Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed looks on during a parliament session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. Assab has been part of Eritrea since 1993, when it broke away from Ethiopia after decades of guerrilla warfare. Ethiopia’s military and its allies, including Eritrea, teamed up against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, the group that administers the region. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has urged Eritrea and Ethiopia to respect the border treaty signed 25 years ago. Ethiopia claims Eritrea is “actively preparing to wage war against it” and that its forces are in Tigray, which shares a border with Eritrea.

A report by a center-right think tank based in Washington, DC warns that Ethiopia’s pursuit of sovereign sea access is fundamentally altering the geopolitical landscape of the Horn of Africa. The report details how the Ethiopian government increasingly views its landlocked status as a strategic vulnerability that must be rectified. The AEI report further reads that Ethiopia is moving beyond rhetoric by actively rebuilding its naval capabilities. In response, a “status quo” axis comprising Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Eritrea has emerged to contain Ethiopia’s expansion, reads the report. According to the report, Egypt, in particular, views Ethiopia’s maritime rise—coupled with the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)—as a direct threat to its historical dominance over the Nile and the Red Sea.

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In walking these places, I sought to grasp how Islam in Ethiopia endured through a sacred geography held together by movement. After him came Haq al-Din bin Umar, Baziu bin Umar Walasma, and Hussain bin Umar Walasma. This lineage proceeds through Sultan Haqeddin, Sultan Sabredin II, Sultan Jamal al-Din, Sultan Haqeddin II, and Sultan Saʿeddin. In Ethiopian Islamic history, memory is often preserved not on paper, but in land and lineage. Conclusion: Walking History ForwardMy journey on February 3, 2026 reaffirmed that Ethiopian Islamic history cannot be reconstructed from chronicles alone—it must be walked.

In this environment, climate and disaster NGOs operate under two parallel demands:Deliver technical results. Media visibility — when disciplined, factual, and responsibly managed — has become a strategic asset for NGOs working in climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Why Media Visibility Matters More in Climate WorkClimate and disaster funding is politically visible. Climate and disaster NGOs operate where urgency, uncertainty, and political scrutiny converge. EDITOR”S NOTE: BEHAK, an Africa-based strategic communications and media advisory firm headquartered in Addis Ababa, works with NGOs, development agencies, and mission-driven enterprises to strengthen credible media visibility across African and international platforms.

Mesfin Tasew Bekele, Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines, highlighted the need for African governments to advance visa liberalisation in tandem with aviation connectivity to strengthen economic integration. Mesfin emphasised that coordinated progress on air transport and border policies is essential to enable seamless travel across the continent. He called for the full implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) as a key step toward facilitating mobility for passengers and goods. The Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), launched in 2018 under the African Union’s Agenda 2063, aims to liberalise and unify air transport across Africa by removing restrictive bilateral agreements and allowing airlines from member states to operate freely across borders. Findings from the Africa Visa Openness Index show that more than half of intra-African travel still requires visas obtained before departure, a factor identified as limiting regional commerce.

Industry-First: Archer to Bring Starlink On Board Midnight Air TaxisArcher Aviation Inc. (NYSE: ACHR) today announced it will work with Starlink to bring stable, reliable and high-speed connectivity to its air taxis, marking Starlink’s entry into the emerging air mobility category and an industry-first collaboration. Under the agreement, Archer will install Starlink’s low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellite internet system into its Midnight aircraft and conduct testing. The system is designed to provide high-speed, low-latency, connectivity during Midnight’s air taxi operations. Midnight is Archer’s piloted electric air taxi designed to carry up to four passengers while producing less noise and emissions than a traditional helicopter. Beyond passenger internet access, Archer plans to utilize Starlink to enable communications between Midnight, pilots and engineering teams on the ground, helping to support the company’s air taxi connectivity infrastructure.

Military tension between the neighbouring states of Ethiopia and Eritrea has seen both reportedly mobilising their armies to their shared border areas. However, a video posted on Facebook purporting to show the Ethiopian army entering Eritrea has been altered. The original shows the Ethiopian army parading in the centre of the capital, Addis Ababa, in 2023. The footage shows an Ethiopian military parade featuring heavy artillery and an airshow performance in the presence of former Ethiopian president Sahle-Work Zewde, the defence chief of staff, and others. Distinct landmarks, including the square itself, the prominent light rail bridges, and the Wegagen Bank headquarters in the background, match those seen in the original video.

Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed meeting Aserbaijan President, Ilham Aliyev (MFAE)BorkenaToronto – A day after hosting Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Ethiopian Prime Minister led a delegation to Azerbaijan capital Baku where he met with the president, Ilham Aliyev. The president revealed that Prime Minister Abiy was hospitable to his daughter, Leyla, in Ethiopia for which he expressed gratitude. President Ilham Aliyev described it as “a very good conversation.”It is indicated that Azerbaijan has interest in strengthening bilateral relations. Ethiopia has been experiencing devastating conflicts since Abiy Ahmed became Prime Minister in 2018. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has a positive view about his visit to Azerbaijan.

Ethiopia has officially launched the University Innovation Platform for Artificial Intelligence, an initiative developed in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme aimed at positioning the country as a continental hub for AI-based solutions. The platform is designed to equip young people with practical AI skills, transform academic research into innovative projects, and support ideas through development into scalable and sustainable technological solutions. He said the platform aligns with the national Digital Ethiopia 2030 strategy and the country’s broader economic reform program. He said Ethiopia is choosing to actively shape its own technological future rather than depend on external direction. The launch builds on Ethiopia’s broader push to develop homegrown digital capacity and follows the recent unveiling of the AI UniPod, a separate collaborative initiative developed by the Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute, Addis Ababa University and UNDP.

Gebeya launches Dala AI tools on M-Pesa in EthiopiaM-Pesa Ethiopia has partnered with Gebeya, an AI-powered creator platform, to launch the Dala AI Bundle, a new subscription product that allows Ethiopians to access AI creation tools through the mobile money platform. Gebeya users can pay for the AI tools using their M-Pesa wallet, removing the need for credit cards and making artificial intelligence accessible to anyone with a mobile phone.

Belarus intends to deepen its relations with Ethiopia in the military sphere. This is the main objective of a visit by a delegation of the Belarusian Defence Ministry headed by Commander of the Air Force and Air Defence Forces Andrei Lukyanovich, the ministry’s Department of International Military Cooperation said. It should be noted that in January a delegation of the State Authority for Military Industry visited Ethiopia. The battle took place on 1 March 1896 and became the निर्णcing engagement of the Italo-Ethiopian War. A peace treaty was signed under which Italy recognised Ethiopia’s sovereignty, and certain coastal territories of Italian Eritrea came under Ethiopian control.

Leaders of Ethiopia and Azerbaijan witness signing of MOUs in defense and other sectorsLeaders of Ethiopia and Azerbaijan witness signing of MOUs in defense and other sectorsAddis Ababa, February 27, 2026 (FMC) — Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan witnessed the signing of memoranda of understanding (MOUs) in defense and other sectors following bilateral discussions in Baku today. It is known that the Ethiopian Prime Minister, alongside his high-level delegation, is in Azerbaijan for an official working visit since February 26. During his maiden official visit to Azerbaijan, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed held discussions aimed at expanding cooperation between the two countries. The talks followed his reception in Baku and culminated in the signing of MOUs covering defense and additional areas of bilateral engagement. The MOUs in defense and other sectors were witnessed by the leaders as part of the visit, reflecting efforts to broaden cooperation and strengthen bilateral relations.

A United Nations flight landed at Khartoum airport on Thursday, the first since Sudan's nearly three-year war began, the UN humanitarian coordinator for the country said, calling it "a big deal" for aid workers trying to reach millions of Sudanese in need. Since April 2023, Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been locked in a devastating conflict that has killed tens of thousands and displaced some 11 million people. "I'd like to reiterate how pleased I am to have taken the first United Nations Humanitarian Air Service flight to Khartoum in three years," Denise Brown said after stepping off the aircraft. Khartoum's airport was badly damaged early in the war and was one of the RSF's last strongholds during the army offensive that reclaimed the capital. Earlier this month, a passenger flight also landed at Khartoum airport for the first time since the war began.

IOMAt least 7,667 people died or went missing on migration routes worldwide in 2025, according to new data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). "The continued loss of life on migration routes is a global failure we cannot accept as normal," said IOM Director General Amy Pope. The increasing restriction of search and rescue information on sea routes to Europe has meant that an exceptionally high number of cases could not be verified. In the Americas, 409 deaths were recorded in 2025, the lowest annual total since IOM began collecting data in 2014. The Eastern route also saw a marked increase, with 922 deaths recorded, compared to 558 in 2024.