Kenenisa Bekele's ban over

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- Two people familiar with the situation say Ethiopia's track federation plans to lift the suspension it placed on Olympic distance running champion Kenenisa Bekele, clearing the way for him to compete at the London Games.

The people tell The Associated Press that the federation plans to reinstate Bekele soon. They spoke Monday on condition of anonymity because the decision had not yet been made public.

Bekele won the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the Beijing Olympics and holds the world record in both events. He was suspended last week along with 34 other Ethiopian athletes for not reporting to a training camp. The suspension would prevent Bekele from running at this year's Olympics.

Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press

Facial reconstruction patient Ethiopian Yeabsra Hailmarim full of bounce as she arrives in Toronto

Yeabsra Hailmarim returned to Toronto still full of popcorn, as they say in Ethiopia.

She is 7 years old now, her mother explains, and is showing a little of the reserve that is part of growing up. But she’s still spunky and bounces around.

Yeabsra and her mother, Aynalem Adugna, will meet with surgeons at the Hospital for Sick Children this week to prepare for the next stage of facial reconstruction surgery. This time, they will build a new nose for Yeabsra. Last April, in a 12-hour operation, doctors cut her skull into four pieces and put it back together in repairing a complex disfigurement. Her eyes are now closer together and the cleft that left her gums in a sharp V is almost perfectly straightened. It’s a big step forward.

In Grade 2 now, Yeabsra is more aware that she is different, her mother said Sunday. “She doesn’t want to see herself in a mirror.”

She asks her mother why children stare at her. “But deep down Yeabsra is happy,” Adugna adds, speaking through a translator.

With a deeply supportive family, Yeabsra has always been a confident child, though her mother fears that will be eroded as classmates become more intolerant of physical differences. Though the family can scarcely afford it, Adugna sent Yeabsra to private school, hoping it would offer a more protective environment where kids were less likely to make fun of her.

At the arrivals hall in Terminal Three at Pearson Airport, Yeabsra showed her independent spirit, as she wandered off in search of her friend, Laura Lewis-Watts from Transforming Faces Worldwide, the charity that is sponsoring her in Toronto. Walking away for a moment, Yeabsra came back to her mother holding a $20 bill that a woman had just given her. “I said thank you,” she said.

Wearing a long dress and a pink ski jacket, she asked her mother to put on snow boots to replace the sandals she was wearing. “I can’t tie shoes yet,” she explained in English.

The Herbie Fund at Sick Kids is paying for her hospital care, while private donors have raised money for their airline tickets.

Last spring, Dr. Christopher Forrest, chief of plastic surgery at Sick Kids, asked Yeabsra what she would like him to do for her. “She said she wants her nose replaced,” Adugna said shortly after they arrived from Addis Ababa, their country’s capital. “Even if she didn’t want that, I want my daughter to be able to be with other kids. I don’t want her to be different.”

She has tried not to talk to Yeabsra about the operations that will lie ahead. “I don’t want her to be worried, but I think she knows.”

As Yeabsra cavorted nearby, Adugna added: “I want my daughter to have a bright future and be able to play with her friends at school in the playground.”
http://www.thestar.com

Ethiopian Airlines makes ad hoc flight to Seychelles with 152 Chinese tourists on eve of Spring Festival

ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian Airlines, one of the leading Airliners in Africa, on Sunday made a special flight to Seychelles, its newest destination with a group of about 152 Chinese tourists on the eve of the Chinese Spring Festival.

The Ethiopian which made test flight on Sunday promoting its new destination, will be starting regular flights to the Island on the Indian Ocean very close to Africa in April 2012 expecting good economic dividend from the business to Seychelles.

Esayas Woldemariam, Senior Vice President of Global Sales, and Xie Xiaoyan, Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia, along with Chinese diplomats and Ethiopian Staff on Sunday welcomed the Chinese tourists who landed in Addis Ababa Bole International Airport for transit from Beijing. The tourists are to spend their holiday-times of Chinese Spring Festival enjoying sun scene, sand and sea in Seychelles which is a destination for holiday makers and honeymoon among others.

Esayas noted on the occasion of the welcoming ceremony at the Airport that the Ethiopian Airlines is very happy to welcome the Chinese to Seychelles, a tourist destination in Africa through Ethiopia, which is a gateway from China to the African continent.

"We are very happy to welcome this first group of Chinese to Seychelles, which is going to be one of our biggest destinations in the future," said the Vice President.

The Ethiopian Airlines has about 42 destinations in Africa, said Esayas.

He said the Ethiopian Airlines which has been flying to China since the 1970s being the first Airliner to fly to a destination of fastest growing economy, has now about 23 flights a week to China.

