Ethiopia has qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations after 31 years,

Sports pundits predict Ethiopia’s readiness to overturn the tables at CAN 2013

: December 28, 2012 The pundits have noted that this is the first time that Ethiopia has qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations after 31 years, opening a new chapter in its football history.Most recently, the under-rated national team proved that football is not played through careless talk and predictions, but rather by the mental state of players and their agility to express themselves on the pitch.Already, the Ethiopians have advanced in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) group stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in to be played in Brazil with a 5-0 aggregate victory over Somalia and as a result, they have joined South Africa, Botswana and Central African Republic (CAR) in Group A.Ethiopia tied with South Africa away from home and beat CAR 2-0 at home to top the group after the first two games.The Ethiopians are one of the three original teams (along with Egypt and Sudan) to participate in the inaugural Africa Cup of Nations in 1957 and they finished second.Hosts Ethiopia won the competition in 1962, but in the next tournament of 1968, again on home soil, the team finished in third place after losing to Ivory Coast.Success has been elusive since then for them as in 1976 they failed to progress to the final four, finishing third in the group, behind Guinea and hosts Egypt.In 1977, they played against Mauritius in the qualifiers for the 1978 Africa Cup of Nations. After 4-2 win on aggregate, they had to play Uganda. After a nil-nil score in the first leg, Uganda won the second match 2-1, and progressed to the final tournament.The Ethiopians also missed the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations. Ethiopia last qualified for the tournament in 1982, under Coach Mengistu Worku.They are currently ranked 118th in the world, according to the FIFA world rankings, and 33rd in CAF rankings. The national team succeeded in qualifying for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations after a 31-year absence.In qualifying for CAN 2013, Ethiopia drew 1-1 away with Benin after a goalless draw in the first leg to progress to the last round of qualification.In the last round of qualification, Ethiopia drew 5-5 in aggregate score, but passed to the African championships due to the away goal rule.In brief, no one should underrate the hardworking Ethiopians, least of all their well-known CAN rivals Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and Zambia – the current African champions. Source.. http://en.starafrica.com/news/sports-pundits-predict-ethiopias-readiness-to-overturn-the-tables-at-can-2013.html 

Azerbaijani embassy to open in Ethiopia

Fri 28 December 2012 10:33 GMT | 5:33   A document on opening of Azerbaijani embassy in Ethiopia has been approved at the session of Milli Majlis.The statement came from chairman of the Parliament's international and interparliamentary relations committee Samad Sayidov, informing the MPs about the draft law, Gun.Az reports.According to the committee chairman, up to now, Azerbaijan has diplomatic missions in nearly 70 countries."Azerbaijan generally tries to expand diplomatic ties in all continents. This is very important for us. Therefore, opening an embassy in Ethiopia is commendable."Addressing to speaker Ogtay Asadov, MP Fazil Mustafa noted that nearly 20 MPs want to initiate the establishment of the Northern Cyprus Parliamentary Working Group."In any case, we want to consult this issue. Anyway, we think it's important to form this working group."After a short discussion, the MPs approved the document on opening of an embassy in Ethiopia.source...News.Az

AFCON 2013: Ethiopia 2nd in ticket sales

Dec 28th, 2012 The organizing committee of the 2013 AFCON has announced that the ticket sales for the tournament are not going as they hoped for. The committee had planned to sale 500,000 tickets by now but only 300,000 tickets have been sold so far. From the 300,000 tickets sold already, the committee announced, 38,000 are for the opening game and 20,000 are for the final. Both are to be held in Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg.The committee also announced the countries who have bought the highest number of tickets. Zambia leads the way with 50,000 tickets sold while Ethiopia is second with 30,000. Algeria is placed third with 15,000 ticket sales. The remaining countries in the tournament, apart from South Africa, have only bought a combined total of 15,000 tickets.Most of the tickets sold to Ethiopian fans are believed to be bought by Ethiopians residing in South Africa. But the football federation has recently requested to buy 15,000 tickets for fans in Ethiopia who will go to South Africa to support their team.Even though the ticket sales are not high up to the organizing committee’s expectation, it is anticipated that this will be the highest attended AFCON of all time.Source: http://www.ethiopianationalteam.blogspot.com

Nile River Study by Global Research

Ethiopia has pushed forward her demand to develop water resources through hydroelectric power along the Nile. However, for several decades, Egypt has denied other riparian countries complete access to water resources along the .. Read more
The Geopolitics of Water in the Nile River Basin | Global Research

