Salaam salaam from BA! This is the Rorshok Ethiopia Update from the 29th of January twenty twenty-six. A quick summary of what's going down in Ethiopia.

Kicking off with news from northern Ethiopia, news outlet Al Jazeera reported on Thursday the 29th that federal government troops and Tigray armed forces have started fighting earlier this week in an area disputed by the Tigray and Amhara regions.

Al Jazeera said that, according to its sources in the diplomatic community, flights have been cancelled due to the fighting and that the situation is getting worse. Recall that many had expressed concerns that conflict might break out in the northern parts of the country amid what they said were inflammatory remarks by officials from the federal government, Tigray and Eritrea.

Ethiopia wants an outlet to the Red Sea and hasn't ruled out force. The Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front continuously failed to see eye to eye with the federal government and Eritrea wants a destabilized Ethiopia that won't be able to successfully attack it. Last week, we mentioned that Eritrea had also reportedly sent ammunition to rebels in the Amhara region fighting the government

Ivan Kyrychevski wrote an article in English published on Tuesday the 27th, in the Defense Express, a media outlet with ties to the Ukrainian government, that Russia has supplied six light training and combat fighter jets, along with at least one of its Orion drones.

He said the aircraft are primarily used for training but can also be deployed for missions. They were showcased at the twenty twenty-six Aviation Expo that Ethiopia’s Air Force organized just outside Addis Ababa. He added that Ethiopia has an array of drones at its disposal, including some from Turkey and Iran, and that this adds to the country’s growing arsenal of drones. He also said that Russia hasn’t disclosed how much Ethiopia paid to acquire these aerial machines.

To read Kyrychevski’s full article, click on the link in the show notes.

In health updates, Ethiopia officially declared the end of the Marburg Virus outbreak, a fatal disease that first appeared in the country about three months ago. Ethiopia made this announcement after forty-two days had passed since the last reported case, in accordance with international guidelines.

A total of fourteen cases and nine deaths were reported during the outbreak. The World Health Organization said that it worked closely with the Ministry of Health and the Public Health Institute to contain the outbreak.

In other news, last week, eight political parties issued a joint statement criticizing the National Election Board’s decision to digitally register voters and candidates. On Monday the 26th, the board hit back, calling the parties’ statement misleading.

One of the concerns the parties raised was that the digital system requires parties and candidates to file documents with the board that aren't required by law. The board completely denied and denounced this claim, saying that while it should be held accountable for missteps, parties shouldn't spread confusing information.

The board also addressed the parties’ concerns about the verification code for candidate registration staying valid for just three minutes, explaining that it got the idea from banks’ digital services security features, but that it could extend the time if more parties voice their dissatisfaction.

Prosecutors filed charges against a Chinese woman for illegally transferring money from Ethiopians living abroad to bank accounts in Ethiopia.

Prosecutors said the woman would receive funds from Ethiopians living abroad in foreign currency and pay recipients in Ethiopia in the local currency, which, according to state media, resulted in the government losing out on fourteen million US dollars it would have gotten its hand on had the senders used legitimate means.

Prosecutors filed charges recently against another man in a similar case.

Reports came out earlier this week that Chinese mining company Zijin acquired Allied Gold, a Canadian gold mining company, for four billion US dollars. The deal means that Zijin has also acquired the rights to the Kurmuk gold project in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, in western Ethiopia, which is considered to be one of the largest gold reserves in the country.

While Zijin, which acquired two other mines in the Ivory Coast and Mali, expressed excitement, experts are raising their eyebrows. They believe that the Ethiopian government may block the deal as it stands to gain nothing. They’re also wondering why Allied Gold would sell, as gold prices are climbing to historic highs.

The Ethiopian Communications Authority said telecom service providers are going to be required to contribute 1.5 percent of their annual revenues to the Universal Access Fund, which will be used to help make telecom and post services accessible to people living in remote parts of the country. The Authority said the only major service providers currently in operation, Ethio Telecom and Safaricom, have both agreed to pay up and held talks with the Authority before the new requirement was set in place.

The Authority also said smaller internet and postal service providers will also have to make annual payments to the fund, and as they grow, they will eventually contribute 1,5 percent of their annual revenues as well.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that the Ethiopian Capital Markets Authority head said to the news outlet that her office had received and was reviewing applications from over sixty companies planning on getting issuances to engage in the country's recently revamped capital markets scene.

Bloomberg reported that the majority of the companies, about forty-five, are in finance, which includes the banking, insurance, and micro-lender sectors. The Authority’s director general also said that she wants to see more companies apply to the Authority for approvals.

Ethiopia’s stock exchange was launched last year, as part of efforts to attract foreign investments and so far had only two companies listed, both private banks.

In foreign relations, Christopher Landau, the US Assistant Secretary of State, was in Ethiopia earlier this week along with General Dagvin Anderson, the Commander of the US Africa Command. They attended the International Aviation Exhibition on Tuesday the 27th.

Landau said the US and Ethiopia will continue to strengthen their relations, while Commander General Anderson said the two countries will work together to fight and eliminate terrorists active in the region, especially members of terrorist groups such as Al-Shabab and ISIS.

In business news, Midroc Ethiopia, one of the largest corporations with subsidiaries across various sectors, is on a spree, acquiring old hotels and land to expand its hospitality business. Just last week, it announced that it bought the Wabi Shebelle Hotel in the heart of Addis Ababa for an undisclosed amount and plans to renovate it and rename it under the international Marriott Hotels brand.

The company also plans to open several new hotels across the country and strike franchise deals with globally renowned brands such as Marriott and Sheraton.

Midroc’s expansion has coincided with the Ethiopian government’s successful bid to host the twenty twenty-seven UN climate change conference, which is expected to stimulate demand for hotels and increase the country’s appeal as a popular destination for international conferences and other events.

Speaking of international conferences, Italy announced that the second Italy-Africa Summit will be held in Addis Ababa in mid-February. Numerous heads of state will go to Addis in a few weeks, not only for this summit but also for the annual African Union (or AU) summit.

Italy’s PM Giorgia Meloni is expected to attend both the Italy-Africa and the AU summits and deliver a speech. According to reports, the Italy-Africa summit is part of the Mattei Plan for Africa, which began two years ago to boost partnerships with African countries across various sectors.

Wrapping up this episode, the Ministry of Revenues said it collected over seven hundred billion birr, which is around four billion US dollars, in taxes and tariffs over the past six months, performing better than its projections for the first half of the current fiscal year.

The Minister said on Thursday the 29th that this is the result of reforms and policy changes and thanked loyal taxpayers.

Recall that the government has amended tax laws, primarily to broaden the tax base and collect more taxes.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

Ciao!