Ethiopia still holds the highest recorded 9 UNESCO sites in Africa

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated 129 World Heritage Sites inAfrica. These sites are located in 37 countries (also called "state parties");Ethiopia is home to the most with nine sites, and twelve countries have only a single site each. Three sites are shared between two countries: the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve (Côte d'Ivoire andGuinea), the Stone Circles of Senegambia(the Gambia and Senegal) and the Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls (Zambia andZimbabwe).[1] The first sites from the continent were inscribed in 1978, when the Island of Gorée of Senegal and theRock-Hewn Churches of Ethiopia were chosen during the list's conception.[2][3]Each year, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee may inscribe new sites on the list, or delist sites that that no longer meet the criteria. Selection is based onten criteria: six for cultural heritage (i–vi) and four for natural heritage (vii–x).[4]Some sites, designated "mixed sites," represent both cultural and natural heritage. In Africa, there are 83 cultural, 41 natural, and 5 mixed sites.[1] Several efforts have been devoted to increasing the number of sites and preserving the heritage of existing sites on the continent; for example, on 5 May 2006, the African World Heritage Fund was launched by UNESCO to target the region of Sub-Saharan Africa. It planned to protect the sites by hiring personnel for state parties to maintain national inventories of existing sites, as well as to "prepare nomination dossiers for inscription onto the World Heritage List." Grants were also destined to help the "[conservation] and management of heritage properties in general" and to rehabilitate properties in danger.[5] The drive was initially funded by South Africawith US$3.5 million,[5] and, as of March 2011, has amassed $4.7 million from various countries, with an additional $4.1 million in pending pledges.[6] UNESCO has also attempted to increase awareness of African human origin sites in Ethiopia, with a goal of conserving and protecting the areas from further deterioration.[7]The World Heritage Committee may also specify that a site is endangered, citing "conditions which threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List."[8]Along with other World Heritage Sites, sites in danger are subject to re-evaluation by the committee every year at their "ordinary sessions".[9][10] Africa has the highest percentage of sites on the danger list with seventeen, accounting for 13% of the African sites and 44% of the 39 endangered sites worldwide, and the Democratic Republic of Congo is the only country to have more than two sites inscribed.[8] Sites in Africa have been marked as such for a variety of reasons, such as deforestationand hunting,[11][12] civil war,[13] threats to and hostage taking of reserve staff,[14]oil and gas projects and mining,[15]declines in biodiversity,[16] and structural damage to buildings.[17] Three sites were formerly declared as being in danger, but have since lost the status: theNgorongoro Conservation Area (1984–1989),[18] the Rwenzori Mountains National Park (1999–2004),[19] and Tipasa(2002–2006).[20] The Garamba National Park and Timbuktu have also lost their statuses in 1992 and 2005, respectively, but later regained it in 1996 and 2012.[21][22] Despite its large number of endangered sites and the circumstances surrounding them, African World Heritage Sites have never been stripped of their title, something that has only occurred twice. Source.. Wikipedia

Travel in Ethiopia.. Addis Abbaba and Omo Valley

The lower Omo Valley region of southwestern Ethiopia is overwhelmingly green, riven with steep-sided hills and home to about two dozen tribal groups, including the bull-jumping Hamer people, the decorated Mursi, whose women folk wear huge lip plates, and Surmi warriors, who paint themselves white to look like spirits in the night. Without any doubt, the lower Omo Valley is one of the most ethnically diverse corners of Africa.