Ethiopia Working for better pastoralists livelihood

Characterized by erratic rainfall and high mean temperatures, Ethiopia's dry land accounts for 60 per cent of the country's landmass. These areas have most effectively supported the pastoral livelihood system. Pastoralism converts periodic rainfall and patchy vegetation into nutritional and economic value through the sale and consumption of livestock and other related products. Read more below 

Ethiopia: Working for better pastoralists livelihood - News - Professional Resources - PreventionWeb.net

Westin Hotels to Manage AU Hotel in Ethiopia

Tuesday, 25 December 2012 |Westin Hotels and Resorts is currently negotiating with MIDROC Ethiopia to manage the new African Union Grand Hotel. The hotel is currently under construction in the compound of the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa.Westin is in the final stages of discussions as part of the process of taking over the management of the new grand Hotel being built by MIDROC. The Hotel is expected to launch operations staring from 2013. The opening of the Hotel is intended to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the African Union, it was said.   The speed of the construction project has been helped by a recent loan granted of 850 million birr, by the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia. The total expense of the construction of the hotel is estimated to require about 1.2 billion birr. The design of the hotel calls for a complex, multipurpose and standard construction that is designed for presidents, diplomats and business travelers. It is expected to include meeting rooms, suites and rooms, swimming pool and spa, restaurants and bar, grand club, multipurpose ballroom, business center and parking.Westin Hotels and Resorts brand is an international hotel brand, part of Starwood’s Hotels and Resorts Worldwide since it was acquired by Starwood in 1994. Recently Westin has focused on expanding global market, owning 160 locations in 37 countries last year.Source: Capital

Vaughan teen's philanthropy lands her meeting with Harper

Hannah Godefa has rubbed shoulders with local politicians and heads of state in Africa, still the 15-year-old philanthropist was honoured to land a meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper two weeks ago. “It was really, really exciting,” she said. “He was very friendly, gracious, approachable — and he was really supportive, too.” The pair chatted about her initiatives and what Mr. Harper is doing for education in Canada and abroad, aigaforum.com

Ethiopia Earns $1 Billion from Exports

Monday, 24 December 2012 Ethiopia earned one billion US dollars from the export sector in just the last five months according to an announcement by the Ministry of Trade.The revenue earned over this period has exceeded the revenue raised over the same period in the last fiscal year by 108.6 million US dollars said Amakele Yimam, Head of Publications and Communications with the ministryA significant portion of the revenue raised came from the export of gold and coffee according to Amakele. Cereals, oilseeds, flowers and live animals were also significant contributors to the increased export revenue he added.The export of manufactured and processed goods such as leather and leather products, textile and garment, vegetables and fruits, spices and meat alone raised an estimated 140 million US dollars according to Amakele. It is to be remembered that the Ministry of Trade is expecting to earn 5 billion US dollars from foreign exports in the current fiscal year according to the projections it announced at the beginning of the budget year.Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Dr. Tewodros Affirms Ethiopia's Continued Support to IGAD

21 December 2012 , Source: Government of EthiopiaForeign Affairs Minister Dr. Tewodros said Ethiopia would remain resolute in strengthening the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). The Minister made his remarks at a meeting with IGAD's Executive Secretary, Mahboub Maalim, on Thursday (December 20th).Dr. Tedros noted that Ethiopia attached great importance to IGAD's effort to boost regional integration and would always remain supportive of efforts to strength IGAD. Ethiopia would further intensify its efforts in connecting neighboring countries through infrastructural links, he added.Executive Secretary Maalim said that IGAD had carried out tremendous activities under the leadership of Ethiopia, and called on the Ethiopian government to continue its support to improve and strengthen the regional body. The Minister and the Executive Secretary agreed on the need for the international community to provide timely and effective support to the new government in Somalia.

Made In Ethiopia clutch bags get rave reviews in Glamour Magazine

Made In Ethiopia clutch bags get rave reviews in Glamour MagazineLaurel Pantin, the associate shopping and accessories editor for Glamour magazine, knows a thing or two about fashion.Writing for the fashion magazine Glamour, she has some nice things to say about Ethiopian made leather pouches from Sammy Ethiopia. In a blog titled, All I Want for Christmas is Sammy Ethiopia , she writes "I flipped when I saw Sammy leather pouches in our fashion closet!". The brand is hand-made in Ethiopia and available for sale at luxuray department store Barney's New York.The company also makes and exports scarfs that sells for over $150, with brand name like Negele, Dukeme, Adama and Gonder. The company was founded by Sammy Abdella and Holly Hikido.You can see some their products from this site... http://m.asos.com/mt/www.asos.com/search/sammy?hrd=1&q=sammy&MID=35719&affid=2135&WT.tsrc=Affiliate&siteID=QFGLnEolOWg-uO5TyBuHzU.ur.Q4P3c8Bg&r=2&pgesize=12&un_jtt_redirect

GEEZ fonts for typing Amharic/Tigrinia.. Enjoy :)

Amharic Keyboard Online • Geez Alphabet • LEXILOGOS >>

World Bank to Provide 4 Billion US Dollars to Ethiopia

The World Bank launched today (December 20, 2012) Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for Ethiopia in which the Bank planned to provide 4 billion US dollars to the country for the coming four years supporting its Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP).

Pannelists after the launch of World Bank’s CPS – photo:
newbusinessethiopia.com

“One of the key pillars we focused on in the strategy is job creation,” said World Bank Country Director Guang Zhe Chen, speaking at the launching ceremony of CPS held this morning at the Sheraton Addis. “This is one of the key areas Ethiopia needs to focus at the moment…It is because jobs fight poverty and create opportunities. CPS is not only about the future, it is also about effective implementations of existing programs,” he said.CPS, which used to be called Country Assistance Strategy, started July 1, 2012 will be implemented till June 30, 2016.Sufian Ahmed Minister of Finance and Economic Development of Ethiopia, on his part noted that CPS is a testimony of the long standing collaboration between the country and the World Bank. The minister also urged the Bank to deliver finance on timely manner and review implementations accordingly.GTP, which was launched by the Government of Ethiopia two and half years ago, ambitiously targets to double the economy of country shifting it from agrarian to industrialized nation by 2015. “Our priority is to continue the momentum of inclusive and job creating growth in Ethiopia,” said Ahmed Shide, State Minister of MoFED, uploading the ‘double digit growth’ recorded for about the last eight years.Ethiopia and World Bank began relationship in 1955 and currently the country is the largest beneficiary in Africa.Among others, CPS new elements include: macroeconomic issues such as job creation and public sector effectiveness. While extending partnerships with regions, development partners from emerging economies and private sector, academician as well as NGOs.It also aims to deploy to a larger extent analytical work to support evidence-based dialogue; resume the budget support agenda, which the bank suspended after the 2005 Ethiopian election crises. CPS plans also to gradually increase utilization of the recently approved Program for Results (PforR) instrument....

Meet Miss Ethiopia at Miss Universe 2012

Style Fashion Beauty

Miss Ethiopia Helen Getachew Photo By Matt Brown The 2012 Miss Universe Competition airs tonight on NBC at 8 p.m. Representing Ethiopia in the big stage is Miss Ethiopia Helen Getachew.Bio from Miss Universe websiteHelen Getachew grew up in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where she had a very spiritual upbringing. She enjoys reading the Bible, spending time with family and friends at the cafe, and studying fashion. Helen hopes to one day be involved in working with organizations that help the poor, especially children. Currently, she is employed with Unilever in their Promotions .. Source

Ethiopia gets first textile chemicals & dyestuff warehouse

Source: fibre2fashion.com
Geneva-based Bezema Dyes and Chemicals has unveiled first of its kind textile chemicals & dyestuff bonded warehouse in Ethiopia to facilitate country-wide sourcing. The new warehouse set up in Jemo, located in south-west of Addis Ababa, is believed to ease the problems of scarcity of chemicals that the Ethiopian textile industry is facing at present. According to industry data, Ethiopian textile sector each year imports around 10,000 tons of different types of chemicals and 400 tons of dyestuffs.The Textile Industry Development Institute of Ethiopia selected Bezema, a sister concern of Switzerland-based CHT/BEZEMA AG for setting up the facility after holding discussions with two other companies - Switzerland’s Textile Color and Turkey’s Rose Textile.Pursuant to its selection, Bezema has also unveiled plans to set up a chemicals and dyes manufacturing plant in Ethiopia.Tags: manufacturing, textile

Lifan plans new assembly plant in Ethiopia

DECEMBER 19, 2012 BY JOEY WANG Lifan Industry Group Co, a Chinese automaker, plans to spend $3.5 million moving into a new vehicle-assembly plant in Ethiopia next year as it seeks to expand in Africa, General Manager Liu Jiang said.The company’s Ethiopian unit, Yangfan Motors Plc, may begin manufacturing cars in nation and spend as much as $30 million over five years if sales continue to grow, he said in an interview in the capital, Addis Ababa. Lifan is basing its African operations in Ethiopia because of the country’s “good relations” with China, its growing economy, low crime rate and political stability, Liu said on Friday.
Via: ChinaDaily.

