Ethiopians in South Africa say poor service delivery, lack of opportunities for the youth and non-existent economic activities are some of the challenges facing the Kembata Tambaro region in southern Ethiopia. A group of Ethiopian nationals based in South Africa demonstrated outside the country’s embassy in Pretoria. Tensions are also high in the East African country after a suspected airstrike in Amhara, where over 20 people died this past weekend. These Ethiopians were part of the protest in Pretoria. Some they come to South Africa some to neighbouring countries…the government should ensure the dignity of its people, the human rights.”A group of SA-based Ethiopian nationals march in Pretoria:

ADDIS ABABA, 16th August, 2023 (WAM) – The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has awarded grant funding totalling $84.3 million to Ethiopia to advance wheat production and increase farmers’ incomes. Ethiopia’s Finance Minister Ahmed Shide and AfDB Deputy Director General for East Africa, Abdul Kamara, signed the grant agreement for the implementation of the country’s Climate Resilient Wheat Value Chain Development Project (CREW). The project has three components: Climate Smart Wheat Productivity and Production; Market Infrastructure, Linkages, and Agri-Finance; and Project Coordination and Management. Under its flagship Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) initiative, the African Development Bank Group has supported Ethiopia and several other countries across the continent to boost productivity in agriculture. Ethiopia is the second largest wheat producer in sub-Saharan Africa, after South Africa.

The recycling program requires green coffee buyers — i.e. roasters — to pack and ship or deliver GrainPro coffee bag liners and other accepted materials to one of two locations through New Jersey-based coffee warehousing specialist Continental Terminals Inc. (CTI). After arriving at the East or West Coast collection points, the materials will then be sent to specialized recycling facilities, according to the companies. An informational flyer being distributed by Grainpro and NKG suggests roasters email [email protected] with their recycling needs/plans. “Undeniably, improving sustainability will require industry-wide approaches and collaborations,” GrainPro said in an announcement this week.

Egypt has welcomed seven million tourists in the first half of this year, putting the country on track for its projected 15 million visitors in 2023. After reaching a record 13 million tourists and earning 13 billion U.S. dollars in 2019, Egypt's tourism industry was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Egypt received 11.7 million tourists, up from eight million in the 2020-2021 fiscal year. "We are on track for our national tourism target to reach 15 million tourists this year. The ambitious strategy intends to attract 20 billion dollars of investments.

Safaricom Ethiopia has launched its mobile money platform M-Pesa today (August 16), as it continues to challenge incumbent state-owned operator Ethio Telecom. The operator went live with its mobile money service three months after gaining its licence from the National Bank of Ethiopia. The service will be available for Safaricom customers at first on Android and iPhones in the coming weeks. In Kenya, the interim general manager of Safaricom M-PESA Mobile Financial Services, Paul Kavavu, said M-Pesa connected 90% of the adult population to mobile banking. Safaricom Ethiopia interim CEO Stanley Njoroge said in a statement: “We will continue to broaden the services our customers receive from the M-PESA platform that will improve the quality of life for our customers.

Safaricom’s mobile money service, M-Pesa, went live in Ethiopia on Wednesday, marking a significant step for the Kenyan telecoms operator in one of Africa’s largest economies. M-Pesa was first introduced in Kenya in 2007 and has since become Safaricom’s most profitable service. Ethiopia, with a population of approximately 120 million people and a young demographic, is seen as a promising market for Safaricom’s growth. The company also faces formidable competition from Ethio Telecom, which reported a significant increase in profits and over 34 million subscribers to its mobile money service, Telebirr, in July. The introduction of M-Pesa in Ethiopia further promotes the convenience of mobile money services in East Africa, allowing users to send and receive money, as well as make payments for goods and services.

Twenty-seven people were killed and around a hundred wounded in violent clashes between two influential armed groups in Tripoli's southeastern suburbs from Monday to Tuesday, the Center for Emergency Medicine (CMU) said on Wednesday. In a "provisional toll" published on Facebook on Tuesday night, this agency, which manages relief efforts in western Libya, reported 27 dead and 106 wounded in the heavy-weapons clashes between two influential armed groups in the Libyan capital. According to the same source, 234 families have been rescued and extracted, as well as several dozen foreign doctors and nurses, who had been stranded since Monday night in the fighting south of the capital. Three field hospitals and some sixty ambulances were mobilized to rescue the wounded and evacuate civilians to safer areas. The fighting started after the arrest on Monday of Colonel Mahmoud Hamza, commander of Brigade 444, by the al-Radaa force.

Patients wounded in ongoing violence and those facing other life-threatening conditions in Ethiopia’s Amhara region are receiving urgent and lifesaving medical care in health facilities supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS). Over the past week, heavy fighting has spread across Amhara region, home to Ethiopia’s second-largest ethnic group. Due to the security situation in the Amhara region, many health facilities have not been able to replenish supplies, while ambulances could not move quickly to respond to emergencies in the most affected areas, ICRC said in a Wednesday statement. The ICRC has also assisted with the transportation of blood supplies provided by the Ethiopian Ministry of Health. “But we were able to coordinate with the most affected health facilities to overcome some immediate shortages.”The ICRC said it continues to mobilize vital supplies to support more health facilities across Amhara providing urgent healthcare services to patients with life-threatening conditions.

