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MPs urge transparency on Ethiopia-Sudan border issue
By Kirubel Tadesse
Capital
Opposition parliamentarians demanded the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) to clear the ambiguity that is floating around on the Ethio-Sudan border issue while the Ministry presented its ten month report on June 24, 2008.
Bulcha Demeksa, chair of Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) told MoFA Minister Siyoum Mesfin that the public and the parliament do not know the details of the memorandum of understanding the government of Ethiopia and Sudan signed.
“All the ongoing Etho-Sudan border issues will be cleared if the government becomes transparent on the matter. Why isn’t a copy of this agreement available to us?” questioned Bulcha.
Though copies of the memorandum were not distributed to the members, Minister Siyoum explained the memorandum’s theme.
“The singed agreement details that no farmer of both countries would be displaced from their plots in any possible demarcation,” responded the Minister.
Lidetu Ayalew, chair of Ethiopian Democratic Party (EDP- Medhin) pointed his finger on the state owned media for not clearing the uncertainty while its foreign counterparts were covering the issue in detail.
“The Ethiopian Television (ETV) always reports on government related issues in a rather tiring routine but the Ethio-Sudan border issue didn’t make it to their program list despite the huge coverage foreign media gave it. The news was first ushered by the foreign media which chewed it in depth and then got the local media’s, ETV, due attention,” Lidetu wondered why there was a silence in government media during weeks the report swapped abroad.
Other MP’s like the Coalition of Unity and Democracy’s (CUD), Legesse Biratu, forwarded to the Minister their suggestions for resolving the ambiguity deepening into the public, they proposed for selected representatives to visit the border.
“A group composed of political leaders, elders and other parts of the public should deploy to the border and report back to the public via the House,” Legesse forwarded as a possible resolution for the border issue transparency climax.
According to MoFA’s report the Ethio-Sudan border was delimited as per 1902 and 1907 agreements signed between Ethiopia and Great Britain, then colonial ruler of Sudan. As per the 1902 agreement, a British national, Major Gwynn, had demarcated with some changes he disclosed in his report. After 1907 agreement, Gwynn also demarcated the delimited parts of the border in 1909. His demarcation was not in accordance to international standard [conducted by stating descriptive topographies, putting stones and other mechanisms] as the pervious two Ethiopian regimes had tried to re demarcate the border. In 1962 one group of experts conducted a survey that suggested the government endorse the Gwynn demarcation as it was found that it didn’t violate Ethiopian interests. Accordingly, the Imperial Ethiopian Government had an exchange of notes with Sudan in June 18, 1972.
MoFA in its report affirmed the statements of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi which explained that no demarcation has been started and no pillar has been put between the two countries border. So far various committees set up at different levels were conducting feasibility studies. According to MoFA, the remaining task is to re-demarcate the border as per the Major Gwynn demarcation which had followed the 1902 and 1907 agreements made between Ethiopia and Sudan.
Ethiopia - Road Master Plan affirms train station survival
By Muluken Yewondwossen
Capital
After the participants of the June 10, 2008 conference of the Ethiopian Heritage Trust facilitated, protested against the reported plan to demolish the Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway Enterprise headquarters to make way for road construction, on June 26, 2008 the Addis Ababa City Road Authority (AACRA), announced that the plan never intended to pass through the area where the station is located but rather would circle the 100 year old complex.
Fekade Hailu (Eng.), head of AACRA, told Capital that his office organized the press conference after the City Information Bureau alarmed him about the rumor.
According to the plan the road will be constructed around the station, even leaving a green area in front of the station. The road will connect Gofa – Kirkose [behind the station] to Churchill Street [a road that connects the area where the station stands, to the Municipality].
Fekade Hailu, head of AACRA told journalists that the plan was laid out years ago and revised in February 2006.
“The Master Plan never touches something which is the city’s historical heritage,” added Fekade.
The road design indicates that the one km span that crosses the station will stretch on the Enterprise compound east, and west side of building and will break the west side railway line from the east. The road will have a width of thirty and forty meters. The open site area in front of the Station will be a green area. AACRA is to handle work on the one km road that will commence in the next fiscal year.
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Historic Addis Ababa Train Station to be demolished?
Severe Food Crisis hits most vulnerable in Ethiopia
Source: Irish RedCross
A combination of drought and escalating food prices has left millions vulnerable and in need of food. Failure of the rains in early March/April of this year has led to reduced water and food availability and significantly worsened crop and pasture conditions. This in turn has impacted on the condition of livestock competing for limited water and pasture areas, resulting in lower livestock prices. Already this year, general food rations or supplementary food accounts for almost half of the Humanitarian Assistance Requirements of 2.2 million people in need of emergency assistance and this number is presently being revised upwards in view of the deteriorating food security situation.
The Ethiopian Red Cross and the International Federation, determined to stop the rising malnutrition rates launched a four month preliminary emergency appeal to assist 40,000 people, in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's (SNNP) Region in Wolayita Zone, Southern Ethiopia, affected by food shortages. The Wolayita Zone, with a population of 1.6 million people where 50% of food comes from agriculture, 40% from the market and 10% from animal products, has seen increasing levels of malnutrition and some of the worst affected communities in the whole country. The current situation has reduced access to food for most of the Zone's population, by reducing output of crops for self consumption, and by limiting sources of cash, as livestock deaths and poor condition, failed crops and reduced economic activity has resulted in limited opportunities for earning cash and casual work.
The Irish Red Cross has been monitoring the ever worsening situation since early 2008 and has already contributed \x8020,000 to assist with immediate food needs. "Ethiopia has always been and remains a priority focus for the Irish Red Cross. Our staff continue to monitor the situation closely but remain deeply concerned at the deteriorating conditions" stated John Roycroft, Secretary General of the Irish Red Cross.
Furthermore, the Irish Red Cross is in discussions with the American, British and Danish Red Cross societies with a view to sending a joint monitoring mission to the country to assess the situation in detail and to report back on other urgent needs facing the most vulnerable of which children and people living with HIV are most at risk.
Every week, the local health centre in Damota Pulassa in Wolyayita takes in 162 children coming from surrounding villages for intensive emergency feeding. Six months earlier the Damota Pulassa health centre was assisting 10 to 15 children per week. Statistically, for every severely malnourished child, one should count an additional 10 to 20 malnourished children. It means that in Damota Pulassa alone there could be between 2,000 and 4,000 malnourished children from a population of 130,000. Health specialists consider these numbers very alarming.
"It takes an average of ten days of specialised care until a severely malnourished child's condition is stabilized" says Nurse Mentewab Zenebe, in charge of the centre, underlining that children are then sent home with some supplement feeding and followed up in five outpatient centres.
As food shortages worsen and prices continue to soar, the most vulnerable in Society including those suffering with HIV are especially hard hit. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent World Disaster's Report focusing on HIV and AIDS was recently launched in Dublin by the Irish Red Cross. Particular focus was given to the specific impacts on HIV-positive people when natural disasters strike their community. "Scarcity of food is hard on everyone, but for someone living with HIV, malnutrition is likely to speed up the progression and negative effects of the infection" John Roycroft warned
The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) has established a Global Task Force to define a coordinated response to the current global food crises and provides support to other ongoing initiatives in many countries to address food shortages. As an active member of the IFRC the Irish Red Cross continues to keep a watchful eye on food insecurity in Ethiopia and the many other African countries suffering similar crises.
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Link to photo gallery on Ethiopia Food security June 2008
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Ethiopia opposition calls for probe into "massacre"
An Ethiopian opposition party called on Monday for an official probe into what it said was a massacre of 400 women and children in the west of the Horn of Africa nation.
The government, which has put the number of dead at more than 20 from the ethnic clashes in May, called the version by the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) an exaggeration.
Read Story from Reuters and Have your say
05:42:57 pm, by nazret.com, 373 words, 3651 views 
Ethiopia - DC Sports & Entertainment Commission Hosts Ethiopian Sports Federation Festival at RFK Stadium
Source: DC Sports and Entertainment Commission
First Ethiopian Festival ever held in the District
The DC Sports and Entertainment Commission will host the first ever Ethiopian Sports Federation festival in the District June 29th through July 7th at RFK Stadium. This annual fundraising event will honor influential Ethiopians in recognition of their contributions to their country as well as celebrate sports and cultural heritage.
“We are very proud to help bring the first Ethiopian soccer tournament and festival to RFK Stadium,” said Erik A. Moses, DC Sports and Entertainment Commission chief executive officer. “The Sports and Entertainment Commission and the District are very excited to host the thousands of revelers converging on the city for this unique and important sporting and cultural experience.”
The seven-day tournament will include soccer matches, Ethiopian-American Day celebration, concerts featuring traditional and contemporary Ethiopian performers, a children’s talent show, a vigil hosted by the Ethiopian Women for Peace and Development, voter registration drive, arts and crafts.
“We are energized about the 25th Anniversary of the ESFNA tournament. As one of the founding members of the organization, we are delighted to host this momentous occasion in the District of Columbia – home to the largest Ethiopian community outside of Ethiopia,” said Solomon Abdella, chairman of the ESFNA local organizing committee.
For more than two decades, the Ethiopian Sport Federation of North America (ESFNA) has been promoting amateur soccer and cultural events within the Ethiopian community across North America. The Federation strives to provide positive role models for the youth and promote goodwill between the Ethiopian communities in the United States and those around the world.
About DC Sports and Entertainment Commission
The DC Sports and Entertainment Commission, an independent agency of the District of Columbia government, oversaw the successful construction of Nationals Park and is responsible for the management and operation of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, the DC Armory and their adjacent facilities. The Commission is also charged with presenting and promoting sports, entertainment and special events.
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As an African Soccer Tournament at RFK Stadium Promises To Lure Thousands to Town, Ethiopian Businesses Get Ready (The Washington Post)
02:50:58 pm, by nazret.com, 558 words, 3367 views 
Ethiopia: EIB lends EUR 29 million for Derba Midroc Cement Factory
Reference: 2008-052-EN
Source: European Investment Bank
Derba Midroc Cement company (DMC) in Ethiopia has benefited from a EUR 29 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The loan to this private sector company will help to build and operate a 2.1 million ton cement factory, an adjacent limestone quarry and other related infrastructure in the area. The project will contribute to Ethiopia’s economic growth and the reduction of unemployment in the country.
The DMC cement plant is located in Derba, about 70 km South of Addis Ababa, a region with limited economic activity other than small-scale agriculture. The establishment of DMC’s large-scale plant in Derba will help to develop the Ethiopian industrial base and will transform a local low-value raw material into high-value cement.
Once operational, the plant will employ around 475 people who will be recruited within and around the region. Employment generated in the construction phase of the plant is estimated at some 4,000 people and a further 1,500 jobs will be created indirectly by the plant in the surrounding infrastructure and industry. Developing local skills and infrastructure is central to this project. Employees will receive training and a EUR 200,000 social fund set up by the promoter will provide for health and education services for the surrounding communities.
In addition, local cement production will substitute imports, generate foreign exchange savings and significantly reduce cement prices. This will support the development of infrastructure and housing projects, which will encourage new business opportunities in other industrial and service sectors and lead to further job creation. The project will also contribute substantial transfers to the government through corporate and other taxes over the life of the project.
The project will further EU-Ethiopian development collaboration focusing on infrastructure and rural development. Co-financing will be provided by the IFC, the African Development Bank and the Development Bank of Ethiopia for a total of up to the equivalent of EUR 129 million.
Sheik Mohammed Al-Amoudi, an Ethiopian and Saudi-Arabian business man, is the project sponsor and main shareholder of DMC.
Note to the editor:
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term financing institution of the European Union, promoting EU objectives. Outside the EU, the EIB supports the EU’s cooperation and development policies.
The EIB provides reimbursable aid in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries to support the reduction of poverty and economic growth through the promotion of private or commercially-run public sector projects, Financing is provided from EIB own resources and under the Investment Facility, a revolving fund established by the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement in Cotonou, Benin in 2000.
The European Investment Bank strengthened its ACP presence in 2007, investing EUR 756m in the ACP region and the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs). In addition, the Republic of South Africa benefited from EUR 113m in EIB funding.
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Ethiopia - Gearing Up for the Fans
As an African Soccer Tournament at RFK Stadium Promises To Lure Thousands to Town, Ethiopian Businesses Get Ready
Since opening her European-style Chez Hareg bakery in the District's Shaw neighborhood last year, Haregewine Messert, an immigrant from Ethiopia, had neglected the little lot behind her shop, allowing it to become overrun with weeds
Read Complete Article from The Washington Post
12:23:40 am, by nazret.com, 287 words, 2331 views STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- 70,000 Ethiopians employed in the floriculture industry
- 53% of flower farms in Ethiopia are owned by foreigners
- 75 farms are engaged in floriculture in Ethiopia
- 150 Million USD in export estimated for 2008
- Ethiopia is Africa's second largest flower exporter after Kenya
- Dutch, Indians and Israelis own most of the flower farm in Ethiopia
Ethiopia's rosy harvests
The shoots of a new export-driven boom in flowers destined for Europe have risen up
from previously state-owned farms, creating jobs and helping to diversify the economy
Jason McLure in Addis Ababa
Inside the packing room at Karuturi Networks’ farm 30km west of Addis Ababa, the scent of an export boom hangs heavy in Ethiopia’s thin, highland air.
Dozens of women stand in front of row upon row of cutting tables, sorting piles of white-and-pink tipped roses into boxes bound for markets in Amsterdam, Saudi Arabia and Tokyo. Outside, hundreds of other workers are busy in greenhouses clipping, watering and spraying the four-year-old farm’s 52 hectares of flowers. Almost overnight, Ethiopia has developed its flower industry into a top-class world competitor.
This year the country’s 75 farms will export upwards of $150m in flowers, up from just
$159,000 six years ago, according to the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer s and Expor ter s
Association, making Ethiopia Africa’s second-largest flower
exporter after Kenya.
location, location...
Ethiopia’s elevation, climate and proximity to European markets have helped. But to succeed, the government has also bent over backwards to attract foreign investors to a country better
known for its periodic famines.
While other African countries are pushing foreign-born farmers out, Ethiopia is encouraging them – fully half of Ethiopia’s new farms are foreign-owned, with Dutch, Indians and Israelis
Read Complete Article from The Africa Report (pdf)
Ethiopia - YEBAHR BER (SEA PORT) Ethiopian Movie
Feeding Centers Open in Ethiopia - Video
Watch the following video clip from VOA news about feeding centers in Ethiopia.
UNICEF: Ethiopia's nutrition crisis
Ethiopia the neediest get food aid (The Christian Science Monitor)
Ethiopia - Eritrea : Man Accused Of Knowingly Spreading HIV To Woman
Source: CityNews.ca
A 24-year-old Brampton man is charged in a terrible case of aggravated sexual assault. But it's what police say Yonatan Gezahegne Mekonnen didn't tell his alleged 21-year-old victim that has cops worried.
Police contend the couple engaged in consensual sex back in January and February of this year, and that the accused was well aware that he was HIV positive at the time of the encounters - but never told the woman.
They accuse him of exposing her to the disease despite knowing he could easily pass it on to her - and by extension anyone else she may have been seeing. He was arrested on Thursday on two counts of aggravated sexual assault and made a court appearance last Friday.
But now cops are worried that other young women may have fallen under his spell and been exposed to the dangerous virus. They're looking to speak to anyone who has had contact with Mekonnen in more than a casual way.
If you think you may have crossed his path, call the Peel Police Special Victims Unit at (905) 453-2121 ext. 3460 or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
ISRAEL: Ethiopian Jews disadvantaged, marginalised
TEL AVIV,, 29 June 2008 (IRIN) - The Ethiopian Jews who have emigrated to Israel over the past 30 years have not integrated well. A recent report by the state comptroller blamed successive governments.
Former judge Micha Lindenstrauss who, as the government appointed comptroller, oversees and reviews the conduct of the state authorities, said in May the government had not done enough to assimilate fully the 110,000-strong community, whose members tend to live in the outlying suburbs of Israel's main cities, where housing is cheaper.
He said the Welfare Ministry, which provides assistance - including cash grants, vocational training and job placements - to over 65 percent of the Ethiopians, had not properly trained its employees on how to offer the right help to people trying to adjust to a new mode of living.
Observers also said racial tensions had contributed to the community's continued disconnect from mainstream Israeli society.
Profile of Ethiopian Jews
Statistics on the community make worrying reading.
Domestic violence has plagued the immigrants. About a third of all spousal killings in Israel in 2006 involved Ethiopians, according to reports from the National Ethiopian Project, a joint venture of the government and the community.
Over 20 percent of school-aged Ethiopians do not go to school, according to the Project, compared to seven percent of the general Jewish population (the Arabic population's drop-out rate is also higher than the national average).
The children are considered "disassociated" from society at large, Comptroller Lindenstrauss said, noting in his report ( - the website is in Hebrew only and contains links to different sections of the lengthy report) that about a quarter of the community's teenagers used drugs, and two-thirds said they drank alcohol, though it did not go into further details.
Government initiatives
Following Lindenstrauss's report, the Prime Minister's Office told reporters a five-year plan had been agreed on in February 2008 to improve the community's assimilation, but details of the plan have not been made public yet.
In 2007 the government launched a scheme to help young people in the community who had little incentive to stay in school: Of the limited numbers of Ethiopians who managed to graduate from university, only about 15 percent were employed in their professions; the rest worked in menial jobs, according to last year's survey by the National Ethiopian Project.
The scheme consisted of a request by the Welfare Ministry for some 240,000 shekels to operate an intervention programme for at-risk Ethiopian groups, in collaboration with an anti-drugs group. It also asked for some 100,000 shekels for research. Observers noted that the total amount equalled about US$100,000 - less than a dollar per person in the community.
Disaffected youth
"I graduated [from university] nearly two years ago and I can't get a suitable job," said Danny, aged 27, an Ethiopian Jew with a degree in social sciences.
"I'm beginning to think that going to university was a huge effort for nothing," he told IRIN, explaining that he now worked as a parking attendant and washed cars to make ends meet. He felt race played a role in his inability to find a better job.
"We see more and more disassociation and a higher rate of involvement in crime among [the youth in] the Ethiopian sector - much more than their percentage of the general population," Zion Gabai, from Elem, an Israeli NGO that helps children at risk, told IRIN.
Einat Gans from Fidel, an Ethiopian Jewish association for education and integration, said the main issue was not a lack of funds, but the failure of NGOs and the government to draw up and implement the necessary plans to assist the community.
12:09:16 am, by nazret.com, 447 words, 5940 views 
Ethiopian Airlines Graduates 41 Cabin Crew
Ethiopian Airlines celebrated the graduation of 41 cabin crew trainees from its Aviation Academy on June 24, 2008.
The newly graduated cabin crew members will help Ethiopian in realizing its mission to provide safe, reliable, efficient and courteous service. They will also help support the Airline's strategic marketing efforts to strengthen and sustain its network worldwide.
The trainees have gone through two and half years of intensive class room and on-the-job training programme for cabin service delivery and safety assurance covering areas such as aviation safety and security, customer awareness, grooming, first aid applications and emergency procedures. Before graduation, each crew member had to pass a series of tests and evaluations to ensure that the standards required have been attained.
The graduates have gone through rigorous selection processes involving more than 1000 applicants. In addition to the basic educational qualifications, the candidates had to pass physical screening and written exams, comprising aptitude tests. Unlike the traditional interviewing method, an intensive assessment technique, which included impromptu speech, group discussion, role play, and one-to-one interview were applied.
Mr. Girma Wake, the CEO of Ethiopian gave out the wings and diplomas to all graduates, while Mr. E. Folly-Kossy, Secretary General of African Airlines Association and Mrs. Wude Asaye, Head Commercial & Service Training handed over achievement awards to six top performing candidates in the over all academic, and practical performance.
In his speech, Mr. Girma Wake congratulated the graduates for their successful accomplishment of the training and said, "You have to develop team work and good communications among yourselves in an effort to provide high standard of service to our esteemed customers."
The recruitment and selection process as well as the overall training programs reaffirm Ethiopian’s commitment to maintain quality services on board. Ethiopian Airlines has been aggressively engaged in employing a large number of cabin crew members in recent years as its destinations and number of routes continue to grow.
About Ethiopian
Ethiopian Airlines, www.ethiopianairlines.com, one of the largest and fastest growing airlines in Africa made its maiden flight to Cairo in 1946. The airline currently serves 50 destinations around the globe, 30 of which are in Africa.
In 2006 and 2007 Ethiopian was the proud recipient of awards for the African Airline of the Year 2006, Africa Business of the Year 2007 and Ghana Business and Financial Award 2007 from the African Aviation Journal, the African Times/USA and the Government of Ghana respectively for its outstanding performance in the commercial air transport industry.
Ethiopian will be the first carrier to operate the 787 Dreamliner in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
PR & Publication
Ethiopia - Funeral of Zenawi Asres conducted
Source: ENA
Funeral of the late Zenawi Asres, the father of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, was conducted on Friday at Tsion Mary Church in Adwa Town of Tigray State.
