An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 jet, carrying 149 passengers and eight crew members, has crashed on a flight from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, media reports said.

According to the airlines, the crash happened today, shortly after take-off from Nairobi.

Search and rescue operations were under way, the airlines said.

The airlines said their staff will be sent to the accident site and will do everything possible. (Agencies)

A helicopter crashed in northern Kenya, killing four American tourists and their Kenyan pilot, local media have said.

According to officials, the helicopter reportedly crashed in Central Island National Park.

The cause of the crash is still not known. (Agencies)

Al Qaeda-affiliate Jama’at Nasr Al-Islam has claimed responsibility for February 24 suicide attack on European Union Training Mission in Mali.

Gunmen had attacked the Koulikoro Training Centre (KTC) in Mali by a pair of suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices.

The attackers used two explosives-packed vehicles, and some armed men functioning as a breaching team. The Jama’at Nasr Al-Islam attackers opened fire and sought to break the main gate of the KTC. They, however, were interrupted by force protection elements.

The EUTM Mali tweeted: “Koulikoro Training Center was attacked by unknown elements. It was repulsed by defensive shares of Malian Armed Forces and EUTM Mali Force Protection Elements.”

PORT-AU-PRINCE: Haitian police fired tear gas and rubber pellets to disperse protesters and mourners who were carrying the casket of a person killed last week in anti-government riots.

Police confronted the protest rally near Haiti’s National Palace, according to reports.

Thousands of protestors have taken to the streets of Haiti’s main cities calling for President Jovenel Moise’s resignation. Protestors have alleged the President of failing to take responsibility for ballooning inflation. (Agencies)

ETHIOPIA: The World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2020 will be hosted in Ethiopia, as the Eastern African nation hopes to attract more investment. The announcement was made following a meeting between Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed and Prof Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of WEF.

The office of the prime minister said the two leaders discussed the importance of a collaborative approach among government, private sector and civil societies in addressing key global challenges. Abiy attended the WEF 2019 meeting held in Davos, Switzerland, where he met several business leaders before heading to Belgium.

Abiy courts investors
Abiy, who has championed reforms since taking office in April last year, called upon investors in Davos to take advantage of the huge business opportunities available in the country. Reiterating Ethiopia’s plans to liberalisze the previously state-controlled sectors of telecommunications, banking and aviation among others, Abiy pledged to do more to make it easier to do business for anyone planning to invest in Ethiopia. “In order to enforce our up word trajectory and achieve even more rapid and sustainable growth, Ethiopia has embarked on a comprehensive reform process since last April,” he said.

CAMEROON: Cameroon’s main opposition chief Maurice Kamto has been charged with insurrection after his arrest on Monday. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges his lawyer confirmed to the media. His lawyers confirmed the charge which could lead to imprisonment term ranging from five years to life sentence. Other charges he is facing along with over 200 other detainees include holding illegal gatherings and disturbing public order.

The party Kamto leads, the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, CRM, held rallies last weekend across major cities whiles they were replicated in other European capitals. The anti-government protests for not being sanctioned by the relevant law enforcement authorities led to the arrests earlier this week. The protests are related to October 2018 elections which Kamto came second in.

The vote was won by incumbent Paul Biya who polled over 70% to seal a seventh straight term in office. Kamto had declared himself winner even before the elections body could put out a winner. His team lodged a complaint at the Constitutional Court along with other opposition parties. Even though their petition was admitted for hearing, it was dismissed by the judges as without merit.

Kamto’s lawyer, Christopher Ndong told the press that his client’s arrest was needless because he was only exercising a right to protest. “The government clampdown will not frighten anybody,” he said disclosing that more protests were to follow this weekend.

(Agency)