Esayas told Xinhua particularly that Seychelles, a tourist destination mostly visited by Europeans is now being visited by Chinese tourists, who are affording anything and travelling everywhere.

"Seychelles is the newest destination of the Ethiopian Airlines in the Indian Ocean and it is part of Africa and it is a holiday destination. Mostly, it is visited by European tourists and holiday makers, and honey moon destination. But, now the Chinese are affording anything and they are travelling everywhere; so, we now are trying to bring them to Africa in a very big way," said Esayas.

"When they come to Seychelles, Kenya or Tanzania or South Africa they also have a taste of Ethiopia and we arrange package tours for tourists also to stay in Ethiopia for a few days going to northern historic routes and southern cultural and natural routes for them also to explore Ethiopia," added Esayas.

According to the Vice President, the Ethiopian has been increasing number of flights to China, which is one of the largest trading partners of Africa.

Currently Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Hangzhou are the four destinations of the Ethiopian in China, said Esayas.

The Vice President also said the Ethiopian Airlines provides transport services of both passengers and cargo to help and facilitate the trade, investment and cultural exchanges Africa has with its giant economic partner.

"Now China is being the largest trading partner to Africa; and so, the Ethiopian Airlines should provide the transportation vehicle; the transport logistic is very much vital for facilitating trade and investment, tourism and cultural exchanges between China and Africa," said Esayas.

The Ethiopian Airlines has been one of Africa's carriers flying for the last 65 years with its efficiency, safety and operational success.

It made its maiden international flight to Cairo, Egypt in 1946.
http://news.xinhuanet.com

Let me run for another country, says Kenenisa Bekele after federation bans Ethiopians from London 2012

January 20 - The participation at London 2012 of 35 leading Ethiopian athletes including double Olympic champions Kenenisa Bekele (pictured) and Tirunesh Dibaba has been put in jeopardy by the application of an indefinite ban by their national federation for their failure to take part in group training sessions.

Hermens (pictured right), who through his company Global Sports Communication has been involved with Ethiopian athletics for 30 years, has seen similar stand-offs between athletes and the federation in the past.

And Bekele is so upset about what has happened that he is reportedly considering running for another country.

Bekele's manager Jos Hermens, who has also guided the career of Bekele's fellow Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie, his predecessor as Olympic 10,000 metres champion and world record holder, told insidethegames: "I have just spoken to Kenenisa, who is back home, and he is so upset about the whole thing that he is saying 'Let me run for another country'.

"He says the first time he knew anything about it was when he saw the reports on Ethiopian TV.

"He said to me 'I have not been shown any respect'.

"He has told the federation he does not want to train on the Mondo track at the national stadium because it is too hard and it could lead to injury.

"Kenenisa and Haile were among several athletes who asked the authorities not to lay a hard track there three years ago, but they were ignored.

"This is a nation with the world's best endurance runners, and they lay a sprinter's track at the national stadium.

"You can't believe it.

"In a couple of months' time Kenenisa is going to set up a softer track of his own 10 kilometres outside Addis.

"He has spent $1 million (£646,300/€775,100) of his own money on it, and it will mean other Ethiopian athletes can train there too.

"But instead of getting thanks, this is the way they treat him.

"It's unbelievable.

"Kenenisa is not due to run until the end of February, but this is going to affect seven or eight athletes who are supposed to be running in the Dubai marathon in a week's time."

"It was worse in the 80s and 90s," he said.

"But in recent years things seemed to have been getting a lot better.

"The stupid thing is that some of the athletes on this banned list were not even invited to national squad training in the first place.

"Haile is not on the banned list, but he is a very wise man.

"Maybe he has gone along to one or two sessions and shaken a few hands.

"I am surprised about this because I was in Addis last week and spoke to Dubie Jilo, the Ethiopian Athletics Federation's (EAF) technical director.

"I understood there was going to be flexibility over athletes preparing for the Olympics.

"I think this latest action may have more to do with people from the Ethiopian Olympic Committee (EOC) who have their own ideas about things.

"For three years you don't see them, and then they turn up.

"These people have no idea of what they are doing.

"They are treating athletes as if they are a soccer team, but athletics is an individual sport.

"The idea of a national squad system is not a bad one for younger, developing athletes who may not have their own coaches.

"But you can't expect athletes just to get on a bus and all go training together on a hard track.

"You have 20-year-old athletes and 35-year-old athletes whose requirements are very different.

"Haile, for instance, needs to concentrate on quality rather than quantity in training these days.

"He is preparing to run in Tokyo at the end of February, while others are running sooner.

"This is something the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) have to look into and I hope they can sort it out."

