The UN said on Wednesday that aid programmes in famine-stricken parts of northern Ethiopia could be cut because fighting between rebels and government forces was blocking the only usable road into the Tigray region.
UN spokesman Farhan Haq said convoys carrying aid workers, food, fuel and other humanitarian supplies could not traverse the route from Semera city, the capital of Afar state, to Tigray due to “security reasons”.
A counteroffensive by Tigrayan rebels against Ethiopian government troops reportedly advanced into neighbouring Afar at the weekend, forcing 54,000 people to flee their homes in the latest chapter of an eight-month civil war.
“NGOs and UN agencies are running out of cash and are unable to pay staff or suppliers,” Mr Haq told reporters.
“Unless fuel, cash supplies and aid workers are able to enter Tigray in the coming days, some humanitarian programmes will not be able to function.”
UN humanitarian supply planes were set to begin regular flights into Tigray on Thursday, but not the road routes that aid workers say are needed to supply enough food to a region where as many as 900,000 people are facing famine.
A 10-vehicle World Food Programme convoy loaded with supplies for Tigray was on Sunday attacked about 115 kilometres from Semera, dealing a further blow to aid distribution in the turbulent region.
The route from Semera to Tigray is critical for aid delivery as two key bridges along other routes were destroyed in late June.
“We continue to call for the restoration of electricity, communications, commercial flights and the banking system to prevent further deterioration in the humanitarian situation,” said Mr Haq.
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into Tigray last November to detain and disarm leaders of the region's then-ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), backed by forces from Eritrea and allied militias.
Mr Abiy, a Nobel peace laureate, declared victory in late November after government forces took the Tigray capital Mekele. But last month, pro-TPLF forces retook Mekele in a stunning reversal of the conflict and have since pushed south-east into Afar state.
At the weekend, rebel forces carried out what a spokesman described as a “very limited action” in Afar, attacking special forces and militia fighters from the Oromia region, the country's largest, AFP reported.
“The districts of Yalo, Golina and Awra were fully captured by the TPLF and over 54,000 people were displaced from these places,” Ahmed Kaloyta, a spokesman for the Afar region, told Bloomberg on Wednesday.
“The regional government is trying to relocate these internally displaced people.”
The spokesman said the Ethiopian National Defence Forces, Afari special forces and militias have mounted a combined counterattack on Tigrayan forces in areas where their troops had made gains.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
Results
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