Morsi aide sorry for on-air Ethiopia dam gaffe

AFP/Egyptian Presidency/AFP - Picture released by the Egyptian presidency on June 3, 2013, shows President Mohamed Morsi (C, top) meeting with political figures to discuss the country's water crisis and Ethiopia's dam project on the Blue Nile. An aide to Morsi has apologised after she failed to inform politicians at the talks that they were live on air, allowing viewers to watch them cook up plans to sabotage the dam

An aide to Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has apologised after she failed to inform politicians holding talks with the president that they were live on air, allowing viewers to watch them cook up plans to sabotage a dam in Ethiopia.

"Due to the importance of the topic it was decided at the last minute to air the meeting live. I forgot to inform the participants about the changes," presidential aide for political affairs Pakinam El-Sharkawi said.
"I apologise for any embarrassment caused to the political leaders," she said on Twitter.
The talks, chaired by Morsi, revolved around a report of a tripartite Egypt-Sudan-Ethiopia commission on Ethiopia's decision to divert the Blue Nile for a massive dam project, sparking fears of a major impact on downstream states Egypt and Sudan.

UN concern over xenophobic attacks on Ethiopian business owners and foreigners

Ethiopian business owners from Diepsloot gather at Diepsloot s joint operations centre to discuss the aftermath of xenophobic clashes in the area. File photo: Phill Magakoe

Johannesburg - The UN High Commissioner for Refugees on Sunday raised concern over the recent attacks on foreigners, and encouraged the government to continue to speak out.

“UNHCR is extremely concerned over the recent spate of violence in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape affecting foreigners, including refugees and asylum-seekers,” said the UNHCR spokeswoman in Pretoria, Tina Ghelli.

The UNHCR welcomed recent statements condemning the violence from Minister of Home Affairs Naledi Pandor, the ANC and Cosatu. Ghelli said it helped when the government said clearly that such violence would not be tolerated.

UNHCR’s regional representative for southern Africa, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, said: “While we appreciate the efforts made so far, UNHCR is calling on the government to do all it can to prevent any future incidents.”

Emahoy Sheet Music Project Launched

Mary Sutton and Emahoy-Tsegue Maryam Guebrou in Jerusalem, April 2013. (Courtesy photo)

New York (TADIAS) – Mary Sutton who studies piano performance at Portland State University in Oregon came across the work of the legendary pianist and composer Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru, having listened to volume 21 of the Ethiopiques CD series released in 2006, which featured 16 of the Jerusalem-based Ethiopian nun’s original pieces.
Mary grew up playing piano and is a graduate of the New England Conservatory. She recently told Tadias that she was immediately drawn to Emahoy’s “unique” sounds before realizing that there was no published sheet music of her compositions available for other pianists to play. That was prior to her trip to Israel in April to meet with Emahoy, who gave her the permission to create one.
“Initially I tried to get in touch with Emahoy by email,” Mary recalled. “She wrote me back, but at the time she was having computer problems so her reply came back blank.” She added: “I followed up with a letter without knowing she would receive

      

In meeting with president, Egyptian politicians counsel attacking Ethiopia over Nile dam

CAIRO –  Politicians meeting with Egypt's president have proposed hostile acts against Ethiopia, including backing rebels and carrying out sabotage, to stop it from building a massive dam over the Nile River.
Some of the politicians attending Monday's meeting with President Mohammed Morsi appeared unaware it was being carried live on TV. Morsi did not directly react to the suggestions.
Morsi called the meeting to review the impact of Ethiopia's dam on Egypt's share of the Nile's water.
Younis Makhyoun, leader of an ultraconservative Islamist party, said Egypt should back rebels in Ethiopia or, as a last resort, destroy the dam. Liberal politician Ayman Nour proposed spreading rumors about Egypt obtaining advanced warplanes to scare the Ethiopians.
Egypt has in the past threatened to go to war to preserve its water share.

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Ethiopian says may lease or buy more Dreamliners

(Reuters) - Ethiopian Airlines plans to buy or lease up to six more 787 Dreamliner passenger jets by 2018 as it adds routes to Asia and South America, its chief executive told Reuters.
"We are looking at another five or six by 2017/18. We always maintain a 60/40 percent balance, with 60 percent owned and 40 percent leased," Tewolde Gebremariam said on the sidelines of a global airline industry conference.

Egyptian and Ethiopian PMs agree on three principles

A picture taken on May 28, 2013 shows the Blue Nile in Guba, Ethiopia, during its diversion ceremony. Ethiopia has begun diverting the Blue Nile as part of a giant dam project, officials said on May 29, 2013 risking potential unease from downstream nations Sudan and Egypt.
(AFP Photo)

Prime Minister Hisham Qandil and his Ethiopian counterpart Hailemariam Desalegn agreed on “three principles” in dealing with Ethiopia’s construction of their Grand Renaissance Dam, according to Cabinet Spokesman Alaa Al-Hadidy.
The two prime ministers met in Tokyo on the sidelines of the Fifth International Conference on African Development, which began on Saturday and runs until Monday.
The first principle agreed upon between Qandil and Desalegn was that the dam would not affect Egypt’s share of Nile water. Secondly, Qandil said that Egypt’s position was clear and would strongly uphold and insist that Ethiopia hold its commitments and prior agreements moving forward. The two sides also agreed to wait for a committee made up of Sudanese, Egyptian, and Ethiopian experts to publish a report after inspecting the dam before Egypt would take any further action. The report is expected to detail the effects the dam would have on Egypt and Sudan.

Ethiopian human rights protesters take to streets in Addis Ababa

Demonstrator remembers the shutdown newspapers and the quest for freedom
of the press and expression photo by Tesfalem Waldyes

Demonstrators demand government releases political leaders and journalists, and tackles corruption and economic problems

Around 10,000 Ethiopians staged an anti-government demonstration on Sunday in the first large-scale protest since a disputed 2005 election ended in street violence that killed 200 people.
The demonstrators marched through Addis Ababa's northern Arat Kilo and Piazza districts before gathering at Churchill Avenue in front of a obelisk with a giant red star perched on top, a relic of Ethiopia's violent communist past.
Some protesters carried banners reading "Justice! Justice! Justice!" or pictures of imprisoned opposition figures. Others chanted: "We call for respect of the constitution."