US-based North Holdings to build cement factory in Ethiopia

December 28, 2013 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - An Ethio-American company based in the US, North Holdings Investment Inc., is to build a new cement factory with an outlay of USD 800 million in the Amhara Regional State near Dejen town. North Holdings Investment Inc president, Temesgen M. Bitew, told The Reporter that his company is planning to build the factory in east Gojam, Dejen wereda, Menda

locality. Temesgen said with two production lines the factory will have the capacity to produce 8.4 million tons of cement The idea of building the cement factory was conceived in 2006. According to Temesgen, the feasibility study was completed. The company is to hire a Danish contractor called FLS that would build the factory, supply and install the machineries.

Ethiopia's 'Festival of a Thousand Stars' Celebrates Diversity In The Cradle Of Humanity [PHOTOS]

Ethiopia's 'Festival of a Thousand Stars' Celebrates Diversity In The Cradle Of Humanity [PHOTOS]

Ethiopia plans $250 Million expansion project at Bole International Airport (ADD)

Addis Ababa Bole International Airport Terminal 2 Ethiopia plans $250 Million expansion project at Bole International Airport (ADD) Source: Reporter The Ethiopian Airports Enterprise is going to undertake a major expansion project at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport passengers' terminal at a cost of 250 million dollars. The newly-appointed CEO of the Ethiopian Airports Enterprise, Tewodros Dawit, told The Reporter that in line with the Ethiopian Airlines Vision 2025 development strategy the enterprise is undertaking various airport development projects. The Addis Ababa Bole International Airport Passengers' expansion project is one of them.

U.S. and UN Prepare Troops as Violence Grows in South Sudan

December 24, 2013 10:50 AM EST The U.S. and the United Nations are preparing to make more peacekeeping troops available for the growing conflict in South Sudan, as President Salva Kiir opened the door to talks with his deposed vice president.UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon asked the Security Council to add 5,500 soldiers to the peacekeeping mission of 7,000 already there. The U.S. is positioning troops in the Horn of Africa area to assist in any additional evacuations in South Sudan, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said yesterday.At an emergency meeting yesterday in New York, all 15 members of the UN Security Council showed a “positive reaction”

Ethiopia: EEPCo divided into Two Separate Entities

18 December 2013Category: The Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) is divided into two separate entities, the Ethiopian Electric Power and Ethiopian Electric Service, Ethiopian Press Agency reported. The corporation's power supply and electricity delivery services will be divided between the two new companies.“Accordingly, the Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) will be responsible for the power supply while EES will be responsible for delivering electricity services,”

Ethiopia brings home 140 000 migrants from Saudi

2013-12-18 14:40 Addis Ababa - Ethiopia has brought home close to 140 000 citizens from Saudi Arabia, the International Organisation for Migration said on Wednesday, a month after the oil-rich kingdom started deporting undocumented migrants.Thousands are continuing to arrive daily from Saudi Arabia, where a seven-month amnesty period for migrants expired in November and where Ethiopia says three of its nationals were killed in police clashes as the migrants prepared to leave. "Ethiopia and IOM are now looking at an additional 35 000 migrants expected to arrive from the cities of Riyadh, Jeddah and new arrivals from Medina," the IOM said in a statement.

Gilgel Gibe III Near Completion - to Go Operational in September

17 December 2013 , Source: Ethiopia Government One of the biggest power generating projects in Ethiopia, the Gilgel Gibe III, is expected to go fully operational on September 2014. H.E. Ato Alemayehu Tegenu, Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy said that so far 80% of construction work has been completed. One of the power projects planned to be commissioned within the GTP period, the Gilgel Gibe III will add 1,870MW electric power to the national grid upon its completion in September. The Minister also said that concurrent projects like the Genale Dam and the Adama II wind farm are progressing satisfactorily. Projects such as the Gilgel Gibe III project are expected to go a long way in providing energy for the domestic market, the demand of which has been expanding rapidly owing to the extensive infrastructure construction and increasing base of industry. However, power projects currently under construction are also expected to service the regional energy market. Ethiopia has already begun exporting electricity to Djibouti and Sudan and has started installing power transmission lines to Kenya. The energy policy of Ethiopia pictures development of energy sources that would be an instrument in enhancing co-operation and regional integration. Ethiopia's ambitious plan of generating 10,000 MW of energy within the GTP period was crafted, accordingly, with plans to provide energy to neighbouring countries

