Released editor calls his detention in Gondar an “eye-opener”

31 August, 2008

After spending six days in a regional state prison, Amare Aregawi described his experience as an eye-opener to how little attention is being given to the plight of average citizens in different parts of the country. more >>

Addis Ababa has undergone some dramatic changes over the past years

31 August, 2008

A new look for Ethiopia's capital as areas where green grass grew are being replaced with buildings. more >>

Tirunesh Dibaba to marry Ethiopian team mate and fiance Sileshi Sihine

29 August, 2008

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Olympic 5,000 and 10,000 metres champion Tirunesh Dibaba plans to repeat her golden double at the world athletics championships in Berlin next year. more >>

FIFA cancels Ethiopia World Cup qualifier

29 August, 2008

ZURICH (Reuters) - Ethiopia's hopes of taking part in the 2010 World Cup were dealt a further blow on Friday when FIFA confirmed that it was cancelling a qualifying match against Morocco scheduled for September 7. more >>

Somali Insurgents welcome Ethiopian hint of military withdrawal

29 August, 2008

Somali insurgents welcomed Ethiopia's hint that it will withdraw its troops from Somalia even before the current Somali interim government is stable and effective, spokesman for the group said on Friday. more >>

Newspaper editor freed on bail

28 August, 2008

Reporters Without Borders has learned the good news that Amare Aregawi, the editor of the privately-owned Amharic-language weekly Reporter, was released yesterday evening. more >>

Ethiopia hints at leaving Somalia

28 August, 2008

Ethiopia is prepared to withdraw troops from Somalia even if the interim government is not stable, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has said. more >>

Ethiopia welcomes Olympics stars

27 August, 2008

Thousands of cheering Ethiopians have lined the streets of the capital, Addis Ababa, to welcome home the country's Olympic gold-medal winning athletes. more >>

Sudanese plane hijackers surrender in Libya

27 August, 2008

Libya's civil aviation director Mohammed Shlibaq said that two Egyptian members of the UN-led Darfur peacekeeping force, two Ethiopians and a Ugandan were among the passengers, the official JANA news agency reported. more >>

Well-known newspaper editor arrested for article questioning big brewery’s labour practices

26 August, 2008

Reporters Without Borders is dismayed to learn that Amare Aregawi, the editor of the big-circulation weekly Reporter, was arrested on 22 August in Addis Ababa and was then illegally transferred to a prison in Gondar, 750 km north of the capital, in connection with a libel case brought by the Gondar-based Dashen brewery. more >>

China used planes, rockets to prevent wet end of Games

25 August, 2008

BEIJING (AFP) - Meteorologists dispatched eight planes to release rain dispersal chemicals and fired 241 rockets into incoming clouds to ensure a dry Beijing Olympics closing ceremony, state media said Monday. more >>

Thousands displaced by floods in Ethiopia

25 August, 2008

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Flooding in Ethiopia's western Gambella region has killed three people, displaced thousands and destroyed crops, an official said on Monday. more >>

Bekele wins 5,000, completes distance double

23 August, 2008

BEIJING - Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia has won the 5,000 meters in an Olympic record to complete a distance double at the Beijing Games. more >>

Ethiopia’s Dibaba Outkicks Rival to Complete a Distance Double

22 August, 2008

BEIJING — The women’s 5,000 meters has become less of an open race than a personal tug of war between Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba and Meseret Defar. more >>

Eritrean immigrants arrive by boat in Italy

22 August, 2008

Would-be immigrants from Eritrea arrive by boat in the port of Italy's southern island of Lampedusa on August 21, 2008. more >>

Nokia Customising Phones for the Ethiopian Market

21 August, 2008

Nokia is customising a range of handsets, including some 3G models for the Ethiopian market by adding Ethiopic text capabilities to their phones. more >>

US suspends refugee program after DNA fraud

21 August, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States on Wednesday suspended a program aimed at reuniting refugees from mainly East Africa with relatives in the United States after DNA testing revealed rampant fraud. more >>

Wabe Shebele Hotel Returns to Royalty

19 August, 2008

The Federal Government has decided to return Wabe Shebele Hotel, located near Mexico Square, in Kirkos District, to its original owners. more >>

'Miracle' woman gives birth to septuplets in Egypt

19 August, 2008

CAIRO (AFP) - An Egyptian woman has given birth to a set of septuplets in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, in what doctors termed "a miracle," the official MENA news agency reported on Saturday. more >>

Georgian President Saakashvili eats his tie on TV

19 August, 2008

The BBC has recently aired a TV report, in which Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili ate his tie. more >>

Djibouti Suspends Port Tariff Increase

19 August, 2008

The government of Djibouti has suspended planned tariff increases on port services, a day before it was due to come into effect on August 15, 2008. more >>

Russian tycoon buys world's most expensive villa

18 August, 2008

Mikhail Prokhorov is believed to have paid more than £400 million for Villa Leopolda, built in 1902 for Belgian King Leopold II near Cap Ferrat, between Nice and Monaco. more >>

Ethiopia's Bekele wins men's 10,000m gold

17 August, 2008

BEIJING (AFP) - Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia won his second successive Olympic 10,000 metres gold medal on Sunday, producing a devastating burst of speed on the last lap to see off any pretenders to his title. more >>