Travel in Ethiopia: Addis Ababa and the Omo Valley - The National

Ethiopia Set To Join WTO By 2014

Posted on January 16, 2013. VENTURES AFRICA – Ethiopia may be eligible to join the World Trade Organisation(WTO) by 2014, according to officials at the organisation.The announcement that the country may be able to join the WTO within the next two years was made by Pascal Lamy, out-going Director General of the organisation while visiting Ethiopia to hold talks on the potential WTO membership.Lamy met with Ethiopia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Tedros Adhanom to discuss the accession procedures and requirements for membership, which the country has been working to meet for some time.Ethiopia made its initial application to become part of the WTO in 2003, and a Working Party to consider and guide the country’s accession was set up in February of the same year.Key issues pertaining to Ethiopia joining the WTO have surrounded the opening up of currently state-monopolised sectors, such as the telecommunications and finance sectors, while the country has also been called upon to allow investment by foreign entities.Ethiopia’s human rights policies and practices have also come under scrutiny over the protracted application process.The current announcement by Lamy indicates that Ethiopia may be nearing completion of all the transformations required by the organisation, with the Director General’s visit also intended to provide specific advice in order that the final stages of accession may be swift.In addition to the accession talks, Lamy also reportedly met with the country’s Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn – who replaced Prime Minister Meles Zenawi who died suddenly last year following an unspecified illness– in order to discuss matters of economic integration, with a view to creating a stable economic space in Ethiopia and the region, as well as speaking about Ethiopia’s role in the upcoming G-20 meeting to be held in Russia later this year.Once Ethiopia meets all of the requirements set out for accession, the final decision regarding membership will fall to the member countries of the WTO, who must all sign and ratify an accession agreement granting full membership.

Ethiopian underdogs out to surprise

(AFP) Sunday 13 January 2013They may not have the prestige, experience or star names of some of their more illustrious continental rivals, but Ethiopia are committed to excelling at the 2013 CAF Africa Cup of Nations.It is the first time the Horn of Africa squad has qualified for the pan-African tournament in 31 years, and though the odds might be stacked against them, the Walias Antelopes - named after an endangered antelope endemic to Ethiopia's northern mountains - are confident they will defy expectations and proceed to the knock-out stage of the tournament."We are going to face a lot of challenges and we have been away from the competition for a long time," striker Adane Girma told AFP. "But we have good morale, a good mentality and we are very strong, so we can face any kind of challenge," he added, sweat glistening on his forehead after practice at the national stadium in Addis Ababa.In a rare and unexpected feat, the Walias beat Sudan 2-0 last October in the Ethiopian capital, prompting thousands of jubilant fans to pour into the streets to celebrate. They are now preparing to face title holders Zambia on 21 January in South African city Nelspruit.Though Zambia is a stronger team, Girma said his squad is focused on beating them in order to move on to matches against two-time champions Nigeria and Burkina Faso in Group C. "We are just thinking about finishing that first game on top and then later think about Nigeria or Burkina Faso," he said.The mood is 100 per cent - they want to show their talent and sell their personality to the world.Ethiopia coach Sewnet Bishaw on his side's mood going into the Africa Cup of NationsStar striker Saladin Said added that he remains unfazed by the threat posed by stronger teams, stating: "We are not bothered by the names, our only focus is to win."But coach Sewnet Bishaw said that despite the team's confidence the Walias still lack international experience and boast few professional players. "Our players are young and they are less experienced with international matches like (the Cup of Nations)," he said.Said, who plays for Wadi Degla in Egypt, ranks as the team's only player plying his trade outside of Ethiopia. Bishaw believes his team's strengths, however, are in their passing and strong defence, which helped them draw a friendly against 2004 champions Tunisia in Qatar this month, and make them formidable competitors in South Africa.The draw against Tunisia was a "huge boost", according to Girma. And he is not prepared to stop there: he has his sights set on the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™. "We are leaders in the World Cup qualification group, and hopefully we are going to qualify for the World Cup," he said.But if they do not come out on top, Bishaw said the tournament is an opportunity for Ethiopia - a country better known for churning out world-class long distance runners than footballers - to prove their clout on the football pitch. "The mood is 100 per cent - they want to show their talent and sell their personality to the world," he said. Their participation alone in the competition is already a source of major national pride, a feeling bolstered, according Bishaw, by the fact that the entire operation is built up of Ethiopian natives. "We have tried many times to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations, we have tried many different types of coaches, including professionals from abroad - but now we are all locals here, we made it, so it's a great thing for our nation," he said, breaking into a wide smile. Add your comment

Ethiopia: Airline Receives Award for the Fifth Time in Two Years

14 January 2013 , Source: Addis Fortune Ethiopian Airlines received an award for being a pioneer in the bright future of African Renaissance during the ceremony organised to celebrate the 89th birthday and 60 years of diamond jubilee of President Girma Wolde Girorgis held at the Sheraton Addis on January 8, 2013.Ethiopian was given the award for continued growth and performance and for putting Ethiopia and the continent on the map by being the first airline outside of Japan to own and operate the Dreamliner line, according to the press release sent from the company.This is the fifth award Ethiopian has received since January 2011. The Airline won gold in the African Airline of the year 2011/12 award organised by the African Aviation News Portal. It also received the 2011 AFRAA award, African Airline of the year award and International Diamond prize in 2012.Ethiopian, which made its maiden international flight to Cairo in 1946, became a Star Alliance member in 2011. The Star Alliance network is the leading global airline network, offering 21,555 daily flights to 1,356 airports in 193 countries.

