has bought three acres of land at the port of Djibouti for the construction of a facility that will handle its import and export goods as Juba seeks to cut reliance on the Mombasa port in Kenya.

The latest development comes just two months after the Chamber of Commerce in South Sudan said it will shift its cargo to the port of Djibouti, which it termed as convenient for the Africa’s youngest State.

“We have been only using Port Sudan and Mombasa but recently, we have decided to go to Djibouti and as I am speaking to you, we have land in Djibouti,” South Sudan Minister for Petroleum, Puot Kang Chol, said as quoted by local media.

Mombasa has been the main route for all consignments destined to the landlocked country with South Sudan importing nearly all of its cargo through the Kenyan port.

(the east African)