Ethiopia: ECX to Launch Online Trade Operation

17 December 2013 , Source: Addis Fortune The Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) is making preparations to introduce online trading that enables market players to participate directly in the trade wherever they are. Online trading is envisaged to increase access to ECX and its service; build capacity of various stakeholder groups; and increase efficiency.The Ethiopian government is implementing the online trade project in collaboration with Investment Climate Facility for Africa (ICF) in order to enhance the activates of ECX by creating a modern commodity trading platform which will introduce online trading, and establishing Remote Trading Centers in key locations across Ethiopia. The ICF is providing 2.2 million dollars of the total of 3.8 million dollar project cost and the Ethiopian government through the ECX is matching the remaining balance.The ECX information technology team is currently working on software design, development and other related functionalities to run a testing online trade platform.

What the Somalis can Learn from Ethiopian Cultural Festival?

By: Mohamed H.Bahal Somalilandsun - The Cultural Festival that held in Jigijiga was an immaculate efforts undertaken by both people and Government. It was human expression depicting the unity of people of 70 tribes of different culture, different region, different languages, and different religions, but under one nation.In a period of twenty one years, Ethiopia has shown remarkable transformation from feudal system into a capitalistic nation that embarked on economic and social success in urban improvement, modern highway system, transformation of peasant agriculture into commercial farming, and attracts foreign investment in industrialization projects.The core of such successes came from people who believe in the shrine of nationhood and the unity of their country.While Ethiopia was undergoing such economic transformation, Somalia was heading towards disintegration into a governance system so alien to a united Somalia. The present system of federalism was crafted by unholy alliances of UN, IGAD, and Europeans who after many years of negotiations came to believe that the Somalis have more pledges to clanism than nationhood.The medical subscription given to them happened to be a bitter pill that can't be swallowed.Right on the eve of forming federal system in different regions, it is apparent that clan feuds among the people living in the same districts came to the surface. This shows that the system has so much loophole that it can never result cohesive national government. It is a hodgepodge system that promotes clanism, lacks economic vitality, puts the regions on the mercy of central government for financial handout. Majority of the regions that will embody federalism, their people have no market economy, because they are either pastoralist or subsistent farmers. Despite this fact, the formation of regional governments emulate that of central government headed by president, cabinet ministers, and parliament.The constitutional wrangle that pops up every now and then and the challenges erupting from regional leaders, like Farole, is a clear indication that the system is elusive and inapt that can't function unless the constitution is subjected to review for amendment.If federalism works in Ethiopia why it doesn't work in Somalia? Ethiopians are people who subjected to rule and law for more than hundred years. They are zealous and patriotic. If even there are particular groups who oppose the government their dedication to their country remains unchanged. In the case of Somalis, if the head of the state is not their clan, they have no loyalty to that government. There is an anecdote that says two men who attended Friday pray came out of the Masjid. One of them said that he was impressed by the message of the Imam.The second one asked " What is Imam's clan?" This shows how clanism is embedded in minds of Somalis and if the Imam is not your clan you turn deaf ear to Allah messages.Regional Dignitaries at Jigjiga festivalIn the absence of national government much have been done in regions and districts that development never reached in the past. All by the efforts of clans, cities grew by leap and bound, educational institutions were built and managed by private people, and water wells were dug in areas that never had accessibility of water with the incomes came from Somali Diaspora.The district authorities have no financial sources to run social services, like dispensaries, hospitals, cities sanitations, and security. The spirit of self-reliance is so apparent in Somaliland where good governance and democratic elections held through out the years despite some deficiencies. Dependable security apparatus that exists in Somaliland is worth of emulation.All in all, the major deterrent to national unity is the abhorrent belief jn every Somali unless his/her clan gets a lion's share in the political power, they withheld their recognition to that government.

