0 shares ShareTweetPinAddis Ababa, August 9, 2023 (Addis Walta) The Ethiopian Airlines (EA) Group Chief Executive Officer, Mesfin Tasew, said that the airline pledges to continue its contribution to strengthening the African Continental Free Trade Area. The Group CEO underscored that the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Zone will greatly contribute to the economic integration of African countries and the airline is committed to supporting this endeavor. In this respect, Ethiopian Airlines has strengthened in all areas of transportation services. Launched in 2019, the African Continental Free Trade Area has been operational in some parts of the continent and is expected to raise Africans’ income by 9% in 2035. It is forecasted that 50 million Africans will come out of the poverty line due to the job opportunities created by the free trade zone.

The proportion of transit and transfer passengers increased to 26% in July as a result of the extensive summer flight programme, while overall passenger traffic reached 84%. Riga Airport closed this year’s July with a record number of passengers handled in the post-pandemic period: the company’s performance data show that last month 702,946 passengers chose Riga Airport as their airport of choice for their journeys. “The results of the first six months have already shown that we are very close to the levels of 2019 in terms of direct passenger traffic and we are leaders among the Baltic capitals in terms of passenger traffic renewal. In total, the airport handled 5,816 passengers, cargo, business flights and other flights during the month. 421 thousand passengers or 60% of the total number of passengers in July flew with the national airline airBaltic, while almost 151 thousand or 21% chose the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair for their flights.

Fano rebels have been pushed out of Amhara’s second biggest city in significant breakthrough for Ethiopian federal forces. The military’s success in Gondar, Amahara’s second biggest city, is the first significant breakthrough for federal forces, who were overrun by Fano militiamen there and in some other towns when fighting broke out in early August. A Fano fighter from Gondar told Reuters news agency that the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), backed by anti-riot police and pro-government militiamen, had pushed the Fano fighters out of the city on Tuesday. A local official in Gondar said the military was “almost in full control of the city”. On Tuesday, Ethiopian Airlines cancelled flights to Bahir Dar, saying it would not fly to any airports in the Amhara region.

A partial view of the Lalibela town in the Amhara Region, Ethiopia, January 25, 2022. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri//File PhotoADDIS ABABA, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Ethiopia's military has pushed local militiamen out of two towns in the Amhara region, residents said on Wednesday, in its first big battlefield breakthroughs since fighting erupted last week. A local official in Gondar said the military was "almost in full control of the city". Another Gondar resident said he had seen the military enter the city centre on Tuesday afternoon. Two Lalibela residents told Reuters that ENDF troops entered the town on Wednesday morning following intense fighting on Lalibela's outskirts the previous day.

The instability roiling Ethiopia is intensifying in Amhara, the second-largest region, which is following Tigray and Oromia by hosting rebels that threaten to oust the federal government in Addis Ababa. In response to a request from the loyalist regional authority in Amhara, the federal government declared a state of emergency on 4 August after local militias clashed with the Ethiopian army.

Bhadrak, Aug 9: Tension prevailed at Charampa College in Odisha’s Bhadrak district after several students staged a protest alleging embezzlement of government funds on Wednesday. As per reports, the students staged a road blockade by burning tyres. They also accused the Principal of not paying attention to the problems of the students. Some non-students had thrashed several students of the college yesterday. Following this, the road blockade was withdrawn.

The UN's World Food Programme (WFP) told AFP on Tuesday that since the end of July it has been "testing" the resumption of food aid distribution in the Ethiopian region of Tigray, which it suspended in May for misappropriation. The WFP, along with the US government's international aid agency USAID, suspended food aid to the war-torn northern region of Tigray in early May, before extending the decision to the whole of Ethiopia the following month, due to "widespread and coordinated" detour. The WFP also announced that it had resumed registration of food aid beneficiaries and introduced "bag marking to enable precise tracking of foodstuffs". In a response to AFP, USAID said on Tuesday that "U.S. food aid to Ethiopia remains suspended", while assuring that it was working "in close collaboration with the WFP". Many Tigrayans have been forced to skip meals due to the suspension of food aid, others to prostitute themselves in order to obtain food, Ocha estimated on Friday.

