Ethiopia: A little light for returnees from Saudi Arabia

n Ethiopian returnee from Saudi Arabia makes a free phone call to contact her family after arriving in Addis Ababa Bole International 

Thousands of Ethiopian nationals returning from Saudi Arabia had the opportunity to re-establish contact with their families thanks to a free phone service set up by the ICRC and the Ethiopian Red Cross Society.

“There is nothing more comforting for separated families than hearing the voices of their loved ones. It heals the pain of separation,” said Mulugeta Jaleta, who runs the Ethiopian Red Cross Society’s family links programme.

In November and December last year, around 24,000 Ethiopians returning from Saudi Arabia were sheltered in five temporary sites set up in Addis Ababa. “The phone service we provided helped returnees let their families know that they had arrived home safely,” added Mr Jaleta.

This Ethiopian Intersection Is A Beautiful Example Of Organized Chaos

           
      
Engineers have attempted for years to design the perfect intersection, with no traffic lights, and no signs. Their attempts have met with varying levels of success. What they should've done is just watched drivers in Meskel Square, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Then they would've known just to say "screw it."P

There are very few things I would not attempt to do behind the wheel, at least once. Skid plate racing, for example, looks awesome. I'm not sure I'd try a trip through Meksel Square, even if you gave me a Volvo, a roll cage, a helmet, a helmet to go on top of my helmet, a nomex firesuit, and just for good measure, some bubble wrap.

Because while you're waiting for the intersection to clear, you might as well entertain yourself by popping some bubble wrap.

Ethiopia to host Cecafa

Ethiopia will host the 2014 Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup with between November and December while Rwanda will host the Kagame Club Cup in August.

A Cecafa delegation will visit Addis Ababa after the Fifa World Cup [June/July] to finalise the arrangements and sponsorship package, Cecafa Secretary General Nicholas Musonye told supersport.com.

The President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, has already honoured his pledge of $60,000 [Sh5.2 million] prize money. Cecafa and the Rwanda FA are finalizing a sponsorship package that will cater for all expense for the teams and delegations in the Kagame Club cup.

Meanwhile Cecafa have launched two new regional tournaments that are scheduled for commence in May this was announced in Nairobi on Thursday morning.

Paying for giant Nile dam itself, Ethiopia thwarts Egypt but takes risks

(Reuters) - Ethiopia's bold decision to pay for a huge dam itself has overturned generations of Egyptian control over the Nile's waters, and may help transform one of the world's poorest countries into a regional hydropower hub.

By spurning an offer from Cairo for help financing the project, Addis Ababa has ensured it controls the construction of the Renaissance Dam on a Nile tributary. The electricity it will generate - enough to power a giant rich-world city like New York - can be exported across a power-hungry region.

But the decision to fund the huge project itself also carries the risk of stifling private sector investment and restricting economic growth, and may jeopardise Ethiopia's dream of becoming a middle income country by 2025.

The dam is now a quarter built and Ethiopia says it will start producing its first 750 megawatts of electricity by the end of this year. In the sandy floor of the Guba valley, near the Sudanese border, engineers are laying compacted concrete to the foundations of the barrage that will tower 145 metres high and whose turbines will throw out 6,000 megawatts - more than any other hydropower project in Africa.

Maritu Legesse on Sheger FM with Meaza Biru-Interview

Meaza Biru of Sheger FM expressed her Happiness at the end of her interview with Maritu Legesse, the Queen of Amharic Traditional Music. Let me express my gratitude for Meaza, who always amazed me with her weekly interviews with personalities from all walks of life. Maritu Legesse, a well known Amharic Traditional singer was born in Wollo north east of Ethiopia, a rich & culturally diversified region. She began singing where she raised, married & gave birth for her ten children. She experienced music with Bati,Anchi Hoye,Tizita & Ambassel.

The Lyrics of her music originated from her source, tells the life philosophy of her time.she travelled all over the world with the ''Hizib le Hizib'' campaign, organized with the aim of recognizing countries who supported Ethiopia during the 1977 famine. After she relocated to the USA, her career overshadowed. She is not the only one who lost her reputation after she moved to the USA. Our poverty, economic deprivation & political confutation killed the talents of Tewodros Tadesse,MuluQen Melesse,Teshome Mitiku and so on. Maritu, the Queen, laid her own Hall of Fame within the hearts of Amharic Traditional Music fans.but for the time being she is far from her roots. She still has her amazing Sound, energy & Love for music. I wish Mulatu Astatke or Abrham Wolde gave her a chance to produce something new. Finally I want to declare my appreciation for Meaza.

Listen Part Two,
Listen Part Three,
Listen Part Four
Listen Part  Five

Prison for Ethiopian mother in baby's strangling

An Ethiopian woman who shook and strangled her 7-month-old son, then told police that he fell from a third-story apartment window, was sentenced Thursday to 25 years to life in state prison.

Zewoinesh Badasso, 35, was convicted in February of first-degree murder and child abuse in the death of her son, David. A jury later found that Badasso was sane when she killed the child.

Deputy District Attorney Nicole Rooney told jurors in her opening statement in the guilt phase that Badasso strangled her son in two ways — with her hands and a ligature — on Sept. 7, 2012.

Rooney said Badasso grabbed, squeezed and shook the baby before killing him.

Prior to the killing, Badasso told a therapist that she had anger issues, a history of violence and had difficulty controlling her impulses, according to Rooney.

Ethiopian Man charged with killing wife on Auburn street is refused bail

A middle-aged man accused of murdering his young wife will remain behind bars after he was refused bail in a Sydney court.

Solomon Hailu Jenbare, 49, appeared briefly before Burwood Local Court on Thursday morning, almost two days after allegedly murdering his 25-year-old wife.

She was found with multiple stab wounds on an Auburn footpath late on Tuesday night and was taken to Westmead Hospital where she died shortly after arriving.

