ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia has almost tripled earnings from gold exports to $300 million in 2009/2010 from $105 million in 2008/2009, outpacing plans to double revenue this year, its mines minister said on Monday.

"We've gone up to $300 million mainly thanks to stabilising the market and introducing incentives for our artisan miners," Minister for Mines and Energy, Alemayehu Tegenu, told Reuters in an interview.

The independent miners, who were now guaranteed steady prices from the central bank, had brought in $100 million of the revenue, he added.

A fledgling gemstone industry raised $1.245 million, the minister said.

ADDIS ABABA (APA) — Ethiopian sport fans expressed their disappointment with the performance of the national athletics team which finished 9th at the 17th African athletics championship that ended on Sunday in Kenya.

The sport family is asking the Ethiopian Athletics Federation to immediately investigate why Ethiopia performed below its potential.

“It is really disappointing to see such a result. We won only one gold medal, which is nothing compared to our athletics history,” said Metaferia Zeleke, a sport fan in Addis Ababa.

Ethiopian media are hosting call-in shows on the athletes’ poor performance at the Kenyan championship.

Kenyan athletes were able to collects more medals, which the Ethiopian were expected to won, especially in the 5,000 men and women races.

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Pietermaritzburg, South Africa - About 100 people started to riot last night in Pietermaritz street in Pietermaritzburg, the large crowd was angry according to medics on the scene. Three Ethiopian males had their stab wounds treated on their backs and necks, they wanted to go back into the mob to fight for their rights.

The paramedics spoke to the men and the men agreed to be taken to hospital. This was an apparent xenophobic attack. According to the Ethiopian men their car got vandalised for no reason, that sparked bigger crowds of people to get involved and that is when things got ugly.

Addis Ababa, August 1, 2010 (Addis Ababa) - Eritrean National Conference for Democratic Change began here on Saturday.

More than 850 Eritrean are taking part in the conference.

Opening the conference, Conference Organizing Committee Chairperson, Beshir Yishak said the conference is open to all democratic forces.

She said the conference would have special meaning to the Eritrean people.

According to Beshir, the Eritrean Democratic Alliance consisting of 11 Eritrean opposition parties are exerting efforts to make the conference a success.

Representatives of Eritrean opposition parties, civil societies and religious organizations as well as refugees living in neighboring countries are taking part in the conference.