EasterNile

Bishop Angelo Moreschi spent his 38-year vocation as a missionary to Africa. The coronavirus has claimed the life of a bishop of the Catholic Church. Bishop Angelo Moreschi, 68, reportedly died of complications related to the COVID-19 disease on March 25, 2020. Bishop Moreschi spent the entirety of his career as a Catholic priest as a missionary to Africa. Ordained in 1982, he served as Provincial Councilor for the Vice-Province Africa Ethiopia-Eritrea, as well as the pastor of Dilla, South Ethiopia, before he was named Prefect of Gambella, Ethiopia, by Pope St. John Paul II. In 2009 he was honored by Pope Benedict XVI, who named him Apostolic Vicar of the Apostolic Vicariate of Gambella and titular bishop of Elephantaria in Mauretania. His brief biography explains  that Bishop Moreschi was diabetic and had previously lost one of his feet to amputation. He was visiting Italy for medical purposes when he was infected with the coronavirus. The bishop was briefly hospitalized f

More than two decades after it went missing, a ceremonial crown dating back to the 18th century has found its way home to Ethiopia. The country's prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, received the glistening artifact at  a ceremony Thursday  in Addis Ababa, in a triumphant end to a twisty saga that transcends national borders. Abiy  expressed his gratitude  to the Dutch officials who facilitated its return — and to the man who found it, Sirak Asfaw, who was there for the handoff. Sirak, a political refugee who fled to the Netherlands in the 1970s, played a big role in the curious journey of the ornate bronze crown, which Ethiopian authorities say  had been missing  since 1993. Sirak told  The New York Times  last year  that it turned up in a suitcase that a guest had brought to his house, back in 1998. He says he opened the bag and found the crown after its gleam caught his eye — and though he remains unwilling to name the guest publicly, he says he confronted the visitor and held o

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia  Ethiopian fire brigades on Sunday cleaned and disinfected public spaces in the country's capital, Addis Ababa to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. The efforts were organized by municipal officials, deploying some 90 fire brigade cars. Eyes Solomon, an official with the city administration, told the public Ethiopian News Agency: "We are trying to prevent the spread of coronavirus and also raise public awareness on the pandemic." Health officials in Ethiopia have confirmed 16 COVID-19 cases, but have expressed concern at public non-compliance with social distancing measures. Mohammed Amanu, a trader in Merkato, the biggest market in the capital, told Anadolu Agency that many who come to the market wash their hands, but do not comply with social distancing despite mass prevention awareness efforts. "It is a real problem and the government should enforce social distancing in one way or another," he said. "But the fe

Ethiopia is working to combine Ethiopian traditional medicine with modern medicine to resolve COVID 19 puzzle. According to the Innovation and Technology Minister, the lab research phase of the project is completed. The next step is testing the product. Based on information from the Ministry, it is not a cure. It is said to boost immunity to fight the disease and is free from toxicity. The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Innovation and Technology and Hakim Abebech, Ethiopian traditional medicine expert, held a joint press statement in the capital Addis Ababa regarding the product. The research is underway as per World Health Organization standards, said Dr. Abraham Belay, Minister for Innovation and Technology. And relevant Ethiopian authorities believe that the project is promising and the product could soon be available for the public. The Ministry said that it would announce once the product gets clearance. Until then, the Ministry of Health advised that Ethiopians

Daniel Gebre, 34, drives a dilapidated Lada taxi. From his usual stand at Haya Hulet, he navigates his clients to different parts of Addis Ababa. He said business is slow these days, with customers opting for Ride, an Uber-style ride-sharing service. The coronavirus pandemic escalating in Ethiopia and overseas is making him wary. “We are being traumatized with this stuff,” he said. He feels this is God’s wrath at the prevailing sin of society in the nation and the only solution is to turn to Him “to deliver us from plague and from all harm.” In a country where the overwhelming majority of the population claims a religious affiliation, Daniel’s words echo many other’s thoughts amidst the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. For many Ethiopians, plague, famine, natural catastrophe, and events of such kinds are part of a divine plan and are seen as punitive for evil deeds and a way for God to bring the faithful closer to Him. The mobilization of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church this pa

At least 60 people, believed to be undocumented migrants from Ethiopia, were found dead in a cargo truck in Mozambique this week.  Authorities heard banging noises from inside the truck’s container at a checkpoint in northwestern Tete province, where it was stopped after crossing the border from neighboring Malawi.  They discovered 14 survivors along with the bodies of the migrants when they opened the doors of the container.    The victims are believed to have died from a lack of oxygen. The survivors were taken to a local hospital for treatment.  The truck driver and one other person were taken into custody.    The southeastern African nation of Mozambique is  a transit route for poor migrants trying to reach South Africa, one of the continent’s most industrialized countries. Culled from: VOA 

