Tuesday, September 30, 2014

From Ethiopia to USD, Musa sets pace

Mubarik Musa has grabbed onto a dream – a uniquely American one in this case – and is running with it at the University of South Dakota.
The Coyote cross country runner left his native Ethiopia while still in elementary school, leaving his family behind in pursuit of opportunities that were never going to come his way otherwise. He has not seen his parents in person in nearly 10 years and has several siblings he has never met.

Clearly, he has made the most of his time away.

At Worthington (Minn.) High School, Musa won state titles in cross country and track, and his success in college – in sports and the classroom – has been recognized in the form of all-Summit League running and academic honors. The junior is on pace to add many more achievements along the way.

“Coming to USD has been the greatest decision I’ve ever made in my life,” Musa said. “They took a chance on me. Coach Fitz took a chance on me.”

Family mourns murdered Nahom Berhane

A fatal stabbing has left a family distraught over the loss of a man who, by many accounts, took care of not just his family, but also the entire community.

Nahom Berhane was identified by loved ones as the man stabbed to death early Saturday morning outside a pool hall near Danforth and Greenwood avenues.

“Everybody’s here because he’s touched every single life — stranger or family or friend — it doesn’t even matter … newcomers,” Nahom’s sister Arsema Berhane said. “He died on the street where he served … He died on the street where he served.”

The 34-year-old was father to a 13-year-old daughter, helped raised another little girl and acted as a mentor to many more.



“He was my daughter’s father,” Mizan Eman said. “He treated her just like his own. He raised her … He’s raised many.”

H&M unveils plans for Ethiopia

The Swedish group has given details about its desire to develop a responsible Ethiopian textile industry through a project in partnership with the finance institution Swedfund. 

H&M plans to lend its experience to local textile professionals and to contribute to the development of the local industry. The group announced that it will order from suppliers who have received the support of Swedfund.

This partnership will further the development of common standards for sustainable production, water use and wages.

"We see the cooperation as an opportunity to get involved in Ethiopia's growing textile industry at an early stage and to contribute to more jobs,” said H&M CEO Karl-Johan Persson.

"We have for many years worked in existing manufacturing countries to improve working conditions and the environment. This experience is included with the establishment of cooperation with Ethiopian suppliers."

Monday, September 29, 2014

Shots fired outside Ethiopian Embassy in DC Watch the full report

DC News FOX 5 DC WTTG

WASHINGTON -
Shots were fired outside the Embassy of Ethiopia in D.C. on Monday afternoon.

It happened around 12:15 p.m., according to the U.S. Secret Service.

Officers responded immediately after hearing reports of shots being fired, and they detained and questioned an Ethiopian guard who works at the embassy. He is believed to have fired the shots.

An Ethiopian television network caught the shooting on camera while they were covering a protest at the embassy. FOX 5's Maureen Umeh has been told similar anti-government protests happen frequently here and are usually peaceful. However, some protesters went onto embassy grounds on Monday and taunted the guard. He responded by firing warning shots, one of which struck a woman's car and shattering her front window.

No injuries were reported.

The Embassy of Ethiopia is located at 3506 International Drive, NW.

ከብሔራዊ ባንክ በሀሰተኛ ወርቅ 95 ሚሊዮን ብር ያጭበረበረው ግለሰብ ተያዘ

ከሰባት ዓመት በፊት ከብሔራዊ ባንክ በሀሰተኛ ወርቅ አጭበርብሮ የተሰወረውን ግለሰብ መያዙን የብሔራዊ መረጃ ደህንነት አገልግሎትና የፌዴራል ፖሊስ ኮሚሽን የጋራ ግብረሀይል አስታወቀ፡፡

ከብሔራዊ ባንክ በሀሰተኛ ወርቅ ማጭበርበር ወንጀል ተከሶ የቅጣት ፍርድ የተበየነበት አቶ አስማረ አያሌው ደስታ ከተባበሩት የአረብ ኢምሬትስ ለኢትዮጵያ ተላልፎ መሰጠቱን ግብረ ኃይሉ አረጋግጧል፡፡

በመስከረም19/2007 ለኢትዮጵያ መንግስት የተላለፈው ግለሰብም ከዚህ በፊት እሱ በሌለበት የ25 ዓመት ፅኑ እስራትና የ180 ሺህ ብር ቅጣት ተፈርዶበት ነበር፡፡

Ethiopians struggle despite economic boom

                           

Country is still one of largest recipients of foreign aid despite having one of world's fastest growing economies.
Ethiopia has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, according to the IMF and the World Bank.

The country is rapidly industrialising and receives increasing attention of foreign investors, such as China.

Yet it remains one of the largest recipients of foreign aid, one third of the population earns less than $1 a day and outside competition can hurt local businesses.

Al Jazeera's Catherine Soi reports from Addis Ababa.
http://www.aljazeera.com/

Ethiopia banks on seeds to boost food security

Ethiopia has introduced a programme to improve food security that combines scientific knowledge with local know how, as new community-based seed banks and training centres try to help farmers meet their basic needs and increase agricultural output.

For many Ethiopia is still associated with its deadly famine of the 1980s that killed more than 400 000 people.

But now the country is one of the top performing economies in Africa, and looking to innovation to help it contribute to Africa's growing status as a food provider.

Research co-ordinators like Habte Mida are helping train farmers there.

       


National wheat And sorghum research co-ordinator, Habte Mida, said "we give them training how to produce for example this is a hybrid seed and it requires some precaution, so we give trainings to them. Basically, the things we provide to this private seed companies is training, enhancing their capacity to produce seeds and also initial seeds."

