One of these dedicated women can sort defects from up to 150 kg of raw coffee beans each day at the Hadero coffee processing plant. This photo taken by a mobile phone shows a machine roasting coffee beans at a coffee roastery in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, on June 8, 2024. "Ethiopia has been exporting green coffee beans for many years. We have to add value to it, as the price for value-added coffee is much higher than for green coffee. Ahmed, the company's director of business development, said China is now "an emerging and big coffee market" with greater market potential and incentives for Ethiopian coffee exporting companies.

Ethiopian spot Feru Bar and Restaurant in the Van Dorn Shopping Center (512 S. Van Dorn Street) recently won a spot on Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema’s top five great affordable restaurants around the region (shoutout to Patch for spotting it). Sietsema praised not only the awaze tibs — a meat stew dish — but the down-to-earth atmosphere of the restaurant and the hard work of owner Firehiwot Bireka. Feru Bar and Restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday-Wednesday, and until 2 a.m. on Thursday-Saturday. Washington Post said entrees range from $18 to $60 for a shared meat combination, though it’s worth noting many Ethiopian dishes can be shared as a group. Photo via Feru Bar and Restaurant/Instagram

Ahmed emphasized, “This diplomatic milestone marks a significant step in our collective aspiration for regional cooperation in the Nile Basin. It is “the first of many great things to come in all Nile River countries.”South Sudan’s Transitional National Legislative Assembly ratified the Framework Agreement on July 8. It is a significant milestone in the long-standing efforts to ensure equitable use and sustainable development of the Nile waters among the involved states, Fana Broadcasting Corporate informed. The Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, has been a key player in advocating for the transformation into a Permanent Nile Basin Organization. Its ratification is essential to transition from the NBI, a transitional arrangement, into the Nile Basin Commission, a permanent river basin organization.

Fraport enhances security at Frankfurt Airport with nine new checkpoints in Terminal 1, featuring modern CT technology and a streamlined lane concept to speed up passenger processing and reduce wait times. Fraport marked an important milestone in the ongoing upgrade of the security checkpoints at Frankfurt Airport. Nine additional security checkpoints equipped with modern CT technology and an innovative lane concept are now available in Departures B-West of Terminal 1. In the long term, Fraport aims to install the new security checkpoints across all terminals at Frankfurt Airport, including in the future Terminal 3. For passengers, the process at security checkpoints will be made considerably easier, as liquids, smartphones and other electronic devices can remain in the carry-on baggage.

The Ethiopian Capital Market Authority (ECMA) announced a directive that will establish Ethiopia's first licensed securities exchange. The ECMA, established in 2021, holds the authority to regulate the capital market through directives. The newly issued "Directive on Licensing, Operation, and Supervision of Securities Exchanges, Derivatives Exchanges, and the Over-The-Counter Market No. This directive represents a significant departure from the previously fragmented securities trading landscape in Ethiopia. The directive paves the way for the Ethiopian Securities Exchange S.C. to officially begin operations.

TORONTO — A second author has stepped down from this year’s Scotiabank Giller Prize jury over the organization’s refusal to cut ties with its lead sponsor. Indian novelist Megha Majumdar has joined Ethiopian American author Dinaw Mengestu in resigning from the panel that awards the $100,000 prize. With both international jurors having dropped out, only the three Canadian judges remain: authors Noah Richler and Kevin Chong and singer-songwriter Molly Johnson. Majumdar and Mengestu’s resignations come as a growing group of writers call on the Giller Foundation to part ways with Scotiabank because of its investment in an Israeli arms manufacturer. Signatories to the letter include Sarah Bernstein, who won last year’s prize, and Omar El Akkad, who won in 2021.

Ethiopia sees return of over 2.5 million IDPs, nearly 4.4 million still displaced(Photo: UNICEF Ethiopia)Addis Abeba – A recent United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) report reveals that over 2.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ethiopia have returned to their villages, while close to 4.4 million remain displaced within the country. Despite these returns, nearly 4.4 million people remain displaced within Ethiopia. Both Oromia and Tigray regions each report more than one million displaced persons, while the Amhara region has 436,805 IDPs. The first group of 1,500 IDPs returned to the Tselemti district on 29 June, 2024. In the third phase, regional media reported that nearly 5,000 IDPs returned to Northwestern Tigray, resettling in May Tsebir town and three other locations in the Tselemti district.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Ethiopian Airlines has announced a significant update to its payment policy for air tickets, effective immediately. Passengers can visit Ethiopian Airlines ticket offices, local travel agencies, or contact the Global Call International Centre at 6787 (locally). Additional details and support are available on the Ethiopian Airlines website at https://www.ethiopianairlines.com/aa/services/help-and-contact/Global-Customer-Interaction-Centre-numbers. In a statement, Ethiopian Airlines expressed regret for any inconvenience this policy update may cause and thanked its customers for their understanding and cooperation. For more information about Ethiopian Airlines, visit their official website or contact their customer service for further assistance.

