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26 People Arrested over Ethiopia's fake gold 2008-03-26 14:37:43 By Elizabeth BluntBBC News, Addis Ababa(Mar 26 2008) - Twenty-six people are under arrest over the discovery of 90kg (14 stone) of fake gold in the vaults of Ethiopia
's central bank, a senior official says.The fraud was discovered after some of the supposed gold was sent to South Africa, where it was found to be gold-plated steel.Those held are expected to be charged in the next couple of weeks.Rumours have been flying around the capital Addis Ababa about what happened to the real gold and who was to blame.Those being held include officials of the national bank, said Berhanu Assefa, a spokesman for Ethiopia's Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.The commission has been investigating the case for three months along with Ethiopian police and intelligence officials."Around 26 are under arres
Somali soldiers recapture Jowhar town 2008-03-26 14:16:53 Press TV (Mar 26 2008) - Somali government soldiers have recaptured Jowhar in north of Mogadishu hours after the Islamic Courts fighters took over the town.Hundreds of Somali Soldiers with armored vehicles are due in Jowhar after the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) fighters left the town on Wednesday, a Press TV correspondent reported.Jowhar, a town 90 km (55 miles) north of Mogadishu served as a temporary base for the interim government in 2005 and was the most significant of several towns captured in recent months by the ICU fighters.In another incident on Wednesday, hundreds of civilians celebrated in the street as Somali soldiers were forced to leave Bakara Market in Mogadishu after fierce battle with the Bakara Market guards.Prior to the gunfire, Somali soldiers killed one civilian and inj
Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) launched signature collecting activities across Ethiopia 2008-03-26 14:13:19 UDJ ReporterUnity
for Democracy and Justice
(UDJ) has launched its signature collection activities
by dispatching its members to regions in eight groups as of March 25, 2008. Out 0f the 31members dispatched, 26 are parliamentarians. KNASSO PR will have detail information and public relation projects in the coming daySouthern Ethiopia
Group I South Shewa – Awassa GroupMuluneh EyoelKibret Henle(P)Group II Wolayta – Arbaminch – Jinka GroupAlemayehu YenenehKifle Haile Mariam (P)Northern EthiopiaGroup III Wolo–Woldia GroupAhmed Abegaz (P)Tamrat TarekegneSeyed Mohammed (P)Mekin Seyed (P)Gashu Getahun (P)Alebachew Ayelew (P)Group IV Gojam – Gonder GroupAlemero Awoke (PYitayew Shiferaw (P)Tilahun Abebe (P)Bazezew Bezie (P)Libay Abebe (P)Andualem Ayalew (P)-Syum Mamo (P)Agbaw Setegn (P)Bay
Somalia Too Dangerous for Aid Work: Agencies Warned 2008-03-26 13:34:57 NAIROBI (AFP, Mar 26 2008) — Top international aid agencies warned Wednesday that war-scarred Somalia
has become too dangerous for its workers to help more than one million civilians living rough, as fresh fighting erupted.Four Somali soldiers and two civilians were killed when Islamist fighters raided the town of Jowhar, near Mogadhishu, officials said.Thirty-nine organisations including Oxfam, World Vision and Save the Children issued their warning of an impending impending humanitarian catastrophe ahead of a UN Security Council debate Thursday on the strife torn Horn of Africa country.The groups first issued a warning about their work in October."Since then, the crisis engulfing Somalia has deteriorated dramatically while access to people in need continues to decrease; 360,000 people
Internet Service Provider Shuts Down Website for Posting Anti-Islamic Dutch Film 2008-03-26 13:33:46 VOA News - A U.S.-based Internet
service provider has closed down a Web site that a Dutch
lawmaker had reserved to post a controversial film that is triggering an uproar in much of the Islamic
world.Network Solutions says it invoked the suspension after receiving complaints related to the film. A statement posted on the Internet says those complaints are under investigation.Far-right Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders says the 15-minute movie, set for release March 31, will underscore his view that Islam's holy book, the Koran, is fascist. Wilders turned to Internet distribution after television networks refused to air the film.Network Solutions also cites technical reasons for suspending the Web site, including the anticipated "excessive use of services" by onlookers who could overload and cras Read more:Internet Service
, Posting
, Provider
, Service
Ethiopia Needs $650 Million To Address Dire Sanitation Problems 2008-03-26 13:32:24 NAIROBI (AFP) — The United Nations Children's Fund is seeking 650 million dollars for sanitation in Ethiopia
