The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam – A Symbol Of Regional Integration

VENTURES AFRICA - Ethiopia has always been the major contributor of the Nile, with its Blue Nile feeding the rainfall from the Ethiopian Highlands to the wider Nile downstream. Since the Government announced the start of construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project in 2011, with the aim of generating 6,000 mw, the project has attracted attention from a number of media outlets. The project was awarded to Salini Costruttori SPA, an Italian company which has built more than 20 dams in Europe, Asia and Africa, including the Gilgel Gibe II and Tana Beles dams in Ethiopia and is currently constructing the on-going Gilgel Gibe III dam. The electro – and hydro- mechanical work at GERD is being undertaken by Ethiopia’s Metal and Engineering Corporation (METEC), while Alstom, a French engineering company, will supply turbines and generators and supervise the installation of all the electro-mechanical equipment for the hydro-power plant’s consulting work is being carried out by a joint Italo-French Engineers company.

The primary objective of the GERD project is the generation of electricity. It will enable Ethiopia to completely cover the country’s internal power needs. These have been growing at an average rate of 25% a year. A reliable and affordable source of energy is a fundamental need not just for the wellbeing of the population but also for the economic growth and poverty-reduction efforts being undertaken by the country. Many rural communities in Ethiopia still do not have the benefits in health and quality of life provided by electrical services, such as lighting or refrigeration. Ethiopia also aspires to be the green energy hub of East Africa, delivering clean and renewable energy at cost value to neighboring countries. It has already signed contracts to export electricity to Kenya, Djibouti and Sudan. According to various studies, a one unit percent increase in energy supply can increase economic growth by at least one percent. On that basis when GERD begins operations, the national economy will increase by an additional four percent. This, in turn, will provide a catalyst for mutual development, interdependence, helping create long-lasting peace between countries throughout the region.

Ethiopian awaits findings in hijacking investigation

Ethiopian Airlines chief executive Tewolde Gebremariam says that any changes to the airline’s security procedures await a full investigation into the hijacking of a Boeing 767-300 by its co-pilot last month.

“We don’t know the reasons; the co-pilot is under custody in Geneva, so we don’t know the reason why he did this. Of course, it is undesired and unbecoming of a pilot at the airline, but since we don’t know a reason or the cause behind it, it would be too early to prejudge now and come to any kind of analysis or recommendation,” says Gebremariam.

Ethiopian Girl Identified as A Train Crash Victim in Dallas

DALLAS – Multiple sources identified last Saturday train crash victim in Dallas Texas was a young girl from Ethiopia.

According to the media sources report a  motorist was killed and four DART passengers were injured Saturday morning when a Green Line train struck a vehicle at a crossing.

The accident was reported shortly before 9 a.m. just south of Fair Park near Robert B. Cullum Boulevard and Scyene Road.

The train hit the driver’s side of the vehicle, killing the female driver, who was said to be in her 20s. She was the only person in the vehicle.

The girl in the car was identified Melat Mamo according to her Facebook account and friends paying respect leaving a comment how she was outgoing and wonderful.
DART spokesman Morgan Lyons said the vehicle entered the crossing as the crossing arms were coming down.
“If the signals are operating properly, the lights and bells go off approximately 20 seconds before the arms begin to come down,” Lyons said. “That’s when, essentially, the intersection is closed to vehiclular traffic.”

He added that the train’s operator saw the car entering the intersection and went into a “maximum brake mode” in an effort to avoid impact.

U.S. Soccer Fans Petition Obama to Fast-Track Citizenship for Gedion Zelalem

Gedion Zelalem is a 17-year-old soccer prodigy who plays for Arsenal of the English Premier League. Zelalem was born in Berlin, but because he lived in the United States for eight years as a permanent resident, he is potentially eligible to play for the U.S. Men’s National Team in international play, including future World Cups.

