Lone soldier from Ethiopia marks first bar mitzvah at Western Wall after IDF conversion
About 20 lone soldiers on Monday celebrated their bar or bat mitzvah in uniform for the first time at the Western Wall plaza after completing a conversion process during their military service. 6 View gallery B. waves an Israeli flag during a ceremony held at the Western Wall plaza ( Photo: Big Brother for Lone Soldiers )“I always dreamed of coming to Israel and being a soldier in the IDF. 6 View gallery B. prays at the Western Wall ( Photo: Big Brother for Lone Soldiers )Brenner first encountered the organization in 2013, shortly after it was founded, and joined as a volunteer. “Uzi is like a big brother to me. The event, initiated by Big Brother for Lone Soldiers in cooperation with the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, was dedicated to the memory of Staff Sgt.
Source:Ethiopian News
February 24, 2026 07:45 UTC
Latest Central Florida airport delays and cancellations due to winter storm
ORLANDO, Fla. — If you have a flight out of Orlando International Airport on Monday, it could be affected by the winter weather up north. The airport is showing more than 50 flights have been canceled so far today and several delays. The airport says if you have a flight, check with your airline for the latest information. Check below to see the status of all the flights at Orlando International Airport as well as Lakeland Linder airport. **Be sure to double check your flight status on the airport websites as information could be delayed**Orlando International Arrivals Orlando International Departures Orlando Sanford Arrivals Orlando Sanford Departures
Source:Ethiopian News
February 23, 2026 18:55 UTC
Ethiopia marks 65th army anniversary amid Tigray tensions
FILE - In this May, 28, 2000 photo, Ethiopians sit under an Ethiopian flag as they watch a parade in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The event at Hawassa International Stadium drew senior leaders including Chief of General Staff Field Marshal Birhanu Jula and Deputy Chief General Abebaw Tadesse. Abiy emphasized that defense reforms have transformed the command into a modern force integrating airborne, commando, and counter-terrorism divisions. Celebration amid regional tensionsThe anniversary comes as tensions persist in northern Tigray, where the 2020-2022 conflict killed hundreds of thousands. The show of force signals Ethiopia's determination to maintain military readiness while honoring six decades of service safeguarding national sovereignty.
Source:Ethiopian News
February 23, 2026 16:46 UTC
Ex-DJ jailed for selling nearly £7m counterfeit aircraft parts from home garage
Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala, 38, admitted forging more than 60,000 authenticity certificates for engine parts on his home computer between 2019 and 2023, which cost airlines millions after it was discovered. In sentencing at Southwark Crown Court, Mr Justice Simon Picken said Zamora Yrala used several elements of “subterfuge” to defraud his customers. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) found that he had used French company Safran Aerosystems on thousands of authenticity certificates, even though it never sold parts to him. Mr Baloch said: “Zamora identified and exploited the trust that purchasers of aircraft parts placed in the certificates and other documents they received. Zamora Yrala, of Virginia Water, Surrey, was sentenced to four years and eight months imprisonment for defrauding AOGs customers and potential customers.
Source:Ethiopian News
February 23, 2026 15:58 UTC
SFO Wins 4-Year Sentence in Aircraft Parts Fraud
Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala, director of UK-based aircraft parts trader AOG Technics, has today been sentenced to 4 years 8 months in prison for orchestrating a global aircraft engine parts fraud that risked public safety and caused widespread disruption to the aviation industry. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) told Southwark Crown Court that its investigation had uncovered how Zamora, aged 38, sold parts to airlines and suppliers across the globe as part of a £39.3 million fraud conducted from his home office in Surrey. Investigators uncovered that from January 2019 to July 2023, AOG Technics sold over 60,000 aircraft engine parts worth £6.9 million accompanied by forged Authorised Release Certificates (ARCs) - documentation that guarantees airworthiness. Most of the parts AOG sold were for use in the CFM56 engine, the world's most widely used commercial aircraft engine, leading to AOG generating over £7.7 million in revenue - 90% from fraud - in just four years. AOG Technics' operation was brought to a halt in 2023, after an airline contacted Safran to check the authenticity of an AOG part.
Source:Ethiopian News
February 23, 2026 15:39 UTC
Mugabe's son appears in court over Johannesburg shooting
Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, the youngest son of Zimbabwe's late former president Robert Mugabe, appeared in a South African court on Monday facing attempted murder charges after a gardener was shot at his Johannesburg home last week. The 29-year-old and co-accused Tobias Mugabe Matonhodze, 33, also face charges of defeating the ends of justice and unlawful possession of a firearm. Court proceedingsThe pair appeared in the Alexandra Magistrates Court and will return March 3 for a formal bail application. Family backgroundBellarmine is the son of Robert Mugabe, who led Zimbabwe for 37 years until his 2017 ouster, and his wife Grace. His brother Robert Mugabe Jr faced drug possession charges in Harare in October.
Source:Ethiopian News
February 23, 2026 15:08 UTC
Egypt open to supporting Ethiopia’s Red Sea access if water dispute softens
Egypt is prepared to work with African allies to help secure Ethiopia access to the Red Sea if Addis Ababa shows flexibility in its water dispute, sources in Cairo briefed on private deliberations told The National. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa. Both Assab and Doraleh lie near the Bab Al Mandeb strait, which is the southern gate to the Red Sea. Hamza Hendawi / The National InfoEgypt, according to the sources, is planning to jointly develop Sudan's main commercial port – Port Sudan, on the Red Sea. Egypt, which has more than 2,000km of Red Sea coastline, has long insisted that the Red Sea must exclusively belong to littoral states; and those who are not cannot have permanent presence on the strategic waterway that links Europe, the Middle East, Asia and East Africa.
