Al-Amoudi's Ethiopia gold mine gets set with 128 tons

National Mining Corp., a closely held company majority-owned by Saudi billionaire Mohammed al-Amoudi, said it has 128 tons of gold ready to be mined at its Okote project in south Ethiopia.

“With very little exploration work and by undertaking a definitive feasibility study the reserve could be turned into a big mine,” the Addis Ababa-based company said in a statement e- mailed today.

Okote, which is in the Oromia region, could contain a total of 454 tons, it said. The site may produce around 10 tons a year, almost doubling Ethiopia’s output of the precious metal, NMC said in March.

Extraction will require investment of $121.5 million and the mine may generate profits of $4.3 billion for the company over 20 years, NMC said. It said the government will receive $2 billion over two decades in tax and royalty payments.

Ethiopia, the world’s third-biggest coffee grower, is diversifying its economy to reduce its reliance on agriculture, which accounts for 43 percent of gross domestic product according to African Development Bank data.

Gold exports surged 40 percent to $405.3 million in the first nine months of the fiscal year that ends July 7.
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Migrant hunting, smuggling on Yemen-Saudi border

Ethiopian migrants gather outside a transit center where they wait to be repatriated, in the western Yemeni town of Haradh, on the border with Saudi Arabia March 28, 2012. Plagued by sandstorms, drought, gun runners and drug smugglers, the 1,800-km (1,100

HARADH, Yemen (Reuters) - Unfastening his grubby sling, Ali Yusef let out a gasp as his mangled forearm dropped limply to his side. Jumping out of a speeding pick-up truck to evade kidnappers last week, the young Ethiopian was lucky to get away with only a broken arm.

Yusef is one of thousands of Ethiopians lured by the promise of a better life in wealthy oil-rich Gulf Arab states who have found themselves trapped in a lawless and violent stretch of territory on the Yemeni side of the border with Saudi Arabia.

"It (jumping) was worth the risk," said Yusef, showing the blisters on his palms. "I'd rather die than let them catch me."

The Ethiopian national football team faces visa problems

Bafana Bafana’s 2014 World Cup qualifier against Ethiopia on Sunday is in danger of not taking place after the Ethiopians failed to acquire visas.

But Home Affairs spokesperson, Ronnie Mamoepa said that there was no need for panic and that the visitors would be able to honour the match at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg.

“We are doing everything to assist their passage to South Africa and we believe that the north-east Africans should arrive in South Africa as was scheduled. Their team has not been denied visas, except that there were discrepancies in the whole application process.

“Let me put this on record. Firstly, the South African Football Association (Safa) did not send a letter of invitation to the Ethiopians as is standard to support the visa applications. We are talking with Safa to assist with that.

“Secondly, the applications were incomplete, which forced us to request our diplomatic mission there to assist them with their applications, which means we still expect them to arrive as expected on Friday,” said Mamoepa.
http://www.thenewage.co.za

Tariku & Kenenisa Bekele: An Olympian Family Affair

As Ethiopian star Kenenisa Bekele prepares to defend his Olympic 10,000 meters gold medal in London, his toughest competition could very well come from his younger brother, 25-year-old Tariku. On Sunday in Hengelo, the Netherlands, Tariku clocked 27:11:70, the fastest time in the world this year for the 25-lap race.

The Dutch competition doubled as Ethiopia’s 10,000 meters qualification race for the London Games. Lelisa Desisa finished a close second, only 0.28 behind Tariku, to also book a ticket to London. Ethiopia’s third Olympic 10,000 meters berth was reserved for Kenenisa Bekele.
Kenenisa is regarded as one of the greatest distance runners of all time. He is the reigning Olympic champion and world record holder at both five thousand meters (12:37:35) and 10,000 meters (26:17:53). However, he has not been in top form the past two years because of leg injuries.

Another Ethiopian who has not been in top form in recent years is Haile Gebrselassie, a former world record holder and two-time Olympic champion at 10,000 meters who was hoping to qualify for his fifth Olympics.
But Father Time is one opponent the 39-year-old Ethiopian star has not been able to beat. Haile finished seventh in Hengelo, and afterwards hinted to reporters that he is moving closer to retirement from athletics. He made journalists laugh when he said at the post-race press conference: “Well, after this you will see me you know not with a track suit – with a suit!

Off the track, Haile has been wearing that business suit more often. He has become a successful businessman with several commercial ventures, including a resort hotel at Ethiopia’s Lake Awassa.
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Journey of a jazz prodigy_Samuel Yirga

Samuel Yirga: "Many great musicians were living outside Ethiopia ... now the energy is coming back."

IT'S 3am in Addis Ababa and Samuel Yirga is padding around his bedroom listening to Ethiopian folk tunes. The 25-year-old pianist doesn't keep regular hours. He goes to bed at 8am, when the Ethiopian capital stirs itself for a new day, and spends the witching hours composing music. If his mobile drops out six times during a phone interview, he's not bothered. He simply picks up mid-thought and speaks of the African mobile network as one might a temperamental acquaintance: ''You just keep going until you get through. This is how it is in Africa.''
It's a philosophy that might well apply to his music, not only in respect to convincing his father to let him study it - the older man had a career in engineering mapped out for his son - but also in his determination to revisit an era of Ethiopian music few outside his homeland are familiar with: the folk tunes of the country's central and northern highlands.
You'll find echoes in his work of the ethereal quality that has won his Ethiojazz compatriots, such as Mulatu Astatke, international acclaim. Yet, while Yirga often works in the five-note scale born out of ancient Ethiopian Orthodox Church hymns, he reimagines them in compositions that meld jazz and classical influences.
                       

"Unorthodox" Ethiopian priest still practising after sexually abusing woman

An Ethiopian Orthodox priest who sexually abused a parishioner during a depraved baptism ritual has avoided a jail term and is continuing to practise.


Gebrehana Semre of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church in St Phillips Square, Battersea, was handed a 12-month prison sentence last week, suspended for 18 months, after being convicted of assaulting the woman.


In September 2010, Semre used his position within the church to invite himself into the victim's home in order to bless the house and baptise her.


The 47-year-old priest, from Battersea, told the vulnerable woman she needed to be naked in order for the ceremony to be authentic.


She was uncomfortable with this, but trusted Semre as a senior member of the church and believed it was part of the ritual. Semre then carried out the "blessing" and sexually assault her.


Due to his high standing in the church and the Ethiopian community, the victim felt "intimidated and fearful" about reporting him to police or family.
But eventually she found the courage to tell family members who encouraged her to speak to the police in October 2010 and a full investigation was launched by Kensington and Chelsea Community Safety Unit.

Amha Eshete & Contribution of Amha Records to Modern Ethiopian Music

Amha Eshete is the Founder of the trailblazing Ethiopian music label "Amha Records." 

New York (TADIAS) – Five decades ago, when the Italian owner of the only record store in Addis Ababa could not keep up with growing local demand for more music variety, an Ethiopian music enthusiast named Amha Eshete opened his own shop. “I ended up opening the first music shop owned by a native Ethiopian, diversified the import and started buying directly from New York, India, Kenya, and West Africa,” Amha recalled in a recent interview with Tadias Magazine. “But there was one very important ingredient missing — I was selling foreign music labels, all kinds of music except Ethiopian records, which was absurd,” he added.

Amha Eshete is the Founder of Amha Records – the pioneering record company whose work from the “golden era” of Ethiopian music is now enshrined in the world-famous éthiopiques CD series.