The battle of the skies in East Africa - reloaded

When Ethiopian Airlines, come 04th of June, doubles their number of flights from Addis Ababa to Nairobi from presently two to four, will the stage be set for notching up the ‘air war’ between two of Africa’s leading airlines, Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines.
Ethiopian appears clearly intent to take the battle for continental superiority to rivals Kenya Airways with the doubling of the flights and it is yet to be seen how Kenya Airways will respond to this bold move of invading their own patch in such an expansionist manner.
Ethiopian was of course the erstwhile Pan African carrier, connecting the continent via Addis Ababa, also the city where the African Union and its predecessor the Organisation of African Unity, in short OAU, is headquartered. Flying with Ethiopian spared African travelers the trip to distant Europe only to connect back into another part of Africa at a time when there were but few options to fly from East to West and from South to North.
ET’s concept to feed and de-feed traffic via their Addis hub and then carry passengers, even from way back in the 1970’s to for instance Beijing, combined with having traffic rights into North America for many years now, did clearly inspire other airlines on the continent to roll out similar strategies, especially as the African economies continued to grow, offering an expanding pool of passengers to compete over.
Kenya Airways certainly took a hint when they announced two years ago that by the end of 2015 they would want to connect from their own hub in Nairobi to every political and commercial capital across Africa, while at the same time expanding their network into Europe, the Gulf, to India and into the Far and South East.

Breakthrough in riding the rails in Ethiopia

CNR Changchun uses embedded technology transfer for growth in Africa

As dusk falls on Addis Ababa, it is easy to spot the shadows of the giant cranes that are busy laying the rails for Ethiopia's ambitious light-rail transit system.

The $475 million project, being executed by China Railway Engineering Corp, will soon have Chinese-made trams ferrying passengers across the length and breadth of the Ethiopian capital.

The tramcar order won by China CNR Changchun Railway Vehicles, a division of China CNR Corp, in November, however, is much more than just the supply of 41 trams. It marks a major milestone in the shipping of products with real, embedded technology to Africa, sources say.

"It is a milestone for us as it gives us a breakthrough in the dynamic African market," says Liu Gang, general manager of the international division at CNR Changchun Railway.

According to Liu, the first batch of trams will be delivered in August for test operations of the light train system, which is scheduled to commence by the end of this year. "It is also our first major order from Africa," he says.

environmentalist NGO’s report on dam project

By Jake Lippincott
Ethiopian GERD Panel of Experts calls International Rivers Network “paternalistic”, “fanatical” and “proxy for Egypt”
On Sunday the Grand Ethiopian Dam Project (GERD) Panel of Experts slammed a 31 March report issued by the International  Rivers Network (IRN), titled “GERD Panel of Experts Report: Big Questions Remain”.
The IRN piece was a response to a leaked GERD Panel of Experts report on the expected environmental consequences of Ethiopia’s massive hydroelectric dam project in the Blue Nile.
In the IRN report, the international environmental group accused the Ethiopian government of a lack of transparency regarding potential environmental consequences resulting from the dam project, specifically concerning Sudan and Egypt, which are downstream from Ethiopia and rely on the Nile for most of their water.
The Ethiopian government had previously issued a statement saying: “The Dam offers high benefit for all the three countries [Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt] and would not cause significant harm on both the lower riparian countries.”
However, IRN says that the leaked report “documents numerous problems with existing analysis and a lack of analysis on a number of critical issues. The panel recommends further investigation into the dam’s hydrological impacts, including on downstream countries’ water supplies and power generation, risks from climate change and geotechnical issues”.

Ethiopian-Sudanese rapprochement: To protect the dam or to besiege Egypt?

By BISHOY RAMZY
CAIRO: The Ethiopian government has taken serious steps towards strengthening its relations with Sudan during the recent period, raising controversy overits objectives in doing so.

While some have said that Ethiopia is working to gain Sudanese support for the construction of the Renaissance Dam, others believe that Ethiopia is employingsiege tactics towards Egypt in the framework of the current power struggle between the major powers in Africa.

According to the Ethiopian Reporter Newspaper, the Ethiopian government is looking towards introducing a more far-sighted foreign policy, based on partnership with the government and people of Sudan to achieve mutual progress, peace and prosperity.

From conflict to cooperation

Dr. Abdel-Rahman Ibrahim, Deputy Media Advisor of Sudan’s Embassy in Cairo, said that current developments witnessed in Sudan’s relations with Ethiopia come in the context of Sudan’s efforts to improve its relations with its different neighbors, to achieve common interests.

“Sudan decided to turn its strained relations with both Ethiopia and Chad into cooperative relations, due to their notable role to support peace in Sudan, and to contain the internal conflicts there,” Ibrahim told The Cairo Post.

Tirunesh Dibaba is confident of meeting challenge of London Marathon

• Ethiopian has trained intensively for five months
• Dibaba has made transition from 10,000m to marathon
The greatest women's distance runner of all time arrived in London sporting electro-pink painted fingernails and giant silver earrings but Tirunesh Dibaba soon made it clear she was here on business before her marathon debut.

Dibaba is a sort of Ethiopian Mo Farah deluxe. She has three world records, five world championships, three Olympic gold medals and five world cross-country titles. And she is only 28.

She has done it on track and grass and mud; the question is whether she can handle 26.2 miles on limb-dulling concrete and asphalt. The bookies are sceptical. They make her fourth favourite at 6-1 but, while Dibaba is coy about her chances, she looks in shape to create waves by the Thames on Sunday.

MWH Global names Ethiopia Country Manager

MWH Global, provider of strategic consulting, environmental, engineering and construction services, has hired Moghes Ayalew Mekonen as the country manager for its operations in Ethiopia. Mekonen will lead the firm’s Addis Ababa office and manage MWH services and projects, continuing more than 50 years of infrastructure work in the region.