Report of shots fired near Ethiopian embassy in Washington

(Reuters) - The U.S. Secret Service detained a possible shooter after a report that shots were fired on Monday near the Ethiopian embassy in Washington, a spokesman for the agency said.
The possible shots were reported at about 12:15 p.m. EDT and there have been no injuries reported, spokesman Brian Leary said in an emailed statement.

Washington police, State Department officials and Secret Service agents are on the scene, the spokesman said. Repeated phone calls to the embassy went unanswered.
http://www.reuters.com/

Sudan apostasy woman Mariam Ibrahim 'to campaign'

Mrs Ibrahim's daughter Maya was born in prison in May
Mariam Ibrahim, the Sudan woman who escaped a death sentence imposed for renouncing her faith, says she wants to campaign for others who face religious persecution.

Speaking to the BBC in the US, where she is seeking asylum, Ms Ibrahim said she hopes to return to Sudan one day.

Ms Ibrahim earlier received an award from a US Christian foundation.

Her sentencing - by a Sudanese court that did not recognise her Christian faith - sparked outrage this year.

Born to a Muslim father, she was raised a Christian by her mother and married a Christian man.

Toshiba Concludes a Memorandum of Understanding with Ethiopian Electric Power on Geothermal Power Generation

TOKYO--(Business Wire)--Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502) today announced that the company has concluded a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Ethiopian Electric Power on a comprehensive partnership in geothermal power that will see the parties collaborate in power generation projects and personnel development.
Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP), a publicly owned utility, engages in the development of geothermal resources and the construction of power plants. Through the partnership with EEP, Toshiba will draw on its long-standing experience and expertise in geothermal systems to contribute to projects in Ethiopia. More specifically, the company will develop and manufacture major equipment, create operation and management guidelines, cooperate in personnel development, and start a waste heat utilization business.
Ethiopia is geothermal rich, with resources estimated at equivalent to 6,000 megawatts. However, this potential has yet to be explored and developed, and over 90 percent of the country’s electricity is from hydropower sources. Looking to the future, Ethiopia plans to increase its current installed generating capacity of 2,268 megawatts to 37,000 megawatts by 2037, and the development of geothermal power will play a significant role in reaching that target.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Gash Wondimu: Excerpt From Short Story by Agazit Abate

The resting place of the dead is respected here. Straight lines, manicured grass, clean concrete and untouched graves. Everything has its place. There is an order to things here. People die and are buried after careful planning. Death lays neat, it doesn’t pile up here.
You know, I hear that they even keep bodies in walls. I can’t imagine that. Bodies should go back into the soil, but what do I know.
You remember when Seifu told us that they were removing bodies from Yosef to build roads in Addis. His family had to collect the bones of his mother, father, and two brothers. The dead are overwhelming the new city there.   
***
You always did have bad timing. Looking back on things, I think we both did. Maybe our whole generation had bad timing, maybe that was our problem. 
You slipped into this earth the same way you slipped out, unexpected and displaced. I remember when you told me that your mother didn’t know she was pregnant with you until you began kicking. According to her calculations, you were supposed to arrive during the bright yellow blooms of adey abeba. She believed that you were a boy and that you would be born on new years’ day. She was only half right. You came early, during the rains. She was in a neighbors’ house across town and had to rush home to have you. 

Five Questions with Dr.Lemma Senbet, alumni at University of Buffalo

Lemma Senbet, PhD
As a freshman at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia, Lemma Senbet clearly remembers his first day on campus standing in line to register for his engineering classes. Noticing a large number of students filing up for another subject, he asked what the line was for. When he learned that students were enrolling in for the university’s newly established business school, he decided to switch majors.
Unbeknownst to Senbet, that moment would lead to a successful career in economics and a position as William E. Mayer Chair Professor of Finance at the University of Maryland.
Senbet earned a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Addis Ababa University and an MBA in finance from the University of California in Los Angeles. After graduation, Senbet planned to return to Ethiopia. However, civil unrest in the country forced him to wait out the war in a doctorate program in the United States. After searching for universities in New York, he chose UB over Columbia University for the personal attention and family-like atmosphere the university’s doctoral program offered.
Senbet’s first academic appointment was as an assistant professor of finance at the University of Madison Wisconsin.
He progressed rapidly along the tenure track, earning the rank of full professor after seven years, and later, the Charles Albright Chaired Professorship! However, the chance to help build a finance program led him to the University of Maryland.
Currently, Senbet is on sabbatical from Maryland, working as the head of the African Economic Research Consortium, a Kenya-based non-profit organization that conducts research on the management of economies in sub-Saharan Africa.
 

Five Questions with Lemma:


  1. If you could create another national holiday, what would it be called?

Ahly's Said excuses absence from Ethiopia squad for Mali game

Saladin Seid
Ahly's Ethiopian striker won't join his national team preparations for the Mali game in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers due to injury
Ahly's new signing striker, Ethiopian Saladin Said, has excused his absence from his national team camp for the game against Mali in the 2015 African Cup of Nations as he still suffers from a serious tear in his calf, Ahly football director Wael Gomaa announced Thursday.
"We received a formal request from the Ethiopian FA asking the services of the Ahly striker during the preparatory camp for the Mali game," Gomaa was quoted as saying on the club's official website Thursday.

"The Ethiopian forward has officially offered excuses for not joining his national team camp due to injury," he added.