Ethiopia: Ethiopia' Expenditure On Infrastructure Highest in Africa

18 December 2012 , Source: Government of Ethiopia...Ethiopia is spending $US 1.3 billion, 10 per cent of its GDP, annually on infrastructural development. This is said to be easily the highest percentage in Africa, according to an article by writers from the South African Institute of international Affairs.Under the title "The awakening of a sleeping giant" the authors report that Ethiopia's Growth and Transformation Plan has made energy and transport infrastructure particular priorities. They note the ambitious plans to improve infrastructure facilities for its over 80 million people and the progress already made in roads and hydropower projects. The report described the huge construction going in Addis as a stunning."When you walk on the streets of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, it feels like the city is one big building site" it said, adding that this is mainly driven by infrastructure development objectives. The report also covers the meteoric rise of, Ethiopian Airlines, which has an extensive network across Africa and an excellent safety record, and has become a regional leader and one of Africa's three top international carriers.

Khartoum's Ethiopian Hydro-Power Energy Importation Tests Begin

17 December 2012 , By Tesfa-Alem Tekle, Source: Sudan Tribune
Addis AbaabEthiopia has started a test run of electricity supply to neighbouring Sudan, according to state power utility, Ethiopian Electric and Power Corporation (EEPCo).Head of EEPCo, Mihret Debeb, said that Ethiopia has been testing the power supply tests since the completion of the Ethiopia-Sudan transmission line.The 230kV cross-border transmission line stretches for 296km from Ethiopia to Sudan.Debeb said Sudan is now being provided with 100MW of electricity via the Gedaref-Galabat transmission line which will, in the long-term, enable Khartoum to replace its thermal power generating units with Ethiopia's renewable and clean hydro-power generated energy.According to Debeb, Sudanese president, Omar Al Bashir, will soon visit to Ethiopia to attend the project's official inauguration ceremony.Bashir is also expected to hold bilateral talks with Ethiopia's new prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn.Financed by the World Bank, the US$41million power project has three sections: Bahir Dar-Gondar, 137.2km; Gondar-Shehedie, 122km; and Shehedie-Metema, 37km.The final section of the project connects with a transmission line in the east Sudanese city of Gedaref, which joins the power grid of the two neighbouring countries.The Ethiopia-Sudan Transmission Line Project will eventually link Ethiopia's hydro-electric power source to the rest of East Africa via projects between Ethiopia-Kenya, Tanzania-Zambia-Kenya-Uganda and Ethiopia-Sudan-Egypt.As part of the five year Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP), Ethiopia is aiming to boost its power production capacity from the current 3000MW to 10,000MW when the construction of a multi-billion dollar dam project on the Nile is completed by 2015.The Nile dam project which will be Africa's biggest has hydro electricity generation capacity of 6,000MW.Ethiopia is considered among continent's leading natural energy producer and has an estimated hydroelectric production capacity of 45,000MW.In 2010 the ethnic rights organisation, Survival International described Ethiopia's plans to build Africa's largest hydro-electric dam as "atrocious," claiming that it will displace 200,000 people. The Italian company responsible for the construction of the dam denied the claims.In 2012 the New York-based Human Rights Watch claimed planned sugar plantations, which will be irrigated by the same Gibe III hydropower project could affect at least 200,000 people in the World Heritage Site, Omo Valley, and 300,000 people across the border in Kenya's Lake Turkana region.The UN has also voiced its concern about the project.

Ethiopia to Complete 97% of Rib Dam

Friday, 14 December 2012 - ConstructionShare |The Ethiopian Ministry of Water and Energy said it is committed to finalizing more than 97 per cent of the construction work on the Rib dam this fiscal year. The government has allocated more than 270.3 million birr to complete the designated percent of the dam in the current financial year according to Bizuneh Tolch, Ministry Public Relations and Communication Director.The construction work on the Rib Dam was launched in Ebinat and Farta woredas, Amhara State five years ago and is expected to require a total capital investment of 1.6 billion birr.The ministry is focusing on finalizing the dam as per the scheduled time limit with more than 30.4 percent of the construction of the dam already completed so far he explained.The Rib Dam has the capacity to hold more than 243 million meter cubic water and has a height of 73.2 meters and is 800 meters in length. The dam was developed on 14 thousand hectares of land said Bizuneh.Source: WaltaShare |