Source:Ethiopian News
February 23, 2026 14:44 UTC
Business owners protest as Bezalel Smotrich raises tax exemption
Hundreds of business owners from across the country arrived at the Knesset throughout Monday to protest Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s order to raise the VAT exemption ceiling on personal imports to $150 from $75. The government approved Smotrich’s order on Sunday, but it still must be finalized through a vote in the Knesset plenum, scheduled for late Monday night. The protesting business owners participated in various committee meetings throughout Monday to encourage Knesset members to vote against the order. Business owners attended his committee meeting in demonstration on Monday. It’s Purim, and we can’t sell costumes; everything comes from AliExpress,” the business owner noted.
Source:Ethiopian News
February 23, 2026 14:37 UTC
Ethiopia Construction industry Report 2025: Output to Grow at an AAGR of 7.8% During 2026-2029 After Growth of 9% Growth in 2025
Dublin, Feb. 23, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Ethiopia Construction Market Size, Trends, and Forecasts by Sector - Commercial, Industrial, Infrastructure, Energy and Utilities, Institutional and Residential Market Analysis to 2029 (H2 2025)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Construction industry in Ethiopia to expand in real terms by 9% in 2025, driven by an increase in the budgetary allocations, coupled with investment in transport infrastructure and renewable energy projects. Ethiopia's construction industry is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 7.8% from 2026 to 2029, driven by investments in transport infrastructure, industrial, nuclear and renewable energy projects. Forecast period growth in the Ethiopian road construction industry will also be supported by the government's plan to expand the national road network to 245,000km by 2032, compared to 142,500 as of August 2024. Report ScopeHistorical (2020-2024) and forecast (2025-2029) valuations of the construction industry in Ethiopia, featuring details of key growth drivers.
Source:Ethiopian News
February 23, 2026 12:45 UTC
What can Turkish-Italian synergy bring to Ethiopia, wider Africa?
Indeed, this signals the convergence of the Italian and Turkish approaches in Africa, aiming to reinforce existing bilateral complementarities and to enhance regional cooperative frameworks. However, Erdoğan's words emphasize the need to guarantee the territorial integrity of African countries and to deter further foreign actors from undermining the order for purely hegemonic purposes. Africa is, in fact, the main theater where global competition is shaped according to the logic of power and therefore influence. Thus, in Addis Ababa, Italy assessed the Mattei Plan’s outcomes by looking at Ethiopia as a central platform for dialogue for a new model of cooperation based on dignity and mutual development. Indeed, Italy and Türkiye's existing synergy may be further consolidated through cooperative frameworks extended to third countries and other regions.
Source:Ethiopian News
February 23, 2026 12:04 UTC
Ethiopia’s Ambiguous Letter Said More Than It Stated
SUPPORT ETHIOPIA INSIGHTDiplomatic vagueness as tensions mount along the Eritrean frontier. On 7 February, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a letter accusing the Eritrean military of aggression and demanding the immediate withdrawal of its troops from Ethiopian territory. While attention has focused on the accusations themselves, the document’s unusual format and ambiguous status may be just as politically meaningful as its content. Relations have been further complicated by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s articulation of Ethiopia’s “Red Sea access claim”. Ethiopia’s alleged involvement in Sudan’s conflict—reportedly linked to the UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF)—has added another layer of complexity.
Source:Ethiopian News
February 23, 2026 11:48 UTC
Election Board Weighs in on Disputed Districts
Five districts located in areas disputed by the Amhara and Tigray regional administrations will not see regional council elections take place in June, officials of the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) announced today. The residents of Humera, Adiremets, Korem Afla, Telemt, and Alamata will vote solely for federal representatives when the country goes to the polls in a few months’ time. Election officials say regional-level elections will be conducted once the territorial dispute between the Tigray and Amhara regions, which has been brought before the House of Federation, is resolved. When that will be remains unclear.
Source:Ethiopian News
February 23, 2026 11:31 UTC
Ethiopian to inaugurate and expand to new domestic airports
Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa International) has announced plans to inaugurate three new domestic airports, Neghelli, Gore, and Debre Markos, and launch 3x weekly passenger flights to each of these destinations by mid-April 2026. With these additions, Ethiopian Airlines’ domestic network will expand to 26 destinations, the airline said in a statement on February 18. Flights from Addis Ababa International to Gore are set to commence on April 18, followed by flights to Debre Markos on April 21. Group CEO Mesfin Tasew described the development as "a major milestone for Ethiopian Airlines and for the nation as a whole". In March 2024, the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) reported that Ethiopian Airlines was constructing five new domestic airports, Mizan Teferi, Neghelli, Yabelo, Gore, and Debre Markos, to broaden its domestic network.
Source:Ethiopian News
February 23, 2026 08:28 UTC
Mozambique courts Ethiopian Airlines over LAM
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Source:Ethiopian News
February 23, 2026 06:31 UTC