Palace Tours stops selling tickets to Spain’s San Fermín festival, following PETA’s exposure of bull torment during the event, leading a push for global disengagement from the practice. HALLANDALE BEACH, FLA. – After learning from PETA that dozens of bulls are tormented, stabbed, and slaughtered in front of jeering crowds during the Running of the Bulls at Spain’s annual festival of San Fermín and hearing from more than 60,000 of the group’s supporters, luxury travel company Palace Tours stopped selling tickets for itineraries that include the cruel and violent spectacle. “Palace Tours did the right thing by dropping ticket sales connected to this bloodbath for bulls,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. The bull may be paralyzed but still conscious as his ears or tail are cut off and presented to the matador as a trophy and his body is dragged from the arena. PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment” – points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness.

A research team identified potential Striga-suppressing rhizobacteria associated with sorghum, which have been shown to significantly reduce Striga seed germination rates. Future applications could involve the isolation and characterization these rhizobacteria to enhance sorghum productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite its importance, sorghum productivity is hindered by abiotic factors like drought and biotic factors including the parasitic weed Striga. To identify Striga-suppressive rhizobacteria, 117 bacterial isolates were collected from the rhizosphere of 12 sorghum varieties in three regions of Ethiopian. In summary, this study identified rhizobacteria isolates capable of significantly suppressing Striga germination in sorghum, with isolates E19G12, E29G2b, and E19G10 being the most effective.

In the meeting of the Iranian ambassador with the Minister of Agriculture of Ethiopia, the two sides reviewed the potential in that sector, emphasizing the strengthening and development of bilateral agricultural cooperation. Agriculture is an essential driving force behind economic growth in the Ethiopian economy. Crops and livestock production account for roughly 65% and 25% of agricultural GDP. SD/IRN85541324

TPLF acknowledges ‘unprecedented’ internal challenges, calls for conference to ‘save the party from disintegration’(Photo: TPLF/Facebook)Addis Abeba – The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) acknowledges confronting substantial internal difficulties, characterizing them as the most arduous encountered throughout its five-decade history. According to a statement released yesterday, the TPLF announced its decision to hold a party conference within the coming weeks. The party leadership underscored the importance of the conference “to save the party from disintegration.”The party leadership reportedly urged relevant parties to participate, emphasizing the urgency of the conference. “This highlights a conflict within the party leadership, with some members resistant to addressing weaknesses identified by the public,” the statement added. This agreement outlines a more streamlined and secure return process for IDPs to Western Tigray.

Previously available only for domestic travellers, the 'check-in and baggage-drop' service now accommodates international passengers also. Read further on Dynamite News:New Delhi: The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has extended check-in facilities for international passengers at the New Delhi and Shivaji Stadium metro stations on the Airport Express Line, a statement said on Wednesday. Previously available only for domestic travellers, the 'check-in and baggage-drop' service now accommodates international passengers flying with Air India and Vistara Airlines, a DMRC statement said. "The DMRC invites more airlines to set up this facility to further benefit travellers," it added. (with Agency inputs)

On July 6, 2024, the military regimes of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger signed a treaty called the “Confederation of Sahel States” in Niamey, cementing their departure from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The main purpose of the pact is to promote cooperation in areas of common interest, such as defence and trade. ECOWAS falloutThe governments in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger were ousted in military coups in 2020, 2022 and 2023 respectively. In turn, ECOWAS suspended each of the new regimes from the regional bloc and imposed strict sanctions on Niger and Mali (archived here). Using a keyword search in French, AFP Fact Check found a copy of the AES charter published by RTB, a state broadcaster in Burkina Faso (archived here).

At least 15 killed in Somalia after weapon smuggling from EthiopiaMOGADISHU, Somalia - At least 15 people were killed in Somalia on Tuesday following armed clashes between members of the Somali National Army (SNA) and militia, who had seized weapons from traders suspected to be involved in weapon smuggling from Ethiopia. The government soldiers and local militia opened fire against each other as they fought for two truckloads of weapons that had been smuggled from neighboring Ethiopia. Last year, the United Nations Security Council fully lifted a weapons embargo on Somalia, which had been in place since 1992. Upon inquiry by the VOA, an Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesperson did not immediately respond to a VOA request for comment. Close to 4,000 Ethiopian soldiers are serving under the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia.