When Rahel Tafesse went from the Brazilian Embassy to work as the Norwegian Ambassador’s Secretary she expected to find Norwegians reserved and formal but was surprised to discover that her new colleges were friendly and welcoming – and often laugh out loud at work.

When Rahel took up the position as the Ambassador’s Secretary her work profile did not contain surprises as she has years of embassy experience. Even tasks related to the recent visit by the Norwegian Minister of Foreign affairs went smoothly. She has however learnt a few things about Norway, about the Norwegian presence in Ethiopia, and about Norwegians.

“I knew that Norwegians and Brazilians are from two different worlds,” says Rahel, “and in preparation of working at the Norwegian Embassy I researched Norwegians on the Internet and learned that they are supposed to be reserved and formal. However, when I started work at the Embassy I was surprised to meet friendly and welcoming colleagues and I hear a lot of laughing in the corridors!”

Addis Ababa, June 12, 2010 (Addis Ababa) - The African Children’s Day will be observed nationally in Hawassa town of South Ethiopia Peoples’ State with various events between 15 and 17 June 2010.
The day will be marked under the theme; “Let’s support children ourselves and respect their rights”, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs said.

Briefing journalists here on Saturday, Public Relations Director with the ministry, Abiy Ephrem said a consultative meeting that would confer on how to help Ethiopian orphans and disadvantaged children living in different parts of the nation are among the events that will be held.

The regional state was selected to host the African Children’s Day as the region harbors lots of orphans and disadvantaged children, according to Abiy.

The Ethiopian Electoral Board announced last Tuesday that the complaints handed in by Medrek about the 2010 elections were not found to be profound in a letter it sent to the party.

The board’s Public Relations Head Ato Mohammed Abdurahman said the complaints presented by Medrek were mostly about the pre-election period and the board has been getting to the bottom of them all. According to the PR head, the grievances, included, among other things, inability to hold free campaigning activities, the harassment of their members and agents. Adding, he also stated that most of the problems that were said to have been prevailed in the run-up period had already been addressed immediately. “The rest were not supported by any evidence and therefore did not make rerun a necessity,” pronounced Ato Mohammed.

Sebhat Gebere-egziabher is one of the literary figures in the history of Ethiopian literature who introduced a hitherto not-so-openly dealt with theme. He is also one of the literary writers who pursued their studies at some level in the West and got back to Ethiopia. The pieces he had written were only published as books before few years for he was just keeping a diary and never thought that they would assume the form of a book. Undeniably his works have grabbed the attention of his readership and fans.

Among other things, Sebhat is widely criticized for not writing as many books as he read. He is said to occupy the foremost position when compared to other literary writers who were known to have read a lot of books on an assortment of subjects. Simply, he was one hell of a bookworm. It makes one wonder, though, if Sebhat felt the responsibility to write in order to hand down the knowledge he garnered from books to the younger generations. Even the publication of the books that bear his name today was made possible by the pressure from others. All of his works mainly highlight sexual hedonism. This appears to be a deviation from the Ethiopian literature per se. However it doesn’t mean that sexual scenes and accounts are not found in other works authored by Ethiopian writers other than him-only not in such a straightforward fashion as in Sebhat’s narratives.

The leader of the All Ethiopian Unity Party, Engineer Hailu Shawel, decides to resign from his leadership .He also asked not to be called as President of AEUP, any more but he reveals his plan to continue as member of the party.

On the weekend , Eng.Hailu ,told the Aend- Ethiopia radio host (Washington based Amharic radio ) his resignation from the leadership wont affect the on going political activities that his party fights for . “My resignation would be a talk of the town for few days nothing else. The survival of our party is not depend on the certain individuals who always appear on the media ; it is the result of the youth. I would like to see more young members in to the leadership ,” Hailu urged . thouh he declines to disclose about the potential nominees of his successors , local sources said that Major Getachew Mengistie, Dr. Tadoius Bogale, Ato Yakob Lekie( brother of the late Senaie Lekie, who lost his life during the Dergue time ), Ato Sameson Akililu, Ato Mamushit Amare and Ato Abaynhe Brehanu are believed as the main contenders for the top AEUP’s leadership.

LETTER FROM ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopian stability is key to maintaining regional stability in the volatile horn of Africa

ETHIOPIA CONFOUNDS the senses. You land in the capital expecting grinding poverty and a harsh, arid climate. Instead, you stumble on a cityscape tucked between soft green hills, gleaming confidently with new glass buildings that rise and expand by the day.

Addis Ababa is enjoying an unprecedented construction boom. Ethiopia, once viewed primarily through the dark grim lenses of Live Aid and TV reports from the early 1980s, is riding high on the back of it.

The economy is now growing at close to double figures, when most western economies struggle to register anything over zero.

Lurking behind the city’s polished facade, however, is a more depressing reality.

ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia’s rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) on Friday claimed that 71 civilians had been killed by government forces during an operation launched last month.

ONLF which says it is fighting for autonomy for ethnic Somalis in the region on the border with Somalia, said the operation against them started on May 18.

