ADDIS ABABA: Two Indian government leather development institutions have vowed to transform Ethiopia's leather sector in three to five years and make it globally competitive. Ethiopia has Africa's largest cattle population. The arrangement has been made by the Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) and the Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI) with the Ethiopian Leather Industry Development Institute (ELIDI). The two Indian institutions will transfer technology and help accelerate the sluggish growth of earnings from the East African nation's leather and leather products export.

September 18, 2011 - China's President Hu Jintao is scheduled to visit Addis Ababa in early January to inaugurate the new African Union headquarters, according to The Reporter. China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) is building the massive new complex. The work on the project will be finalised on schedule, according to officials of CSCEC.

September 20, 2011 - Hanns Peter Nerger, the son of the 90-year-old wealthy man, has accused his 28-year-old stepmother of killing his father to pocket the family fortune, according to The Telegraph. The stepmother in question is a Belgian model of Ethiopian origin named Meharit Kifle. Bruno H Schubert, who gained his wealth from selling his family's Henninger brewery more than 30 years ago, caused a scandal in Frankfurt high society in August 2009 when he married Meharit Kifle, who was 63 years his junior and had a four-year-old son from another relationship.

Some hold an opinion that love and relationships are something that follow the same rule across generations. ‘The players may change but the game remains the same’ is a stand taken by these people. However, every so often we hear many complain saying relationships, marriage and love are losing their value in the eyes of the present generation of Ethiopia. Especially older people exemplify this through the rising rate of divorce, the ‘take it easy’ attitude of the young and the seemingly missing appetite to compromise and sacrify interests in relationships and marriages.

In his country, Russia he is seen as a beloved king, a guy whom people talked about for decades, a shinning star that is far away yet where everyone wants to be around, Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov, grandmaster and former chess world champion. Even if it has been more than a decade since he was world champion with a record being the youngest guy in the history of chess, he is still considered to be a living legend by many who look back at his reign and appreciate his glory more than the contemporary champions.

Marathon Motors Engineering, a joint venture company world-acclaimed athlete Haile Gebreselassie co-founded a year ago with 10 million birr, displayed at his newly opened Haile Resort in Hawassa town three four wheel-drive Hyundai vehicle models to be assembled in Oromia region.

Ask any of the thousands of Ethiopian immigrants working as parking attendants or cabbies around Washington whom they aspire to be like, and you'll probably hear about Henok Tesfaye.

Tesfaye, 37, started as a parking valet in downtown Washington two decades ago, saving a few hundred dollars each month to pay for business classes and start his company. Today, his U Street Parking (named after his first parking lot, at 12th and U streets NW) ranks among the biggest parking companies in the region.

His success is part of a wave of accomplishment by Ethiopians, who began settling in Washington after fleeing violence in their native country in the 1970s. Tesfaye's 12-year ascent in Washington's notoriously cutthroat parking industry is especially notable because it was so unlikely.

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.

In the 1960s, as the tastes of American jazz fans shifted from bebop to avant-garde, Ethiopian musicians were establishing a tradition whose compositions are just reaching American ears. Why did it take so long for this riveting, emotionally charged music to arrive?

The International Society of Ethiopian Economists is under formation and the organizing committee invites Ethiopian economists residing abroad to become membes and join the Society.

The society will convene its inaugural assembly after consulting with as many Ethiopian economists as possible and after deliberating on the draft constitution.

In Ethiopia, Al-Itihad, a notorious former religious group led by Sheikh Ibrahim Mohamed, who was deported in a few years back from the United States, had unequivocally accepted to surrender the group to Ethiopia.