“Moghes’ leadership and engineering prowess will play an important role in our efforts to deliver renewable, reliable energy solutions to meet the needs of Ethiopia’s population,” said Joe Adams, president of energy and industry for MWH.  “MWH has deep roots in Ethiopia, having worked on hydropower and dams projects since 1964. Moghes will continue our long-standing relationships with existing clients and extend our service offerings to new ones.”

Being Ethiopian in Seattle

A book explores the experiences of Ethiopian refugees adapting to Seattle and suggests their presence is changing the community, too.
In 1980, the federal government started placing Ethiopian refugees in Seattle, one of a few cities chosen to receive what would eventually be thousands of people — at least 10,000 now just in the Seattle area.

“It is the first significant migration of black Africans to America since slavery times,” Joseph Scott told me when we spoke Monday at his home in Southeast Seattle.

Scott, an ethnologist and sociologist, wrote “Little Ethiopia of the Pacific Northwest” (Transaction Publishers, 2013) in collaboration with Solomon A. Getahun, a history professor at Central Michigan University, and himself a refugee.

Scott, who retired from the University of Washington in 2005, said he and Getahun, who was a graduate student when they began the project in 1995, wanted to capture a historically important period of change and adjustment — for immigrants and ultimately for the rest of us, too.

Ethiopian Coffee Quality Could Do Better –Traders

VENTURES AFRICA – Ethiopian specialty coffee has up till now not attained its full potential in quality and volumes despite being considered the best in the world, it emerged on Thursday.

According to Imara Equity Research, it is projected that only 1 percent of Ethiopia’s coffee exports are sold as specialty coffee.

Phil Robertson, the co-founder of the Calgary-based Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters, believes that this percentage point has the potential to surge 10-fold if problems in coffee processing, among other things, in the country are tackled.

But there are success stories in the country – the Duromina co-operative is a strong case in point.

BELACHEW AMETA AND KIBIWOT RENEW THEIR LODZ MARATHON RIVALLY

Organisers of the 2014 Lodz Marathon Dbam o Zdrowie have made their intentions clear by signing up five men with personal bests of under 2:10 to attack the 12 month old course record of 2:10:02, held by Ethiopia’s Alemayehu Belachew Ameta, at the 10th edition of the Polish race on Sunday (13).

In 2013, Belachew Ameta triumphed by just two seconds from Kenya’s Stephen Kibiwot and the pair will duel once again at the IAAF Bronze Label Road Race, which became Poland’s first IAAF Label Rood Race last September.

Kibiwot, now 34 and fourth at the 2008 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in his only major international championship, can boast of a personal best of 2:07:54 but that dates from five years ago in Prague.

The Kenyan has never quite fulfilled his promise over the classic distance after some impressive half marathon times earlier in his career.

Ibrahim Jeilan looks ahead to his marathon debut in London

            

Eritrea and Ethiopia: Beyond the Impasse-Chatham House

Briefing
Jason Mosley, April 2014

Download paper here

Summary:

Opportunities exist for external efforts to foster improved relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia. This will involve questioning some of the underlying assumptions about their conflict and current regional dynamics. A fresh approach should involve engagement with each country individually, rather than immediate attempts to promote dialogue between them.

The initial focus should be on promoting the conditions in each country for an eventual confident re-engagement with the other. It is important to avoid a narrow focus on the specifics of the border conflict, and post-conflict boundary demarcation, which has hitherto dominated external engagement.

REUTERS SUMMIT-Ethiopian oil marketer says Africa needs to refine its oil

* NOC is Ethiopia's largest private marketer

* Says mega refinery would cut import costs

* Eyes expansion into neighbouring economies

* Tight state grip stifling companies growth

By Aaron Maasho

ADDIS ABABA, April 9 (Reuters) - Ethiopia's leading private oil marketer plans to expand into neighbouring east African economies and is interested in part financing a refinery after commercial discoveries in the region.

Tadesse Tilahun, CEO of National Oil Ethiopia, said untapped crude deposits in Kenya and Uganda handed governments and investors the opportunity to construct a refinery able to compete with cheap imports from India, the Gulf and beyond.

Doing so would help African countries extract more value from their resources and cut their import bills, Tadesse said.

"Africa's demand for refined products is growing hugely because of its economic growth. The crude findings are also increasing. That is the opportunity," Tadesse said in Addis Ababa as part of the Reuters Africa Summit.

EU not financing Ethiopia Renaissance Dam: EU ambassador in Egypt

EU ambassador underlines union's support for negotiated solutions in international disputes; says Egypt has requested presidential poll supervision
The European Union (EU) is not funding the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam, said EU Ambassador to Egypt James Moran in a press conference, the MENA state news agency reported.
Moran underlined that the EU is looking into the issue of the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam since it affects many countries. He also said the EU is ready to help any country that seeks its assistance related to this issue.

Moran underscored the importance of negotiations between countries in dispute, in order to reach solutions that benefit all parties.

Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan formed a tripartite technical committee to study the possible effects of the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. But the committee's discussions were thwarted in December when Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir announced his support for the dam during a meeting with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

Africa flies on a wing and a prayer

African leaders face tough challenges in developing, upgrading and maintaining the continent’s infrastructure for transport, energy, water and information and communication technology. Despite efforts by governments and the private sector to pump money into building a reliable infrastructure, there is still a huge financial gap.

Until recently, it was not uncommon for passengers flying between two African cities to transit through Europe. It was cheaper and faster, for instance, for passengers travelling to Ethiopia from Côte d’Ivoire to fly first to Paris with Air France and then catch a connecting flight to Addis Ababa. With no direct flights linking their capitals, most African countries had to rely on flights from their former colonial powers to connect to each other. It still happens today but on a smaller scale; flying in Africa is improving, albeit slowly.