Ethiopia to Build 4 Dams on Nile River

Thursday, 30 June 2011

Country plans to generate 11,000 MW

Ethiopia is preparing to build four hydro electric power dams on the Nile River as it plans to export electric power to its neighbouring countries.One of the dams is expected to generate 5,250 megawatts (MW) of electricity when it is operational.Studies show that the four dams together will have the capacity to generate about 11,000 MW of electricity, Simegenew Bekele, project manager of the Nile River dam project, said.Work on the four dams is scheduled to begin in 2015 after the completion of the 3.3 billion euro Great Renaissance Dam.Salini, an Italian construction company, has been commissioned to construct the dam.Work is on progress with no geological and geographical challenges, everything is going on as scheduled, Simegenew said. Work is also underway to divert the water for the construction of the Renaissance Dam.Ethiopia has entered into agreements Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti to supply them with electricity. The country is ready to start supplies to Sudan in July.Ethiopia has already started exporting power to Djibouti and Kenya.Construction of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will be completed in 2015.Source: The Africa ReportLast Updated ( Thursday, 30 June 2011 13:48 )

Ethiopia to Implement Unified Billing System

Thursday, 13 December 2012 |Ethiopia is to implement a unified billing system for water, telephone, and electricity as of the coming January.  The new unified billing system is to be automated. The system was designed by Global Communication Solutions, an Ethiopian IT company, and NCR and AT&T, its partners from US. The project was undertaken by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology  in an agreement signed with the companies. The implementation of the project starts from the coming month and aims at modernizing the bill collection system of Ethiopia.  The three governments offices that collect bills separately, the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation , Ethio-Telecom,  and Addis Ababa Water and Sewerage Authority have completed the installation and testing of the new system.It was noted that the plan to implement a unified billing system was intended to take effect last year but delayed due to several problems.The project has been delayed mainly due to problems of the lack of a proper standard building that houses the new system in the country. But now the company has linked 25 billing stations in the capital city through networking to undertake the bill collection without a need for a modern building. The new system is said to help residents of Addis Ababa settle their bills in a single payment at the various UBS stations around town.Source: Capital

Ethiopian Airline wins International Diamond Prize for Excellence

Addis Ababa, December 7 (WIC) - Ethiopian Airlines announced that it has been awarded the International Diamond Prize for Excellence in Quality by the European Society for Quality Research (ESQR) on December 2, 2012 in Brussels.Ethiopian won the award for its commitment to quality, excellence and continuous improvement. Esayas Woldemariam, SVP Global Sales, received the award on behalf of Ethiopian during the ceremony held in Brussels."This award is yet another testament of the hard work and dedication of all employees of Ethiopian. It is through their continuous strive for excellence that Ethiopian is one of the fastest growing airlines in the world providing quality service to customers," said Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO of Ethiopian.The European Society for Quality Research (ESQR), an organization dedicated to quality, recognition and research, presents the International Diamond Prize for Excellence in Quality to selected companies and organizations for their efforts, achievements and excellence in quality management.This award is a continuation of recognition of Ethiopian operational excellence and performance. The International Diamond Prize for Excellence is the sixth international award Ethiopian has received in 2012.Ethiopian Airlines, the fastest growing airline in Africa, made its maiden international flight to Cairo in 1946 and now the Airline provides dependable services to 70 international destinations spanning four continents. Waltainfo.com

Bahir Dar Hosts Symposium on 7th NNPs Day

Bahir Dar, December 7 (WIC) – Amid festivities to mark the seventh Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Day, Bahir Dar, seat of Amhara regional state, hosts national symposium on the values of the FDRE Constitution.Senior government officials, representatives of nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia and students, held a discussion on a paper titled “Constitution, Democracy and Development in Ethiopia”. Presenting the paper, Dr Abraham Tekeste, state minister of finance and economic development, said: “The FDRE Constitution has addressed the age old pressing issues of nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia and hence encouraging results in development and democratization have also been registered”.He said the country has managed to reduce the number of people living below the poverty line by 15.9 percent in 15 years. “This is indicative that Ethiopia is inline to meet the Millennium Development Goals to reduce poverty by half by 2015,” Dr Abraham said attributing the success to the system created by the FDRE Constitution.Speaking on the symposium, Bereket Simon, minister of Government Communications Affairs Office, said that the country has registered remarkable economic development in the last two decades.Over the past two decades we have come a long way in ensuring equality of nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia as well as bringing about sustained economic growth, Bereket said. The Minister stressed the need to do more in terms of ensuring economic and political participation of the youth, women and pastoral communities.Some participants of the symposium told WIC that the symposium details the significance of the constitution as a basis for Ethiopia’s democracy and development. The participants maintained the need to work together to identify challenges so as to sustain the positive gains the FDRE Constitution brought to the country..Waltainfo.com