The World Bank wants greater competition in Ethiopia’s telecom sector plans

The World Bank wants greater competition in Ethiopia’s telecom sector plans
Samuel Getachew
·4 min read

The Ethiopian government's latest plans to open up its telecommunications sector and enter the mobile money market are sparking concerns over the fairness of its efforts.

Continue reading

Recommended Stories

  • Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine neutralizes Brazil variant in lab study

    The COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE was able to neutralize a new variant of the coronavirus spreading rapidly in Brazil, according to a laboratory study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Monday. Blood taken from people who had been given the vaccine neutralized an engineered version of the virus that contained the same mutations carried on the spike portion of the highly contagious P.1 variant first identified in Brazil, the study conducted by scientists from the companies and the University of Texas Medical Branch found.

  • Calls to #AbolishTheMonarchy went viral after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Oprah interview

    Calls for the abolition of the British monarchy were made on social media following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah.

  • Megyn Kelly says Meghan Markle always claims to be a 'victim' after bombshell Oprah interview: 'Give me a break'

    "Everyone victimizes Meghan! Everyone! The palace! The press!" the former Fox News host, who was fired for making racist statements, said.

  • Kamala Harris to make U.N. debut as U.S. vice president at gender equality meeting

    Kamala Harris is due to make her United Nations debut as U.S. vice president next week when she addresses an annual United Nations meeting on the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. Harris will speak at the virtual 65th Commission on the Status of Women on March 16, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Monday, adding Washington would also join a U.N. "Group of Friends for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and Girls." Under former U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, the United States led a push at the United Nations against the promotion of women's sexual and reproductive rights and health because it sees that as code for abortion.

  • A new lab study shows troubling signs that Pfizer's and Moderna's COVID-19 shots could be far less effective against the variant first found in South Africa

    A mutation called E484K appeared to help the variant, first found in South Africa, to evade antibodies produced by the vaccines, the authors said.

  • Meghan Markle compared losing her voice after marrying Prince Harry to Ariel's story in 'The Little Mermaid'

    During her interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan Markle compared being "silenced" as a royal to the princess Ariel's story in "The Little Mermaid."

  • UK's Johnson steers clear of royal racism row after Meghan interview

    Prime Minister Boris Johnson avoided wading into the clash of British royals on Monday, praising the queen but sidestepping questions about racism and insensitivity at the palace after an interview by Prince Harry and his wife Meghan. The former Hollywood actress, whose mother is Black and father is white, accused the royal family of pushing her to the brink of suicide. In a tell-all television interview, she said someone in the royal household had raised questions about the colour of her son's skin.

  • 10 major ways Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's love story differs from Prince William and Kate Middleton's

    From how the couples met to the ages they were when dating, the royal brothers' relationships with Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton aren't too alike.

  • New Zealand 'not likely' to become a republic in wake of Harry and Meghan interview, says Jacinda Ardern

    New Zealand's prime minister says the country is “not likely” to become a republic in the wake of Prince Harry and Meghan's interview, as Commonwealth countries face calls for the removal of the Queen as Head of State. Jacinda Ardern was asked whether the unflattering picture of the British royal family painted by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had given her pause about New Zealand's constitutional ties to Britain. "I've said before that I've not sensed an appetite from New Zealanders for significant change in our constitutional arrangements, and I don't expect that's likely to change quickly," she said. New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with The Queen as Sovereign. But discontent is bubbling elsewhere - #AbolishTheMonarchy was trending on Twitter on Monday morning.

  • The Queen emerges unscathed as Meghan and Harry lavish praise on his grandmother

    The Duke and Duchess of Sussex unloaded on Prince Charles, The Duchess of Cambridge, and the tabloid press in their extraordinary tell-all with Oprah Winfrey. But despite the numerous allegations levelled at named and unnamed members of the Royal family, The Queen emerged unscathed, and instead received glowing praise from the couple. Meghan described how "everyone" welcomed her to the royal set-up initially, but singled out the Queen as making her particularly comfortable. In another sign of their positive relationship, the Duchess said: “I just pick up the phone and I call the Queen - just to check-in. Meghan said the Queen has "always been wonderful" to her and that she reminded the Duchess of her own grandmother. "She’s always been warm and inviting," the Duchess added. The Duchess shared a touching anecdote on how her future husband’s grandmother gave her "some beautiful pearl earrings and a matching necklace" for the couple's first joint engagement together, and that the monarch also shared her blanket while travelling together between visits. The pair attended a ceremony for the opening of the new Mersey Gateway Bridge, in Widnes, Cheshire in June 2018 and travelled north on the Royal train.

