Speaker of the House of People’s Representatives (HPR), Abadula Gemeda held talks on Tuesday with co-chair the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, Louis Michel. Abadula on the occasion told Michel that the allegation of Human Rights Watch that the government of Ethiopia has displaced local people in Gambella to make land available to investors is baseless.

New York (TADIAS) — The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced the appointment of Haddis Tadesse as the foundation’s first official representative in Ethiopia. Ethiopian-born Haddis Tadesse, who has worked as an external relations officer for the foundation since 2007, will assume the new position later this month in Addis Ababa. “Tadesse, who grew up in Ethiopia and was educated in the United States, will serve as the foundation’s liaison to the federal government of Ethiopia and the African Union,” the organization said in a press release. “He also will help the foundation strengthen its relationships with health and development partners operating in Ethiopia, including donor agencies, international NGOs and local Ethiopian organizations.”

PCI (Project Concern International) announced today it has received a $500,000 grant from the Starbucks Foundation for its Sidama Coffee Farmers Health through Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Project. The project is designed to improve the health outcomes of coffee farmers and their communities in two high-need areas in the Sidama Zone of Southern Ethiopia. The grant is part of a long-term commitment by Starbucks and the Starbucks Foundation to support relevant local needs in coffee growing communities and a continuation of supporting integrated water and sanitation programs.

Derba Group, an amalgam of three Ethiopian companies owned by Saudi billionaire Mohammed Al Amoudi, said it plans to invest 59bn birr ($3.4bn) in seven industrial projects over the next five years.

The company, formed last month, has already invested 12bn birr of a planned 71bn birr in agriculture and cement in the Horn of Africa country, CEO Haile Assegide said on Monday by phone from Derba Midroc Cement’s plant near Chancho, about 70km northwest of Addis Ababa, the capital.

NAIROBI, Feb 22 (NNN-KBC) -- Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has declared that the port of Lamu is now a reality and warned the provincial administration against authorizing the sale of land in the area slated for the project.

The prime minister said Tuesday that the port was the most serious project to be undertaken by the government since independence noting that it was already changing lives and the economics of the planned site in Lamu West, even before the structure was up.

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - A surge in gold, oil seeds and livestock exports lifted Ethiopia's total export revenue by 21 percent in the six months to December versus the year-ago period, offsetting a slump in coffee earnings, trade data showed.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told parliament last month he expected the country's economy to grow by more than 11 percent this fiscal year driven by a boost in agriculture production.

A disappointing run in the Tokyo marathon has cast doubt over Haile Gebrselassie's hopes of qualifying as one of Ethiopia's three representatives at London 2012.

The two-time Olympic champion finished well under the qualifying time of two hours and 15 minutes, but with four of his compatriots having broken the 2:05:00 barrier within the qualifying period Gebrselassie needed something special in Japan.

The Minister of Culture and Tourism in Ethiopia has called on tourists in Africa to come and experience the country’s rich natural, cultural and historical attractions, just as he also called on expatriates and tourism lovers the world over, to “come and explore the business and other opportunities in the country.”

He said that the country had been witnessing an influx of African conference tourists, adding that the country was focusing its attention on making leisure tourists in the world, especially Africa, to “come and enjoy our diverse natural tourist attractions.”

ADDIS ABABA, Feb 27 (BERNAMA-NNN-ENA) -- European aircraft manufacturer Airbus says it expects the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to become a mega city from the aviation perspective -- one which has more than 10,000 long-haul air passengers a day -- in the next 20 years.

According to an Airbus statement received here by the Ethiopian news Agency (ENA), there are currently 39 mega cities in the world, and the number would increase to 90 in the next 20 years. Addis Ababa was expected to join this group.

TOKYO — Haile Gebrselassie will be aiming to make the Ethiopian team for the London Olympics with a strong performance in Sunday’s Tokyo Marathon.
Gebrselassie will be looking to run under 2 hours, 4 minutes to convince his country’s selectors to hand him a ticket to London.

Three Ethiopians broke 2:05 in the Dubai Marathon last month, raising doubts about whether the distance-running great will be selected for the games.
“The London Olympics are a dream for everyone, everyone here is dreaming of taking part,” Gebrselassie said Friday.

Ethiopia is to host the all African Leather Fair 2012 according to the Ethiopian Leather Industries Association. The fair will be held at the Millennium Hall at the end of this month.
The fair aims to promote the leather and leather products sector allowing industry stakeholders to network and attract international investment to meet the national developmental goals according to Solomon Getu Chairman of the ELIA Board and Managing Director of the Crystal Tannery SC.

የሰው ሕይወት አጥፍቷል በሚል በአሥር ቀናት ውስጥ በሞት እንዲቀጣ ወይም የነፍስ ዋጋ 700 ሺሕ ብር እንዲከፍል የፍርድ ውሳኔ ተላልፎበት፣ አርቲስት ቴዎድሮስ ካሣሁን (ቴዲ አፍሮ) ሙሉ ክፍያውን (700 ሺሕ ብር) ከፍሎ ያተረፈው ኢትዮጵያዊው አስመሮም ኃይለ ሥላሴ ገብረ ኢየሱስ፣ የካቲት 14 ቀን 2004 ዓ.ም ከእስር ተፈታ፡፡ የካቲት 15 ቀን 2004 ዓ.ም አዲስ አበባ ገብቷል፡፡

Ethiopia will soon launch an information and communication technology (ICT) park, becoming the second East African nation, after Kenya, to do so.

The ambitious project, known as the Technopolis, is being constructed in Addis Ababa at a cost of US$45 million.
Construction of the first phase, which began three years ago, will soon be completed, the country's Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT) announced.

Sherkole Refugee Camp, Ethiopia — Five months after the day she fled from Sudan's Blue Nile State, Gisman Usman still struggles with the trauma of the bombing of the place where she slept, her three missing brothers and the loss of her left leg.

On the September night when the Antonov bomber arrived over her grandmother's home in Derem, the 20-year-old awoke to a blast that ripped away the back of her tin-roof house. Her first instinct was to run.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Kenya's Michael Kipyego tore up the script to win the Tokyo Marathon with former world record holder Haile Gebrselassie left floundering in fourth on Sunday.

Kipyego clocked a time of two hours, seven minutes and 37 seconds in chilly conditions in Tokyo.