By Ismail Einashe In our series of letters from African journalists, Ismail Einashe writes about his failed attempt to catch a train in Ethiopia despite the hype around a new Chinese-built railway. In Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, it is hard to miss the large advertising boards along the traffic-clogged streets that promise “new railway, new...
November 10, 2026
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Internet blackout hits Ethiopia’s pocket, but not seen deterring telecoms investors
Dawit Endeshaw ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – An internet blackout in Ethiopia last week cost the economy millions of dollars and crippled businesses, but an analyst said it was unlikely to have a long-term impact on government plans to privatize the telecoms sector. The country’s only internet service provider, state-owned Ethio Telecom, cut internet access and...
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Farah slams Gebrselassie over theft at Ethiopian’s hotel
Mitch Phillips LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Mo Farah, who will be running in the London Marathon on Sunday, criticised fellow distance-running great Haile Gebrselassie for failing to help him after he was robbed at a hotel in Addis Ababa owned by the Ethiopian. Farah, third last year and facing a monumental challenge to overcome Kenya’s...
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The US and UN are repeating Iraq-style mistakes in Somalia
By Michael Rubin The State Department and USAID will invest more than $500 million in Somalia this year. That comes in addition to more than $1 billion in United Nations assistance. Each may hope such funds will restore prosperity and stability to Somalia, but they are wrong. Rather than ensure stability, the State Department’s Somalia...
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The Ethiopian migrants braving Yemen’s war to find a better life in Saudi Arabia
By Arwa Damon and Brent Swails A group of men wait for smugglers to arrive to take them across the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to Yemen Obock, Djibouti (CNN)They trudge, exhausted, along the desolate winding road to Obock in northern Djibouti, flanked on either side by a black, alien landscape created millennia ago by volcanic eruptions. “Ethiopia is...
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How corruption and impunity are aiding terrorism in Kenya
Dusit office complex in Nairobi’s Westlands area was attacked on Tuesday, January 15, 2019. Isn’t it time Kenya established a ministry of Homeland Security charged with, among other functions, protecting citizens from terrorism? PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP By KEN OPALA As the country struggles with jihadists, two concerns may complicate the counter-terror...
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What is the Validity and Success of the Forthcoming Auctioning of Somalia’s Oil and Gas Assets?
By Dr.Ali Adawe Abdullahi The legality, validity, timing, and transparency of the forthcoming proposed auctioning of Somalia’s Oil and Gas assets Is a vexing question that needs sober answers by people in the know of the oil and sector of Somalia. But before I delve into Somalia’s Oil and Gas potential and the risks we...
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Digital newcomers out to disrupt South African banking
By Tiisetso Motsoeneng, Nomvelo Chalumbira, Wendell Roelf JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Armed with low-cost operating models, three South African digital banks are betting on aggressive pricing and data analytics to attract tech-savvy, price-conscious consumers when they launch next year in a rare challenge to the old guard. It will be first time the $30 billion industry...
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Hassan Khaire: A Portrait of a Con Artist
By Guled Hagi Hersi A narcissist who always demanded a praise from his underlings. Failure to do so meant midnight sacking letters for an unspecified corruption. A few months ago while on a business trip to Oslo, I met a Norwegian humanitarian professional who used to work for the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), an international NGO renowned...
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Muslims in China’s ‘Little Mecca’ fear eradication of Islam
Concerns have been raised over the Chinese government’s apparent clampdown on a Muslim-majority region in north-west Gansu province in a bid to squash potential separatist movements. For hundreds of years, ethnic Hui Muslims in Linxia, dubbed ‘China’s Little Mecca’, have enjoyed a haven of comparative religious freedom. However, locals fear that there is a deliberate move...