Despite a mindboggling editorials bombarded via the internet by Al-Itihad supporters which tried to hide facts that the peace negotiation between Al-Itihad and the Ethiopian government signed at Ghion Hotel was in truth a public humiliation for the group. According to BBC Somali reporter present at the signing, Mr.Abdirizaak Atosh stated that “the negotiation seemed lopsided and there were nothing to the effect of the peace treaty that is literally a meaningful to the group, except a single stipulation to release prisoners lingering in government jails”. Moreover, the Ethiopian Federal Affairs Minister Dr.Shiferaw Teklemariam confirmed that the government had agreed to grant amnesty to all leaders of Al-Itihad, and as he put it, agreed to rehabilitate and integrate Front’s soldiers into the community.

Ethiopia is one of the most stunning places on earth. Our motto is “13 Months of Sunshine” because of its wonderful, sunny climate–even during the couple of months during the rainy season. Travelers marvel at the incredible greenery, majestic mountains, and—most of all—Ethiopia’s beautiful people. Ethiopia’s existence dates back almost 3,000 years. Here, in fact, is where the legendary skeleton of Lucy was discovered. She is evidence of one of the earliest traces of our hominid ancestors—she is slightly older than 3.2 million years old.

However, more than anything else, the beauty of Ethiopia is our culture. If any culture has grasped the fact that life is short, Ethiopia certainly belongs in the top tier of candidates. Growing up, I could never understand why, when someone came to our house, even unannounced, my mom would drop whatever she was doing and invite the person in. It did not matter what time of day it was; she would offer the visiting individual a meal. She would sit down and share, laugh, and cry with the “uninvited” guest. I witnessed this throughout all the years I was growing up. My mom, through her actions, taught my siblings and me that life is all about sharing what you have with others–even when you have the least of which to share.

Addis Ababa, July 9, 2010 (Addis Ababa) -The Ethiopian Airports Enterprise said it will further strengthen ongoing efforts to modernize airports and terminals across the country.

Public relations head with the Enterprise, Wondim Teklu told ENA that most of the 17 airports and terminals administered by the enterprise meet international standards.

The head said 15 of the stated number of airports have capacity to give service to jet aircrafts. New airfields and terminals are constructed in particular for Gondar, Lalibela, Axum, Arbaminch and Mekelle airports.

Construction work is underway at a cost of 298 million Birr to modernize the Jimma airport , he said, adding, construction of the Kombolcha airport launched at a cost of 45 million Birr will be finalized in the near future.

Haile Abera and three friends gathered in the shade of a big white tent after a soccer game at Spartan Stadium on Sunday, telling stories of their Ethiopian homeland and sharing a spicy meal.

Abera, a wartime refugee, had traveled from San Diego to participate in a weeklong soccer tournament and cultural festival, coming to San Jose to meet up with friends from the old country and celebrate their heritage.

"You feel like home," said Abera, 41. "You hear your own language and eat your own food."

Some 20,000 people, including players from 22 teams from Canadian and U.S. cities, are expected to descend upon downtown San Jose through the week for the Ethiopian Sports Federation of North America tournament. Many are spending their days at Spartan Stadium for the tournament and food festival, and their nights at downtown hotels and nightclubs listening to Ethiopian musicians.

Dozens of Ethiopian immigrants have gathered around a Netanya police station to protest an alleged attack by a police officer on an Ethiopian teen.


The victim's sister said the attack had drawn blood. Police, however, say it was the youth and his friend who attacked the officer, and that they should lodge an official complaint with the police if they see fit. (Raanan Ben-Zur)

‘It’s better to kill us first,” Olikoro says, naked apart from a piece of cloth slung over his shoulder. An AK 47 rests by his side as he stares at the Omo river and ­contemplates his stark, ruined future.

Olikoro, a man from the Mursi tribe, is talking about the Gibe III dam: the latest in a cascade of dams being built on the Omo river in south-west Ethiopia. The river begins its 500-mile journey in Ethiopia’s emerald highlands and drops through steep gorges to a sun-scorched valley before twisting towards the jewel of Lake Turkana in Kenya.

In Addis, Ethiopia’s capital, the dam is seen as essential for progress. But travelling along the river, deep into the Omo valley, one can see how the tribal people depend on the river – and how they dread the impact it will have on the lives of the half a million people.