Ethiopia

Brics draws Trump anger, few leaders

7 Jul 2025 - 5:00PM

Rio mounts major security operation for Brics summit

4 Jul 2025 - 6:20AM

Questions loom at Brics Rio summit about group’s effectiveness

Emerging economy leaders gather amid geopolitical tensions, frayed Washington alliances under Trump trade policy.

3 Jul 2025 - 5:13AMvideocam

Official Brics signage lines the avenue outside Rio’s Museum of Modern Art, the designated venue for the leaders’ summit scheduled for July 6-7.

The growing risks for Chinese companies in conflict-ridden African nations

Chinese firms admit their very survival could be threatened by geopolitical risks, unrest and security threats in unstable African countries.

23 Jun 2025 - 10:00AMvideocam

Donald Trump

Trump complains about Nobel Peace Prize snub over Congo-Rwanda peace deal

The US president has confirmed that the two countries will be in Washington next week to sign a deal to end their conflict.

21 Jun 2025 - 9:25AM

Thailand

Meet Thailand’s first-ever Miss World: Suchata Chuangsri

The 22-year-old Phuket native – who speaks Mandarin, English and Thai – plans to use her new platform to champion breast cancer awareness.

2 Jun 2025 - 12:15PM

Suchata Chuangsri of Thailand waves after she was crowned Miss World 2025 in Hyderabad, India, on Saturday. Photo: AP

China pivots to Africa as it shifts EV gears in face of EU, US tariffs

More Chinese EV makers are launching flagship models and setting up manufacturing plants in key African markets.

27 May 2025 - 11:00AM

Aviation accidents

Boeing reaches deal to avoid prosecution over 737 Max crashes

Under the agreement, which has not been finalised, the company will have to pay and invest over US$1.1 billion to have the case dropped.

24 May 2025 - 5:16AMvideocam

South Sudan should ‘urgently pull back from the brink’: UN rights chief

Civilian-populated areas, including a Medecins Sans Frontieres medical facility, have been targeted by warring sides despite warnings of a health catastrophe.

23 May 2025 - 7:39PMvideocam

Sudanese refugees and ethnic South Sudanese families fleeing war in Sudan gather in South Sudan after crossing the border last year. File photo: AFP

Religion

Pope Leo offers to mediate between world leaders to end wars

Ending conflicts has been a dominant theme in Pope Leo’s addresses since he became pope last week.

14 May 2025 - 5:03PMvideocam

The new Pope Leo, who became head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics last week, also called on Christians living in the Middle East not to abandon their homes, in a speech to members of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Photo: AP

India

Asian, European airlines divert flights as India-Pakistan tensions soar

The detours mean that flying hours between Europe, the Middle East and Asia have become longer.

7 May 2025 - 2:26PMvideocam

Ethiopians mark Easter with call for peace and charity

Christians of all denominations vowed to embrace sacrifice in a country facing armed conflict and still recovering from a war ended in 2022.

20 Apr 2025 - 8:27PM

Tourism

3-day Ethiopia travel itinerary enough to see the best of African nation

Whirlwind trip through Addis Ababa’s bustling streets and Lalibela’s breathtaking sacred sites shows the best of Ethiopia. Here’s our advice.

2 Apr 2025 - 4:15AM

The famed cross-shaped Biete Ghiorgis, or Church of Saint George, in Lalibela, Ethiopia. Some consider Lalibela, with its 11 churches painstakingly carved out of solid volcanic rock, an Eighth Wonder of the World. Photo: AP

Brics summit to tackle AI governance, global health and financial reform: Brazil

Note from bloc’s chair this year reflects plan to promote equitable global governance rather than control by ‘just big corporations’.

14 Feb 2025 - 6:23AMvideocam

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will lead the next annual Brics summit in July. Photo: Reuters

Belt and Road Initiative

‘Game changer’: why Chinese rail contractors have East Africa in their sights

Business case is stacking up for the export-driven railway network that China’s companies are building with African finance.

6 Feb 2025 - 3:09PMvideocam

China’s peace strategy in Horn of Africa is slow-going, but can it reap rewards?

Beijing is taking a slow but safe approach to promoting harmony in a region of Africa beset by war and insurgencies, experts say.

31 Jan 2025 - 6:54AMvideocam

World Health Organization (WHO)

Somalia’s president to visit Ethiopia over Red Sea access, mounting tensions

The two countries are looking to build on a recent peace deal that aims to defuse mounting tension in the Horn of Africa.

11 Jan 2025 - 9:17PM

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (centre) poses with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (right) and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, following a press conference at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey. Photo: dpa

More than 70 killed in Ethiopia road accident involving wedding party

The accident occurred when an overcrowded lorry that was carrying wedding guests plunged into a river.

31 Dec 2024 - 11:53AM

Boeing

US judge rejects Boeing plea deal in conspiracy case related to fatal crashes

US judge sided with family members of people killed during 2018 and 2019 crashes, who urged him to reject ‘cosy deal’.

6 Dec 2024 - 10:30AMvideocam

South Africa

Foreign grocers face xenophobia after South Africa food poisoning deaths

While there was no sign of a deliberate campaign to poison children, vigilantes have targeted Ethiopian and South Asian shopkeepers.

16 Nov 2024 - 2:34PM

A worker speaks with a customer at a spaza shop in Soweto, South Africa, on November 12. Photo: AFP

Food and Drinks

Prized white honey producer starts from scratch after war in Ethiopia

Tigray in Ethiopia is famous for its creamy white honey, but civil war destroyed half its beehives. Its beekeepers are still recovering.

9 Nov 2024 - 4:22PM

Beekeeper Amanuel Hiluf checks his beehives in Hawidela, Ethiopia. His hives produce white honey, highly prized, but he had to start from scratch after a civil war wrecked his livelihood. Photo: AFP

Business of climate change

China fuels renewables capacity in Brics nations past 50%

Rapid investments in grid infrastructure and energy storage is needed to fully harness the potential of renewables, expert says.

22 Oct 2024 - 9:54AMvideocam

Ethiopian dam could muddy the waters of China’s position as a global leader

A long-running dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam could force Beijing into an impossible situation, observers say.

21 Oct 2024 - 3:03PMvideocam

Brics impasse: Egypt, Ethiopia reject joint statement over Security Council bid

Consensus eludes group of major emerging national economies on General Assembly sidelines as new members balk at South Africa’s candidacy.

27 Sep 2024 - 5:47AM

The Brics meeting took place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Photo: Reuters