Eritrea denies Ethiopian destabilization claims

 Late last month, Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokesman Dina Mufti accused Eritrea of playing a role in the ongoing South Sudan conflict.

World Bulletin / News Desk

Eritrea has dismissed claims by longstanding rival Ethiopia that it was destabilizing the East Africa region by involving itself in the ongoing conflict in South Sudan.

Eritrean Ambassador to Kenya Beyene Russom was quoted by Eritrean state television as saying that the allegations were part of an Ethiopian smear campaign.

Eritrea, Russom insisted, wanted to see the South Sudanese people solve their domestic problems.

Late last month, Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokesman Dina Mufti accused Eritrea of playing a role in the ongoing South Sudan conflict.

Teff, Ethiopia’s nutritious grain

Although teff has been a staple of traditional Ethiopian cooking for thousands of years, this gluten-free grain is quickly climbing to super-grain status in our country. (Watch out, quinoa.)

Teff is a gluten-free whole grain that, despite its size (about the size of a poppy seed), is mineral-rich and high in protein. In fact, the Whole Grains Council estimates that Ethiopians get about two-thirds of their dietary protein from teff. And long-distance runners from Ethiopia have credited their energy and health to the grain.
One serving of dry teff (a quarter-cup) offers 7 grams of protein, 4 grams of dietary fiber, 25 percent of your daily recommended magnesium, 20 percent of your daily iron and 10 percent of your daily calcium, Vitamin B6 and zinc.
Teff has a mildly nutty flavor and is incredibly versatile. When cooked on a stovetop with water, it creates a creamy product similar to porridge or cream of wheat that would be a nice twist on the usual hot breakfast cereal options. It also works wonderfully in stews, adding both thickness and texture.
In Ethiopia, teff is ground into a flour and fermented to make injera, a spongy, sourdough flatbread that is soft, porous and thin like a pancake. Traditional Ethiopian restaurants serve injera with all meals as an edible serving plate topped with meats, vegetables and sauces.

Egyptian News paper claims Presidential hopeful Mansour 'will declare war on Ethiopia'

Egyptian presidential candidate hopeful and lawyer Mortada Mansour (Photo: Reuters)

In a private TV interview, well known lawyer Mortada Mansour shared on Monday his views and plans about the future of Egypt, if he were to become its president
Hopeful presidential candidate Mortada Mansour said he will ban Facebook and Twitter if they threaten the nation's internal security and declare war on Ethiopia should it maintain its stance on the Renaissance dam.
Speaking to TV anchor Amr El-Leithy on the Bewodouh (With Clarity) news show on the privately-owned Al-Hayah TV channel on Monday, Mansour shared his views on protests in Egypt, US aid and the Muslim Brotherhood, among numerous other issues.

The outspoken, controversial lawyer who freely uses expletives against critics in public announced on Sunday his intent to run in Egypt's upcoming presidential elections, becoming the third candidate alongside former army chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and leftist political figure Hamdeen Sabahi.

Church mediates Egypt-Ethiopia dispute over Renaissance Dam

In an exclusive interview with Azzaman, Hisham Geneina, head of Egypt’s Central Auditing Organization, denied reports that the Muslim Brotherhood would support him in the presidential elections, and stressed that he was not affiliated with any particular movement and he is not considering running for president.
Hisham Kamal, a member of the National Alliance to Support Legitimacy (NASL) and spokesman for the Salafist Call, denied allegations that the alliance intends to support Geneina or any other political figure, because it does not trust in the situation on the scene and is still committed to acting on the basis of legitimacy.

On the news that the Brotherhood might support Geneina in the upcoming presidential elections, Kamal said that these were mere rumors that might have originated from the intelligence services or the Ministry of Interior. He noted that there had been previous attempts to impose conditions on the alliance for a so-called reconciliation. Yet, he said, the alliance has refused to comply with these conditions and would not accept any future reconciliation unless it were based on legitimacy, and was accompanied by the trial of those who killed peaceful demonstrators and the restoration of rights.

Ethiopian Adopte Behaylu Barry finds bone marrow match

Behaylu Barry,12, was recently diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia and is in critical need of a bone marrow transplant. The Stratham boy found out Monday that he has a bone marrow match within his birth family in Ethiopia.

STRATHAM — Behaylu Barry had little doubt that a sibling back in Ethiopia would be a match when he was told that he would need a bone marrow transplant to save his life.

The 12-year-old Stratham soccer star got the news he was waiting for Monday afternoon.

DNA testing revealed that a younger sister and an older brother were both matches for Behaylu, who was adopted by Aidan and Midori Barry when he was 6 years old.

"I was expecting a match," an elated Behaylu said shortly after he and the Barrys were informed of the match after a meeting at Boston Children's Hospital Monday afternoon.

Egypt presidential hopeful sees Ethiopia, Twitter as potential enemies

Egyptian presidential candidate hopeful and lawyer Mortada Mansour (Reuters)

Mortada Mansour, one of three candidates running for the presidential election in Egypt, said he would wage war against Ethiopia if it continues building a Nile river dam and threatened to shut down social media websites, the state-run Al Ahram Online reported.

During an interview on the privately-owned al-Hayah TV channel, Mansour addressed Ethiopia’s Renaissance Dam, a thorny subject between Cairo and Addis Ababa.

Although stressing he would seek international assistance to resolve the dispute between the two states, he warned that he would be willing to go to war to protect Egypt’s share of Nile water, Al Ahram Online reported.

Egypt to announce Renaissance Dam assessment report end of the month

Official sources said Egypt is announcing the report of the international committee that is assessing the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam later this month so as to state its position to the international community.

The sources said the report draws attention to the side dam, which it said contains weaknesses in the design, and to the hydrologics design model and the storage lake, which it said entail negative effects on Egypt’s water needs and on the power generation of the High Dam, and bring severe environmental risks to Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.

