FORTUNE+ VIDEO SPONSORED CONTENTS ADVERTORIALS FORTUNE AUDIO Fortune Careers TRADE AFRICA Election 2026 New TIME REMAINING UNTIL ETHIOPIA’S NATIONAL ELECTION 0Days 0Hours 0Minutes 0Seconds

Fortune Logo

TALES EN-ROUTE

May 17 , 2026.

On a wide stretch of asphalt that looks like it has seen better days, two women that do not use the “light travel" memo, rest by the roadside beside oversized bundles of cabbage meant to be sold out but didn't.  One sits forward, face buried in her hands, performing what can only be described as a full-body reset. The other leans into the stacked sacks, fast asleep in a posture that suggests she gave up negotiations with fatigue a while ago. Their clothing, bright green, pink, and deep blue, cuts through the dull concrete like a quiet act of defiance, turning the roadside into an unplanned splash of color in an otherwise exhausted scene. The contrast is striking: life insisting on brightness while the environment sticks stubbornly to grey.


PUBLISHED ON May 17,2026 [ VOL 27 , NO 1359]

[ssba-buttons]

Most read

Editor's pick

Commentaries

Climate Exile Already Here, Yet the Law Still Refuses to See It

Last year, at the inaugural Berlin Climate Mobility Forum, leaders from vulnerable co...

Raising Interest Rates Won't Stabilise African Inflation

African economies began this year facing no shortage of challenges, including lower g...

Fineline

Leaders of the National . . .

Leaders of the National Election Board are in a charm offensive mood, of a sort. Last week, they organised a rare tour for members of the me...

When the country’s most. . .

When the country's most senior diplomats and envoys return back to their posts after two-week debriefings, they leave behind a point or two...

Editorial

The Budget Bill Asks the Most from Citizens with the Least Slack

Jun 20 , 2026

When Parliament takes up the appropriation bill, federal legislators will receive a d...

Logistics Reform Should Deliver More Than Market Entry by Foreign Capital

Jun 13 , 2026

The recent policy decision to fully open freight forwarding to foreign capital may be...

The Elections Offered Order at the Centre, Silence at the Edges

Jun 6 , 2026

For a political veteran as controversial as Getachew Reda, last week's national elect...

Mistaking Development Theatre for Public Trust Has a Cost

May 30 , 2026

Tomorrow, millions of Ethiopians are expected to vote in the seventh national electio...

Gallery

Parliament Approves New Cabinet Members

Oct 6 , 2021

Parliament Approves New Cabinet, Incorporates Opposition Leaders Lawmakers have approved today the nominations of 22 ministers, including three opposition leaders. Two MPs have voted against, while 12 abstained...

2020 in Posterity

Jan 5 , 2021

TIGRAY VOTES DESPITE "NULL & VOID" THREAT

Sep 9 , 2020

IN-PICTURE: LAUREATE'S RECEPTION  

Dec 14 , 2019

PM Abiy Ahmed (PhD) at a Gala Dinner Called for the Awarding of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize

May 6 , 2019

Faces, Voices of Addis Abeba

Apr 26 , 2019

Sunday With Eden

Prevention Starts Years Before the First Diagnosis

I often hear people say, “I'm only in my twenties,” or “I'm still in my thirtie...

The Cost of a Culture That Doesn't Read

In Ethiopia, one of the most surprising statements heard in everyday conversation is...

Life Matters

A Cup of Juice, A Long Day, an Uncomfortable Realisation

Most of us love our children fiercely. It is perhaps one of the most universal human...

The Things We Can't Control

Lately, two thoughts have occupied my mind. At first glance, they seem unrelated. One is about comebacks. The other is about how parents vie...