http://www.newsdire.com/ ru Ethiopian News - Everything that Happens! DataLife Engine http://www.newsdire.com/entertainment/2494-sayat-demissie-rants-against-ethiopian-media.html http://www.newsdire.com/entertainment/2494-sayat-demissie-rants-against-ethiopian-media.html Former beauty-pageant-winner-turned-singer Sayat Demissie vilified the Ethiopian media collectively on negative reportings saying they had no room whatsoever for constructive stories.

“In this country, the media work by tarnishing the people we love and respect,” she said at a press conference held at Harmony Hotel on Thursday. The press conference was held following an arbitration decision between her and Seifu Fantahun, host of Tadias Addis, a program on Shaggar Radio.

]]> Dave Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:18:51 -0600 http://www.newsdire.com/news/2493-chinas-love-of-africa.html http://www.newsdire.com/news/2493-chinas-love-of-africa.html THE $200 million new headquarters of the African Union – a gift from China – is another confirmation of the continent’s inability to get things done by itself. Almost 50 years after the formation of the Organisation of African Unity, OAU, the AU’s forebear, the continent could not afford the AU’s new edifice that has cast a permanent role for China in Africa.

Disgraced Libyan despot Moammar Gadhafi could be largely thanked for the new building. As AU Chairman in 2009, he was planning to move the AU’s headquarters from Addis Ababa to his native Sirte. The Ethiopians, who have been close to China, secured the AU headquarters with the offer from China, which built and furnished it.

Addis Ababa has been Africa’s diplomatic capital since the formation of the OAU in 1963. The choice of Addis Ababa was mostly because of the influence of the late Emperor Haile Selassie, one of the driving forces behind creation of the OAU.

]]> Dave Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:18:57 -0600 http://www.newsdire.com/news/2492-tanzaniaethiopia-mkwasa-we-respect-ethiopia.html http://www.newsdire.com/news/2492-tanzaniaethiopia-mkwasa-we-respect-ethiopia.html
Ethiopia cruised to the next round and booked a corresponding date with Twiga Stars after dispatching Egypt on Sunday. The Horn-of-Africa ladies nicknamed 'Dinkinesh' defeated their Egyptian counterparts 4-0 in the return leg match to advance to the first round on a 6-4 aggregate score.

They lost the first leg away in Cairo 4-2. And, Mkwasa insisted on Tuesday that the objective is to make it to the finals in Equatorial Guinea, saying further that he is confident Twiga Stars can get that far despite the problems that had faced the team in the past.
]]> Dave Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:05:52 -0600 http://www.newsdire.com/news/2491-power-of-books-celebrated-by-un-chief-as-new-library-opens-in-ethiopian-capital.html http://www.newsdire.com/news/2491-power-of-books-celebrated-by-un-chief-as-new-library-opens-in-ethiopian-capital.html School as he arrives for a ceremony to open the new library. UN Photo/E. Debebe
31 January 2012 –
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon celebrated the benefits that books can bring to young people as he opened a library at an Ethiopian primary school that has been established under an innovative United Nations scheme.

At a ceremony yesterday in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, Mr. Ban took part in the hand over of a “Thank You Small Library (TYSL),” which will now be used by the roughly 1,200 pupils attending Keykokeb primary school.

]]> Dave Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:00:07 -0600 http://www.newsdire.com/entertainment/2490-godfather-of-ethiopian-jazz-back-in-the-studio.html http://www.newsdire.com/entertainment/2490-godfather-of-ethiopian-jazz-back-in-the-studio.html These days, one of the world’s great bandleaders is dedicating his energy and time to giving African traditional music its rightful place in the world

“I was doing world music 42 years ago, long before it became a genre,” says the Ethiopian composer and performer Mulatu Astatke during a recording session in Nairobi last week.

The 67 year old is credited with successfully fusing Western jazz and funk with traditional Ethiopian folk melodies, and elements of music of the ancient Coptic Church. “I became a student of jazz composition and combined that knowledge with Ethiopian music to give birth to Ethio-jazz,” he says.

]]> Dave Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:24:38 -0600 http://www.newsdire.com/news/2489-un-in-gay-rights-plea-to-africa.html http://www.newsdire.com/news/2489-un-in-gay-rights-plea-to-africa.html Ban Ki-moon said “confronting discrimination is a challenge”
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged African leaders to respect gay rights.
Discrimination based on sexual orientation had been ignored or even sanctioned by many states for too long, Mr Ban told an African Union summit.
Homosexuality is illegal in many African countries – a situation which has drawn increasing criticism from activists and the West.

]]> Dave Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:19:45 -0600 http://www.newsdire.com/politics/2488-au-summit-highlights-africas-tilt-toward-the-east.html http://www.newsdire.com/politics/2488-au-summit-highlights-africas-tilt-toward-the-east.html An African Union summit has opened with the selection of Benin's President Thomas Boni Yayi as AU chairman for the coming year. The opening speeches reflected Africa's increasing shift toward the East.

China is the honored guest at this summit, and the opening session was filled expressions of gratitude for Beijing's gift of a new $200-million AU headquarters.

Speakers referred to China's rising influence in Africa, and to the continent's growing resentment at what is widely perceived as Western interference in African affairs.
AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping described 2011 as a year of trials and hardship, as Western institutions imposed solutions to crises in Libya and Ivory Coast, rejecting or ignoring African proposals.