The report takes into account the specifications that were announced by the Ethiopian government, which did not furnish the committee with any financial studies.

London Marathon Preview: Ethiopia, Kenya battle for supremacy

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Defending champion Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia and world record holder Wilson Kipsang of Kenya headline the elite men's division field at the London Marathon on April 13.

Kebede won the race in 2010, posting an impressive time of 2 hours, 6 minutes, 4 seconds, more that 29 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Emmanuel Mutai of Kenya. Since 2004, Kebede is the sole non-Kenyan to win the race.

Last year's race will be best remembered by many of the runners wearing black ribbons to honor the bombing victims of the Boston Marathon, held one week earlier. A moment of silence was held before the start of the race, and security was extremely tight for the spectators and the 36,000 runners.

መከላከያ ሚኒስቴር የህዳሴውን ግድብ ከማንኛውም ጥቃት የመከላከል አቅም እንዳለው አስታወቀ

-ኢትዮጵያና ሱዳን የጋራ ድንበር ጠባቂ ጦር ሊመሠርቱ ነው

የመከላከያ ሠራዊቱ የታላቁ ህዳሴ ግድብንና ሌሎች የአገሪቱ ግዙፍ ፕሮጀክቶችን ከማንኛውም ጥቃት የመከላከል ጠንካራ አቅምና ዝግጁነት እንዳለው፣ የመከላከያ ሚኒስትሩ አቶ ሲራጅ ፈጌሳ ለፓርላማ አስታወቁ፡፡

አቶ ሲራጅ የመከላከያ ሚኒስቴርን የግማሽ ዓመት የሥራ አፈጻጸም ባለፈው ሐሙስ ለፓርላማው ባቀረቡበት ወቅት፣ ሠራዊቱ የህዳሴውን ግድብ የመጠበቅ አቅሙና ዝግጅቱ ምን ያህል እንደሆነ እንዲያብራሩ ተጠይቀዋል፡፡

ሚኒስትሩ ለቀረበላቸው ጥያቄ መልስ መስጠት የጀመሩት፣ በህዳሴው ግድብ ላይ ሊሰነዘሩ የሚችሉ ጥቃቶች በሁለት መንገድ ብቻ ሊሆኑ እንደሚችሉ በመተንተን ነው፡፡

ከተለዩት የጥቃት መንገዶች አንደኛው ቀጥታ በግድቡ ላይ የሚከፈት ቀጥታ ወታደራዊ ጥቃት ሲሆን፣ ሁለተኛው ደግሞ በአገር ውስጥም ሆነ በውጭ ፀረ ሰላም ኃይሎች በመጠቀም የሚከፈት ጥቃት ነው ብለዋል፡፡ ሚኒስትሩ በሰጡት ማብራሪያ በህዳሴው ግድብ ላይ በቀጥታ የሚፈጸም ጥቃት ይኖራል ብለው እንደማይገምቱ አስረድተዋል፡፡

ሰበር ዜና፡- ወ/ሮ አስቴር ማሞ በምክትል ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ማዕረግ ተሾሙ

በቅርብ የኦሮሚያ ፕሬዚዳንት እንዲሆኑ በኦሮሚያ ክልል ምክር ቤት በተመረጡት አቶ ሙክታር ከድር ምትክ፣ ወ/ሮ አስቴር ማሞ በምክትል ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ማዕረግ የመልካም አስተዳደርና ሪፎርም ክላስተር አስተባባሪ ሆነው ተሾሙ፡፡

ማክሰኞ መጋቢት 30 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም. በፓርላማ ሹመቱ የፀደቀላቸው ወ/ሮ አስቴር በተጨማሪ የሲቪል ሰርቪስ ሚኒስትር ሆነው ተሹመዋል፡፡

በጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ኃይለ ማርያም ደሳለኝ አቅራቢነት በፓርላማው ሹመታቸው የፀደቀው ወ/ሮ አስቴር የመጀመርያዋ ከፍተኛ ተሿሚ ናቸው፡፡

Forget Bareto Ethiopian Football Federation set to appoint Stevanovic

Addis Ababa - Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) have made an abrupt u-turn revoking the appointment of Portuguese Mariano Barreto and in his place Serbian
Goran Stevanovic is scheduled to travel to Ethiopia for personal talks.

In an exclusive interview with supersport.com EFF president Junedin Basha intimated that they had done their investigations and found out Barreto was not suitable.

Junedin also alluded to the fact that Stevanovic’s agent had been blocking talks with the man EFF was looking to take over but they were finally sending an email to him on Monday to invite him to Ethiopia for talks on his salary and service to the national team.

Bekele smashes Paris record a week before Farah's London Marathon debut

Kenenisa Bekele threw down the gauntlet to Mo Farah by winning the Paris Marathon on his debut at the distance in 2:05.04.

The Ethiopian broke the course record to win comfortably in the French capital on Sunday, just a week before Farah is set to make his much-anticipated marathon debut in London.

It was the sixth-fastest marathon debut of all time and the quickest ever by an athlete over 30 years of age.

Bekele, 31, was the first man to do the ‘double double’ - the quadruple of world and Olympic 5000 metres and 10,000m titles that Farah achieved in his absence in 2012 and 2013 - and also beat the Briton in the Great North Run last September after a long injury lay-off.

Ethiopian migrants killed trying to enter to UK

•     Migrants are risking their lives jumping onto lorries at Calais to enter UK
•     Four died in Calais in just one week, and more are feared
•     EU migration 'will bring enough people to fill Manchester every four years'

Blind to the danger, a gang of would-be immigrants run to board a moving lorry.

To them it is a passport to a new life in Britain. In fact it is a potential death trap.