Born to his father Dejazmach Asres Tessema and his mother Zewditu Mengesha on March 22, 1925 at Debrchi locality of Adwa Town, Zenawi Asress passed away at the age of 83 due to natural causes.
Zenawi had attended primary education grade 1 to 4 at Endamission School in the town.
He served as administrator for Adwa Woreda and Axum Debretsion Church for one year beginning 1944.
Zenawi also worked as chief of Bizet Eoreda, and head of a charity organization in Tigray State for many years.
During his lifetime, Zenawi struggled against previous feudal and dictatorial regimes. He left government post and engaged in private business for the same cause.
Zenawi was ardent supporter of and contributor to the military struggle launched against the dictatorial derg regime.
The late Zenawi, father of 14 children, was a figure much revered by by people in the town.
Prime Minster Meles and his family were accompanied by senior government officials and more than 100,000 town residents at the funeral ceremony.
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Ethiopia -90 percent of traffic accidents occur along three cross-country routes plus in Addis Ababa: Minister
Source: ENA
Some 90 percent of traffic accidents in Ethiopia occurred on the three main routes of Addis Ababa-Djibouti, Mojo-Awassa, and Addis Ababa- Bahir Dar where the condition of the roads is up-to-the-standard, as well as in Addis Ababa city where such modern concrete asphalt motorways have been expanded, Minister of Transport and Communications Juneidi Sado said.
Speaking at the launching of a celebration to mark the National Traffic Safety Week here on Saturday, the minister said though standard roads have been constructed in the country in recent years, traffic accidents have been increasing from time to time.
Traffic accidents every year kill more than 2000 persons, inflict light and serious injury on over 8000 people, and damage property worth over half a billion birr, the minister said.
Some 68 percent of the total road accident victims are pedestrians, and most accidents occur due to breaches of traffic rules by both drivers and pedestrians.
Juneidi said the government has attached due attention to minimize traffic accidents. Five amendement laws are in the pipeline.
Addis Ababa Police Commissioner Fekadu Seboka on the occasion said the national traffic-safety week will be observed with various events aimed at raising awareness of the public on the issue.
Traffic police and student traffic conductors drawn from all sub cities of the metropolis staged mass walk to Mesqal Square on the day.
Extra Golden: Mahmoud Ahmed and Alèmayèhu Eshèté with The Either/Orchestra
Getatchew Mekurya with The Ex
Published: Friday, June 27, 2008
New York —The 38th season of Lincoln Center Out of Doors—one of the longest-running free summer festivals in the U.S.—opens on August 7 and will run until August 24 in Damrosch Park and the South Plaza of Lincoln Center. Among the exciting events scheduled is a concert on August 20, beginning at 6 p.m., featuring some of Africa's most noted musical artists: Ethiopia's Mahmoud Ahmed and Alèmayèhu Eshèté with The Either/Orchestra and legendary saxophonist Getatchew Mekurya joining forces with Dutch band The Ex.
One of the most beloved singers of Ethiopia's "golden era" of the late 60s and early 70s, Mahmoud Ahmed's brassy, electric urban pop is swinging and hypnotic, heart-rending and funky. A true Ethiopian legend, Alèmayèhu Eshèté is often described as the "Ethiopian James Brown," or "Abyssinian Elvis," thanks to his wild and electrifying stage performances. Read more at Tadias.com
Ethiopia - Meles Zenawi's Father Dead at 82
Ato Zenawi Asres, the father of Ethiopia's Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, passed away today at the age of 82, WIC, the pro-government media reported on its website.
The late Zenawi Asres was born in Adwa town of Tigray State and served as administrator of Adwa and Bizet woredas, among the other responsibilities he fulfilled, WIC added.
He also reportedly defied both the feudal and military regimes and even went to the bush to fight the military junta.
The funeral of Zenawi Asres will be held tomorrow at Adwa town in the presence of his family and relatives, it was learnt.
Zenawi is survived by 14 children.
Source: WIC
Ethiopia - Murder victim's husband spotted on ferry to Denmark
Source: Aftenposten
Police are investigating several tips from passengers on board a vessel bound for Denmark, who claim they saw the husband of a 19-year-old woman murdered in Oslo earlier this week. He's the chief suspect.
An international arrest warrant has been issued for 27-year-old Yafet Kassa Gerbrewold, a citizen of Ethiopia. His wife, who also has roots in Ethiopia but is a Norwegian citizen, was found dead in a student housing complex in Oslo early Monday.
She's believed to have been killed Sunday evening, and her husband disappeared. Police now think he fled Norway Sunday night on board the Stena Saga, which sails between Oslo and Fredrikshavn on the northern tip of Denmark.
Residents of the student housing complex have reported hearing screams from the flat the couple shared at about 6:10pm Sunday. The Stena Saga sailed at 7:30pm. Police weren't alerted to the murder until 1am on Monday.
"It's possible he's fled further," Grete Lien Mettlid of the Oslo Police District told Aftenposten.no. "There are many possibilities from Denmark and further in Europe."
Newspaper Dagbladet reported that the 27-year-old sent an e-mail to a friend in Ethiopia, reporting that his wife had been unfaithful. "He wrote that he'd been forgiving for a long time, but that the situation was now beyond his control," the friend told Dagbladet.
Mettlid said police now believe they know what happened, and what the motive was, but don't want to elaborate.
There were other reports that the suspect wanted to travel home to Ethiopia in the weeks before the murder. His whereabouts on Thursday remained unknown.
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As famine looms in Ethiopia, only the neediest get food aid
By Nicholas Benequista | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
from the June 27, 2008 edition
Aid workers must now choose who's the most malnourished, and experts say the crisis could become as bad as the infamous 1984 famine.
Hadero, Ethiopia - – One by one, the children are placed on a scale hanging from a makeshift wooden stand.
The mothers look pleadingly at the Doctors Without Borders aid worker, but he keeps his eyes on his clipboard, tallying the figures that determine whether each child is sick enough to eat today.
Read Entire Article from The Christian Science Monitor including Video Clips and Photos
UNICEF appeals for $49 million for drought-affected Ethiopia
Source: UN
26 June 2008 –
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has appealed for $49 million to assist families in Ethiopia where drought has left 75,000 children severely malnourished and 4.6 million people in need of immediate humanitarian aid.
After completing a visit to Ethiopia UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Hilde F. Johnson said today that the situation in the hardest-hit areas of the country is extremely serious.
“Children are now at risk of dying in numbers in several areas if help is not provided urgently. The Government and partners are doing their utmost to help, but needs are not being met with adequate speed. More resources need to be provided.”
Ms. Johnson visited Gurage Zone in Ethiopia and met with families who had been affected by the drought.
“We talked to mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers and all actors in the field,” she said. “This picture was confirmed by all of them and a clear message was conveyed: there is no food. The assistance needs to be taken to scale and it has to happen urgently.”
She added that Government officials were reporting that children were already dying in villages where they had no access.
Earlier this month the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) revised its appeal for Ethiopia to at least $325 million to meet the growing demand for aid. The $49 million requested by UNICEF is for immediate humanitarian interventions.