, where 35 million people are deprived of adequate hygiene, a UNICEF statement said Tuesday.The African Development Bank, the World Bank and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) have pledged more than 50 million dollars for the project, but UNICEF added that it was "still a far cry, however, from the estimated 650 million dollars required for universal coverage in Ethiopia.""UNICEF calls on all donors to invest in achieving sustainable access to improved sanitation which is essential for the realization of human rights, health and dignity," said Bjorn Ljungqvist, UNICEF representative to Ethiopia.Though more than 1.2 billion people worldwide have gained access to Read more:Address
, Needs
, Sanitation
World's Most Famous Fossil ''Lucy'' Comes to Seattle 2008-03-26 13:31:12 SEATTLE - (Business Wire, Mar 25 2008) Ethiopia is the cradle of mankind, the birthplace of coffee, the purported resting place of the Ark of the Covenant — and home to legions of Bob Marley fans. Discover five million years of this country's diverse history and culture in the West Coast premiere exhibition Lucy's Legacy: The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia, on display at Pacific Science Center from Oct. 4, 2008 – March 8, 2009.The exhibition will include the original fossilized remains of the 3.2 million-year-old hominid known as Lucy. With 40 percent of her skeleton intact, Lucy remains the oldest and most complete adult human ancestor fully retrieved from African soil. Other important paleoanthropological discoveries will also be represented to complete the current account of human evo Read more:Famous
, Fossil
, Seattle
, World
The Ogaden: Fears of famine are rising in Ethiopia's troubled and barren eastern badlands 2008-03-26 13:30:04 Jijiga, Eastern Ethiopia
- The road from Harar runs for more than 600 miles east towards the border with Somalia, penetrating deep into the desiccated badlands of the Ogaden desert, the dusty heart of Ethiopia's war-torn Somali regional state.Sparse scrub and thorn bush, brown termite mounds, and flocks of bony sheep edge up against the burning asphalt strip. Wandering camels are a hazard to traffic; but vehicles are few. Like the occasional herdsman, standing outside transportable mudul huts, they stare in mild surprise as white UN Land Cruisers race by.The road's destination is Gode, via the regional capital of Jijiga, and the towns of Kebri Beyah, Degehabur and Kebri Dehar. But the part-finished two-lane road also blazes a figurative path, unwelcome to some, into the isolated and disput Read more:Fears
, troubled
US government sees overhaul of AIDS vaccine effort 2008-03-26 13:27:31 BETHESDA, Maryland (Reuters, Mar 26 2008) - The U.S. government began a major overhaul of its effort to produce an AIDSvaccine
on Tuesday, stressing a return to basic scientific research after the failure of a key clinical trial last year.Government officials at a summit with AIDS scientists pledged to prioritize spending on lab work and animal tests rather than expensive, and thus far disappointing, large-scale vaccine trials on humans."We need to turn the knob in the direction of discovery. That is unambiguous," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who convened the meeting outside of Washington."We really do need new and novel ideas."The vaccine summit follows the failure last year of an experimental HIV vaccine developed by Merc
Fake gold suspects denied bail in Ethiopia 2008-03-22 12:14:44 ADDIS ABABA (Reuters, Mar 21 2008) - Ethiopia
's federal court denied bail on Friday for 27 suspects
in a $17 million fake gold scandal at the country's central bank.The National Bank of Ethiopia was ordered to check all its gold deposits last week after a consignment of bars shipped to South Africa was found to include gold-plated steel."The charge is too complex and involves a number of people in a criminal case that requires more time to investigate," the court in Addis Ababa said in its ruling."We have decided the suspects should remain in custody for a further 15 days. The case is adjourned until April 7."The accused, who include 11 bank employees, were brought to the courtroom by armed police.The other suspects are workers from the Geological Survey of Ethiopia, which was meant to tes
Eritrea rejects US human rights accusations 2008-03-22 12:03:54 ASMARA (Reuters, Mar 22 2008) - Eritrea on Saturday rejected accusations by the U.S. State Department of gross human
rights violations in the Red Sea state, saying Washington should apply the same standards to itself.Human rights defenders routinely label Eritrea one of Africa's worst offenders, accusing it of using torture, killing and illegal imprisonment inside the country."The politically motivated report is replete ... with unsubstantiated rumours, innuendos, exaggerations and sheer fabrications," Eritrea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, referring to the annual U.S. report."The curious feature ... is that it does not even pretend to apply the same benchmarks ... to examine and pass judgment on the human rights practices of the United States government itself," the st