Other athletes on the banned list are the 2009 world 10,000m silver medallist Meselech Melkamu (pictured) and 2009 world half-marathon bronze medallist Aberu Kebede.

Of the 35 athletes, 17 are runners that specialise in the 5,000 and 10,000m.

Additionally, it is reported that six coaches and athletics managers have also been banned.

The EAF were reported to have named 223 Olympic hopefuls over a month ago and asked for everyone to start preparing for London under their supervision from January 1.

It was also reported that Jilo had said that the athletes must start following the directions of the federation or a new generation of athletes would be taken to London 2012.

http://www.insidethegames.biz

Two Ethiopian sisters were among the 43 passengers killed in a fiery bus crash in Ethiopia

Sisters Seble and Maz Getachew were killed in a bus crash in Ethiopia on Tuesday, January 17, 2012.

Two Perth sisters were among the 43 passengers killed in a fiery bus crash in Ethiopia on Tuesday.

Seble and Maza Getachew had lived in Perth for a number of years and studied at Curtin University as international students before recently relocating to Melbourne.

The pair, who were not Australian citizens, was believed to have travelled over with a 32-year-old Melbourne man, who was returning to his native country to take part in religious celebrations, according to his neighbours.

The Getachew sisters, aged in their 20s, were originally from the Ethiopian city of Dire Dawa but it is not yet known whether they were related to the Melbourne man, who was a permanent resident in Australia.

It is understood that they were with their mother and brother aboard the bus, which plunged about 80 metres into a gorge north of the capital Addis Ababa. The family is not believed to have survived.

Only three people out of the 46 passengers survived. A man from Tarneit in Melbourne's west was initially pulled alive from the wreckage but died shortly afterwards.

The Australian man, believed to have two young children, pleaded with his rescuers to "please call my brother" in the final moments before he died, according to the Ethiopian newspaper The Reporter.

Neighbours in Tarneit said the man's wife flew to Ethiopia following her husband's death.

They said the man had travelled to Ethiopia shortly after Christmas to celebrate Timket, the Ethiopian Orthodox celebration of the Epiphany, or the baptism of Jesus.

The festival, held on January 19, is known for its ritual re-enactment of baptism.

The Melbourne man was believed to be travelling from Addis Ababa to Gondar, about 750 kilometres north of the capital, when the crash occurred about 280 kilometres into the journey.

The domestic bus, operated by Sky Bus Transport, ran off the road and plunged at least 80 metres into the gorge and burst into flames, local media reported, although one news outlet said the gorge was about 120 metres deep.

The bus was less than three years old and was in good condition, The Reporter said. Of the 46 passengers on board, 43 died.

Survivors suffered serious injuries and burns, the African Press Agency said.

One person who came across the crash scene shortly after the impact said it was horrific.

"I was travelling from Birdar to Addis Ababa by another Sky Bus and I saw what happened on my own eyes [sic]. It was a very horrific scene," wrote Haymanot on The Reporter website.

Another person claimed a British citizen and his mother who were holidaying in Ethiopia were among the victims.

Local police said the bus had been carrying 46 passengers, the driver and his assistant.

The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed a 32-year-old Victorian had died in an accident in the African country but would not comment on the two sisters since they weren't considered Australians.

"Consular officials from the Australian embassy in Addis Ababa are seeking to contact the man's family to provide consular assistance," a DFAT spokesperson said this morning.

The crash happened on Tuesday, the department said.

A memorial service will be held for the two women in the Perth suburb of Maylands on Sunday.
http://www.watoday.com.au

ቀነኒሳ በቀለ፣ ስለሺ ስህን፣ ጥሩነሽ ዲባባ፣ መሰለች መልካሙን ጨምሮ 35 አትሌቶች ከአለም አቀፍ ውድድሮች ታገዱ

የኢትዮጵያ አትሌቲክስ ፌደሬሽን ለለንደን ኦሎምፒክ ዝግጅት በስልጥና ላይ ሳይገኙ የቀሩ 35 አትሌቶችን ከአለም አቀፍ ውድድሮች ማገዱን አስታወቀ፡፡

ፌደሬሽኑ ካገዳቸው 17 የአምስት ሺህ እና 5 የአስር ሺህ ሜትር አትሌቶች መካከል ታዋቂዎቹ ቀነኒሳ በቀለ፣ ስለሺ ስህን፣ አየለ አብሽሮ፣ ሁነኛው መስፍን፣ ጥላሁን ረጋሳ፣ ሌሊሳ ደሲሳ፣ ዲኖ ስፍር፣ ጥሩነሽ ዲባባ፣ መሰለች መልካሙ እና ውዴ አያሌው ይገኙበታል፡፡

