Daily cholera cases in the Amhara Region have declined in recent weeks, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), which attributed the development to a “coordinated response” implemented jointly with the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) and the Amhara Public Health Institute (APHI). Africa CDC said the deployment of its technical experts to Amhara in late April 2025 contributed to several “critical response pillars,” including surveillance, case management, infection prevention and control (IPC), risk communication and community engagement (RCCE), and operational capacity building for the region’s Incident Management System (IMS). “The major outcome,” said Dr. Aniekeme Aniefiok Uwah, Africa CDC’s Senior Country Representative to Ethiopia, “was a significant reduction in the daily number of cholera cases reported.” …Africa CDC reported that the outbreak in Amhara, which began in January 2025, has resulted in over 2,281 confirmed cases and 15 deaths. The agency said the outbreak has been “exacerbated by the influx of pilgrims and fragile water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure at these sacred sites.” (Addis Standard)

Ethiopia and Morocco have signed a new military cooperation agreement aimed at consolidating defense ties through joint training, exercises, scientific research, and military health programs. The agreement, signed on Tuesday, 17 June in Rabat, also establishes a joint military commission to oversee its implementation…This latest development marks a growing defense cooperation between the two countries, building on momentum from earlier high-level exchanges. In April, Ethiopia hosted General Berrid and a Moroccan delegation for a four-day visit, which included talks with Ethiopia’s Chief of General Staff, Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, and tours of key military installations. During that visit, both sides expressed shared interest in expanding cooperation to include cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and defense industry development. (Addis Standard)

Eritreans face severe rights violations under the three-decade rule of President Isaias Afwerki, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Eritrea has said. The small country of around 3.5 million people in the Horn of Africa is sometimes nicknamed the “North Korea of Africa”. It consistently ranks among the worst in the world for rights — in last place for press freedom, according to Reporters Without Borders, and 175th out of 183 for human development in 2022, according to the United Nations. “Violations are systemic, and the need for accountability is urgent,” said Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Eritrea, speaking at a summit in Geneva on Monday. The single-party state has been ruled for more than 30 years by Afwerki, who led the country to independence from Ethiopia. He has violently suppressed dissent, often locking up opponents without trial for decades in horrific conditions. Civilians are conscripted for life into the army or subjected to forced labour under a national service system the UN has likened to slavery. (AFP)

A straddle is a neutral options strategy that involves simultaneously buying (long position) both a put option (leg one) and a call option (leg two) for the underlying security with the same strike price and the same expiration date.

A trader will profit from a long straddle when the price of the security rises or falls from the strike price by an amount more than the total cost of the premium paid. The profit potential is virtually unlimited on the call leg as long as the price of the underlying security moves very sharply. The profit on the put leg is capped at the difference between the strike price and zero less the premium paid.