Ethiopian runners dominated the Akron Marathon with their skill and spirit

Teklu Deneke is the men's winner of the Akron Marathon on Saturday in Akron.
Ethiopian runners dominated the Akron Marathon with their skill and spirit.
When the men’s and women’s winners crossed the finish line Saturday, with thousands standing and cheering from the Canal Park stands and lush green baseball field, they also showed their faith.
Teklu Deneke, 35, won with a time of 2:16:45. One stride after crossing the tape as the men’s winner, his right arm shot up and he made the sign of the cross.
Tezata Dengersa, a married 33-year-old with two children, won the women’s marathon in 2:42:53.
“Thank you, God. You are big, God,” she said as she sprinted to victory.
It was gloriously bright and cool — perfect running weather — when marathon participants began lining up as early as 5:30 a.m. for their 7 o’clock start.
Marathon spokesman Alan Ashby said more than 15,000 runners participated in the full marathon, the half-marathon, the team relays and the Kids Fun Run.
Tezata Dengersa 
“You couldn’t have asked for a better day for an event like this,” Ashby said. “Being on the field and seeing the amazing accomplishments of these runners was just great, whether they finished in two hours or five.”

Ethiopian Airlines Adjudged ‘Best Airline in Africa’

Ethiopian Airlines has won the Passenger Choice Awards for “Best Airline in Africa” for the second time in a row at the APEX 2014 EXPO held last week in the Anaheim Convention Centre in California.

The Passenger Choice Awards were created by the US based Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) to give voice to airline passengers. APEX encompasses the largest and most comprehensive survey of passengers in 13 languages. It is the most important award in the airline industry since it is the customers themselves, who rate airlines based on their overall experience.

Friday, September 26, 2014

Kemekem (I Like Your Afro) featuring Samuel Yirga


Minilik Wosinachew Yelibe Kebero


Ethiopia Football Federation questions CAF Guinea decision

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (AP) -The president of the Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) questions the impromptu decision by the Confederation of African Football to award Guinea hosting rights for the 2023 African Cup, seemingly without a proper bidding process.
Juneydin Basha told The Associated Press on Friday there was nothing on CAF’s agenda for its executive committee meeting last weekend relating to choosing the host for 2023.
“We don’t know what CAF’s consideration was when it selected a host nation for 2023,” Junedin said. There was also no reason for making such a “swift decision.”
CAF President Issa Hayatou announced Guinea as host on Saturday without giving details of the process, saying the spontaneous decision was a display of “solidarity” with the Ebola-hit West African nation.
CAF wasn’t scheduled to choose the 2023 tournament host at the meeting — which was meant to decide only the 2019 and 2021 winning bids — and it wasn’t clear if any other countries were considered for 2023.

Ethiopian refugee and elite runner has plans for new life in Brisbane

Runner Lamaa Kuruu

Have you ever been on a crowded train with your face wedged into someone's shoulder, or complained to friends about the lack of legroom on your flight to wherever you are travelling?
Spare a thought for Lamaa Kuruu and his fellow refugees, jammed into a vehicle, one person lying on top of another, for days on end with no food and little water.
This is what Lamaa endured to seek a new life for himself.
Now he has arrived in Brisbane on a humanitarian refugee visa and is grappling with learning English and trying to build a future for himself and his wife, Ayantu Daba.

Finding his feet

Lamaa is an elite runner. Prior to fleeing Ethiopia four years ago, he lived in a house with 60 other runners and two coaches, training twice a day on the track and in the forest.
Last weekend he entered his first Australian road running event, the Twilight Bay Run. He was confident of winning the 5km event but was nervous about deciphering the route.

Ethiopia Shared $5 billion counterterrorism Partnerships fund

New York (HAN)September 26, 2014, Public Diplomacy and Regional strateic defense and Security news. President Obama meets with the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailermariam Desalegn. Presdent Obama has spent much of the week discussing his counterterrorism plans, including airstrikes in Syria, Somalia and Iraq against the jihadist group known as the Islamic State and Islamic militants of Al-Shabaab in Southern Somalia.

After he finished UN General Assembly speech and before returning to Washington, D.C.,  President  Obama had bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn of Ethiopia. Topics ranged from the Horn of Africa peace efforts to counter-terrorism and economic development.

         

President Obama delivered remarks at a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Hailermariam
On May this year, Obama, in his West Point speech, announced that he asked Congress to support a new Counterterrorism Partnerships Fund .

Ethiopia uses temperature detectors to prevent Ebola


"We have imported a body temperature detector at a cost of $39,000 to be erected at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport," Abel Yeshaneh, spokesman for the Ethiopian Public Health Institute, said.

By Seleshi Tessema

ADDIS ABABA

Ethiopia has deployed devices at airports and border crossings that can read passengers' body temperatures as part of efforts to prevent the Ebola virus from reaching the country, thousands of cases of which have been recently documented in West Africa.

"We have imported a body temperature detector at a cost of $39,000 to be erected at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport," Abel Yeshaneh, spokesman for the Ethiopian Public Health Institute, told Anadolu Agency on Thursday.

"We have also put infrared machines in place that detect body temperature at border crossings," he said. "These machines have been donated by one of our international partners, UNICEF."

According to Yeshaneh, the machines are capable of screening "one subject within [every] three seconds."

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Professor Solomon Tesfaye wins one of most coveted prizes in medicine

A CONSULTANT who first described how diabetic nerve damage is caused by impaired circulation of the nerves has been awarded one of the most coveted international prizes in medicine in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the field.
Professor Solomon Tesfaye
Professor Solomon Tesfaye, a Consultant Physician/Endocrinologist at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, and Honorary Professor of Diabetic Medicine at the University of Sheffield, is the first person in the UK to be awarded the prestigious Camillo Golgi Prize since 2003.