  • Tyler Perry provided Harry and Meghan a home and security in Los Angeles after their royal support was removed

    The couple stayed at Perry's home in California for three months after leaving Canada when their royal security detail was removed.

  • Biden eyes trashing Trump-era rules that advocates feared would silence sexual assault survivors on college campuses

    The rules were unveiled by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in the final year of the Trump administration.

  • Looming China extradition deal worries Uighurs in Turkey

    Joining hundreds of women in Istanbul to protest at China's treatment of Uighurs, Nursiman Abdurasit tearfully thinks of her jailed mother in Xinjiang and fears that Uighurs like her in Turkey may one day be sent back under an extradition deal. Beijing approved an extradition treaty between the two nations in December and with the deal awaiting ratification by Ankara's parliament, activists among some 40,000 Uighurs living in Turkey have stepped up efforts to highlight their plight.

  • Prince Harry said he and Meghan Markle hadn't planned on signing streaming deals, but they needed the money for security

    Harry told Oprah he was financially cut off by the royals and that his family's security was taken away, so he signed deals with Netflix and Spotify.

  • Like a 'hand grenade': In Britain, Harry and Meghan's incendiary interview draws praise, fury

    Oprah Winfrey's sit-down with Meghan and Harry lays bare Britain's divides over race, class, culture

  • Biden nominates female generals who were passed over by the Pentagon because they feared Trump's reaction

    Pentagon officials believed former President Donald Trump would oppose the promotion of female generals, report says.

  • Harry and Meghan interview was ‘utterly ridiculous from start to finish’: Piers Morgan

    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sit down with Oprah Winfrey for tell-all interview; Piers Morgan reacts on ‘Fox & Friends.’

  • Spring breakers spreading COVID-19 variants could 'spell disaster' for the country, expert warns

    A world-leading health expert has warned that spring breakers could increase the spread of highly-transmissible coronavirus variants across the US.

  • White House Says Biden Opposes Changes to Filibuster

    White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Monday that President Biden opposes changes to the Senate filibuster. Psaki said that Biden would prefer to work with Republicans on key legislative efforts including on infrastructure and immigration bills. Biden’s “preference is not to make changes to the filibuster rules, and he believes, with the current structure, he can work with Democrats and Republicans to get business done,” Psaki said. The comments come after Senator Joe Manchin (D., W. Va.) indicated that he would be open to limited reform of filibuster rules. In a series of interviews on Sunday, Manchin said it should be “more painful” for senators to initiate a filibuster to block legislation. “If you want to make it a little bit more painful, make him stand there and talk,” Manchin told NBC’s Meet the Press, saying senators should be required to stand and talk on the floor in order to hold up a bill. However, Manchin is against eliminating the filibuster entirely. “I’m willing to look at any way we can, but I’m not willing to take away the involvement of the minority,” Manchin said. With the Senate tied 50-50 and Vice President Kamala Harris the tie-breaking vote, the centrist Manchin, who has sometimes voted with Republicans, has emerged as a powerful figure in the Democratic caucus. Manchin’s resistance to eliminating the filibuster has been criticized by progressive Democrats who wish to scrap the 60-vote threshold for legislation to pass the Senate.

  • Lebanon's army chief warns economic crisis is hurting troops

    Lebanon’s army chief warned Monday that soldiers are hurting from the severe economic crisis engulfing the country, voicing rare criticism from the military of a ruling class that has done little to try and resolve a monthslong political deadlock. Gen. Joseph Aoun’s comments came as protesters, angry with Lebanon's political class, blocked major roads leading to the capital for the seventh straight day. Lebanon's currency has lost 85% of its value in the past year and a half.