ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) appointed the former head of war-hit Tigray's interim administration as defense minister, one of several shake-ups in his new government's 22-member Cabinet. Abiy, who was sworn in for a second term on Monday, also tapped a new head of the peace ministry, which has often served as the public face of humanitarian operations in northern Ethiopia, where the UN estimates conflict has driven hundreds of thousands of people into famine-like conditions. The Cabinet was approved by a majority vote in the lower house of parliament with two votes against and 12 abstentions.