Mohamed H.Bahal

http://somalilandsun.com/index.php/opinion/4489-what-the-somalis-can-learn-from-ethiopian-cultural-festival

New Horse Species that Lived 4.4 Million Years Ago Identified in Ethiopia

By James A. Foley

Dec 12, 2013 04:29 PM EST The 4.4 million year old fossil of a newfound horse species fills a missing piece of the evolutionary history of horses in the fossil record, according to the researchers who discovered the specimen at a site in Ethiopia. Renowned Ethiopian geologist Giday WoldeGabrie, whom the newfound horse is named after, is pictured. The 4.4 million year old fossil of a newfound horse species fills a missing piece of the evolutionary history of horses in the fossil record, according to the researchers who discovered the specimen at a site in Ethiopia.The horse was about the same size as a small zebra, the researchers determined from the fossils, which were found in 2001 in the Gona area of the country's Afar region. Research co-author Scott Simpson, a professor of anatomy at Case Western Reserve's School of Medicine, said the fossils not only shed light on the evolutionary history of the horse, but also reveals data about the age of other fossils at the dig site.SHARE THIS STORY   "This horse is one piece of a very complex puzzle that has many, many pieces," Simpson said. The fossil horse was among many animals the lived in the region at the same time as Ardipithecus ramidus, the ancient ancestors of humans."The fossil search team spreads out to survey for fossils in the now arid badlands of the Ethiopian desert," Simpson said. "Among the many fossils we found are the two ends of the foreleg bone-the canon-brilliant white and well preserved in the red-tinted earth."It took Simpson and his colleagues several years to unearth the horse skeleton, finding pieces of it over time. Based on observations of a full-length leg bone, the researchers determined that the ancient horse was an adept runner, a conclusion drawn by the length of the leg bone, which was much longer than horses dated to be 2 million years of more older. An analysis of its teeth revealed it relied heavily on eating grasses."Grasses are like sandpaper," Simpson said. "They wear the teeth down and leave a characteristic signature of pits and scratches on the teeth so we can reliably reconstruct their ancient diets."The three-toed grass eating horse is called Eurygnathohippus woldegabrieli - named for renowned Ethiopian geologist Giday WoldeGabriel, a principle scientists on the Middle Awash project in Ethiopia."Giday oversees the sedimentology, geochronology and volcanology and how the Middle Awash Valley in the Afar rift is changing shape," Simpson said. "And he leads by example, in terms of working hard. He's not afraid of a very long walk in the heat, carrying a 5-pound hammer to collect samples."Simpson and his colleagues report their finding on the new ancient horse in the Journal of Vertebrate Patheology.

D.C., Meet Your New Sister City: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Tomorrow, D.C. will add a new sister city to its roster: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Mayor Vince Gray and Addis Ababa's mayor, Diriba Kuma, will sign a Sister City Agreement tomorrow evening at the Wilson Building, a press release states. The Sister City Agreement will "facilitate cultural and educational exchanges for the benefit of residents in both cities."D.C.'s "vibrant Ethiopian community" inspired the agreement with Addis Ababa, which is the capital city of Ethiopia. Indeed, as the BBC reported, as many as 250,000 Ethiopians live in and around Washington. A part of Shaw is unofficially referred to as Little Ethiopia.This partnership, says a press release, will provide an opportunity for both cities to "exchange information and collaborate on mutual priorities in many areas, including public health, urban development, transportation and youth engagement."Addis Ababa is now the fourteenth sister city for D.C., the others include Bangkok, Thailand; Dakar, Senegal; Beijing, China; Brussels, Belgium; Athens, Greece; Paris, France; Pretoria, South Africa; Seoul, South Korea; Accra, Ghana; Sunderland, U.K.; Rome, Italy; Ankara, Turkey; and Brasília, Brazil.

http://dcist.com/2013/12/dc_has_a_new_sister_city_addis_abab.php