Four other migrants died in just one week in Calais, it emerged last night, and scenes like the one pictured are being repeated every day at the French port.
The dramatic images were captured as an ominous report by MigrationWatch:

* Warned immigration from the EU will bring enough people to fill a city the size of Manchester here every four years;

* Called for ministers to deny migrants access to Britain’s generous system of in-work benefits, such as tax credits, for the first five years they are here.

Kenyans, Ethiopians to renew rivalry at Paris Marathon on Sunday

NAIROBI, April 3 (Xinhua) -- They might not have been the best of friends on track or in cross country meetings in their decade long relationship as elite athletes.

Yet it is that resentment that organisers of Paris Marathon will be banking on to spice up the clash of multiple Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele and Frankfurt Marathon silver medallist Mark Kiptoo (2:06.16).

"I know Bekele very well. We have clashed on numerous occasions at the Golden League and the cross country circuit. He is a great athlete, but it does not mean that the success he had on track will be transferred straight into marathon.

"These are two different competitions. He has a chance to excel in both, but I will provide the challenge and so will be the other athletes that have entered in this race. I too am a novice over the 42km distance, it will be my second marathon, but I am not as worried as I was when running in my debut in Frankfurt," Kiptoo told Xinhua on Thursday in Eldoret.

Ethiopian Paralympic medallist boosts chances of representing Britain at Rio 2016 with race win

 Ethiopian refugee Wondiye Fikre Indelbu has boosted his chances of representing Great Britain at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games after an impressive performance in the Hartlepool Marina 5 race.

Indelbu, who became the first athlete from his country to win a Paralympic medal when he took silver in the T46 1,500 metres at London 2012, crossed the line first in the weekend's Hartlepool Marina 5 race, clocking a time of 24min 45sec.

The 26-year-old is now based in Middlesbrough after claiming asylum in the UK following London 2012 and has declared he wants to represent Britain at Rio 2016.

Indelbu sought asylum in Britain after claiming he would face persecution from the Ethiopian Government if he returned home because he and his family supported an illegal political party.

Using Ethiopia’s Healthcare Gaps to Do Good and Make a Profit

ADDIS ABABA, Apr 3 2014 (IPS) - For a while now, Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI scanners have typically been a luxury that both government and private hospitals in Ethiopia have struggled to afford to purchase for in-house use.

Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital with an ever-growing population of around 3.8 million, currently has only four stationary MRI scanners that provide services to 30 government and private hospitals, according to Zelalem Molla, a surgeon based in Addis Ababa.

Outside of the capital, only two MRI scanners exist. But the six scanners — in this Horn of Africa nation of some 92 million people — are old fashioned and far behind the technological curve in the West.

“It would be wrong to claim that the mobile MRI scanner would save lives,” says Zelalem, whose lunchtime chat with American entrepreneur Peter Burns III about the paucity of scanners sparked a business idea.
But, Zelalem notes, more MRI scanners — which use strong magnetic fields and radio waves to generate images of the inside of the body that can be analysed on computers — would crucially allow more doctors to diagnose illnesses far earlier when they are operable and potentially curable.

“Often it is not possible for doctors to diagnose illnesses such as tumours until they physically appear at a stage when the chances of saving a patient are slim — or it is too late,” Zelalem tells IPS.

However, actual figures about the number of people directly affected here by the lack of MRI scanners do not exist.

Ethiopia bids for bamboo wealth

Ethiopia's vast source of bamboo has been relatively untapped, until now. As Sonia Legg reports, strong demand for products made from bamboo is helping to grow the country's manufacturing sector.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/

GERD Panel of Experts Report: Big Questions Remain

Construction on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) – Africa’s biggest hydropower dam – began based on piecemeal preliminary studies and design documents, with only a very basic analysis of how the project would affect downstream neighbors, according to the 2013 final report by an international panel of experts established to evaluate the scheme. The megadam is being built on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia, near the Sudan border, and has created conflict with Egypt over its downstream impacts; the experts' study confirms Egypt’s concerns that the project’s impacts could be significant and are not well understood.

The Ethiopian government reported last year that the panel’s report “showed that the Dam offers high benefit for all the three countries and would not cause significant harm on both the lower riparian countries”, while Egypt has repeatedly said the report calls for more analysis of downstream impacts. Because the report was not made public, neither side could be vetted. Egypt has called for mediation if further studies are not allowed; at this writing, Ethiopia had refused, and was continuing with dam construction.
In March 2014, International Rivers received a leaked copy of the report.  The report documents numerous problems with existing analysis and a lack of analysis on a number of critical issues. The panel recommends further investigation into the dam’s hydrological impacts, including on downstream countries’ water supplies and power generation; risks from climate change, and geotechnical issues. The panel recommends “a full transboundary environmental and social impact assessment … conducted jointly by the three countries.”
The 10-member panel included two members from each of the three riparians (Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan), plus four international experts agreed upon by the governments. A geotechnical expert group was added later. The main panel met for about a year, and had four field visits to the dam site. While the panel's members were granted access to many key project documents (all of which remain confidential at this time), some key reports were not shared with them, including the critical geotechnical assessments for the main and saddle dams, and project cost-benefit analyses.