ETHIOPIA: Lifting of grain tax may ease food burden for urban poor 2008-03-20 12:50:21 ADDIS ABABA(IRIN, March 20 2008) - The Ethiopian government’s decision to remove some taxes on grains is unlikely to have an immediate impact on rising food prices in rural areas, where most of the consumers are actually producers, an economist said.It may, however, ease the burden on the urban poor in several months’ time, if the government follows through on implementation."The fact that 85 percent of Ethiopians are living in rural areas means a reduction of value added tax and turnover tax will not have an impact on their lives," the Ethiopian economist, who declined to be named, said."The reduction will probably help the urban poor; [but] the change will not be that significant," he told IRIN in the capital, Addis Ababa. "It will take at least six months to see some changes in the Read more:Lifting
Somalia: Militants Glad to Be on U.S. List 2008-03-20 12:49:00 AP (March 20 2008) - Islamic militants in Somalia
welcomed being added to the United States’ list of terrorist organizations, saying they wished only that the designation had come sooner.The State Department announced Tuesday that it added to its list the military wing of the Council of Islamic Courts, called Al Shabab, or the Youth, because it is affiliated with Al Qaeda, according to American officials.“We are happy that the U.S. put us on its list of terrorists, a name given to pure Muslims who are strong and clear in their religious position,” Sheik Muqtar Robow, Al Shabab’s spokesman, said. “We would have been happy to be the first, but now we are unhappy that we are the last,” he said.Mogadishu, the Somali capital, has been engulfed in violence involving movement fighters
Personalizing State Power in Ethiopia 2008-03-20 04:31:38 By Hadaro Arele*Throughout the 1990s, the international donor community supported Ethiopia
as a country that embarked on a democratic path almost after 2 decades of socialist military rule. The country’s achievement, so it was said, was both economic and political. Economically the ‘new government’ has taken some steps towards liberal and market oriented system. Politically, Zenawi fooled the world with his rhetoric and thus naively labeled progressive leader.International community invested in the regime’s constitution-making process that led to its adoption in 1995. The constitution theoretically set up a number of democratic rights for its citizens. Defiant of the absence of separation of power between the legislative, the executive and the judiciary, and omission of the duratio Read more:State
Ethiopian and Eritrean forces engaged on a border clash 2008-03-20 04:21:59 By Tesfa-alem TekleZALAMBESA (Sudan Tribune, March 20, 2008) — Ethiopian
and Eritrean forces on Monday fought for about one hour on north Ethiopian Tigray region’s Zalambesa front on a specific place called Anbeset Geleba, military official said.The clash comes after Eritrean forces approach Ethiopian border to return back two farmers who earlier to the clash fled to Ethiopian border driving 2 tractors, said Birhanu Hagezom, military chief of a regiment at Zalambesa front."Ethiopian forces were forced to be engaged on a defensive military attack as the Eritrean solders continue attacking our military barracks using the incident of the fleeing Eritrean farmers as a means" Birhanu told reporters.Birhanu rejected on some reports saying 2 Ethiopians solders were killed on the clash."Our fo
Ethiopia - The Black and White Of Civil Disobedience and Armed Struggle 2008-03-20 04:11:35 Are We in the Gray Area?By Afura Burtukana*Despotic governments all over the world almost always face resistance. The forms of resistance range from civil disobedience to armed struggle. Philosophers and activists have argued for and against both kind of resistance. Their bases for the argument are the severity of casualties, the length of time elapse, and requirement of resources among others. The objective is the effectiveness of the resistance which by itself is a base for the argument.Civil
disobedience is a type of passive resistance (some thinkers do not accept the passiveness of civil disobedience) which uses non-violent technique of refusal to obey civil laws or follow a policy believed to be unjust in an effort to induce change in governmental policy or legislation. Practitioners Read more:Armed
, Black
, Ethiopia
, White
Internet Censorship Code of Conduct in the Works 2008-03-20 03:47:33 ISPs and Web site operators are working with Human Rights Watch on guidelines for dealing with Internet
censorship in China.A code of conduct addressing how major Internet service providers and portal operators should deal with Internet censorship in China is in the final stages of preparation by Human Rights Watch and the providers, the head of the human rights pressure organization said Tuesday.The code is due in the next couple of months and comes in the run up to the Beijing Olympic Games that begin in August.Human rights in China is increasingly in the spotlight in the run up to the games, including issues surrounding censorship and freedom of expression online. The latest example of such came earlier this week when access to YouTube and Google News was blocked in the aftermath of pro Read more:Censorship