በማራቶን ወንዶች አብረሃም ጨርቆሴ፣ በሴቶች ማሚቱ ዳስካ፣ ቲኪ ገላና፣ ኮረኒ ጀሊላ፣ ብዙነሽ በቀለ እና አበሩ ከበደ ይጠቀሳሉ፡፡

በ1500 ሜትር አትሌት ቃልኪዳን ገዛኀኝ እና ትዝታ ቦጋለ፤ በ3000 ሜትር መሰናክል እቴነሽ ዲሮ፣ መቅደስ በቀለ እና ህይወት አያሌው ተጠቃሾች ናቸው፡፡

የኢትዮጵያ አትሌቲክስ ፌደሬሽን ለለንደን ኦሎምፒክ ዝግጅት ይረዳ ዘንድ 223 አትሌቶችን መርጦ ከአንድ ወር በፊት ዝግጅት መጀመሩን ማስታወቁ ይታወሳል፡፡

በተጨማሪም ፌደሬሽኑ የአሰልጣኝነት ፍቃዳቸውን እንዲያቀርቡ ጠይቋቸው ማስረጃዎቻቸውን ሳያቀርቡ በቀሩ ስድስት የማናጀር ተወካዮችና አሰልጣኞች ላይም እገዳ መጣሉን ፌደሬሽኑ በተለይ ለኢሬቴድ በላከው መግለጫ አስታውቋል፡፡

በቀጣይም በመሰል ተግባራት በሚሰማሩ ላይ ሁሉ ተመሳሳይ እርምጃዎችን እንደሚወስድ የፌደሬሽኑ ኮሙኒኬሽንና ማርኬቲንግ ዳይሬክቶሬት አስታውቋል፡፡

http://www.ertagov.com

Ethiopian Man stabs wife to death and then hangs himself

Man stabs wife to death and then hangs himself, while two of the couple's three children are locked in a room of their Rishon Letzion apartment.

A man stabbed his wife to death late Monday night and hanged himself while two of the couple's three children were locked in a room in their Rishon Letzion apartment.

The couple, Lawaka Amara, 37, and his wife, Yeshi Amara, 32, had immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia five years ago. They were found dead after a neighbor called the police Tuesday morning to report two children crying for help in her building in the largely Ethiopian neighborhood of Ramat Eliyahu.

According to the initial investigation, the couple began arguing during the night. The two older children, ages 10 and 12, were locked in a room while the youngest child, 5, was apparently taken to a relative's home earlier that evening.

Some time before dawn, Lawaka Amara stabbed his wife to death with a kitchen knife and then hanged himself. Both husband and wife worked in a large supermarket in the Rishon area.

Mira Shaham, head of the Rishon Letzion welfare office, said the children would probably stay with Lawaka Amara's parents for the coming days, "but we're still looking into the best solution for them in their terrible situation."

The welfare authorities said the family had received the same financial assistance as all Ethiopian immigrants during their first two years in the country, and that there had been no reports of violence. The Amaras are the third family in Rishon Letzion in which the husband murdered the wife, Shaham said.

"We are very aware of the warning signs," Shaham said. "When women report to us or the moment we see something, we immediately begin a process with the woman so she can take care of herself. And we sometimes also begin treating the men. One of the problems is that people keep things bottled up inside."

Shaham, who has been at her post for 15 years, says the welfare office has a team of 11 people who speak Amharic to maintain lines of communication with families. "The right thing to do is to call on the community and its leaders to encourage people to turn to the welfare authorities, who can help them," she said.

Hundreds of people from the Ethiopian community gathered yesterday outside the apartment building where the Amara family lived. An uncle said the children had tried to reach him over the Internet while they were locked in the room, but failed.

A female relative said, referring to Yeshi Amara, that "she never said anything to us about violence, she never said she was afraid of him. There were difficulties, as there are with all new immigrants from Ethiopia. But this is simply a shock."

Natan Getahon, who works with the Rishon Letzion welfare services as a mediator for the Ethiopian community, said a big problem was that community members in trouble don't seek the help of a traditional community leader the way they used to. "The next incident is only a matter of time," he said.

The Knesset Immigrant Absorption Committee announced that it would hold an emergency session next week to discuss the issue. "Again and again we hear shocking stories about the destruction of families and the loss of life because of violence and murder .... We mustn't accept this terrible situation," MK Shlomo Molla (Kadima ) said.

Molla, an Ethiopian-Israeli, said ministries did not understand that Ethiopian immigrants needed special assistance not only while they live in absorption centers for the initial two years or so after they make aliyah, but after they move to their permanent homes as well.