But to suit up for the Stars and Stripes, Zelalem will have to become naturalized in America. This is where President Obama comes in to help lead America to World Cup glory, according to a group of fans hoping to see Zelalem represent the U.S. on the international stage.
A petition posted on Change.org calls for President Obama and U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati to “do whatever it takes” to get Zelalem on the national team. Zelalem is also eligible to play for Germany and Ethiopia, the latter being the native country of his parents.

The petition, filed by “Americans for Gedion,” is short and to the point:

የአዲስ አበባ ወጣቶች ፎረም ፀረ ግብረ ሰዶማዊነት ሰላማዊ ሠልፍ ለማካሄድ ጥያቄ አቀረበ

ከ55 ሺሕ በላይ አባላት አሉኝ የሚለው የአዲስ አበባ አስተዳደር ወጣቶች ፎረም፣ ሁለት መቶ ሺሕ ሰዎች ተሳታፊ የሚሆኑበት ፀረ ግብረ ሰዶማዊነት ሰላማዊ ሠልፍ በመጋት ወር 2006 ዓ.ም. በአዲስ አበባ ለማካሄድ ጥያቄ አቀረበ፡፡

ከቀናት በፊት ለአዲስ አበባ ከተማ አስተዳደር ደብዳቤ ማስገባቱን፣ የፎረሙ ወጣት ተኮር ዘርፍ ሰብሳቢ ኃይለ ሚካኤል ብዙአየሁ ለሪፖርተር ገልጿል፡፡

ፎረሙ ሰላማዊ ሠልፍ ብቻም ሳይሆን የሃይማኖት ተቋማትን ጨምሮ የተለያዩ ተቋማት ተወካዮች የሚገኙበትና ብዙዎች የሚካፈሉበት የውይይት መድረክ ለማድረግ ማቀዱም ተገልጿል፡፡ ፎረሙ የፀረ ግብረ ሰዶማዊነት ሰላማዊ ሠልፍ ለማድረግ ለከተማ አስተዳደሩ ጥያቄ ያቀረበው፣ ከዚህ ቀደም በኢትዮጵያ የግብረ ሰዶማውያንን ሕይወት የሚያሳይ ዘጋቢ ፊልም ካሳተመው ወይንዬ አቡነ ተክለ ሃይማኖት ከሚሰኝ መንፈሳዊ ማኅበር ጋር በመተግበር እንደሆነ ኃይለ ሚካኤል ተናግሯል፡፡

Dedebit defeated by Club Sfaxien in Champions League opener

The Tunisian side claim a 2-1 away win over Dedebit in the first leg of the CAF Champions League competition
Club Sfaxien of Tunisia opened their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 away win over Ethiopian side, Dedebit in the first leg of the 32-round continental competition on Sunday.
Forward Fakhreddine Ben Youssef opened the scoring for the visitors in the 30th minute only to be responded to five minutes later with an equalizer from Fekadu.

Defender, Zied Derbali, scored the winner for Club Sfaxien in the 74th minute.

Q&A: Ethiopian journalists languish in prison

Eskinder Nega (L) is serving an 18-year jail term under the 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation

Government in Addis Ababa refuses to release award-winning journalists jailed under Anti-Terrorism Proclamation.
As Al Jazeera presses ahead with its campaign to free its journalists detained in Egypt, nine Ethiopian journalists who are receiving less attention continue to languish in prison, held on trumped-up charges of terrorism, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

To mark the 900th day of the imprisonment of award-winning journalist Eskinder Nega, who is serving an 18-year jail term, and the 36th birthday of Woubshet Taye, jailed for 14 years, Al Jazeera speaks to Nani Jansen of the Media Legal Defence Initiative, a London-based NGO that helps journalists around the world defend their rights.

Al Jazeera: What are the charges Woubshet Taye and Eskinder Nega are facing?

Nani Jansen: Eskinder Nega, Woubshet Taye and many other journalists in Ethiopia, such as Reeyot Alemu, have been charged and convicted under Ethiopia's 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, a deeply flawed law that is being used by the Ethiopian government to systematically suppress free speech in the country.