የኢትዮጵያ ሬዲዮና ቴሌቪዥን ድርጅት በ‹‹አኬልዳማ›› ፕሮግራሙ ላይ በቀረበበት ክስ ተረታ

-በፕሮግራሙ ያስተላለፈውን ስም አጥፊ ዘገባ እንዲያርም ታዟል

የኢትዮጵያ ሬዲየና ቴሌቪዥን ድርጅት ከኅዳር 16 እስከ 18 ቀን 2004 ዓ.ም. በተከታታይ ሦስት ክፍሎች ‹‹አኬልዳማ››  በሚል ባቀረበው ዘጋቢ ፕሮግራም፣

ክብርና ዝናን የሚያጠፋ በድምፅ፣ በምስልና በጽሑፍ በተቀነባበረ መንገድ ስሙን እንዳጠፋው በመግለጽ፣ አንድነት ለዲሞክራሲና ለፍትሕ ፓርቲ (አንድነት) በመሠረተበት የፍትሐ ብሔር ክስ ተረታ፡፡

የፌዴራል የመጀመሪያ ደረጃ ፍርድ ቤት ልደታ ምድብ ዘጠነኛ የፍትሐ ብሔር ችሎት መጋቢት 23 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም. በሰጠው ውሳኔ፣ አንድነት ፓርቲ መጋቢት 24 ቀን 2004 ዓ.ም. ባቀረበው ክስ የኢትዮጵያ ሬዲዮና ቴሌቪዥን ድርጅትንና ፕሮግራሙን አቅርቧል በተባለው አቶ አብዲ ከማል ላይ ክስ መመሥረቱን አስታውሷል፡፡

አንድነት በክሱ እንዳብራራው፣ በዲስፕሊን ግድፈት ከፓርቲው የተባረሩትን፣ በፓርቲው መተዳደሪያ ደንብ መሠረት በራሳቸው ፈቃድ የለቀቁትንና በሽብር ወንጀል ተጠርጥረው በሕግ ቁጥጥር ሥር የሚገኙትን ግለሰቦችና ተከሳሾች፣ የፓርቲው አባል እንደሆኑ አድርጐ በፕሮግራሙ ማሳየቱ አግባብ አለመሆኑን በክሱ አቅርቧል፡፡ ፓርቲውንና ሕጋዊ አባላቱን ሁከትና ብጥብጥ ፈጣሪዎች እንደሆኑ አድርገው ስም ማጥፋታቸውን አክሏል፡፡ ፓርቲውና ሕጋዊ አባሎቹ አሸባሪ ተብሎ በሕግ የተፈረጀው ግንቦት 7 የተባለው ድርጅት፣ በህቡዕ በፓርቲው ውስጥ ሰርጐ እንደገባና እንደተደራጀ እያወቁ ሽፋን እንደሰጡ አድርገው ማቅረባቸውን አንድነት በክሱ አካቶ አቅርቧል፡፡ ፓርቲውን ግንቦት 7 የተባለው ድርጅት ለህቡዕ አደረጃጀት እየተጠቀመበት መሆኑንና የፓርቲው አባል ያልሆኑትን ወይም አባል ለመሆናቸው ምርጫ ቦርድ ያላረጋገጠለትን የሰዎች ስም በመጥቀስ አባል እንደሆኑ አድርገው በማቅረብ ተከሳሾቹ የፓርቲውን ስም ማጥፋታቸውን በመዘርዘር ለችሎቱ ክሱን ማቅረቡን ውሳኔው ያስረዳል፡፡

No new policy on Ethiopian dam: Foreign ministry

Egypt says no room for concessions on GERD that would harm water security
An “integrated action plan” is being implemented “gradually” to protect Egypt’s water security interests in regards to the construction of the
Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), said the foreign ministry spokesman on Monday.
He also stressed that Egypt’s position on the dam was unchanged, adding that there is no new policy file to address the issue “and it is clear there is no room at all for concessions or allowances harming our interests because it is a subject of national security”. The plan includes “political, legal and other technical elements”, added the spokesman.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Nabil Fahmy travelled to Brussels on Monday for the EU-Africa Summit. On the sidelines of the summit Fahmy discussed the GERD issue with European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and his Chadian counterpart. The ministry spokesman said Fahmy is also scheduled to meet with Ethiopian Minister of Foreign Affairs Tedros Adhanom over the course of the two-day summit.
The Egyptian foreign ministry announced in March a detailed outline of the official stance towards the GERD. Egypt is looking to negotiate a “win-win” situation for all parties involved, both protecting the developmental need of Ethiopia and the water security of Egypt and Sudan. The ministry also said that continued construction of the dam is illegal.

Ethiopia Habtemariam: President of Motown

New York (TADIAS) — Ethiopia Habtemariam has been promoted to president of Motown Records following a major reorganization at Universal Music Group. In a press release UMG announced that the company is reestablishing its three legendary brands: Def Jam
Recordings, Island Records and Motown Records as “stand-alone” business operations. Under the new structure Ethiopia, who was formerly a senior VP of Motown Records and head of urban music at Universal Music Publishing Group, will become the new President of the historic label.

Egypt tries to woo South Sudan in Nile water dispute

AIRO — Egypt is continuing to develop relations with South Sudan in an effort to protect Egyptian water interests within its borders, through which the White Nile flows. This comes at a time when the dispute between Cairo and Addis Ababa over the Nile's waters is escalating.

"Since the secession of South Sudan [from Sudan almost three years ago], Egypt has been trying to get the country into the Arab League to ensure that a language of understanding and communication exists," an Egyptian diplomatic source at the Arab League told Al-Monitor.

The source, who requested anonymity, spoke of a March 8 meeting toward this end between Nabil Elaraby, secretary general of the Arab League, and South Sudanese Foreign Minister Barnaba Benjamin. "Elaraby requested that Juba have an official presence in the League, to allow for the provision of Arab support that [South Sudan] has requested. A memorandum of understanding was agreed upon for cooperation in the fields of economy, health and education, and there are currently consultations so that it can be signed soon," he asserted.

"We do not have indicators confirming that South Sudan intends to join the Arab League at this time … but the political problems that worsened after the recent coup attempt led by Vice President Riek Machar reinforced Juba's demands for Arab aid and support to the political administration led by President Salva Kiir," he added.

Barreto appointed Ethiopia coach

Mariano Barreto has been appointed as the new Ethiopian coach with immediate effect.

The Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) announced on Tuesday that the Portuguese will take over from Sewnet Bishaw who was sacked in early February.

EFF settled on the former Ghana coach from a shortlist of five coaches that had been drawn from the initial 27 who applied for the job.

Barreto coached Ghana between 2003-2004 then coached CS Maritimo between 2004-2005.

In 2005 he moved to Al Nasr, then moved on to Naval between 2006-2007.

Mariano then moved to AL Qudisiyah in 2011.

Egypt's Fahmy, EU's Ashton discuss Ethiopia dam

Egyptian authorities are concerned that Ethiopia's planned $4.2 billion dam will negatively impact its water supply
Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Nabil Fahmy spoke with EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton regarding the Egyptian-Ethiopian strife over Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance dam on the sidelines of the EU-Africa summit on Tuesday, foreign ministry's spokesman told MENA.
Egyptian authorities claim the controversial hydroelectric dam, currently under construction on the Blue Nile, will have negative implications for Egypt’s water supply.

Ethiopia has denied these allegations.

Fahmy stressed the importance that Egypt’s water supply and interests are not harmed to the EU representative.

The foreign affairs minister also highlighted the importance of serious negotiations to reach a solution that maintains the interests of all parties involved.

Fahmy is scheduled to meet Ethiopia's Foreign Affairs Minister, Tedros Adhanom during the two-day summit.

Birtukan Midekssa Judging the Defense Minister SIYE Abriha and Other Memories

     

Birtukan Midekssa is a former federal judge and leader of the pro-democracy opposition movement in Ethiopia.

Hailed as the Aung San Suu Kyi of her country, she was sentenced to life in prison in 2005 after her party, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy, won an unprecedented number of seats in parliamentary elections. After eighteen months in prison, she was pardoned in 2007 following a series of high-level negotiations. Upon her release, she founded the Unity for Democracy and Justice Party (UDJ) and was elected its first chairperson. In 2008, she was rearrested for allegedly having violated the terms of her pardon and remained in prison for almost two more years. In 2010, she was shortlisted for the European Parliament’s 2010 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

      

Al Shabab leader hits popular chord in call to oust Kenyans, Ethiopians

With Kenya's unilateral decision to enter and create a new buffer state inside Somalia, Ahmed Abdi Godane's urging this week to kick foreigners out has an audience, and even some logic.
In a recent article on the Daily Maverick, Simon Allison identifies the “surprisingly perceptive” core message of Al Shabab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane’s recent propaganda audio message.

In his message, Mr. Godane urges his Somali comrades to throw out their Kenyan and Ethiopian occupiers. Mr. Allison notes that, although unsettling, Godane is, in certain respects, correct, and is tapping into widespread sentiments.

Despite operating in Somalia under the authority of an African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to rid the country of Al Shabab, Kenyan and Ethiopian troops are, in fact, occupying Somalia. Their goals are not altruistic, and are largely informed by their own national security and political considerations.

Thus, instead of celebrating the foreign troops’ efforts to stem Al Shabab, Somalis are worried about the out-sized influence being wielded by foreign powers in their country.

Immigration officials free gay Ethiopian man after 2 months

Deportation had posed risk of jail
US immigration officials released a gay Ethiopian man without bail Monday, two weeks after the Globe reported that he was facing deportation to a nation in Africa where same-sex conduct could land him in prison.

The 19-year-old had been jailed since January, shortly after he lost his student visa, reportedly because of low grades. Though it was unclear whether immigration officers knew that he is gay, the man had told friends and posted it online, disclosures the man’s uncle said could endanger him back home.
Gay people in Ethiopia face abuse and even prison time for offenses related to same-sex conduct, according to Amnesty International.
“I’m ecstatic that he’s out,” said Todd Williams, a gay Republican running for state Senate in Worcester, and one of two people the young man had told that he is gay. “Now we’re in the process of getting him asylum.”
Advocates for immigrants had said the Ethiopian man’s case reflected the risks in the US immigration system, which does not assign public defenders to people facing deportation. During his initial hearings, the man did not have a lawyer and did not seek asylum in immigration court. The immigration judge had also ordered a mental-health review for the man, because he struggled to communicate with the court.

Nigeria qualified for the World Cup through FIFA's help- Sewnet Bishaw

Former Ethiopia coach Sewnet Bishaw has alleged that Nigeria qualified for the World Cup tournament with the aid of world football governing body,FIFA.

Bishaw was in charge of the Ethiopian national team when Nigeria defeated his country in the World Cup qualifiers to make the global football tournament.

The Super Eagles beat Ethiopia 2-1 in Addis Ababa and 2-0 in Calabar to qualify for the World Cup alongside four other African countries to represent the continent.

The 62-year old who was relieved of his duties for failing to steer the Walya Antelopes to World Cup qualification,said that FIFA was responsible for their failure to qualify.

“FIFA didn’t want us (Ethiopia) to qualify (for the World Cup) because who knows Ethiopian football and who wants us to qualify when we were playing against the current African Champions,” the coach told Football411 in an interview.

Ethiopian farmer sues UK over our foreign aid handouts which have ruined his life

AN ETHIOPIAN farmer is using taxpayers’ money to sue Britain because he says that foreign aid sent to his country is supporting a brutal regime that ruined his life.
The man – known as Mr O – told his British lawyers that the £1.3billion the UK has sent to Ethiopia in the past five years has funded a despotic state.

He claims it is forcing thousands of villagers such as him from their land using murder, torture and rape, it was reported yesterday.

The farmer – whose case is set to cost the British taxpayer tens of thousands of pounds because he is using UK legal aid – accuses the Government here of devastating the lives of some of the world’s poorest people.

He argues that the huge sums handed to Ethiopia are breaching the Department for International Development’s (DfID) human rights rules.

His claims will fuel critics of the taxpayer-funded foreign aid handouts.