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Despite decades of peace deals and ceasefires, armed groups in Ethiopia have continued to battle each other, as well as the military. Now, some of these former rivals have formed an alliance to push out the government in Addis Ababa.

They warn Ethiopia is on the brink of disintegration, and blame Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Abiy says the country can defend itself, but Ethiopians fear they could be on the verge of another civil war.

So, could these former rivals, with deep political and ideological divides, achieve their common objective?

Presenter:

Rob Matheson

Guests:

Samuel Getachew – Political commentator who specialises in Ethiopian affairs

Ngala Chome – Horn of Africa analyst

Kjetil Tronvoll – Professor of peace and conflict studies at Oslo New University College

DUBLIN — President Trump is taking a break this weekend from the pressures of the Iran war and American voter anger over the conflict’s economic fallout by indulging in one of his favorite pastimes: golf.

After observing the somber 25th anniversary on Friday of the 9/11 attacks that killed more than 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, Trump plans to fly to Ireland for a weekend at his eponymous golf resort in Doonbeg on the country’s Atlantic coast. Trump International Golf Links is hosting the Irish Open, which kicked off Thursday.

The president is an avid golfer who hits the links at clubs he owns in Florida, New Jersey and Virginia just about every weekend. Prime Minister Micheál Martin invited Trump to watch the Irish Open during a St. Patrick’s Day trip to Washington in March, and Ireland’s political leaders will most likely see the visit as a chance to maintain warm relations despite differences over trade and foreign policy.

Daniel Mulhall, a former Irish ambassador to the United States, said Irish and U.S. officials will see Trump’s trip “as a happy opportunity for him to have a little bit of R&R in a place that he really loves, which is his golf course in Doonbeg.”

“The relationship with America is on an even keel, which is great because not every country in the world can say that,” he said.

There will be a bit of politics, then golf

Trump plans to sit down on Saturday to talk about trade and international issues with Martin and will also have a brief meeting with President Catherine Connolly, a progressive campaigner who was elected Ireland’s ceremonial head of state last year. He’ll give remarks to business leaders at the U.S. ambassador’s residence, the White House said. Then he’ll travel to Doonbeg to attend the tournament, and possibly present the winner’s trophy on Sunday.

The U.S. and Ireland share ties of history — 30 million Americans claim Irish heritage, and more than 1 million Americans visit Ireland every year — and strong economic bonds. The Irish Treasury takes in billions in corporate tax from U.S. technology and drug companies operating in Ireland, and American firms employ more than 200,000 people in the country.

Ireland is a member of the European Union, a frequent target of Trump’s ire, but so far the country’s lucrative pharmaceutical sector has avoided steep levies.

The Middle East is a potential source of friction. Ireland has recognized a Palestinian state and banned goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, both positions eschewed by the Trump administration.

Martin, who leads a center-right coalition government, struck up a cordial relationship with Trump during his St. Patrick’s Day visits, though Trump said in the Oval Office in March 2025 that “of course” Ireland was among countries taking advantage of the United States.

Not everyone in Ireland is welcoming Trump’s visit. More than 150 Irish lawyers signed a letter objecting to the visit, alleging that through support for conflicts in Gaza and Iran Trump is “executing and enabling war policies which are illegal, causing death and destruction on a massive scale.”

A collection of left-leaning opposition parties, anti-military groups, pro-Palestinian organizations, environmentalists and others plans to demonstrate in Dublin on Saturday.

Trump has forged a role as sports fan-in-chief

Trump’s attendance at the Irish Open continues his trend of appearing at prominent sporting events — and having a hand in organizing some of them in ways that benefit his family business. His clubs in Doral, Fla., and Bedminster, N.J., have each hosted professional golf tournaments this year.

In July, Trump marked the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence from Britain by staging a UFC fight night on the South Lawn of the White House and sanctioning the first IndyCar race ever held on the streets of Washington.

Since beginning a second term in office in January 2025, he’s attended the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500, the FIFA Club World Cup final and the U.S. Open men’s tennis final. He recently announced that he will be at the Presidents Cup golf tournament in late September near Chicago in the traditional role as honorary chairman of the matches.

Last summer, he visited his golf courses in Scotland, meeting then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during the trip.

The president’s visit has brought a huge security operation to the rural area 175 miles west of Dublin, complicated by the presence of some 20,000 golf fans attending the Open.

Local councilor Rita McInerney, who owns a shop in Doonbeg, said Trump’s purchase of the golf course in 2014 has been a mixed bag for the town.

She said Doonbeg has been “vilified” by some in Ireland because of its Trump connection, but that the resort is a major employer and a responsible member of the local business community.

The area draws many American tourists, some of whom come because “they love the golf more than they hate Trump,” she said.