Ethiopia's military has pushed local militiamen out of two major towns in the Amhara region, residents said on Wednesday, in its first major battlefield breakthroughs since fighting erupted last week. Ethiopian Airlines, meanwhile, announced that flights to Gondar and Amhara's capital, Bahir Dar - where fighting has also occurred - would resume on Thursday. A Fano militiaman from Gondar told Reuters that the ENDF, backed by anti-riot police and pro-government militiamen, had pushed the Fano fighters out of the city on Tuesday. Two Lalibela residents told Reuters that ENDF troops entered the town on Wednesday morning following intense fighting on Lalibela's outskirts the previous day. Little information has filtered out of Amhara about the human toll of the fighting so far, but Lalibela residents told Reuters on Tuesday that more than a dozen combatants had been killed over the previous days.

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia's military has pushed local militiamen out of most of Gondar, a large city where intense fighting has raged since clashes broke out across the Amhara region last week, local residents and a militia member said on Wednesday. The military's success in Gondar, Amahara's second-biggest city, is the first major breakthrough for federal forces, who were overrun by Fano militiamen in Gondar and some other towns in the early days of the fighting. A Fano militiaman from Gondar told Reuters that the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF), backed by anti-riot police and pro-government militiamen, had pushed the Fano fighters out of the city on Tuesday. A local official in Gondar said the military was "almost in full control of the city". Another Gondar resident said he had seen the military enter the city centre on Tuesday afternoon.

The World Food Program has started distributing food aid in Ethiopia's war-scarred Tigray region in a test of new monitoring measures, the United Nations agency said on Tuesday. WFP and U.S. aid agency USAID halted food aid to Africa's second-most populous country in June after discovering that supplies were not reaching those in need, raising fears that millions of Ethiopians would be left in desperate straits. "On July 31, the World Food Program started testing and verifying enhanced controls and measures for delivering food assistance in four districts of Tigray," it said in a message to AFP. A spokesperson for USAID, the U.S. government's main international aid agency, told AFP that U.S. food assistance in Ethiopia remains paused. "We are committed to resuming food assistance as quickly as possible once we can be confident our assistance is reaching the most vulnerable that it is intended for," the spokesperson said.

Rebels in Amhara have taken up arms against Ethiopia’s military. Conflict has returned to Ethiopia – this time in Amhara, the second-largest region in the country. Rebels in Amhara – known as Fano – helped the government in its two-year war in neighbouring Tigray. Now they’ve taken up arms against the military. Presenter: Adrian FinighanGuests:Kemal Hashi Mohamoud – Member of the Ethiopian ParliamentYohannes Woldemariam – Academic and Ethiopia researcher specialising in the Horn of AfricaTewodrose Tirfe – Chairman and founding member of the Amhara Association of America

While in Moldova, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen conducts a situational assessment on events in northern Ethiopia. The Foreign Ministry has contacted 160 Israelis and 54 Ethiopians who are eligible to make aliyah, according to the ministry. Cohen directs ministry Director-General Ronen Levy to work with the ministry situation room and Israel’s embassy in Addis Ababa to examine the possibility of rescuing Israelis and local Jews if needed. He says that the Foreign Ministry is working with the Prime Minister’s Office and the National Security Agency on the issue. “We will spare no effort to ensure the welfare of all Israelis and Jews trapped in the region,” he pledges.

Professor Mesfin Araya, commissioner of the National Dialogue Commission (Photo : file)By Staff ReporterADDIS ABABA – (BORKENA) – Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission has called for unconditional ending of the conflicts throughout the country and all confronting bodies to come together for urgent dialogue and consultations. The Commission said that it “is ready to bring the stakeholders together and create favourable conditions for discussion and consultation”. Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission said this today 08 August 2023 in a press statement it gave in connection with the current situation. Having this in mind, said Professor Mesfin, Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission was established with the objectives of creating an environment in which disputes could be settled through consultation in a civilised manner. To implement this, the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission has made public that it is ready to bring stakeholders together, table different agendas and create favourable conditions for discussion and consultation, the Commissioner said.

borkenaMany civilians causalities reported in Gondar. Government forces firing ZU-23 directing targeting the city and the heritage site – The 16th century castle that was built under Emperor Fasiledes in the 16th century. Take a listen to a report from Anchor media below. Video : embedded from Anchor Media youtube channelCover photo : screenshot from the video. Subscribe to YouTube channel To share information or for submission, send e-mail to info@borkena.com

African carriers posted a 34.7% traffic increase in June compared to the same month in 2022 as the post-COVID recovery momentum continues. This is according to a monthly report of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) report issued today. The report says international traffic climbed 33.7% in June 2023 versus the same month last year with all markets showing robust growth. African airlines saw 34.7% traffic rise in the same period, the second highest percentage gain among the regions, per IATA. “Africa was the only region to see a decline in the monthly international load factor compared to the year ago period,” the report noted.