Ethiopia - Mahmoud Ahmed and Alemayehu Eshete in NYC Concert - FREE
Extra Golden
Mahmoud Ahmed and Alemayehu Eshete with
The Either/Orchestra
Gétatchèw Mèkurya with The Ex
Wednesday, August 20, 2008 6:00 PM
Damrosch Park Bandshell
Source: Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center Out of Doors - free, no tickets required
Mahmoud Ahmed and Alèmayèhu Eshèté with The Either/Orchestra (NY debut)
"[The Mahmoud Ahmed - Either/Orchestra collaboration creates] a true fusion of the two forms, without any of the world music clichés you might expect! Either/Orchestra really impress us with their work here — getting all the sounds and styles just right, and creating a new take on the music that’s completely respectful, but which also takes it to some great new places as well." — Dustygroove.com
One of the most beloved singers of Ethiopia’s “golden era” of the late 60s and early 70s, Mahmoud Ahmed’s brassy, electric urban pop is swinging and hypnotic, heart-rending and funky.
A true Ethiopian legend, Alèmayèhu Eshèté is often described as the “Ethiopian James Brown,” or “Abyssinian Elvis,” thanks to his wild and electrifying stage performances.
The ten-piece Either/Orchestra, founded in 1985 by saxophonist/composer Russ Gershon, has earned a reputation for its fearless repertoire, top-shelf ensemble play, highly talented soloists and boundless desire to connect with audiences. In 2004 the E/O became the first US big band to perform in Ethiopia since Duke Ellington’s in 1973. Their Ethiopiques: Live in Addis concert and CD began a series of collaborations with the top names in Ethiopian music, reviving and updating the classic Ethiopian groove of the 60s and 70s, most recently featured on a new DVD of a collaboration with Mahmoud Ahmed.
Gétatchèw Mèkurya with The Ex (NY debut)
“Fascinating for the remarkably welcome union of seemingly disparate musical styles — but for the snapshot of intuitive interplay! The pairing might appear more oddball on paper than it really is. We’re most familiar with Mèkurya’s incredible style from Volume 14 of the Ethiopiques series — and in that early 70s work he finds a killer, otherwordly groove — and for all of the searing, caterwauling noise they make, The Ex have a hugely percussive and hypnotic sound overall. It works great together.” — Dustygroove.com
Gétatchèw Mèkurya, the King of Ethiopian saxophone, is a real giant, both physically and musically. Seventy three years old, but still in full voice, with his own powerfully distinctive style of playing, he is the inventor of a musical style called the Shellele, which originates from a heroic war chant, translated to the saxophone.
The Ex, Holland’s legendary avant-improv-world-punkband, has been crossing borders for more than 28 years. Discordant, highly rhythmic guitars and the rolling, almost African drumming style give The Ex’s music its special character. After touring Ethiopia twice, in 2004 The Ex celebrated their 25th musical anniversary and invited Gétatchèw to join them in the Netherlands. The resultant pairing, featured on their new DVD, is both thrilling and unique: Gétatchèw‘s melodies and solos mesh with The Ex’s rhythm, noise and vocals, supported by a guest horn section, like they were made for each other.
Presented in collaboration with WFMU and Ethiopiques/EthioSonic.
http://www.budamusique.com/index.php/en
WFMU has now hit the 50 year mark as the nation's most celebrated independent, freeform radio station. The Jersey City-based organization (lauded by everyone from Lou Reed to Matt Groening) broadcasts over New York City, Metro New Jersey, the Catskills, Hudson Valley, and worldwide at www.wfmu.org ,and is marking the occasion with a year-long series of free concerts.
Classical Music by Getachew Mekuria
02:50:55 am, by nazret.com, 283 words, 4152 views Éthiopiques: the hotel lounge sound of Africa
The Daily Telegraph
Ethiopian music will be echoing across Somerset on Saturday, says Dave Stelfox
Listen to a medley of tracks from the Ethiopiques series
Despite initial impressions, fashions in world music change regularly.
This is especially true of Africa, one of the world's most diverse continents. In the past couple of years alone, attention has shifted from Nigerian Afrobeat and Ghanaian highlife to the dance rhythms of Johannesburg's townships and the distorted Congolese thumb pianos of Konono No1. Now, though, the focus is on a region largely neglected by Western ears - Ethiopia.
Read More from The Daily Telegraph
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The following is the concert info from Barbican Hall in London
Ethiopiques
With Mahmoud Ahmed, Mulatu Astatqé, Alèmayèhu Eshèté, Gétachèw Mèkurya + The Either/Orchestra
27 June 2008 / 20:00
Barbican Hall
Tickets: £15 / 20 / 25
Sold Out
The first UK live show by this astonishing selection of Ethiopian soul and funk artists, whose compilation CD The Very Best of Etiopiques (Manteca) was one of the world music sensations of 2007.
Appearing together for the first time outside of Ethiopia is lead vocalist Mahmoud Ahmed, arranger and composer Mulatu Astatqé, pioneer of free jazz – saxophonist Gétachèw Mèkurya and Alèmayèhu Eshèté, one of the most prolific singers in Ethiopian recorded music.
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Mulatu Astatqé - "Kasalèfkut Hulu"
Metche Dershe (Mulatu Astatqe)
Classical Music by Getachew Mekuria
ethiopiques 3 - alemayehu eshete
Ethiopiques #10
Ethiopian human rights bill stalls
The Hill
A group of Ethiopian expatriates is pushing Congress to pass a bill that would impose sanctions on the Ethiopian government if it fails to improve its human rights record. But their effort has stalled in the Senate in the face of a well-funded lobbying campaign financed by the government and opposition from the Bush administration, which has credited Ethiopia with aiding its anti-terrorism efforts.
Read Complete Article from The Hill
Ethiopia bans nude pics
Source: SA
Addis Ababa -
Ethiopia has slapped a ban on what had been billed as the Horn of Africa nation's first exhibition of nude photography, the photographer behind the show said on Wednesday.
Biniam Mengesha, 28, told AFP he had been planning to show 45 photos at the unprecedented exhibition - titled "Black Diamonds" - in the capital Addis Ababa from Friday through to July 4.
"Authorities from the ministry of culture asked me to submit my photos before the exhibition was inaugurated. Afterwards, they said: 'This isn't art, it's pornography'," Biniam said.
"The photographs are fine art and include partial nudity aided by digital photography. Had it not been censored, it would have been the first in our country."
Biniam said he is arranging to show his images elsewhere in Africa in two months time. Culture ministry officials declined to comment.
Ethiopia is a largely conservative society, whose 81 million people are mostly Orthodox Christians and Muslims.
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Let's assume some of Binyam's "Black Diamond" pictures are similar to what you see on this commercial, would you still support the ban?
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The following is a Television Commercial of Dove Proage product.
Update: Man to appear at Old Bailey over Hinxton body
Source: The Saffron Walden Reporter
A UGANDAN has man appeared in court over the murder of a woman whose body was found burning in a Hinxton lay-by.
Homeless Jamel Bakhit, 24, is accused of killing Swedish national Rahmona Ahmedin.
Bakhit appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Monday (June 23). He has been sent for trial at The Old Bailey, Central Criminal Court in London, on September 29 and will remain in police custody.