“And then there’s a group of people that will come because they follow Trump or they like Trump or they support him in the U.S.,” she said. “And then there’s other people that will avoid the place because he owns it.”

Superville and Lawless write for the Associated Press.

A major travel change is set to impact British holidaymakers going to and from Europe as of today (7 September), and an expert has issued some crucial advice to avoid disruption

An expert has issued a warning to all Brits travelling to and from Europe as a significant change comes into force.

The European Union’s (EU) Entry/Exit System (EES) was rolled out across airports earlier this year, and, in a bid to reduce travel disruption, member states were permitted to relax some of its restrictions. EU countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain were allowed to temporarily “lift biometric registration” until the end of summer to ensure there was “some relief for the worst-case scenario”, and temporarily switched off the EES when required.

Many European countries utilised the eased measures, particually during the summer holidays, as the EES requires all British passport holders to create a digital record and register their biometric details, such as fingerprints and a photograph, upon arrival in the Schengen area. However, as of today, Monday, 7 September, the ability to relax EES requirements is expected to have expired, with no formal announcement made of an extension.

With uncertainty building that it could prompt airport chaos if there is no further leeway given to Brits when travelling through the EU and the digital system, an expert has issued a warning about the impacts. Anton Radchenko, aviation expert and CEO of passenger-rights company AirAdvisor, explained: “The part of this most travellers have not clocked is that the risk runs both ways. Everyone worries about queues when arriving in Europe, but British passengers can also become trapped at exit control at a Spanish, Italian or other Schengen airport when trying to fly home.

“If a passenger misses an operating flight solely because of a passport-control queue, there is generally no automatic EU261 right to compensation or free rebooking. Airlines may help voluntarily, but passengers should not assume they will, and many insurance policies only cover specified causes such as public transport failure, so the exact wording needs to be checked.

“If the airline delays the flight because passengers are stuck in the queue, its normal care obligations still apply after the relevant waiting period. If it cancels, passengers remain entitled to a refund or rerouting, even though fixed compensation is unlikely where the border disruption was outside the airline’s control.”

Anton added: “My advice is to treat the return journey as seriously as the flight out. Follow the airport’s arrival-time guidance, go to passport control promptly, alert the airline before the gate closes if the queue becomes excessive and preserve time-stamped evidence showing where the delay occurred.”

There have been reports that some member states may still allow eased measures moving forward, although nothing has been officially announced. A European Commission spokesperson told the Guardian at the beginning of last week: “We are in close and constructive contact with those few member states where some adjustments are needed at certain border crossing points. And during an additional period of operational adjustment that is needed at these few operational border crossing points, the commission stands ready to provide additional support to these member states.”

Meanwhile, Ryanair has called on the EU Commission to “immediately” extend the EES flexibility until next year. Ryanair’s COO Neal McMahon said: “The EU’s handling of EES has been a shambles from start to finish. Airlines, airports and border authorities repeatedly warned Brussels that the rollout was not ready, that it would increase processing times and that it would create excessive queues for passengers. Those warnings were ignored, with EU citizens the ones delayed and disrupted.

“Passengers should not be made to pay the price for the EU’s failed EES rollout. Ryanair calls on the EU Commission to urgently extend the EES derogation until at least Apr 2027, so that airports and border authorities have the time needed to fix malfunctioning kiosks, increase staffing levels and ensure the system can operate efficiently before full enforcement is introduced and passengers are condemned to these excessive border control delays for another season.”

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

MORE travel chaos could be on the horizon for Brits as a change to the new Entry/Exit System (EES) is being introduced in a matter of days.

EES has already resulted in huge delays at airports, missed flights and these could get worse in a few weeks’ time.

Currently, EU member states are allowed to pause EES checks in “exceptional circumstances”, which includes when queues get too long.

But from September 7, EU states will no longer be able to temporarily switch off the system at their airports.

Over the summer when the number of holidaymakers increased, countries were able to switch the system off for up to six hours.

With an influx of passengers, some countries that made use of this over the summer included France, Portugal and Greece.

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At some airports, the machines had to be shut down and turned on again when they get overwhelmed, just to get them to work.

Air France-KLM told Politico: “When lines form during the busy summer  months, the system is shut off to ensure smooth transit at our hubs in Paris and Amsterdam.”

However, from September 7, EES will be fully enforced with no exceptions.

EES was first introduced in April and requires Brits to register biometrics upon any first entry to a Schengen country.

However, this registration process has been causing long queues and delays at border control across European airports.

Some Brits reported waiting for up to six hours in airports and others even missed their flight.

There have been some other issues as well including one woman who is an identical twin and faced a problem when she was mistaken for her sister.

And older passengers have faced a problem with ‘faded fingerprints’.