It said in a statement on Friday that the offensive was launched in retaliation for a raid during which ONLF claimed to have captured a town previously controlled by the government.

“The Ethiopian army combed the countryside, summarily executing men in front of their families while beating, raping or killing the women,” the ONFL statement said.

Ethiopian Airlines is seeking to expand its African presence by creating airline startups across the continent.

It launched Lome-based ASKY Airlines in January (ATWOnline, January 21). CEO Girma Wake previously told ATWOnline that Ethiopian has a 25% stake in ASKY, which has a diverse ownership spread among individuals and institutions in 11 African countries. The carrier operates to 11 destinations and will take delivery of its third 737NG during the summer. “ASKY has become profitable already,” Wake told ATWOnline this week on the sidelines of the IATA AGM in Berlin.

He said ET is evaluating launching additional airlines in southern or northern Africa. “But first we want to [solidify] ASKY,” he explained. He did not rule out investing in existing African carriers.

“We are talking to [some airlines],” he revealed. A further possibility could be to join forces with another major African airline to launch a startup, he said. He also reiterated that ET would like to join Star Alliance.

APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) Thousands of sport fans gather in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa to watch the opening ceremony of the World Cup with giant screens set up to broadcast all the matches.

The sport fans gathered at Meskel Square in Addis Ababa where the organizers had set up a big screen to enable Addis residents enjoy the World Cup, which opened in South Africa on Friday.


“I am happy to be here and see the opening ceremony of the World Cup. It gives me a great pleasure to see the ceremony with such big gathering,” Tariku Mola, a sports fan at the Meskel Square told APA.

Ethiopian television promised to broadcast live the 32 matches via big screens set up in other major towns of the country.

NAIROBI (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund said on Friday it had allowed Ethiopia to access an equivalent of about $58.7 million under its Exogenous Shocks Facility, to help counter effects of the global economic downturn.

IMF said Ethiopia had been successful in implementing policies to curb inflation and rebuild external reserves as agreed under an ESF-supported programme.

“The approval will enable Ethiopia to draw … about $58.7 million … bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to … about $166.2 million,” IMF said in a statement.

IMF said it expected Ethiopia’s economy to grow by 7 percent in 2009/10. It had earlier forecast an output of 7-7.5 percent this fiscal year (July-June), based on an assessment carried out in September.

June 10 (Bloomberg) — Ethiopia Airlines is close to signing an agreement to join Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s Star Alliance, French daily Le Figaro reported, citing unidentified executives at the International Air Transport Association.

Lufthansa will also challenge Air France-KLM Group on one of its most profitable routes by starting a service between Frankfurt and Pointe Noire in the Republic of Congo, the newspaper said, citing an unidentified Star Alliance official.

Source: Bloomberg

Ethiopia has announced tax exemptions on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equipment as part of the country’s “ICT for Development” campaign.

The Ethiopian Information, Communications and Technology Development Agency (EICTDA) said that the tax free incentive on ICT equipment will help Ethiopia to enhance its ICT infrastructure in the next few years.


Ethiopia, home to around 80 million people, is said to be poor in its ICT infrastructure, which is now getting due attention by the government, with the country investing billions of dollars on ICT development.

Speaking at the closing of Ethiopia’s 3rd ICT exhibition, which was held in Addis Ababa for the past five days, bringing local and foreign ICT companies together, Dr. Mesifin Belachew, EICTDA Deputy Director said that the tax free incentive on ICT equipment will be applied both to local and foreign companies, who want to invest on ICT.

WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key administration posts:

James F. Entwistle, Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Department of State

Mimi E. Alemayehou, Member, Board of Directors of the African Development Foundation

Johnnie Carson, Member, Board of Directors of the African Development Foundation

President Obama said, “I am proud to nominate such accomplished and dedicated individuals to these important roles. I am grateful for their decision to serve, and look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key administration posts:

James F. Entwistle, Nominee for Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Department of State
James F. Entwistle is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. He is currently the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. He previously served at Embassy Bangkok as head of the Refugee Assistance Unit. Prior to that Mr. Entwistle served as Deputy Chief of Mission for both the U.S. Embassies in Colombo, Sri Lanka and Bangui, Central African Republic....

Ethiopian Airlines is seeking to expand its African presence by creating airline startups across the continent.

It launched Lome-based ASKY Airlines in January (ATWOnline, January 21). CEO Girma Wake previously told ATWOnline that Ethiopian has a 25% stake in ASKY, which has a diverse ownership spread among individuals and institutions in 11 African countries. The carrier operates to 11 destinations and will take delivery of its third 737NG during the summer. "ASKY has become profitable already," Wake told ATWOnline this week on the sidelines of the IATA AGM in Berlin.

He said ET is evaluating launching additional airlines in southern or northern Africa. "But first we want to [solidify] ASKY," he explained. He did not rule out investing in existing African carriers. "We are talking to [some airlines]," he revealed. A further possibility could be to join forces with another major African airline to launch a startup, he said. He also reiterated that ET would like to join Star Alliance.