The international prize – which is bestowed by the European Association for the Study of Diabetes to one person across the world for extraordinary achievements in the treatment and management of diabetes – highlights the cutting-edge work impact Professor Tesfaye and his colleagues from the Royal Hallamshire Hospital have had in helping patients with diabetic nerve damage.

Diabetic nerve damage is a distressing illness causing intolerable pains in the feet and legs which is often unresponsive to medical treatments. It affects up to a third of patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Patients often experience loss of sensation in the feet – making these vulnerable to inadvertent injury, infection and amputations.

In some patients the loss of sensation in the lower limbs is paradoxically associated with chronic severe pain exacerbated by a vicious cycle of anxiety, depression and lack of sleep. The hospital costs of one major amputation followed by intensive rehabilitation is around £40K. However, the cost of the illness to individuals and relatives as well as society with time lost from work is incalculable.

16 Most Powerful Militaries In Africa [View List]

When it comes to the military strength of all African countries, the keywords to consider are “not enough information.”
The Global Fire Power ranking, or GFP, measures countries’ military strength and assigns a power index number in order to compare them to other countries. Many factors are taken into consideration, and smaller countries can compete with larger ones due to points given for refinement and technological advancement.
Based on available information, the following countries represent the most powerful militaries in Africa as of Aug. 4 2014, according to GlobalFirepower.com.
Numbers reflect each country’s power index, derived from a unique algorithm developed by GFP. A perfect score is a 0.0000. The lower the number, the stronger the military, and bonuses and penalties are added to country scores as needed.
commons.wikimedia.org

16. Zimbabwe – Power Index: 3.0955

The Zimbabwe Defense Forces (ZDF) include the Zimbabwe National Army and the Air Force of Zimbabwe. Being a landlocked country, they lack a naval force. The country also holds a strong paramilitary force with its own air wing. ZDF includes 30,000 active personnel, 20,000 reserves, 325 armored fighting vehicles, and 92 aircraft.
en.wikipedia.org

15. Ghana – Power Index: 2.9726

Salahdin Said confirms absence from Ethiopia Walia Ibex clash with Mali due to Injury

EXCLUSIVE:Ethiopia’s  lethal striker Salhadin Said has confirmed that he will not be available for the Africa Cup of Nations game against Mali to be played in Addis Ababa on the weekend of 10th October.
Speaking exclusively to Soka25east.com from his base in Egypt Sala rued his absence from the game but wishing his team mates all the best after he was ruled out with a caf injury as Al Ahly won the Egyptian Super Cup beating arch rivals Zamalek.
However Sala alluded to the fact that he might be away for only 10 days before starting training despite the Al Ahly team doctor Ehab Ali being quoted as telling coach Juan Carlos Garrido that Sala would be out for six weeks.

Habtom Merhay Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Undocumented Eritreans and Ethiopias into the United States

WASHINGTON – A national of Eritrea and citizen of the United Kingdom pled guilty today to smuggling undocumented immigrants from Eritrea and Ethiopia into the United States.
     Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. of the District of Columbia, and Special Agent in Charge Clark E. Settles of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) Washington, D.C., Field Office made the announcement.
     According to his plea agreement, Habtom Merhay, 47, who operated primarily from his residence in Dubai, orchestrated the unlawful smuggling of up to 99 undocumented African immigrants to the United States for profit.  Specifically, Merhay admitted that in exchange for fees up to $14,000, he smuggled immigrants into the United States by providing fraudulent travel documents, purchasing airline tickets for travel to

Family of Ethiopian maid who was raped and murdered refuses blood money settlement

SHARJAH // The family of a teenage girl who was brutally raped and murdered in 2009 by four Emiratis – one of whom had been pardoned 12 years ago for killing a 13-year-old girl – have refused a blood money settlement.
The Ethiopian girl’s family insisted that the accused be executed and said that they would press ahead with litigation procedures, reported Al Ittihad, the Arabic-language sister paper of The National.
According to police, the incident in Al Dhaid was one of the worst cases of rape and murder the country has seen, shaking the Emirati community.
Members of the public found the body of the teenager in Seeh Al Mahab, near a deserted labour camp. Her skull had been crushed, the body had multiple stab wounds and there was evidence of attempted strangulation.
Four Emirati men were arrested and charged with collaborating to plan and commit the crimes against the girl – who had been in the country for three months working as a maid for a family in Khor Fakkan.

Why Africa's 'most beautiful' countries became beautiful; and how you can cheat the good looks lottery



Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda, Somalia, Egypt, Ghana tend to top list of nations with most beautiful women. It is all about history and geography, really
RANKING Africa’s most beautiful countries is a hugely controversial affair, as recent attempts to do so proved, not least because nobody wants to admit they are on the lower rung of the beauty chain, and, obviously, beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.
But sometimes it seems beholders are more or less in agreement over the regions where you are likely to find Africa’s most beautiful women. Looking through a few recent totally unscientific rankings (you can find them  herehere, and here), a few countries keep propping up in the top slots. In no particular order, they are:
  • Ethiopia
  • Eritrea
  • Rwanda
  • Somalia
  • Egypt
  • Ghana
If we go with what the pollsters say, it would seem that the Horn of Africa, North and West Africa beats the rest of the continent in having the most beautiful women. So how did it happen? Was it just a stroke of luck, or are there other forces at play, that tend to shape a society into becoming “more beautiful”?  And did beauty play a political, even security, role in societies before these times, when the focus is mostly on its superficial aspects?
We dug up some facts about life in these places over the past few thousand years, and some common threads begun to emerge that explain “beauty”. So if your country isn’t on the list, here’s a (half-serious, in typical M&G Africa fashion) guide on how to make sure, in the next few centuries, you get bragging rights too:
The forest vs. desert people

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

'Lucy's baby' found in Ethiopia'

The remains were discovered in a fossilized humanoid 3.3 million years ago in the Danika, Ethiopia.