The 23-year-old victim, Ahmedin, who lived at Peabody Square, Islington, was stabbed to death. It is believed her body was put into a suitcase, before being dumped in a lay-by off the A1301 at Hinxton, and set on fire.
Ethiopia - Stabbed woman's body found in burning suitcase
Source: Islington Gazette
A YOUNG Islington woman whose body was found dumped in a burning suitcase had not been seen for weeks by her friends and neighbours.
This week they spoke of their shock at the 23-year-old's death, with one friend - who had been wondering why she had not been in contact - collapsing in tears when told what had happened.
Rahmona Ahmedin is thought to have been stabbed to death at her fourth-floor apartment in Peabody Square off Essex Road, Islington, between June 6 and June 18.
After receiving a fatal knife wound to her chest, she was bundled into a suitcase - which was then set alight in a lay-by about 50 miles away on the A1301 in Cambridgeshire.
Her body was discovered at about 3.30am last Wednesday after a lorry driver noticed the flames. She had been reported missing on June 14.
A man has been charged with her murder after walking into a Fulham police station on Friday.
Rahmona was born in Ethiopia but later fled with her family to Sweden. She came to the UK about five years ago and is thought to have lived in a hostel before moving to Peabody Square about a year ago. Although Rahmona's family is thought to still be in Sweden, her mother and a younger brother were seen visiting her around Christmas.
One friend, who did not know about Rahmona's death until contacted by the Gazette, was devastated.
The woman, who does not want to be named, said: "She was a quiet, nice girl - really nice. The last time we spent time together was around May 20. It was my friend's birthday and she was having her nails done. Then I didn't see her for a while.
"She said she had been away with a friend and would give me a call. But she never did. Her mum loved her so much. She always wanted her to go back to university to study but she never went."
A neighbour in Peabody Square said: "I think the last time I saw her was about a month ago but I saw her rarely anyway. In the year she has lived here, I don't think I have seen her more than 20 times. It's more than just sad, it's sickening. Everyone has been talking about this. We just want to know what happened."
Acting Detective Sergeant Sion Hughes said: "We are interested in talking to anyone who knows her, anyone who saw anything suspicious around her home in the first week of June or around the time her body was discovered."
Anyone with information should call police on 020 8345 1550 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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10:25:47 am, by nazret.com, 586 words, 3645 views Ethiopia to get $200 mln for new Cement Factory from IFC
Ethiopia signed a loan with International Finance Corporation (IFC)to build a $351 million cement factory, Reuters reported. "As a result of the unprecedented boom in the construction business in Ethiopia, a mix of Ethiopian and foreign investors are building 24 cement factories in different parts of the country", Hailu Abebe was quoted as saying by Reuters.
The following is the press release from IFC. Read Reuters report here.
Source: IFC
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, —IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has signed an agreement with the Derba Midroc Cement Private Limited Company to help build a new plant that will address Ethiopia’s cement shortage and generate employment.
IFC’s $55 million loan will be complemented by an additional $145 million in debt financing from other international financial institutions and a local bank. This will help fund a new integrated cement plant, with a capacity of up to 2.5 million tons per year. The plant will be located near Derba, about 70 kilometers from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital city.
Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al-Amoudi, the Saudi owner and sponsor of Derba Midroc Cement, said, “This project will address the acute shortage of cement in Ethiopia and contribute to the economy’s sustainable development. IFC has been instrumental in providing advice on the technical, environmental, and social aspects of the project.”
The new plant will use state-of-the-art and energy-efficient technology to produce high-quality cement for the domestic market, decreasing the country’s reliance on imports. When completed, this project is expected to create about 500 direct jobs and 10,000 indirect jobs in transportation, distribution, and retail.
Thierry Tanoh, IFC Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, said, “This loan represents IFC’s first investment in Ethiopia since 1989, and it is our largest ever in the country. It reflects IFC’s confidence in the local private sector and aligns with our strategy to promote investments in countries where the private sector is at the early stages of development.”
Dimitris Tsitsiragos, IFC Director for Global Manufacturing and Services, said, “IFC is very pleased to be involved in this important project, one of the largest private sector investments in Ethiopia to date. Building a new cement plant locally will help increase supply and make prices more affordable. This could also help stimulate the housing and infrastructure sectors, which are constrained by the shortage of cement.”
IFC promotes investments between emerging economies, and over the past few years it has supported the cross-border expansion of many companies from the Gulf region. IFC also worked with Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al-Amoudi in 2007 to build the first cement plant in eastern Yemen.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries by financing private-sector investment, mobilizing private capital in local and international financial markets, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. IFC’s vision is that people should have the opportunity to escape poverty and improve their lives. In FY07, IFC committed $8.2 billion and mobilized an additional $3.9 billion through syndications and structured finance for 299 investments in 69 developing countries. IFC also provided advisory services in 97 countries. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
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Over 12,000 vehicles enter Ethiopia in 10 months
By Tedla Yeneakal
Capital
12,116 new and second hand vehicles have entered the country in this Ethiopian budget year, up to the end of June 2008, according to information obtained from the Ethiopian Customs Authority (ECA).
“The stated number of vehicles has legally entered the country from the ports,” a report stated. “4,334 vehicles that have entered the country duty free and which have been transferred to a third party illegally have been legalized and more than 289 million birr has been collected from tax revenue on these vehicles.”
According to the report, during the aforementioned period 248 vehicles that had been transferred to a third party have been seized by Customs police.
Recently the Ministry of Transport and Communications announced its plans to pass a directive that would prohibit second-hand vehicles imported to the country that are more than five years old, with the aim of restricting the entry of obsolete vehicles into the country.
Restricting the import of vehicles that are below standard became essential due to the rising motor vehicle accident rate on Ethiopian roads in addition to pollutants particularly emitted from vehicles using leaded petrol.
According to a report by the Ethiopian Economic Association, on average, per 10,000 vehicles 170 deaths occur every year, making the country one of the few countries with high accident fatality in spite of low vehicles density.
However, other researchers on motor accidents in the country claim that the main factor for such significant problems in road safety is the human factor, mainly drivers’ ethics and low skills rather than technical issues.
Ethiopia's natural resources near exhaustion: WWF
By Groum Abate
Capital
Swiss-based WWF, known as the World Wide Fund for Nature announced that Ethiopia is using its natural resources beyond capacity and is using up more than it produces.
The report noted that, compared to the rest of the world, the average African’s footprint is small – for many, too small even to meet basic needs. While Africa still has more biocapacity than it uses, this margin is shrinking, largely due to population growth. If current trends continue, Africa will soon be facing an ecological deficit, with demand exceeding the continent’s supply.
Some of Africa’s biocapacity is being used to meet its own needs; some is being used, legally and illegally, for exports of natural resources; and some serves as part of the global commons that is absorbing carbon dioxide. Moving into ecological deficit will make it harder to even maintain existing living standards, and the loss of export potential combined with a growing need for more imports could weaken Africa’s economy.
The conservation organization WWF warns that many African countries are rapidly running down their natural resources as growing populations push the continent towards its ecological limits.
The warning was contained in the group’s first-ever detailed report on Africa’s ecological footprint–an estimate of the area of a country’s land and sea surface used annually in meeting the individual consumption demands of its people.