, Conduct
, Works
Ethiopian Foreign Minister, Seyoum Mesfin, Accuses Eritrea of Money Laundering 2008-03-20 03:46:09 ADDIS ABABA (Sudan Tribune, March 16, 2008) — A senior Ethiopian
official lashed out at the Eritrean government and accused it of trying to drown the entire Horn of Africa into instability.The Ethiopian Foreign
minister Seyoum Mesfin told the national TV that Asmara is "is involved in counterfeit money, money laundering, arms trafficking in the African region".However Mesfin did not elaborate on his allegations or provide any specifics.The statements by the Ethiopian official highlight the growing tension between the two neighbors who fought a bitter war that ended officially in 2000.The United Nations Security Council met to discuss the future of the UN force stationed in the disputed border zone.Mesfin also said that the Eritrean government "is working hand-and-glove with terrorists, Read more:Minister
, Money
Ethiopia Government Collected Over $6 mln in black market raid 2008-03-20 03:46:09 Addis Ababa (March 17) - Police in Ethiopia
have seized a staggering two million dollars in hard currency with an illegal money changer and 13 million birr in cash with another trader in an unexpected police raid, where several alleged illegal traders were arrested.The individual with 13 million birr in cash was caught on Thursday March 13, around American Gibi in a place called Beteseb Supermarket. The hard currency was also taken as evidence. Some said that the amount seized during the raid could be over six million dollars including the amount apprehended in Ethiopian birr.Furthermore, Addis Ababa Police has taken into custody over 35 illegal traders in connection with foreign currency exchanges that police claims has contributed to the current destabilization of prices in the country.O Read more:Government
Science-fiction legend Arthur C Clarke dies aged 90 2008-03-20 03:43:49 March 19 - Arthur
C Clarke
, the writer best known for his novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, has died at the age of 90. He passed away in his home in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo because of cardio-respiratory problems, a statement said. He had been wheelchair-bound because of post polio syndrome for the last 20 years of his life.Clarke celebrated his 90th birthday in December, when he said he wanted to be remembered as a writer "who entertained readers and hopefully stretched their imaginations as well".The plot for 2001: A Space Odyssey, which takes readers from the dawn of man to the rebirth of an astronaut as a star child in the future, certainly reflected that goal.His story was turned into an enormously successful 1968 Stanley Kubrick film of the same title and publicised his work to m Read more:Science
Egyptian police kill Eritrean migrant 2008-03-18 13:18:54 ISMAILIA, Egypt (Reuters, Mar 18 2008) - Egyptian
police shot dead an Eritrean woman trying to slip across the border into Israel on Tuesday, Egyptian police sources said. The 25-year-old woman, named only as Karina, had three bullet wounds, including one in the head. The sources said police told her to stop but she ran towards Israeli territory.In the same incident in central Sinai police detained another Eritrean woman and her infant child, they added.Egyptian police have killed at least eight migrants on the border since the start of the year and detained scores others, mostly from Africa.Rights group Amnesty International says Israel has put pressure on Egypt to reduce the flow of people crossing illegally, and has called for a probe into the killings.The migrants, including many from
European parliamentarians to look into freedom of speech of Olympics athletes 2008-03-17 14:44:04 ARTICLE 19 and Reporters Without Borders welcome the decision by the Council of Europe parliamentarians to look into freedom of speech of Olympic athletes and hold a public hearing on the issue.Athletes, representatives of the IOC and the national Olympic committees concerned, as well as Chinese representatives, will be invited to the hearing, which is likely to take place during the Assembly’s forthcoming session (14-18 April).“We are celebrating this year the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which has provided strong protection for freedom of expression, universally acknowledged at the time, as it is today, to be a fundamental human right. We urge the European
parliamentarians to take a strong stand against any restrictions imposed on European athletes o Read more:Olympics
Gebrselassie expects more athletes to bow out of Olympics because of air pollution 2008-03-17 14:33:11 MADRID, Spain (AP, March 17): Haile Gebrselassie expects
more athletes to follow his lead and drop out of some events at the Beijing Olympics