OS avarice of Australopithecus of a female of the same type Super adult found in 1974 that has been dubbed "Lucy".

Scientists are delighted to find, reported the diary nature.

They consider that the clay from almost complete provides an excellent opportunity to study the growth and development of crucial non extant human being ascendant.

Consequences Australopithecus avarice persist ratified endangered.

Skeleton for the first time in 2000, encased in a auction block from sandstone. Them admitted cirque classes from hard work, the free OS.

Visit to Ethiopia doesn't mean Egypt agrees on dam project: Minister

Irrigation minister visits dam's construction site, the first by Egyptian official
Egypt's irrigation minister has stressed that his visit to Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam doesn't mean that Egypt agrees with the ongoing project, Al-Ahram's Arabic news website reported.
Hossam Moghazy had a tour with his Ethiopian and Sudanese counterparts at the site of the dam on Monday, the first by an Egyptian official since construction began in April 2011.
The dam has been a source of concern for the Egyptian government, which fears the downstream project will affect its access to the Nile, its main source of potable water.

Ethiopian music legend Hailu Mergia is rediscovered

For more than a decade, Hailu Mergia has been driving a taxi in the US capital Washington DC. Very few of his customers are aware of the fact that he was once Ethiopia's most popular keyboard player and leader of the legendary Walias Band in the 1970s. He has recently been rediscovered and his music re-released. He has begun playing concerts, featuring traditional Ethiopian ballads and electronic-style jazz music. Hailu was recently in New York to play a concert. He spoke to our reporter, Leslie Goffe, about being rediscovered after so manyears.
BBC Africa

Building emergency medicine in Ethiopia

Ethiopia faces a critical gap in emergency medical care. Canadian experts have paired with Addis Ababa University to develop a national research and training facility and graduate the country’s first emergency medicine specialists.
In Ethiopia, average life expectancy is just 58 years, with communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, diarrhea, and pneumonia taking a heavy toll. Over the last decade, there were roughly four doctors for every 100,000 people in Ethiopia — less than half the level recommended by the World Health Organization. Canada, in contrast, has 210 doctors for every 100,000 people.
In 2008, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health declared emergency medicine to be a top priority. Faced with an ongoing exodus of trained staff, and with no qualified emergency practitioners or teachers, the country reached out. Since 2010, Addis Ababa University (AAU) and the University of Toronto (U of T) have worked together to meet the country’s training and research needs through the Toronto-Addis Ababa Academic Collaboration in Emergency Medicine (TAAAC-EM). From 2012 to 2014, IDRC has supported this unique teaching and research collaboration through a Canadian Partnership grant to the University Health Network (UHN).

Ethiopia & Kenya poles apart over online ticket purchases


          

Kenya: 105 Ethiopians Nabbed By Cops

By Stephen Astariko

POLICE in Garissa have arrested 105 illegal immigrants from Ethiopia who sneaked in the country through the Moyale boarder.

North Eastern regional CID coordinator Musa Yego said that the immigrants were arrested on Monday aboard a lorry with Kenyan registration numbers.

Speaking to the press in Garissa town, Yego said the driver and the suspected trafficker were also arrested.

"We want to know the people involved in this illegal business since they are the ones compromising our security," he said.

El-Sisi to visit Ethiopia: Egypt official

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi agrees to visit Ethiopia, date undecided
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi told the Ethiopian PM in New York that he plans to visit Ethiopia, said presidential spokesperson Alaa Youssef on Wednesday.
The date of the visit has not been finalised, he added.
The visit signifies a positive development in relations between the two countries following tensions that arose from disagreements over the new dam, Youssef explained.  
The meeting between the two officials comes as part of several meetings in New York on the sidelines of the 69th UN General Assembly session to discuss pressing political and economic issues.
Youssef described the meeting with Ethiopia's PM as friendly, adding that the officials agreed to enhance cooperation between the two countries in different fields and not just limit it to the dam.
The Ethiopian PM assured El-Sisi that his country is committed to all that has been agreed upon regarding the new dam, said Youssef.

IGAD mediators ask Martin Tako to leave South Sudan peace talks

A deputy minister in Salva Kiir’s cabinet claiming to represent South Sudanese opposition parties has been asked to leave the peace talks in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
Martin Tako arrived recently at the peace talks without having been invited by the peace mediators of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
Tako said he was leading a delegation representing PPLF, the Political Parties Leadership Forum, which comprises mostly South Sudanese opposition parties.
Last week security agents blocked Lam Akol, who also claims leadership of the Political Parties Leadership Forum, from traveling to Ethiopia, while permitting Martin Tako to travel to the talks instead.