Ethiopia to Construct First Waste to Energy Conversion Plant

Wednesday, 09 January 2013- ConstructionThe Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation has struck a 120 million US dollar agreement with British company Cambridge Industries Limited to construct what it refers to as the first Sub-Saharan Africa Waste-To-Energy facility.The agreement signed last week at the Addis Ababa Hilton Hotel contracts for the construction of a facility with the capacity to generate 50 Mega Watts of power.The project is to be fully financed by funds from the Ethiopian government it was learned. The waste to energy conversion plant will be constructed in the Repi area of Addis Ababa on a plot owned by the EEPCo.The plant is expected to provide ‘clean and green’ power to the national grid as well as helping to manage solid waste generated in the city explained Mihiret Debebe Chief Executive Officer of EEPCo.The proximity of the plant to the city will save a significant amount of energy wasted in transporting power to the city from more remote locations he noted. The speed of delivery makes this a viable element of meeting the power generation objectives set for the power sector according to Mihiret.The potential to generate energy from waste exists in 35 municipalities in Ethiopia according to a recent study added Mihiret.Source: Capital

Alstom bags €250m Ethiopia hydro

Alstom has bagged a €250m contract to develop the 6000MW hydro power plant at Grand Renaissance dam on Ethiopia’s Blue Nile. The deal with Metals & Engineering Corporation will see the French outfit supply and supervise the installation of eight 375MW turbines and eight

generators for the first phase. The contract also includes engineering and commissioning of the power plant, which will be operated by EEPCO. Commissioning will start late this year and be phased over three years. When completed, Grand Renaissance will be the largest hydro project in Africa, with its output quadrupling Ethiopia’s current electricity production capacity. The potential hydro production of Ethiopia has been estimated at 35,000MW and the nation aims to become a key regional player in power generation. Alstom Renewable Power president Jérome Pécresse said: “This contract strengthens Alstom’s position in the African hydropower market. In Ethiopia, Alstom is already supplying wind turbines for the Ashegoda project and is willing to play a major role in developing Ethiopia’s energy sector.” Alstom has been active in Africa for 80 years and has hydroelectric projects in Mozambique, Angola, Ghana, South Africa, Sudan and Uganda. The company is currently carrying out contracts for the supply of turbines and generators at the new 120MW Ithezi-Thezi hydro plant in Zambia and the retrofit of the 712MW Inga 2A hydro plant in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Image: Rendering of the under-construction Grand Renaissance dam (Salini Construttori

100 places to see in Ethhiopia

Patricia Schultz redefined the concept of bucket lists when her book "1,000 Places to See Before You Die" hit stores in 2003 and was updated in 2011. It was and continues to be a hit, with a dizzying checklist of the popular and the exotic travel spots.Now Schultz, who produced a Travel Channel show based on the book, leads a trip to Ethiopia in the spring that visits many UNESCO World Heritage Sites as well as the capital, Addis-Abbaba.

LA Times

Leaders of Sudan and South Sudan in Ethiopia.

KHARTOUM, Sudan - The presidents of Sudan and South Sudan, two nations that have been locked in a tense dispute over borders, territory and oil since the south split off and became its own country 18 months ago, arrived in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on Friday for a summit meeting intended to speed up an agreement signed between both sides last September.

NYT: Leaders of Sudan and South Sud

Welcome To Ethiopia

Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world. Ethiopia is unique in many ways, it has its own alphabet, its own calendar, and a landscape that is unparalleled. Honestly, one would be tired of listing what Ethiopia does have, especially in tourism and culture aspect. Of the numerous ones, the following are sample:

EthioSports » Welcome to Ethiopia