Ethiopia holds memorial for slain army chief

Fighting continues in Ethiopia, where rebel groups are advancing on the capital Addis Ababa. While much has been said about the northern front, where the army is at war with the Tigray Defense Forces (TDF), another armed group – allied to Tigrayans – is fighting from the south and west of the country. The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) now controls a large swathe of territory. Together, the TDF and OLA plan to topple the government and take over the capital. The government accuses these rebel groups of committing crimes against civilians, including several massacres. Our regional correspondent reports.

Ethiopian authorities have closed all secondary schools so pupils can harvest crops for those on the frontline of the civil war, state-affiliated media says. ... More than 2 million pupils were already out of school due to the war which started in the northern region of Tigray last year, the government says.

The Indian Air Force confirmed that the country's military chief of defense staff, Bipin Rawat, was aboard a helicopter that crashed in the south of the country.

After more than a year of war in Tigray, Ethiopia's ethnic divides now run deeper than ever. This will make it hard for the country to heal if peace ever comes.

Sudanese security forces have shot dead at least 14 anti-coup protesters and wounded dozens more, in the bloodiest day since the military seized power on 25 October. The fatalities in Khartoum on Wednesday raised to 38 the death toll from unrest since the military seized power, a pro-democracy doctors' union said.

Locals say Tigrayan forces took over Lalibela without firing a single shot, while the Ethiopian military claims to have captured strategic locations in the regions of Afar and Amhara.

Locals say Tigrayan forces took over Lalibela without firing a single shot, while the Ethiopian military claims to have captured strategic locations in the regions of Afar and Amhara.

Many Facebook groups based in Mali and Nigeria began sharing a video of a helicopter on December 9, claiming it showed an aircraft delivering weapons to terrorists. In Mali, the posts often accused the French government of operating the helicopter, while posts coming from Nigeria laid the blame on the Nigerian government. In reality, the video is from neither one of these countries – it was filmed in the Central African Republic during a routine supply drop.

Fighting between Ethiopian government forces and militants from the Tigray region has now lasted a year. The conflict threatens to widen as military clashes spread beyond the region.

2021 began with the promise of vaccines to the rescue. But as one variant begets another, rich nations talk of boosters and jabs for kids while much of the developing world still waits for first doses.

West African bloc ECOWAS said they hoped to have an election plan from Mali by the end of this year, after a meeting with the interim leaders. Mali's authorities had previously said elections could be delayed.

Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese protesters rallied Sunday for a civilian-led transition to democracy, three years since the start of mass demonstrations that led to the ouster of veteran strongman Omar al-Bashir.