The highly anticipated renowned musician’s, Tewodros Kassahun, a.k.a. Teddy Afro’s album, entitled ‘Tikur Sew’ will be released today. This album which was long awaited by his fans has 11 tracks. Nine are composed by the young composer Michael Hailu who is also known for Zeritu Kebede’s Dinizaze and Michael Belayneh’s Tizita. The title song Tikur Sew was also composed by the renowned composer Abegaz Kibrework Shiwota. All the melodies and the lyrics were written by the artist himself and a unique voice of the renowned Ethiopian poet and playwright Tsegaye Gebremedhin is in one of his songs. In this song entitled ‘Hail’ (Power) Tsegaye reads his poem ‘feran’ which is recorded in this song.

Tewodros Ashenafi, chairman and CEO of South West Energy
Tewodros Ashenafi is the founder of the first Ethiopian Oil and gas company, South West Energy. He is also Chairman of South West Development, a joint venture partner in Ambo Mineral Water S.C. where he is Chairman of the Board. He is also a member of World Economic Forum. Kaleyesus Bekele of The Reporter spoke to Tewodros about the World Economic Forum and oil and gas exploration projects in Ethiopia. Excerpts:
The Reporter: Tell us about the World Economic Forum.

She fled to Abu Dhabi where she was arrested after refusing to pay taxi An Ethiopian housemaid who stabbed her 50-year-old Emirati female employer in Fujairah and fled the house was arrested in Abu Dhabi with the help of a taxi driver, a newspaper reported on Saturday. The driver, Mufidul Islam Sadeq, reported the maid to the Abu Dhabi police after she refused to pay him transport fare apparently because she had no money. Sadeq locked the maid in his car near the police station before going in to report her. When police came to enquire about her refusal to pay, they noticed blood stains on her clothes, prompting them to take her into the station.

Funeral Ceremony held for Maitre Artiste World Laureate Afewerk Tekle Addis Ababa, April 14, 2012 (Addis Ababa) - The funeral ceremony of the renowned Ethiopian painter the Most Honorable Maitre Artiste World Laureate Afewerk Tekle was conducted at the cemetery of the Holy Trinity Cathedral here on Saturday. Prior to the funeral ceremony, his family members, friends, senior government officials, diplomats and hundred thousands of fans accompanied his body for the Farwell ceremony with military march from his resident Villa Alpha to the cemetery of the Holy Trinity Cathedral. Watch Video Here

Spire Corporation a global company providing solar photovoltaic equipment and systems announced today that it will provide a 20 megawatt ("MW") Photovoltaic ("PV”) module turnkey assembly line to the collaboration of SKY Energy International, Inc. ("SKY") located in Florida and Metals and Engineering Corporation ("METEC") located in Ethiopia. The module assembly line will be established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The facility will be the first state-of-the-art module manufacturing line in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Government has announced its goal to have 20% of its power capacity coming from solar energy within the next five (5) years.

Addis Ababa, April 12, 2012 (Addis Ababa) - Six of the world’s fastest growing economies are in sub-Saharan Africa among them Uganda and Ethiopia, according to UK-based economic experts Ernst & Young. According to a new report by the consultancy, growth in sub-Saharan Africa from 2003-2010 averaged 5.7 percent and is expected to have been over five per cent in 2010 and 2011. This makes Africa the second fastest-growing region in the world after Asia. The report says that while economic growth has failed to address the gap between rich and poor in Africa, with only one in four people having access to electricity, there are indications that things are changing.

Addis Ababa, April 12, 2012 (Addis Ababa) - The founding conference of the African Network of Parliamentarians on the Millennium Development Goals (ANP-MDGs) would be held in Addis Ababa in the coming May. The Nigerian House of Representatives MDGs committee and ANP-MDGs Chairperson Alhassan Doguwa said the Ethiopian parliament is chosen to host the conference. A delegation led by the Chairperson held discussion with members of the House of Peoples and Representatives (HPR) and chairpersons of the standing committees On the occasion, he said Ethiopia has a lot to share for other African countries.

Jim Yong Kim (Ph.D.), President Barack Obama’s nominee for World Bank’s presidency is set to travel to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Beijing, China; Tokyo, Japan; Seoul, South Korea; New Delhi, India; Brasilia, Brazil; and Mexico City, Mexico from March 27-April 9, 2012, the US Department of the Treasury announced on Monday. Kim will meet with heads of state, finance ministers, and other stakeholders to solicit their priorities for the World Bank over the coming years. The trip is the initial phase of Dr. Kim’s “listening tour,” as he begins to solicit ideas and views from around the world about the future of the institution. He will meet with many of the World Bank’s shareholder and client countries in order to assess how the Bank can best promote growth, combat poverty, and create jobs in developing nations.

The Ethiopian Airlines has sold 11 Cessna and piper pilot trainer aircraft to the Ethiopian air force. The two piper and nine Cessna trainer aircrafts served the Ethiopian Pilot Training School for over two decades. Last year Ethiopian bought and received 12 Diamond trainer aircraft from Diamond Aircraft Industries GmbH of Austria. The company has confirmed the sale of the aircraft to the Ethiopian Air Force but declined to disclose the price of the aircraft. Established in 1956, the Ethiopian aviation training center has trained more than 3000 pilots.

Saudi Arabia plans to import 45,000 Ethiopian nationals into the kingdom every month in order to meet its requirement for domestic workers. Maids from the African nation have been in high demand since the Gulf’s most populous nation placed a ban on recruiting workers from the Philippines and Indonesia after those countries imposed stricter employment conditions, the Saudi Gazette reported.

Ethiopia has sued Ali Mahfouz, a man who was caught on camera beating and dragging an Ethiopian domestic worker, Alem Dechassa, 33, after her death was reported. The consulate in Lebanon demanded an autopsy report as Alem was said to have committed suicide while she was admitted at Psychiatrique de la Croix Hospital. Asaminew Debelie Bonssa, Ethiopia’s consulate general in Lebanon, told The Reporter on Thursday via telephone that he and other Ethiopians visited Alem last Saturday and Monday and said that she was in good health condition.

The Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) is to hand over its power distribution subsector to a Chinese company, the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC). EEPCo is negotiating with the Chinese giant electric power company to hand over the subsector, sources said. EEPCo has been conducting some studies to renew its structure as the corporation’s electric power supply has been constantly increasing.

Ethiopia is on the right track to achieve the MDGs in poverty reduction, the World Bank said. Speaking at the launching of an Interim Report of the Household Income Consumption and Expenditure Surveys (HICES) here on Friday, Lead Economist with World Bank Ethiopia, Chorching Goh said the poverty reduction strategy and policy designed by the government is registering successful results. Goh said Ethiopia will join the list of middle income countries through ensuring sustainability of the results so far registered. The economist stressed the need to give prime attention to ensuring food security in rural parts of the country, where most of the population lives, as this helps towards growth of productivity.

Sudanese child refugees from conflicts in Blue Nile state are receiving primary education at the recently opened Tongo refugee camp in neighbouring Ethiopia.

Since fighting between Sudanese forces and rebels broke out in September 2011 in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states, nearly 30,000 Sudanese, among whom 4,000 children, have been forced to flee in to Ethiopia.

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.