Increasing its presence in the Middle East, Ethiopian will commence new nonstop flights from Addis Ababa to Muscat, the capital of Oman, on 27 December 2011.

Oman, located in the South Eastern Coast of the Arabian Peninsula, is a unique tourist destination in the Middle East, with a wide variety of activities. Oman has a wide variety of beaches over its 1700 km coastline; popular activities include scuba diving, rock climbing, surfing, sailing, cave exploration, and camel races. There are many shopping malls, mainly centered in Muscat, and Souqs can be found in many towns throughout the country.

Ethiopian forces have captured the central Somali town of Beledweyne from al-Shabab Islamist militants. Al-Shabab said its forces were surrounding the town after making what it called a planned withdrawal. Eyewitnesses said armoured vehicles and heavy artillery were used in the attack, which Ethiopia said was made at the request of the Somali government. Somalia's prime minister meanwhile announced an operation "to liberate the tyranny of... al-Shabab from Somalia".

Addis Ababa, Dec 30: An Indian IT major is assisting the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority (ERCA) transform its valuation methodology to a transaction cost system from a minimum price setting system to prevent under-invoicing.

MARKHAM, Ontario (Canada) – PRNewswire – Olympic champion Catriona Le May Doan recently visited Ethiopia and witnessed something completely unexpected. Instead of tiny, emaciated children with wrinkled skin hanging off their bones, Le May Doan saw children and families thriving. “It is not the typical view of Ethiopia and this region of Africa,” she said.

“I thought I was going to be overwhelmed by tragedy because I heard this was the worst drought in the region in 60 years. But, I saw hope and lives that are transforming as a result of hard work, development projects, and the return of rains,” said Le May Doan. “In the midst of all the depressing news we hear from Africa, I think it’s a positive message which Canadians need to hear.”

The Chinese company China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co. Ltd. (CREEC) has been awarded the 37.381Km Addis Ababa light rail transit project and has already started work.
The railway stretches mainly from Defence Forces Hospital to Ayat Village, which is 17.26Km, with other tracks that will lead from Meskel Square to Kality (16.246Km) and the 3.875Km rail line from Lideta to Menilik Square.
The Chinese Corporation has also started construction activities around Ayat Village.

Australia's Tour de France champion Cadel Evans and his Italian wife are adopting a one-year-old Ethiopian boy, according to a report. Evans had hinted at a child, telling his Twitter followers on Tuesday he was "busy babysitting". His wife, Chiara Passerini, who had posted an image via Twitter of her holding a small child's hand with the message "We had the most special Christmas of our lives", confirmed the couple had travelled to Ethiopia to adopt a child.

Ethiopia has secured more than 1.1 billion US dollars in revenue from export of various commodities to abroad over the last five months, the Ministry of Trade said. In an exclusive interview with ENA here on Tuesday, Public Relations Director with the Ministry, Amakele Yemam said that the stated sum secured during the reported period exceeds last year’s same period by 227.5 million US dollars. The country has exported about 35 types of agricultural and industrial products to more than 120 countries worldwide during the reported period, Amakele said.

The Federal High Court 3rd Criminal Bench of Ethiopia sentenced two Swedish journalists, charged with supporting the terrorist group ONLF and entering the country violating its law, to 11 years rigorous imprisonment each on Tuesday. The court said reporter Martin Schibbye and photographer Johan Persson have met with ONLF chief in London and went to Kenya after which they entered Ethiopia through Somali region supporting the terrorist group. The court has considered the request of the defendants’ lawyers to mitigate the verdict explaining they have never been involved in crime before and they have families to assist.

ADDIS ABABA — An Ethiopian court on Tuesday sentenced two Swedish journalists to 11 years in jail for supporting terrorism and entering the country illegally, after a trial criticised by rights groups.

"The sentence should be punishment of 11 years imprisonment," Judge Shemsu Sirgaga told the court in the Amharic language through a translator.

Overseas Filipino workers in Ethiopia expect their ranks to grow rapidly in the next five to 10 years due to the construction boom there, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said. In a news release, the DFA said Filipino community leaders disclosed this to Philippine officials conducting a consular service in Addis Ababa from December 11 to 13.

Associated Press= CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian airport official says the government has deported 93 Ethiopians who entered Egypt with hopes of crossing the Sinai desert into Israel illegally. The airport official says 42 Ethiopians were repatriated on Sunday and another 51 were sent back home a day earlier. The official says the migrants crossed into Egypt from its southern border with Sudan two weeks ago. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Research and Markets(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/d7a87e/coffee_market_in_e) has announced the addition of the "Coffee Market in Ethiopia: Business Report 2011" report to their offering. This report is a comprehensive research of coffee market in Ethiopia.The report starts with giving brief country profile for Ethiopia, including general information and main economic indicators.

Ethiopian Ministry of Industry has fixed a target of US$ 359.3 million for leather and textile exports during 2012, which is a substantial increase over its earnings of US$ 166.3 million during this year. Melaku Taye, Corporate Communication Director at the Ministry, informed that Ethiopia would be able to raise US$ 206 million from exports of value added leather items next year. India, Germany, United Kingdom, China, Italy and the US are the key export destinations for Ethiopian leather and textile products, Mr. Melaku said.

Walk through just about any town in Europe and you’ll find that the largest structure is a church. That was certainly my experience in my recent 1,000-kilometre walk along the Camino de Santiago in Spain. From solid, fortress-like Romanesque churches to the lacy, heaven-pointing spires of Gothic architecture, towns large and small were built around attempts to glorify God and inspire the faithful. It seems to be a ‘throwback’ in a world where the largest buildings have long been celebrations or glorifications of corporate success—such as First Canadian Place, TD Centre, and the CN Tower — or, more recently, of personal success— witness the towering condo buildings where status climbs with each floor and square foot added.

Contemporary Ethiopian musicians reinvigorate traditional jazz stylings for new audiences in America and Addis Ababa. During the second half of the 20th century, cosmopolitan Ethiopians were delighted to see jazz giant Duke Ellington receive their country's Medal of Honor from Emperor Haile Selassie. At the same time, by contrast, a Berklee College of Music-trained Ethiopian jazz legend, Mulatu Astatke, who fused jazz and funk with his country's folk and Coptic Church melodies, was unknown in the United States.