NEWS

---

• Morocco asks to rejoin African Union after 32 years

  Jul 18, 2016 by Admin / 371 Views

  Morocco has formally announced its wish to rejoin the African Union, 32 years after leaving the organisation.

  In a message to the AU summit in Rwanda, the Moroccan King Mohammed VI said the time had come for his country to retake its place within its institutional family.

  Morocco left the AU in 1984, after the organisation recognised the independence of Western Sahara.

  Moroccans describe Western Sahara as their country's "southern provinces".

  For more than three decades, Morocco has refused to be part of the organisation.

  In March, it threatened to pull its soldiers out of UN global peacekeeping missions because of the dispute.

  Now, the Moroccan authorities seem to have concluded their absence hasn't helped them diplomatically over Western Sahara and many other issues, says the BBC's Africa Reporter James Copnall.

  They sent a special envoy to lobby African leaders at their summit in the Rwandan capital Kigali this weekend.

  The AU has said that it will continue pushing for the rights of the people of Western Sahara to hold a self-determination referendum.

  Morocco is the only African country which is not an AU member.

  ---

  How did we get here? 

  • 1975-76: Morocco annexes two-thirds of Western Sahara after colonial power Spain withdraws.
  • 1975-76: Polisario Front declares the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), with a government-in-exile in Algeria. Thousands of Sahrawi refugees flee to western Algeria to set up camps.
  • 1984: Morocco leaves the Organisation of African Unity (which later became the African Union) in protest at the SADR's admission to the body.
  • 1991: UN-monitored ceasefire begins in Western Sahara, but the territory's status remains undecided and ceasefire violations are reported. The following decade sees much wrangling over a proposed referendum on the future of the territory but the deadlock is not broken.
  • March 2016: Morocco threatens to pull its soldiers out of UN global peacekeeping missions in Western Sahara, after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon uses the term "occupation" when referring to the territory.
  • May 2016: Long-time Polisario Front leader Mohamed Abdelaziz dies aged 68

  source BBC

  Read more »

• Lottery Draw for Condominium Houses to Be Held

  Jul 15, 2016 by Admin / 339 Views

  Lottery draw is going to be held by the end of the current month to handover about 40,000 condominium houses which are built in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.

  Commenting on the issue Diriba Kuma, Mayor of Addis Ababa, said the lottery draw was for 39,000 houses built under 20/80 housing scheme and 1,290 houses built under 40/60 housing scheme.

  The condominiums built under the 20/80 housing scheme are found, among others, at Bole Arabessa, Bole Ayat and Kilinto. On the other hand, the condominiums built under 40/60 housing scheme are located at areas commonly known as Sengater and Crown.

  According to the Mayor, currently the houses are more than 95 percent complete and the remaining minor works would be finalized soon.

  Source: Fana Broadcasting Corporate

  Read more »

• The Gulf State Expansion to Eritrea and Ethiopia's Concern

  Jul 11, 2016 by Admin / 285 Views

  Add to it the Qatari soldiers that have already been present on the ground for a few years to “mediate” the border dispute with Djibouti, and the most important members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have unexpectedly converged in what many might think to be among one of the most unlikeliest of places. While it may have been difficult to foresee this happening, in hindsight it actually makes quite a lot of sense, and contrary to the conventional assessment that this is about Yemen, the argument can be made that it’s also just as much about Ethiopia as well. Unbeknownst to many, Qatar is the “ox driving the cart” in this case, and whether they like it or not, the rest of the GCC states will be reluctantly forced to follow its destabilizing lead if. Doha decides to throw Ethiopia into chaos.

  The research expands on the briefing first laid out by South Front and should be seen as a continuation of their original work. It begins by setting the context for what’s been going on along the Horn of Africa lately and how the GCC’s military advances fit into the larger context of recent history. The piece then investigates the levers of influence for how Qatar could destabilize Ethiopia as well as its radical ideological motivations for doing so. Finally, the article concludes with a scenario study of how Qatar could engineer an Unconventional War to bring down Africa’s next up-and-coming power.

  Read more »

• Sudan: 'Ethiopian Gunmen Attack Farmers' - Witnes in Eastern Sudan

  Jul 7, 2016 by Admin / 243 Views

  A number of farmers and herdsmen were slain by gunmen in separate incidents in the border strip adjacent to Ethiopia this week.

  Ethiopian gunmen launched the attacks on residents of Sudan's El Gedaref, a witness told this station.

  "The bodies of five farmers, including Hamid Eisa, Abdelkarim, Yahya Sherbeik, Khalil, and Hamid were discovered two days after the killing," the witness reported. "Two herders were killed in Wad Abu Lisan by Ethiopian Shifta militiamen."

  Three people were injured in separate attacks this week. Residents are baffled by the government's silence about these attacks, the witness added.

  Read more »

• Ethiopia Approves U.S. $ 12.57 bln Dollar Annual Budget

  Jul 7, 2016 by Admin / 255 Views

  The Ethiopian parliament on Monday approved a total budget 274.3 Billion Birr ($ 12.57 billion) for the 2016/2017 fiscal year. The budget which was unanimously endorsed by lawmakers today has saw a 13.7 % rise compared to the previous year budget. Sudan Tribune has learnt that of the total budget $ 4.8 billion is allocated for capital expenses and $ 3.1 billion for regular expenditures.

  Around $ 4 billion is allocated for subsidy to regional states, and $ 550 million for expenses of sustainable development. During today’s session, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said Ethiopian industry and service sector have shown growth of 7%. The premier said the country was subjected to slow economic growth later this year due to impacts of El Nino which has significantly affected the agricultural sector.

  Ethiopia is among some African countries which were severely hit by food insecurity which was caused by El Nino induced drought. The drought which is worst in decades led to sharp deterioration in food security and massive drop in agricultural and pastoral production forcing over 10 million Ethiopians to depend on food Aid. “The Ethiopian government has expended 800 million dollar to control the impacts of drought,” Hailemariam said.

  The Premier said the country has performed good in growing its economy during this fiscal year (2015/216) and it was substantiated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Premier said the country’s economic growth for this year is expected to be 8.5%, lower than previous years when the country had been registering double digit economic growth. According to Hailemariam, the government has worked aggressively to curb hitches of good governance.

  Read More Here

  Read more »