በሐሰተኛ ማዕረግ ማጭበርበር በመፈጸም የተጠረጠሩት አቶ ሳሙኤል ዘሚካኤል ክስ ተመሠረተባቸው



-  ተታልያለሁ በማለት የቀረቡት የአምባሳደር ልብስ ስፌት ባለቤት ብቻ ናቸው

‹‹ዶ/ር ኢንጂነር ነኝ›› በሚል ሐሰተኛ ማዕረግ በመጠቀም የማታለል ወንጀል ፈጽመዋል በሚል ተጠርጥረው በእስር ላይ በሚገኙት አቶ ሳሙኤል ዘሚካኤል ላይ፣ የፌዴራል ዓቃቤ ሕግ መስከረም 12 ቀን 2007 ዓ.ም. ክስ መሠረተ፡፡

በፌዴራል ከፍተኛ ፍርድ ቤት አራዳ ምድብ ችሎት (ሰባራ ባቡር አካባቢ በሚገኘው ፍርድ ቤት) ክስ በተመሠረተባቸው አቶ ሳሙኤል ላይ ‹‹ተታልያለሁ ወይም ተጭበርብሬያለሁ›› በማለት ቀርበው ቃል የሰጡት፣ በቦሌ ክፍለ ከተማ ቀበሌ 14 ገርጂ የሚገኘው አምባሳደር ልብስ ስፌት ባለቤት አቶ ሰዒድ መሐመድ ብቻ መሆናቸውን ክሱ ያስረዳል፡፡

ዓቃቤ ሕግ ጳጉሜን 4 ቀን 2006 ዓ.ም. ጽፎ መስከረም 6 ቀን 2007 ዓ.ም. በፍርድ ቤት የክስ ፋይል የከፈተበትና መስከረም 12 ቀን 2007 ዓ.ም. ተጠርጣሪው ፍርድ ቤት የቀረቡበት ክስ እንደሚያስረዳው፣ አቶ ሳሙኤል የካቲት 12 ቀን 2004 ዓ.ም. ከጠዋቱ 5፡00 ሰዓት ወደ አምባሳደር ልብስ ስፌት ፋብሪካ ይሄዳሉ፡፡ ራሳቸውን ‹‹ዶ/ር ኢንጂነር›› በማለት ሐሰተኛ ማዕረግ በመናገርና ማንነታቸውን በመሰወር፣ ስለሚሠሩት ሥራ ማስተዋወቃቸውን ክሱ ያስረዳል፡፡

The Voice 2014 Blind Audition - Menlik Zergabachew: "Santeria"


          

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Top Ten African Restaurants In New York City

“I am an African. I am an African foodie. I am an African foodie in New York,” my remixed version of Sting’s classic song “Englishman in New York”.
It is the best of both worlds. Or is it three worlds? African. Foodie. New York City. Life cannot get any sweeter than this! And September magnifies the beauty of these worlds even more. Three global events take place in New York City in this month alone – New York Fashion Week, The Clinton Global Initiative and the United Nations General Assembly. And the world it seems, descends upon this cosmopolitan mega-city in unprecedented numbers. There are restaurants galore in New York City – to suit every palate, craving and gustatory fetish.
For most visitors and even New Yorkers themselves, the sheer number of restaurants in New York City can be daunting and overwhelming. So I teamed up with Akin Akinsanya, a fellow African foodie and founder and CEO of New York African Restaurant Week and his team to pick the top 10 African restaurants the Big Apple AAPL +1.53% has to offer its residents and visitors – the adventurous and /or those seeking to satisfy their craving for African food.

According to Akinsanya, there are over 50 African restaurants in the Greater New York metropolitan area alone! “While we have yet to make it to mainstream, there is a growing awareness of and love for African cuisine,” explained Akinsanya. “New York African Restaurant Week is an annual week-long celebration of African cuisine and culture by New Yorkers and people from all over the world. We invite people to taste and experience the rich, diverse and flavorful cuisine that Africa has to offer, right here in New York City. No passport needed – promise!”
The criteria we used for picking the best African restaurants in New York City was taste, service, ambiance and consistency.

Three mothers help former Ethiopian refugee celebrate call to the bar: Porter

Two sponsor moms from Vancouver and birth mom from Ethiopia on hand for ceremony.

 Teklemichael Abebe Sahlemariam arrived in Canada as a refugee nine years ago.
Last week, he was called to the Ontario bar.
I toasted him with his three moms during a celebratory lunch after the ceremony.
“When that woman in the robe talked about how it’s been a long road for many people. My thought was, ‘You have no idea how long it’s been’,” said Jean McTavish, one of Sahlemariam’s adoptive mothers.
“I felt I was being born again,” his birth mother, Seble Lemlem Fantabil, said in Amharic, breaking into tears again. She arrived at Pearson International two days before the ceremony. It was the first time she’d seen her son since he fled Ethiopia 13 years ago.
“I cannot believe I am here, alive, to witness this.”
What a special meal!
Sahlemariam’s story is a brochure for Canada’s refugee system, before it turned suspicious and stingy.
Listening to it over lunch, I was reminded of the lesson I try to teach my children: that by sharing, you receive more.

'Ethiopian illegal immigrants' jumped out of lorry on M25 hard shoulder

A group of suspected illegal immigrants were stopped on the M25 hard shoulder on Monday morning after getting out of the back of a lorry.
The 13 people, believed to be from Ethiopia, were seen jumping out with luggage near Chertsey at around 9am, before the HGV was driven away.
Police were called to the scene and the group were found walking alongside the busy motorway.
Motorists saw them being arrested and searched, and the incident caused traffic tailbacks in both directions of the M25 between junctions 12 and 13.

