Ethiopia has reached agreement in principle with Ad Hoc Committee of its Eurobond holders on principal financial terms of restructuring of 2024 Notes. The breakthrough came more than two years after Ethiopia started seeking the debt relief and over a year after defaulting on the Eurobond interest payment.

The agreement is mainly to restructure the 6.625 percent Notes due in 2024, Ministry of Finance announced on Friday.

Between 23 December and 1 January 2026 (the “Restricted Period”), the Ministry of Finance held restricted discussions with a group of holders (the “Ad Hoc Committee”, and together with Ethiopia, the “Parties”) of its USD1 billion 6.625 percent Notes due 2024 (the “2024 Notes”) to discuss the potential restructuring of the 2024 Notes.

United States President Donald Trump has announced that he plans to withdraw the US from 66 United Nations and international organisations, including major forums for cooperation on climate change, peace and democracy.

In a presidential memorandum shared by the White House on Wednesday evening, Trump said that the decision came after a review of which “organizations, conventions, and treaties are contrary to the interests of the United States”.

The changes would see the US cease participation and also cut all funding to the affected entities, Trump added.

The list shared by the White House included 35 non-UN organisations, including notably the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Although the IPCC was included in the list of non-UN bodies by the White House, it is a UN organisation that brings together top scientists to assess the evidence related to climate change and provide periodic scientific assessments to help inform political leaders.

At least 22 migrants have been killed and 65 others injured after a lorry they were travelling in overturned in Ethiopia’s north-eastern Afar region, authorities say.

About 85 Ethiopian migrants were travelling along the eastern migration route when the lorry overturned in the town of Semera on Tuesday morning, a senior Afar official Mohammed Ali Biedo said in a statement.

Their final destination was unclear but the route typically runs from Ethiopia through Djibouti, across the Red Sea to Yemen, and onward to Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries.

Yemen is a major pathway for migrants from the Horn of Africa travelling to Gulf states in search of work.

Biedo said that 30 of the injured are in a critical condition.

“The accident occurred when a lorry transporting migrants, misled by illegal brokers and unaware of the dangers of their journey, overturned,” Biedo said in the statement.

The Afar regional government said it was “doing all the necessary life saving operations” on the injured migrants following the “horrific” accident.

It cautioned Ethiopians, particularly the youth, against the dangers of human trafficking driven by false promises.

Africa is being urged to speed up implementation of the AfCFTA as trade within the continent hits a record high, with experts warning that weak infrastructure, remaining tariffs and poor policy coordination could undermine its benefits. Intra‑African trade surged to an estimated $220.3 billion in 2024, representing a roughly 12.4 per cent increase from the previous year, according to Afreximbank’s African Trade Report. Despite the growth, intra‑regional commerce still accounts for only 15 to 18 per cent of Africa’s total trade, well below Europe and Asia. By comparison, Africa’s total merchandise trade including dealings with the European Union, China and other external partners stood at about $1.5 trillion in 2024, highlighting the continent’s continued reliance on global markets even as regional commerce grows.