‘’A growing number of African countries are depleting their natural resources–or will shortly be doing so–faster than they can be replaced,’’ said WWF president Chief Emeka Anyaoku who presented the findings to a Johannesburg conference. The report put Egypt, Libya and Algeria at the head of a list of nations of the continent living beyond their ecological means followed by Morocco, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Senegal, Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The Swiss-based WWF, previously known as the World Wide Fund for Nature issued the report, Africa- Ecological Footprint and Human Wellbeing, together with the U.S.-based Global Footprint Network. (NNPA)
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Ethiopia - Minister orders cancellation of Bedilu bldg. auction
By Tedla Yeneakal
Source: Capital
Sufian Ahmed, Minister of Finance and Economic Development of Ethiopia(MoFED), has ordered for the cancellation of an auction on Bedilu building, after it was announced on a state owned newspaper last week by the Construction and Business Bank (CBB), that the owner was unable to pay his due.
Bedilu Building, named after owner Yilma’s father was to be auctioned at a floor price of 10.07 million birr.
Yilma Bedilu told Capital that the building, even if it is in his father’s name, it is not his.
“The construction of the building was started in 1967 and was completed two years later. In 1975 the Derg regime confiscated the building, and put me in jail for a year and six months. When it was confiscated it was taken with all the debts that I owe to the Bank. In fact at that time the maximum loan allowed was 300,000 birr which I have paid back. The current owner of the building failed to pay the interest on the debt,” said the 85 year old Yilma.
However, on Thursday, June 19, 2008 Sufian has ordered a letter for the cancellation of the auction saying it is an illegal measure taken against the owner of the building sighting relevant articles in the commercial code.
“When I saw the announcement for the auction, I was surprised that the owner failed to pay back 400,000 birr. I was planning to negotiate with the concerned authority to allow me pay the 400,000 birr and take back the building. I was happy when I heard about the cancellation of the sale, because for me, I prefer that it should not be passed to a third party,” added Yilma.
Bedilu Building rests on one thousand square meters which was bought for 120 birr per square meter.
According to Yilma, the building was confiscated in 1975 by the Derg regime after it nationalized private property and the building was inaugurated during the the Haile Selassie regime.
Article 40 of the constitution, regarding the law of expropriation states that when the Council of Ministers reaches an agreement to take over private properties that are beneficial for public use, it has the authority to take over the building only after paying the required compensation.
Yilma states that he has not received any compensation.
“I have tangible evidence to prove that the government is using the building for non-public services, which is illegal,” Yilma said. “However, I am grateful that the auction has been cancelled.”
Sighting proclamation number 110/ 1987, the current government has taken over the 7-storey building. Officials of CBB were unavailable for comment
Ethiopia buys $80 mln oil from ExxonMobil - Capital
Source: Capital
Ethiopian Petroleum Enterprise (EPE) has bought on tender 1.87 million tonnes of gas oil and jet fuel from July 2008 to June 2009, up 13 percent from a previous purchase, industry sources said on Wednesday.
EPE bought 1.32 million tonnes of 0.5 percent gas oil and 550,000 tonnes of jet fuel from ExxonMobil, they said.
The premiums were $38.03 a tonne for gas oil amounting to 50.19 million dollars and $54.50 a tonne for jet fuel amounting to 29.97 million dollars on a cost-and-freight basis, they said.
The total cost of the purchase would be 80,174,600 dollars.
“Demand is increasing. There is more construction going on,” said one.
EPE previously bought 1.2 million tonnes of gas oil and 450,000 tonnes of jet fuel for the July 2007 to June 2008 supply, the sources said.
The premiums for gas oil were $27.41 a tonne and $33.82 a tonne for jet fuel in the past tender.
Ethiopia does not own any refineries and relies on fuel imports to meet its domestic consumption.
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Ed's Note: The cost of Jet Fuel per Metric Ton (1000 KG) for the week of June 13 is $1314.4 according to IATA. The report from Capital shows an amount of $54.50 per ton for jet fuel.
Refugees from Ethiopia and Eritrea in Nicaragua - report
UNHCR statistics indicate that in the past two years, over 94 people have requested asylum in Nicaragua, writes IPS news, but would you have guessed that among those, some could be from Ethiopia?
"Asylum seekers from Angola, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Pakistan, and Somalia have arrived in Nicaragua, some having stowed away on ships in Africa. The Nicaraguan refugee law will assist authorities in identifying and assisting those persons who are in need of international protection," says a UNHCR communiqué dated Jun. 5.
Read Full Report from IPS News
Ethiopia - Ethiopian official defects to U.S., decries Anuak genocide
An Ethiopian government official seeking to distance himself from what he says is a continuing attempt by Ethiopia to eradicate an African tribe, has defected to the United States.
Obang Oman, who only three weeks ago visited Minneapolis as part of an official Ethiopian delegation, was scheduled to return to Ethiopia on Sunday, June 8.
Instead, the night before, he fled his Washington, D.C. hotel, spent the entire evening in a 24-hour restaurant, and flew out early the next morning for Denver, Colorado. He has not announced his defection until today.
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Over 40,000 AIDS patients in Ethiopia have stopped drugs
Over a quarter of Ethiopia's HIV/AIDS patients on drugs are not taking their medicine because of logistical problems but also due to religious beliefs, the head of a treatment body said on Tuesday.
Over 40,000 of Ethiopia's 156,360 HIV/AIDS patients on the life-prolonging medication have discontinued treatment "due to problems of transportation to hospitals," said Dr Ygeremu Abebe, the director of the Clinton Foundation in Ethiopia.
Read More from Reuters
Ethiopia - Ambesse Tolossa stripped of 2007 Honolulu Marathon title
Ambesse Tolossa of Ethiopia has been stripped of his 2007 Honolulu Marathon title and suspended from international competition after testing positive for a banned substance, the Associated Press reported. The report said, Tolossa will be banned from international competitions through April 4, 2010.
Last December, Tolossa was the winner of the Honolulu Marathon and finished in 2 hours, 17 minutes, 26 seconds. He was also the winner of Honolulu Marathon in 2006.
Ambesse Tolossa is one of the major international athletes who endorses the Chinese sportswear company Li-Ning, and Shaquille O’Neal is another. The company advertises its products using huge banner images of Tolossa in major public areas in Beijing and Shanghai for the upcoming Olympics. It is not clear how this will affect his contract with the company.
Chinese Ad for Li-Ning
Scholar Reveals New Findings About the Christian Ethiopian Emperor Who Granted Asylum to the Family of the Prophet Mohammad[pbuh]
By Tadias Staff
Published: Tuesday June 24, 2008
New York (Tadias) - This past Sunday, at Harlem's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, a panel discussion entitled "Ethiopia: The Three Faiths" attracted a diverse and large audience. The event hosted by Beta Israel of North America foundation began with cultural dances from the Indian subcontinent and an Ethiopian dance troupe called Keremela.
The panel included Dr. Ephraim Isaac, Director of the Institute of Semitic Studies at Princeton University; Dr. Ayele Bekerie, Professor of Africana Studies at Cornell University, Dr. Said Samatar, Professor of African History at Rutgers University; and Dr. Yohannes Zeleke, an archaeologist, anthropologist, and historian as well as the former curator of the National Museum of Ethiopia.