After so many months of demonstrations across Israel, efforts solely revolved around judicial reform, PM Netanyahu and his cabinet, and the so-called delicacy of Israeli democracy, this week Israel is facing protests of a much, much greater meaning than the months preceding. But so far only 200 of the nearly 4500 Ethiopian applicants for aliyah have been rescued, and approximately 100 of those rescued were Israeli citizens. Protesters in Israel, many of Ethiopian descent, are comparing the swiftness of rescue afforded Ukranian Jews during the recent Russian invasion, and decrying the difference in Israel’s response to Jews of Ethiopia. Any question as to the specific heritage of newcomers to Israel can be addressed after everyone has safely arrived. The comprehensive rescue of Ethiopian Jews will also increase trust, compassion and hope amongst the millions of disheartened Israelis looking for examples and actions of hopefulness and progress in Israel.

Solomon (Religious Zionist Party) initiated this special report to investigate the challenges and strains placed on religious education due to the overwhelming preference of these immigrants for such educational systems. Why is religious state education ideal for Ethiopian, Indian immigrants in Israel? Solomon, who made aliyah from Ethiopia, commented on the results, "Religious state education in Israel serves as an ideal environment for immigrants from Ethiopia and India. There are approximately 85,000 Jews of Indian origin in Israel, according to the Indian embassy in Tel Aviv. In recent years, some Indian Jews from Mizoram and Manipur (Bnei Menashe) have been immigrating to Israel.

The African Development Bank Group, has awarded grant funding totalling $84.3 million to Ethiopia to advance wheat production and increase farmers’ incomes. Ethiopia’s Finance Minister Ahmed Shide and African Development Bank Group Deputy Director General for East Africa, Abdul Kamara, signed the grant agreement on 2 August 2023 for the implementation of the country’s Climate Resilient Wheat Value Chain Development Project (CREW). Under its flagship Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) initiative, the African Development Bank Group has supported Ethiopia and several other countries across the continent to boost productivity in agriculture. Ethiopia is the second largest wheat producer in sub-Saharan Africa, after South Africa. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

TORONTO — Two more people are facing charges in the case of a woman who was killed by a stray bullet in Toronto’s east end last month, including a community worker at a nearby supervised consumption site. Karolina Huebner-Makurat was killed while walking in the Leslieville neighbourhood at Queen Street East and Carlaw Avenue around noon on July 7. The South Riverdale Community Health Centre says it was distressed to learn the woman is Khalila Zara Mohammed of Pickering, Ont., who has worked there as a community health worker since 2021. Representatives from the centre say in a statement that Mohammed was placed on leave over unrelated concerns last week. Toronto police say they are still looking for a third suspect involved in the shooting and anyone with information should contact them.

The end of the war in Tigray in November 2022 brought relative peace to the region and eased international pressure on Addis Ababa. Yet, it has precipitated the explosion of another devastating war, this time between Ethiopian government forces and their erstwhile partners in the Tigray war from the country’s Amhara region. The president of the Amhara regional government, Yilikal Kefyale, called for the intervention of the federal government, after having reportedly fled Bahir Dar over fears for his safety. The outbreak of fighting is just the latest security crisis that Amhara has faced in recent years. Parts of the Amhara region were also affected by the Tigray war.

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Ambassador-designate to the Philippines Dalkie Dokamo presents his credentials to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. at Malacañang on Tuesday, August 15, 2023. KJ ROSALES/PPA POOLPresident Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said the Philippines and Ethiopia should establish air linkages to strengthen their bilateral relations. Marcos also said the Philippines should seize the opportunity of forging a stronger partnership with Ethiopia as Africa positions itself as an emerging major economy. He noted that the Philippines and Ethiopia could explore many areas such as trade, transfer of technology and other exchanges. The Philippines and Ethiopia formally established diplomatic relations on February 7, 1977, and are celebrating 46 years of diplomatic relations this year.

Head of the Finote Selam General hospital Manaye Tenaw told Addis Standard that the majority of the deceased 30 were already dead upon arrival, with only two succumbing to their injuries after being admitted. Reports put the death toll as high as 70 citing deaths that have not been reported to the hospital. According to the EHRC's statement, there have been credible reports of strikes and shelling in various areas, including Debre Birhan, Finote Selam, and Burie, resulting in civilian casualties and damage to residential areas and public spaces. Notable opposition came from the former president of the Amhara region who was also Foreign minister and the PM's national security adviser, Gedu Andargachew. According to Gedu, the current conflict in the Amhara region emanates from "political leadership failure of the Prosperity led government".