Ethiopia To Host $50 Million Aluminium Plant From Dubai

VENTURES AFRICA – Dubai-based Al Ghurair Group has teamed up with Ethiopian firm, Tracon Trading, to build its first Aluminium Production Plant in the East-African country, an investment worth $50 million.
The deal is structured such that Al Ghurair will provide equity financing while Tracon Trading will source funds from local investors; the resulting outfit will be a joint venture where each partner will have equal share in the Ethiopian market. Necessary fundamentals are in place as about 30,000 square meters of investment land has already been acquired on lease from the Addis Ababa City Administration.
CEO Majid Ghurair, in a discussion with President Mulatu Teshome and Minister of Trade Kebene Chane, revealed that the factory will have a starting production capacity of some 25 to 30 thousand metric tonnes of aluminium, its completion is expected to substitute the importation of aluminium.
The factory is expected to commence production in a year according to the Deputy Manager of Tracon Trading, Mr Elias Omer. He believes the factory will go beyond substituting imports to satisfying the local demand for Aluminium and improving intra-African trading by allowing for exports to other East African countries.

Ethiopia hands Egypt safety studies of main dam: Ministry of Water Resources

Irrigation ministers of Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia have adopted the criteria and conditions under which an international consultancy will be formed to conduct the two studies recommended by the committee of experts in May 2013, Egypt's ministry of irrigation and water resources said Monday.
The committee, which is set to resort to international advisory companies, will produce a detailed study on the dam's effect on the flow of the Nile's water as well as the project's environmental, economic and social effects on Egypt and Sudan. It should conclude its report within six months, by March, and its results are to be binding for all.
Ethiopia has delivered some studies on the safety of the main dam as well as designs of the supplementary dam, which Egypt has not received before as part of the international committee of experts' work, state-run MENA agency quoted the ministry.

Teaming Up to Bring Clean Water to Ethiopia

Gates has said he'll match $100,000 if Green can raise it

 Author John Green has gotten a lot of attention for his heart-wrenching novel The Fault in Our Stars, the bestselling young-adult-novel-turned-blockbuster-movie about two young cancer patients who meet in a support group. But most fans who only know of Green for this reason aren’t aware of his philanthropic efforts, in which he leverages his large social media following and YouTube fan base. His charitable fundraisers have been geared at everything from cancer to cens
orship to malaria, but now he’s tackling clean water with the help of Bill Gates.
Green’s biggest fans call themselves “Nerdfighters,” those whose goal in life is to, in Green’s words, “decrease world suck,” and Gates seems to have joined the bandwagon, pledging to match the $100,000 Green hopes to raise through “nerdfighteria.”

Monday, September 22, 2014

Kebedech Tekleab: Creating an Ethiopian Narrative in America

Kebedech Tekleab is one of the foremost Ethiopian artists today. While her “interest on human conditions globally” has inspired much of her work, her own personal narratives and her love of literature, music, drama etc. are equally great sources of inspiration. Tekleab’s pieces have been acquired by the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center and the Embassy of Ethiopia, among notable others. She is currently a professor of Foundation Studies at the Savannah College of Arts and Design in Savannah, Georgia.
Tekleab first collaborated with E. Ethelbert Miller, literary activist and author of the recent memoir The 5th Inning on The Handprint Identity Project–an exchange between artists and poets. What follows is a conversation between two artists and friends.
EM: When creating new artwork how important is memory and vision?

Ethiopia banks on seeds to boost food security


              

Ethiopia one of the unexpected wine tourism Destination

When it comes to wine-themed tourism, certain destinations come to mind immediately: France's Rhone Valley, Australia's Yarra Valley, California's Napa Valley. But great wines are also made where you may least expect them. Here's the lowdown on wine production in five unexpected destinations, many of which are already popular among tourists for other reasons.

 Belgium 

Known abroad for its craft beers, the European nation also produces quality wines. Found in both Wallonia and Flanders, the country's vineyards cover a total area of 370 acres and are owned by around 90 winemakers, most of whom are Flemish. Belgium produces around 500,000 bottles of wine per year using up to 34 different grape varieties, including Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio.

 Reds account for just 20% of the country's total production, and the white wine production consists of around half still, half sparkling. For a taste of Belgian bubbly, look for the "Vlaamse Mousserende Kwaliteitswijn" label.

A tour of Belgian wine country might start with a trip to Genoels-Elderen, the country's largest winery, which spans 54 acres.

67 more Ethiopians arrested in Zambia

THE Immigration Department in Kapiri Mposhi has arrested 67 Ethiopians for alleged unlawful entry into Zambia after the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) intercepted a Tanzanian containerised truck in which they were being ferried.
And a team of Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC), immigration and police officers yesterday raided Lusaka’s Marapodi township and arrested 35 suspected illegal immigrants.
This comes barely a week after 48 other Ethiopians were arrested in Kapiri Mposhi for unlawful entry into Zambia after they were found in a containerised truck.
The suspected prohibited immigrants were arrested on Saturday after ZRA officers discovered them hidden  in a Tanzanian containerised Scania truck registration number T462 AHY around 17:30 hours.
This is according to a statement issued in Lusaka yesterday by Immigration Department public relations officer Namati Nshinka.

Egypt minister visits site of Ethiopia's Nile dam

Accompanying the Egyptian minister during his five-hour visit, almost the first by an Egyptian official to the site, was Egypt's ambassador to Addis Ababa Mohamed Idriss.

World Bulletin / News Desk

Egypt's irrigation Minister Hossam al-Moghazi on Sunday paid a visit to the construction site of Ethiopia's Great Renaissance Dam, a project that has in recent years brought tension to relations between the two Nile Basin countries.

Accompanying the Egyptian minister during his five-hour visit, almost the first by an Egyptian official to the site, was Egypt's ambassador to Addis Ababa Mohamed Idriss, a Sudanese four-member delegation, Ethiopia's Water, Energy and Irrigation Minister Alemayehu Tegenu and Ethiopia's ambassador to Cairo Mohamoud Dirir.