Dr. Said Samatar described Ethiopia's historic role in providing sanctuary for the earliest Muslims. He shared the story of King Armah (Negash) and his decision to grant refuge to the family of the Prophet Mohammad [pbuh], who arrived at Aksum while fleeing from their pagan persecutors.
"Negash held court and asked both the Quraish tribal members and the family of Mohammad to state their case" he notes. Sharing the exchange of words between the Ethiopian Christian King and those in the court, Samatar described how a Christian King refused bribes and granted sanctuary to the fleeing Muslims in Aksum.
"Mohammad didn't forget the generosity of the Negash," he said, "and in the sayings (hadith) of the Prophet that have been recorded and passed on for generations, it is noted that 'Abyssinia is a land of justice in which no one is oppressed.'"
"In effect," Samatar said "that meant that no jihad could be waged against the Kingdom of Abyssinia."
Samatar also pointed to the presence of the Islam's oldest mosque, located in Aksum. "Islam may well have come to Ethiopia before the new religion flourished in Mecca" he said. Samatar mentioned that Ethiopia's King had read the Prophet's letter himself, and turning to the Schomburg's audience, he asked the question:
"Did the King read Arabic?"
New Findings About King Armah
Dr. Ayele Bekerie then expounded on the relations between King Armah and his Meccan counterparts, noting new findings that King Armah had been born in Mecca after his father, Atse (Emperor) Gebre Mesqel, the son of Atse Caleb, had been taken to Arabia as a military commander and had been captured as a slave by Persians and sold in Mecca. Armah was born to a Meccan woman and he later bought his freedom, returned to Ethiopia, and replaced his brother as King of Aksum.
"So it is likely that he was familiar with the Prophet Mohammad[pbuh] as well as being able to speak Arabic" Bekerie points out. Read the rest of the story and view photos from the Schomburg at Tadias.com.
Ethiopia - Young woman found dead in student housing complex
Source: Aftenposten
Police were investigating the murder of a 19-year-old woman whose body was found in a student housing complex in downtown Oslo early Monday. Her husband has been charged in the case.
The victim's body was found in one of the apartments in the Anker Studentbolig complex in downtown Oslo, just across the Aker River from the popular Grünerløkka district.
Police have charged the victim’s 27-year-old husband, and issued warrants for his arrest both in Norway and internationally. He is a citizen of Ethiopia.
The 19-year-old woman was a student. She is a Norwegian citizen but has roots in Ethiopia as well.
Police withheld many details of the case, but said they found blood in the apartment that quickly led them to believe the woman was murdered. They were first summoned to the complex shortly after 1am, by an acquaintance of the woman.
Another woman living in the complex told Aftenposten.no that the murder, initially referred to as a "suspicious death," didn't surprise her. She said residents have been robbed in the complex "and it stinks of hash in the corridors. People sell drugs right outside." She said she was planning to move.
Per Carlenius, managing director of the complex, was traveling in St Petersburg when he got a call about the death, and was heading back to Oslo when Aftenposten called him about 7am.
"This is very sad," he said. "The neighbourhood has problems, but I've always been glad nothing serious has happened inside the complex. We work hard to avoid such things."
He said he was most keen on finding out exactly what happened, not least to ward off concern among the roughly 1,000 students who are on a list to obtain housing in the complex this fall.
"Many students and parents around the country are wondering what happened, and whether it's safe," he said.
Around 1,500 students live in the complex.
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Ethiopia - One man's quest to build a hospital
FERRYING passengers around in a Melbourne taxi, Abdalla Ahmed might seem to be one more refugee dreaming of bringing out those he left behind.
But Mr Ahmed harbours a grander vision, one that has embraced an entire town in Ethiopia and inspired support from around the world.
Read Complete Article from the Age
Ethiopia - Mesfin Hussin Charged With Killing Wife
Source: Alexandria Police Department
Posted on June 24, 2008
NEWS RELEASE
JUNE 23, 2008 #08-024
Alexandria, VA - Alexandria police have identified the victim of yesterday’s homicide as Hawlet Mohammed, a 27 year-old Alexandria woman. Police were called to the 3000 block of Park Center Drive around 11:55 p.m. for the report of a deceased female. The victim died at the scene.
The victim suffered trauma to the upper body. An autopsy performed today has determined the manner of death to be homicide.
Alexandria detectives arrested an Alexandria man for the murder of Hawlet Mohammed earlier today. Mesfin Hussin, 35, of 3001 Park Center Drive, was charged with Murder. Mr. Hussin is the husband of Ms. Mohammed.
This is the first homicide in Alexandria this year. There were eight homicides in Alexandria last year.
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Ethiopia ranks 16th in Failed States 2008 Index
Ethiopia is ranked 16th in the fourth annual Failed States Index, published by FOREIGN POLICY and The Fund for Peace. Somalia is ranked as the world's most unstable country followed by Sudan, Zimbabwe, Chad and Iraq. The index ranks countries where state collapse may be just one disaster away.
Using 12 social, economic, political, and military indicators, the report ranked 177 states in order of their vulnerability to violent internal conflict and societal deterioration. According to the website, the report examined more than 30,000 publicly available sources, collected from May to December 2007, to form the basis of the index’s scores.
The Top 20 Most Unstable Countries in the world
Source: FP
1 Somalia
2 Sudan
3 Zimbabwe
4 Chad
5 Iraq
6 D. R. Congo
7 Afghanistan
8 Cote d'Ivoire
9 Pakistan
10 Central African Republic
11 Guinea
12 Bangladesh
12 Burma
14 Haiti
15 North Korea
16 Ethiopia
16 Uganda
18 Lebanon
18 Nigeria
20 Sri Lanka
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Selected Countries
26 Kenya
40 Egypt
44 Eritrea
49 Iran
68 China
161 USA
177 Norway
Ethiopia in Food Crisis Once More - Photos
Recent crop failures, drought conditions and the current high price of food have plunged Ethiopia into another food crisis, reminiscent of the famines of 1984-85 which killed over 1 million. People have become so desperate for food that they are eating seeds that were meant for their next harvest. 4.5 million Ethiopians are in need right now.
Visit Boston.com to see the Pictures and Have Your Say
Tsvangirai seeks embassy refuge
Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has taken refuge in the Dutch embassy in the capital, Harare.
A Dutch foreign ministry spokesman said Mr Tsvangirai had spent the night at the embassy as he feared for his safety but had not requested asylum.
Read More from BBC News
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Ethiopia - Man gets life in prison for bombing public place
Source: ENA
The Federal High Court of Ethiopia has sentenced to life in prison a man found guilty of throwing two hand grenades at a pubic place, one of which went off inflicting injuries on 13 people and damaging property.
The convict Estifanos Hailu was found guilty on four counts: attempt to blow a filling station at Mesalemiya area; attempt to murder, possession of illegal weapons, and destruction of property.
The convict perpetrated the crime in 1995 E.C.
According to the 13th Criminal Bench, the convict had had criminal track record.
The second hand grenade the convict threw at the filling station did not explode. The Bench said the destruction could have been much worse if it had gone off.