Ethiopia announced Wednesday it would free thousands of inmates from the country's overcrowded prisons as part of a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Attorney General Adanech Abebe told state media the measure would apply to more than 4,000 prisoners, many of whom are locked up for "petty crimes" and drug offences or have less than a year remaining on their sentences. "Considering the nature of the transmission of the virus and to end the overcrowding in prisons, the cases of 4,011 prisoners have been discontinued and given pardons," Adanech said, adding that the releases would begin Thursday. Conditions in Ethiopia's prisons are "harsh and in some cases life threatening," marred by "gross overcrowding and inadequate food, water, sanitation, and medical care," according to the latest annual human rights report on Ethiopia from the US State Department. As of Tuesday evening, Ethiopia had confirmed 12 cases of COVID-19,

Every time you  place a call  in Ethiopia, you get an educational  message  about coronavirus prevention – but that only helps if you can make a call.   Millions of Ethiopians living under a months-long government-imposed  shutdown of internet and phone services  in western Oromia are being left in the dark about the health risks.   Even before Ethiopia confirmed its first coronavirus case on March 13, people in the western Oromia region, where the military has  conducted operations  against a rebel force,  faced  significant challenges.  Access to health care is severely limited , especially for those in  rural areas . We recently spoke to a man who in July spent days calling hospitals in West Wellega in search of a ventilator for his sister who was dying of pneumonia; she didn’t survive. Because of the government restrictions, international and local aid groups are  unable to monitor disease outbreaks or provide adequate assistance .   The government has started to imp

In her new novel,  The Shadow King , Maaza Mengiste draws on surprising discoveries about the role of women during Italy's 1935 invasion of Ethiopia — a conflict that many consider to be the start of the Second World War. The story revolves around Hirut, a young Ethiopian woman who takes up arms to join the fight against Mussolini's brutal occupation. In the course of writing the book, Mengiste discovered that her own great-grandmother had been on the front lines. The novel also features a sensitive portrait of Emperor Haile Selassie, who ruled Ethiopia for more than 40 years.  Ambitious and epic in sweep,  The Shadow King  is an unflinching exploration of history and memory, class and gender, and the perspectives of women and girls during war. Marlon James has described it as "beautiful and devastating," while Salmon Rushdie proclaimed it "a brilliant novel, lyrically lifting history towards myth." Born in Addis Ababa in 1971, Mengiste fled the cou

Kenya supports Egypt’s “positive stance” on the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), President Uhuru Kenyatta told Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in a phone call on Tuesday. El-Sisi’s spokesman Bassam Rady said the president received a phone call from his Kenyan counterpart in which they exchanged developments on the dam after the collapse of Washington-mediated talks between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan last month.  Kenyatta described the Egyptian stance as one that comes out of “sincere political will,” according to the Egyptian statement. Addis Ababa did not attend the last round of US-sponsored talks on the dam in February, citing the need for more time for further domestic consultations. Only Egypt has initialed the resulting agreement, drafted by the US, on the filling and operation of the dam, with Ethiopia and Sudan both declining to sign it. Over the past weeks, Egyptian officials have delivered messages on developments related to the GERD to Gu

Ethiopia has announced closure of schools and suspension of sporting events, as well as a ban on large gatherings across the country as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19). This comes after the country reported a new coronavirus case yesterday, raising its total number of confirmed patients to five. As of March 16, 2020, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has announced that all schools across the country will be closed for the next 15 days, subject to further assessment. However, students in universities and other higher education institutions will stay indoors while receiving necessary monitoring and care at their respective campuses. The Ministry of Science and Higher Education is currently working on e-learning options that will allow students to receive course content online. PM Abiy stated that, if necessary, small meetings should be held with the support, recognition and monitoring of the government. Culled from: Nati

As the new coronavirus continues to spread across the world, one public figure has become familiar to most people: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The Ethiopian in charge of the World Health Organization (WHO) has been leading the fight against the coronavirus, which he labelled last week a pandemic. For months now, he has been providing nearly daily updates on the latest information about the virus, issuing guidance and shaping the response of governments worldwide. Born in Asmara, Eritrea in 1965, the quietly spoken father-of-five is the first African to become director-general of the United Nations's health agency. Tedros was elected to the post in May 2017 on a five-year-term promising to transform the agency, tackle emergencies and  prioritise universal coverage . He did not have to wait long to face his first test. When he took over as WHO chief, the world was still reeling from a devastating Ebola outbreak which claimed more than 11,300 lives in West Africa. But anot

The Egyptian-Ethiopian conflict over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is witnessing a fierce competition over which country can garner more international support. Cairo and Addis Ababa began sending diplomatic envoys to various countries, following the stalled negotiations that took place under the auspices of the United States and the World Bank. Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry begins an African tour Tuesday to deliver a message from President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to his African Counterparts. The tour will begin in Burundi and include: South Africa, Tanzania, Democratic Congo, South Sudan, Niger, and Rwanda. For its part, Addis Ababa pushed senior diplomatic delegations to Europe and Africa, a move that Shoukry described as "having no impact". The conflict escalated between the two countries after Ethiopia refused to attend a meeting in Washington, at the end of February, which was dedicated to conclude a final agreement regarding the rules