COURTING CONCRETE


COURTING CONCRETE

A street vendor around Debrezeit Road steadily walks a crossing bridge balancing his locally made plastic water cans. The shortage of foreign currency has increasingly challenged the 4,000 local plastic manufacturers in the country who require significant chemical inputs. A recent restriction on the use of partialized letters of credit to import materials has fueled a rising panic across the manufacturing landscape. As nearly half of the industrial input for most manufacturing plants in the country relies on the import of materials, the fate of the industrial sector is intimately tied to the country's forex status.

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In-Picture

TRENCH TALES

A "fresh chapter" for the city's waterways is taking shape, if you consider a trench full of mud and two workers elbow-deep in pipes a poetic start. Around the stadium, the Filwuha River gets its long-overdue facelift, with construction clamor providing the soundtrack to what is supposed to become a green, inviting retreat. The plan? A place to stroll, relax, and get fresh air ,once the dust settles, the mud dries, and the pipelines stop demanding more attention than the people who will eventual...


In-Picture

RIGHTS DIALOGUE

Dignitaries from China and across Africa gathered at the Sheraton Addis for the inaugural China-Africa Human Rights Seminar. The event focused on “Building the China-Africa Community with a Shared Future and Working Together to Realize the Right to Development.” After sub-forums exploring poverty reduction, sustainable development, and international cooperation, the seminar wrapped up with the launch of the “Addis Abeba Consensus on the China-Africa Right to Development....


In-Picture

TWO-WHEEL TERRACE

Around the National Theater, bicycles rest in neat rows as cyclists take a well-earned pause. The usual parking lot transforms into a mini stage where the city's cycling culture steals the spotlight. Traffic noise fades, replaced by laughter, chatter, and the soft hum of wheels. Fun fact, studies show that urban cyclists are 30pc more likely to wave at strangers, proof that two wheels can boost both community spirit and awkward hand gestures. This little patch of concrete and greenery quietly ce...