because of the air pollution.The two-time Olympic 10,000-meter champion said Monday he was disappointed about not competing in the marathon, but that there was no way he would run the race at the games in August."My decision not to run (the marathon) in Beijing is definite. Now I have to decide whether to run the 10,000 meters," Gebrselassie told the Efe news agency. "I was in the city in August and I know what the extreme conditions of pollution, heat and humidity are. It's going to be the hardest marathon in history."The IOC's top medical officer, however, said Beijing's air quality is better than expected and that humidity might be a greater threa
Anti-Poverty Campaigners, Bekele and Netsanet , freed from Ethiopia's prison 2008-03-29 03:50:13 NAIROBI, Reuters (Mar 28 2008) - Two Ethiopia
n activists jailed for inciting post-election violence in 2005 in a case that triggered condemnation from rights groups were freed from prison on Friday.Daniel Bekele was employed by ActionAid, while Netsanet Demissie worked closely with the global anti-poverty campaigner through his Organisation for Social Justice in Ethiopia.They were the last two defendants after a high profile trial that originally charged 131 journalists, politicians and civil society leaders with offences ranging from genocide to treason."It is indeed a wonderful moment for civil society in Ethiopia," said Irfan Mufti of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty
(GCAP), which both men also worked for.Demonstrators took to the streets to protest at polls in May 2005 that th
Somalia government in trouble 2008-03-29 03:48:08 MOGADISHU, Somalia
, March 28 (UPI) - The transitional government in Somalia, installed 15 months ago by Ethiopian troops with U.S. support, appears ready to fall, a government official said."I feel this slipping away," Mohamed Abdirizak, an official who abandoned a middle-class life in Virginia to return to Somalia, told the Los Angeles Times.Abdirizak made the comment as he ducked to avoid bullets fired at the palace in Mogadishu, the capital.Leaders in the Transitional Federal Government say they are desperately in need of more support from the African Union, which has sent only a fraction of the promised peacekeeping contingent, and the United Nations, which has refused a peacekeeping force.Ethiopian troops drove out the Union of Islamic Courts, which had established its own fragile gov
Ethiopian Flower Exports May Rise to $186 Million in 2008 2008-03-28 08:40:51 By Jason McLureBloomberg (Mar 28 2008) - Ethiopia may export $186 million in flowers to Europe, Asia, and the Middle East this year, the Ethiopian
Producer Exporters Association said. Exports last year are estimated at $125 million, Kassahun Mammo, executive director of the association, said in an interview in the capital, Addis Ababa, today."This is a sector where we can generate foreign exchange for the country,'' he said.Flower production in Ethiopia, Africa's second-biggest exporter of the blooms after Kenya, is increasing since the government offered farmers incentives to start flower f66 spdlarms, including waiving duties on imported machinery and grace periods for tax payments.To contact the reporter on this story: Jason McLure in Addis Ababa via the Johannesburg bureau at abolleurs
Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) to set up Centre in Ethiopia 2008-03-28 08:32:56 CHENNAI (Mar 28 2008) - The Energy
and ResourcesInstitute
(TERI) will soon set up its centre in Ethiopia
to focus on climate change and jointly work with African countries on the issue."The problems faced by Earth are multi inter-disciplinary in character. Climate change is one of the greatest threats. The (new) centre will focus on climate change in Ethiopia and look to work with various governments in Africa in this regard," Dr R K Pachauri, Director General of the Institute said here today.Pachauri, who is also the Chairman of the Nobel prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), was inaugurating a Centre
for Climate Change at the Anna University.There was a shift taking place in the US' stance with regard to climate change and efforts were now being made on a subst
Ethiopia: Professor Receives Prestigious Award in Electronic Packaging 2008-03-28 08:22:09 Addis Abeba (March 28 2008)- Ethiopia
n Professor Dereje Agonafer last Sunday received the Thermomechanical Challenges in ElectronicPackaging
-The Significant Contributor "THERMI" Award
in electronic packaging, the awarding institution said on Wednesday.Professor Dereje is director of Electronics, MEMS & Nanoelectronics Systems Packaging Center in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, University of Texas at Arlington. He is currently visiting Professor at MIT.According to his resume posted on the Semi Conductor Thermal Measurement and Management Symposium website, Professor Agonafer received his PhD from Howard University and joined IBM. After 15 years at IBM, according to his resume published by the institute.He joined the University of Texas at Arlington in 1999 as Professo
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