Ethiopia's Dibaba wins 10,000m gold

15 August, 2008

BEIJING (AFP) - Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba produced her trademark electric last lap to win the women's 10,000 metres gold medal at the Olympics on Friday. more >>

Addis Ababians hunger for SIM cards more than for bread

13 August, 2008

Last week witnessed long queues in every corner of Addis Abeba as residents who wanted to acquire ordinary subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards for their mobile phones packed in front of, and around branches of the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) and private establishments that the former licensed to sell SIM cards. more >>

Man to walk from Accra to Ethiopia

13 August, 2008

Mr Richard Mosiah Ababba Allen, 41 year-old Master of Civil Law, told the media that he would walk from Tamale to Accra and then proceed to Ethiopia to present a White Flag to the AU President at the AU summit. more >>

Chinese firm invests in Ethiopian leather sector

13 August, 2008

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - A Chinese company has signed a $34 million deal with Ethiopia to build four factories producing leather goods north of the capital Addis Ababa. more >>

Czech aircraft company opens in Ethiopia

11 August, 2008

Aero vodochody, a Czech company, is to start assembling aircrafts in Ethiopia, which will increase the number of its assembling plants in Africa to three. more >>

In Ethiopia, jailed singer Tewodros Kassahun is a political symbol

11 August, 2008

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA -- Sequestered in a dank prison cell here, Ethiopia's biggest reggae star awaits trial in a deadly hit-and-run case that has galvanized the nation. more >>

Eritrean asylum-seekers told to leave Tel Aviv area

11 August, 2008

TEL AVIV (IRIN) - Thousands of Eritrean asylum-seekers in Israel have been told they will have to leave the greater Tel Aviv area and move to other parts of the country. more >>

Ethiopia keeps on resolving Ethio-Eritrea border dispute peacefully

10 August, 2008

Addis Ababa (ENA) - A senior Foreign Affairs Ministry official said dialogue is the only option to resolve Ethio-Eritrea border dispute peacefully. more >>

Athletics provides most flag bearers at Beijing Olympics opening ceremony

08 August, 2008

BEIJING (Xinhua) -- Athletics will provide the most flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on Friday night. more >>

Defar – ‘I am back to my best and ready for Beijing’

07 August, 2008

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Has Olympic and World 5000m champion Meseret Defar lost some of her spark? Is she no longer the golden girl of Ethiopian athletics? more >>

Torch cheered through Beijing amid Tibet protest

06 August, 2008

BEIJING (AFP) - Flag-waving crowds cheered the torch relay through Beijing's Tiananmen Square Wednesday as Olympic fever mounted, but a dramatic Tibet protest and a row over Darfur clouded the Games build-up. more >>

Ethiopia aims to earn $200 mln from tourism in '08

06 August, 2008

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia hopes to boost tourism earnings 15 percent to $200 million this year, the government said on Wednesday. more >>

Canadian in Ethiopian jail to get lawyer, envoy says

06 August, 2008

The Harper government is satisfied with assurances that a Canadian imprisoned in Ethiopia for 18 months will be allowed legal representation and continued consular visits, Deepak Obhrai, parliamentary secretary to the Foreign Minister said yesterday. more >>

Internet Service Suspended in Eight Regional Towns

05 August, 2008

The state telecom monopoly, Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC), has suspended internet services in seven towns of the Oromia, Amhara and Harari regional states, as well as in Dire Dawa town. more >>

Israel receives last Ethiopian Jews

05 August, 2008

Israel says it has carried out its last major airlift of Ethiopian Jews, ending a 30-year immigration scheme that has seen some 100,000 move there. more >>

Ethiopian judge detains editor over pop singer case

05 August, 2008

Ethiopian judge overseeing the high-profile trial of an imprisoned pop singer jailed the editor of an independent weekly for contempt of court today. more >>

South Korean firm delivers commercial dog clones

05 August, 2008

SEOUL, South Korea - Booger is back. An American woman received five puppies Tuesday that were cloned from her beloved late pitbull, becoming the inaugural customer of a South Korean company that says it is the world's first successful commercial canine cloning service. more >>

Athlete managers warned to keep distance

03 August, 2008

Athlete manager Jos Hermens denied reports he has been suspended by the Ethiopian Athletics Federation over unwanted intrusion into Ethiopian Olympic team preparations. more >>

Bill Clinton flies to Africa on Google founder's party plane -- until it breaks down

03 August, 2008

Bill Clinton and a small gaggle of press went to Africa this week for the former president's annual tour of the continent, but as usual, went on two separate planes. Though this wouldn't normally be a tech subject, the owner of Clinton's plane, Google, is. more >>

UNESCO teams successfully complete return of Ethiopian obelisk to original site

02 August, 2008

One of Ethiopia’s most iconic monuments, the 1,700-year-old Aksum Obelisk, has been successfully reinstalled at its original location after the third and final block was mounted in place this week by teams from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). more >>

Two thirds of Somali ministers threaten to quit

02 August, 2008

MOGADISHU (AFP) - Two thirds of Somalia's cabinet threatened to resign Saturday over alleged misuse of state resources by the prime minister, opening a fresh political rift and undermining fledgling truce efforts. more >>

Clinton pledges more support to fight AIDS in Ethiopia

01 August, 2008

GODINO JITU, Ethiopia (AFP) - Former US president Bill Clinton on Friday pledged more support to combat HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia, where he started a four-nation African tour. more >>