]]> Dave Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:47:16 -0600 http://www.newsdire.com/business/2487-ethiopia-sunshine-construction-close-to-sign-franchise-deal-with-marriott-international.html http://www.newsdire.com/business/2487-ethiopia-sunshine-construction-close-to-sign-franchise-deal-with-marriott-international.html Bini Sun, 29 Jan 2012 10:25:58 -0600 http://www.newsdire.com/sport/2486-ethiopia-kenenisa-bekele-inquired-about-changing-nationality.html http://www.newsdire.com/sport/2486-ethiopia-kenenisa-bekele-inquired-about-changing-nationality.html BRUSSELS -- The suspension of Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele and 34 others was lifted Tuesday, clearing the way for the Ethiopian great to run at the London Games. "We have agreed to discuss all the matters concerning their problems," Ethiopian Athletics Federation president Bisrat Gashawten Tirfe told The Associated Press. The athletes were suspended last week for not reporting for an early pre-Olympic camp to improve performance and competition. Bekele won the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the Beijing Olympics and holds the world record in both events. He was suspended along with Tirunesh Dibaba, winner of the two women's long-distance titles in Beijing. The suspension would have prevented them from running at this year's Olympics.]]> Bini Sun, 29 Jan 2012 10:14:32 -0600 http://www.newsdire.com/news/2485-prez-mills-unveils-dr-kwame-nkrumahs-statue-in-addis-ababa.html http://www.newsdire.com/news/2485-prez-mills-unveils-dr-kwame-nkrumahs-statue-in-addis-ababa.html President John Evans Atta Mills at the weekend unveiled the statue of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President at the forecourt of the new African Union (AU) building in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

He was assisted by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, out-going Chairman of the AU, and Dr Jean Ping, Chairman of the African Union Commission, moments after the building was inaugurated.

The building stands at the former site of Ethiopia’s maximum security prisons.
President Mills was the Guest of Honour at the ceremony, which was performed in the presence of a number of African leaders attending the 18th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the AU.

]]> Dave Sun, 29 Jan 2012 10:10:00 -0600 http://www.newsdire.com/news/2484-jonathan-may-emerge-au-chairman-as-summit-begins-in-ethiopia.html http://www.newsdire.com/news/2484-jonathan-may-emerge-au-chairman-as-summit-begins-in-ethiopia.html President Goodluck Jonathan who flew out of Nigeria Friday to attend African Union’s 12th Session in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia appears set to emerge Chairman of the AU, a position already zoned to West Africa.

Feelers from Addis Ababa indicate that other members of the Economic Community of West African States where Jonathan is already its head are routing for him to emerge the next Chairman of the union in an election that will form part of the major highlight of the Summit.

]]> Dave Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:44:07 -0600 http://www.newsdire.com/news/2483-frenetic-pace-of-ethiopias-khat-boomtown.html http://www.newsdire.com/news/2483-frenetic-pace-of-ethiopias-khat-boomtown.html The global trade in khat is worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year and in one Ethiopian town daily life centres almost entirely around the drug.

Drive along any road between Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia and you are likely to see pick-up trucks, piled high with bundles of fresh green leaves, hurtling past you at terrific speed, horns blaring, lights flashing.

A bit like ambulances. Or fire engines.
Land at any airport and you will see planes stuffed with the same green leaves, being unloaded at a frenzied pace.
Whether there is war, drought or famine, the leaves get through. The khat industry booms.]]> Dave Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:40:29 -0600 http://www.newsdire.com/news/2482-african-leaders-arrive-for-au-summit-in-ethiopia.html http://www.newsdire.com/news/2482-african-leaders-arrive-for-au-summit-in-ethiopia.html African leaders have started arriving here for the 18th African Union (AU) Summit that will discuss measures of boosting intra-African trade amidst growing global economic uncertainty.

Equatorial Guinea President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo who is also the AU chairman on Saturday opened the 26th Summit of the New Partnership for Africa's Economic Development, Africa's blue print plan to fast track economic development.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame also attended the meeting that was opened by Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

]]> Dave Sat, 28 Jan 2012 09:35:26 -0600 http://www.newsdire.com/business/2481-sudan-and-south-sudan-leaders-bid-to-defuse-oil-dispute.html http://www.newsdire.com/business/2481-sudan-and-south-sudan-leaders-bid-to-defuse-oil-dispute.html The presidents of Sudan and South Sudan are meeting in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa to discuss a deepening crisis over sharing their oil wealth

When South Sudan became independent last July, Sudan lost most of its oil.
However, the export pipelines go through Sudan, which has seized some $815m (£520m) in oil revenue, accusing the south of not paying transit fees.
South Sudan last week said it was suspending oil production, accusing Sudan of "stealing" its oil.
The leaders of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are trying to broker a deal between South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and his Sudanese counterpart - and old enemy - Omar al-Bashir.]]> Dave Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:19:04 -0600 http://www.newsdire.com/news/2480-a-symbol-of-chinas-changing-role.html http://www.newsdire.com/news/2480-a-symbol-of-chinas-changing-role.html Towering above the Ethiopian capital, cloaked in urban smog, the new Chinese-built African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa is a bold symbol of China’s rapidly changing role in Africa.
Once seen as strictly interested in extracting raw resources and investing in infrastructure, China has interests on the continent that are increasingly shifting to investing in institutions and governments, experts say.
“China has always been seen as less good at dealing with regions and continental bodies,” said Alex Vines, Africa director of Britain’s international affairs think-tank Chatham House.


]]> Dave Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:13:51 -0600