Ethiopia held a day of mourning Monday, reeling from the murder of the army chief and the leader of Amhara state in two attacks believed linked to a coup bid in the northern region.

Ethiopia's army chief was shot dead by his bodyguard just hours after an attempted coup in Amhara state left the regional president and another top adviser dead, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Sunday. Spokeswoman Billene Seyoum told journalists a "hit squad" led by Amhara's security chief Asaminew Tsige burst into a meeting…

The Non-Executive Chair of the Commonwealth ITU Group (CIG), and a former Commissioner of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Bashir Gwandu, has advised Ethiopia to learn from Nigeria as it moves ahead to liberalise its telecommunications industry for private sector investment. Gwandu stated this when he delivered his lead keynote speech at the opening…

Sudanese security forces have arrested two prominent rebels and an opposition leader, a day after they met the Ethiopian premier during his reconciliation mission to Khartoum, their aides said Saturday. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who has emerged as a key regional leader, met representatives of both sides on Friday in a bid to revive talks…

Out of the four mainstream institutions of government, business, media and non-governmental organisations, the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer has revealed that Nigerians have more faith in businesses and believe their employers should take the lead on change rather than wait for government to initiate it.     The Report, which was the 19th and the…

African Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) has again been invited by the United Nations to the international expert meeting on the return of stolen assets, organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). This is given the success of the implementation of Transparency and Accountability in the Recovery and Management…

Nduka Otiono and Uchechukwu Umezurike, editors of the proposed anthology, Wreaths for a Wayfarer, in memory of Professor Pius Adesanmi, which will be published in the last quarter of the year by Daraja Press (Canada) and Narrative Landscape Press (Nigeria) respectively, have received 257 poems from within and outside Africa. The submissions by established and budding poets…

Former Ethiopian president Negasso Gidada has died in Germany where he was undergoing medical treatment for an unspecified illness, state broadcaster EBC reported on Saturday. Negasso, who was 75, was president between 1995 and 2001 and was the first head of state after Ethiopia adopted a new constitution transforming the country into a federal state,…

When the 58th Venice Art Biennale themed, May You Live In Interesting Times, opens on May 11, 2019, in Italy, the shadow of Okwui Enwezor will cast over the African contingent. Enwezor, who was the event’s artistic director at its 56th edition, in 2015, died on March 15 this year at the age of 55.…

The Muslim Public Affairs Centre, (MPAC) Nigeria, has received commendations from the government of New Zealand over its brotherhood gesture on the aftermath of the terror attack that killed 51 Muslims in Christchurch city. Director, Media & Strategic Communications, MPAC Nigeria, Abdulwarees Solanke, who confirmed the commendation, lauded the courage and leadership of the country…

Preliminary accident investigation report into the cause of the Ethiopian Airlines recent plane crash has been concluded and set to be released soon. The Ethiopian foreign ministry though anticipated that the much-awaited report would be made public on Monday, but later left the release date open after Monday rolled by without the report. A total…

Africa loses more than $2.4 trillion (about N864 trillion) of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) yearly to diseases afflicting its 47 member states. It also lost nearly 630 million years of healthy life in 2015 to infirmities. A recent estimate by the World Health Organisation (WHO), published yesterday, showed that Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo,…