Al-Amoudi to Spend $500 Million on Ethiopia Coffee, Oranges


Horizon Plantations Ethiopia Plc, majority-owned by Saudi billionaire Mohamed al-Amoudi, plans to almost double annual revenue within three years by investing at least $500 million in coffee and orange projects.
The agriculture company will train workers, improve roads and replace washing units at the Limmu and Bebeka coffee plantations, which together have over 18,000 hectares (44,479 acres) under coffee, General Operations Director Kemal Mohammed said in a Sept. 17 interview in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital. The development is part of a five-year program to invest in projects that also include Upper Awash Agro-Industry Enterprise, the country’s largest orange grower with 1,200 hectares of citrus, he said.
“We are sure because of the initiatives we have now, because of the inputs and techniques we’re applying, the productivity will increase to the maximum at the end of the five years,” Kemal said.
Ethiopia, Africa’s biggest coffee producer, may see earnings from shipments of Arabica coffee rise 25 percent to about $900 million in 2014-2015 as prices rise because of shortage caused by a drought in Brazil, an exporters’ association said last month. Horizon bought the two coffee farms for 1.6 billion birr ($80 million) last year from the Ethiopian government, which is seeking investment in projects that process agricultural products.

Poor countries like Ethiopia left behind in fight against climate change

Press release
Embargoed until 00:01 Monday 22 September 2014
Some of the world’s poorest countries are diverting a large share of their budgets in response to threats posed by climate change, reveals a new report from the Overseas Development Institute – the UK’s leading think-tank on development issues.
The report, Fair share: climate finance to vulnerable countries, launched in advance of the UN global climate summit in New York, is based on research in three sub-Saharan African countries – Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda – which largely depend on rain for agriculture and are highly vulnerable to climate change.
Whilst significant sums of international finance have been raised to combat climate change, the ODI report raises concerns over how much is getting through to the poorest countries.
“While richer countries invest heavily in flood-defence systems, coastal protection and other projects, poorer countries have no choice but to divert scarce resources, potentially reversing the progress made in tackling poverty,” said Kevin Watkins, executive director of ODI.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Swiss firm builds Addis Ababa recycling plant


World Bulletin / News Desk

A Swiss company is building a factory in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to recycle used plastic bottles, Ethiopian officials said Thursday.

"This is [a project for] environmental protection and waste management," Tsegaye Hailu, head of communications at Addis Ababa's Cleansing Management Agency, told Anadolu Agency.

The factory, which is being built by Coba Impact Manufacturing PLC at a cost of $5.2 million, will stand on 5,000 square meters of land in the Nefas Silk Lafto Sub-City in southern Addis Ababa.

"The city has organized 6,000 individuals in over 600 micro- and small-scale enterprises to collect solid waste," Hailu said. "They collect and sort out used plastic bottles from garbage and supply them to the company."

Building on Ethiopia’s development progress

Ethiopian student. The World Bank has approved funding to boost delivery of key services in Ethiopia, including helping the government hire teachers. Photo: Stephan Bachenheimer / World Bank / CC BY-NC-ND
The World Bank approved Tuesday (Sept. 25) new funding to boost economic growth and the delivery of key services in Ethiopia.
A total of $600 million in interest-free credit from the bank’s anti-poverty arm will go to the third phase of the African nation’s Promoting Basic Services program. The money will be used to help the government hire teachers, health workers and other “crucial staff” in the areas of food production, water and sanitation.
The program, launched in 2006, contributes to Ethiopia’s goal of achieving the Millennium Development Goals, according to World Bank Country Director Guang Zhe Chen. For one, child mortality rates in Ethiopia fell to 88 per 1,000 live births in 2010 from 123 per 1,000 live births in 2005, according to a press release.
It is not clear, however, how much of the reported progress can be attributed to the program, which is also supported by the European Union, the U.K. Department for International Development and the African Development Bank, among others.

BURKA AND ESHETU MAKE IT AN ETHIOPIAN DOUBLE IN SYDNEY AS COURSE RECORDS FALL

Gebo Burka and Biruktayit Eshetu came into the Blackmores Sydney Marathon with contrasting form lines, but both emerged as winners to complete a double victory for Ethiopia in the IAAF Silver Label Road Race on Sunday (21).

Eshetu was the defending women’s champion and won like a champion should, taking down her own course record in the process despite suffering some discomfort from leg cramps in the closing stages of the race.

Burka crept into the race almost unnoticed, with others up to four minutes faster than him on best times. But the 27-year-old had already won marathons in Pittsburgh and Los Angeles this year and he showed that winning form is good form as he broke clear of compatriot Seboka Tola over the last five kilometres of the Sydney course.

Boeing, Ethiopian Airlines Announce Order for 20 737 MAX 8s

HEADLINE2Order is the largest single Boeing order by number of airplanes from an African carrier

CHICAGO, Sept. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] and Ethiopian Airlines today announced an order for 20 737 MAX 8s. The order, previously unidentified on the Boeing Orders & Deliveries website, is worth more than $2.1 billion at list prices and also includes options and purchase rights for a further 15 737 MAX 8s. The order represents the largest single Boeing order by number of airplanes from an African carrier.

"Today's order underlines our commitment to our 15-year strategic plan, 'Vision 2025', in which Ethiopian will strive to become the leading airline group in Africa carrying 18 million passengers per annum," said Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, during a visit to the Association for the Promotion of Tourism to Africa National Forum in Chicago. "The 737 MAX will form a key component of that strategic vision, enhancing our single-aisle fleet and keeping us at the forefront of African aviation."