“At least 30 people have died and more than 200 others been injured after scaffolding collapsed at a church in Ethiopia,” reported the BBC.
“Thousands of worshippers were gathered at the Arerti Mariam church early in the morning when the structure fell, local police inspector Ahmed Gebeyehu told BBC Amharic. The crowd had visited the church, in the central Minjar Sheknora area about 45 miles from the capital Addis Ababa, as part of the annual Orthodox Christian celebration of St Mary. Mr Ahmed said the death toll might increase, adding that those confirmed deceased were aged between 25 and 80. Local authorities say many people are still trapped under the rubble and that rescue operations are underway.”
Ethiopia is a poor African country with 135 million people and a persistent trade deficit. It is now creating jobs and shrinking its trade deficit by exporting offal to the Middle East, where “offal products are highly valued as delicacies and are integral to traditional dishes. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) continue to be Ethiopia’s primary markets, representing the majority of these sales.”
Ethiopia is also increasing its exports of gold and coffee.
Russia has signed an agreement with Ethiopia to build a nuclear power plant there.
Ethiopians can now travel to the richer neighboring country of Kenya. Kenya has gotten rid of the visa requirement for visitors from other African countries. Kenya’s biggest neighbors, Tanzania and Ethiopia, are no longer as poor as they used to be, reducing the likelihood of a flood of migrants from those countries into Kenya.
Tanzania’s neighbor to the southwest — Zambia — recently used artificial intelligence to find more mineral wealth. Zambia is one of the world’s 30 poorest countries, despite having lots of copper and cobalt.
