Ethiopian church speaks out on Ark of the Covenant

30 June, 2009

There was considerable confusion last week when the leader of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church apparently told an Italian news agency of an upcoming announcement about the possible public display of the Ark of the Covenant – the box holding the Ten Commandments – and then the prescribed time passed with no word. more >>

New Ethiopia law may criminalise opposition - group

30 June, 2009

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - A draft Ethiopian law could define criticism of the government as a "terrorist act" and be used to crack down on the opposition if it is passed by parliament, a rights group said on Tuesday. more >>

Somali hardline Islamists threaten Ethiopia

30 June, 2009

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's Islamist rebels threatened on Tuesday to attack Ethiopia after repeated witness reports that Ethiopian troops were back in the chaotic Horn of Africa country they withdrew from in January. more >>

Africa cries for Michael Jackson

26 June, 2009

BBC NEWS - News of pop star Michael Jackson's death has been greeted with a mixture of disbelief and sadness across Africa. more >>

U.S. Sends Weapons to Help Somali Government

25 June, 2009

Washingtonpost - The United States has sent a shipment of weapons and ammunition to the government of Somalia, according to a U.S. official who said the move signals the Obama administration's desire to thwart a takeover of the Horn of Africa nation by Islamist rebels with alleged ties to al-Qaeda. more >>

Boeing warns of more Dreamliner delays

23 June, 2009

FT - Boeing has been forced to postpone the first flight of its troubled 787 Dreamliner, its flagship new aircraft development programme, after discovering a weakness in the structure of the jet. more >>

Ethiopia's annual inflation slows to 14.2 pct in May

23 June, 2009

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia's annual inflation rate fell to 14.2 percent in May from 23.4 percent in April, in line with slowing inflation around the east African region, the government said on Tuesday. more >>

Ethiopian premier ready to stand down

23 June, 2009

FT - Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia’s prime minister and one of Africa’s more prominent leaders on the world stage, says he is preparing to step down more >>

Locusts swoop down on Ethiopia

23 June, 2009

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) – Crops in large swathes of Ethiopia risk being destroyed by swarms of locusts coming from northern Somalia, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Tuesday. more >>

Ethiopia Says World Bank to Blame for Power Blackouts

22 June, 2009

(Bloomberg) - Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said the World Bank and international donors share the blame for nationwide power cuts that led the government to trim its economic growth forecast. more >>

Somalia needs troops from neighbours within 24 hours

20 June, 2009

BBC NEWS - The speaker of Somalia's parliament has called for neighbouring states including Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Yemen to send troops to the country within 24 hours. more >>

Ethiopia confirms first cases of H1N1

20 June, 2009

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia has confirmed its first cases of H1N1 flu virus, Health Minister Tewedros Adhanhom said on Friday. It was the second country after South Africa to report the deadly flu. more >>

Ethiopia oil seed exports earn more than coffee

19 June, 2009

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Oil seed exports overtook coffee as Ethiopia's biggest foreign exchange earner in the 11 months to May, the agriculture ministry said on Friday. more >>

South African rape survey shock

18 June, 2009

BBC NEWS - One in four men in South Africa may have raped someone - with most of those attacking more than one victim, data from a new survey suggests. more >>

Somali security minister killed in suicide bombing

18 June, 2009

MOGADISHU (AFP) – Somalia's security minister was among 20 people killed Thursday in a suicide bombing that the country's leaders have blamed on Al-Qaeda affiliated insurgents. more >>

Iran accuses US of meddling after disputed vote

17 June, 2009

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran accused the United States on Wednesday of "intolerable" meddling in its internal affairs, alleging for the first time that Washington has fueled a bitter postelection dispute. Opposition supporters marched in Tehran's streets for a third straight day to protest the outcome of the balloting. more >>

Ethiopian Rights Lawyer, VOA Reporter Face Prison in Contraband Case

17 June, 2009

VOA - The Chairman of Ethiopia's independent Human Rights Council and former Supreme Court justice Abebe Worke along with VOA Amharic service reporter Meleskachew Ameha appeared at a pre-trial hearing Wednesday in an Addis Ababa, Ethiopia court. more >>

Ethiopia Authority Probes Alleged Tax Dodgers, Loan Sharks

15 June, 2009

Addis Ababa (Fortune) - Investigators from the Revenues & Customs Authority (RCuA) made a series of arrests saying that they are in hot pursuit of a ring of businessmen allegedly involved in massive tax evasion. more >>

Independent radio station for Eritreans begins broadcasting from Paris

15 June, 2009

RSF - Radio Erena (“Our Eritrea”), a Tigrinya-language station broadcasting by satellite to Eritrea, began operating today in Paris, five days ahead of World Refugee Day. more >>

Ethiopia plot suspects tortured, say relatives

15 June, 2009

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - A group of men accused of plotting to topple Ethiopia's government were tortured in prison during lengthy interrogations, relatives said on Monday. more >>

Ethiopian scientist named 2009 World Food Prize Laureate

11 June, 2009

The World Food Prize - The 2009 World Food Prize will be awarded to Dr. Gebisa Ejeta of Ethiopia, whose sorghum hybrids resistant to drought and the devastating Striga weed have dramatically increased the production and availability of one of the world’s five principal grains and enhanced the food supply of hundreds of millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa. more >>

Ethiopian Airlines says to go ahead with Dreamliner order

09 June, 2009

KUALA LUMPUR(Reuters) - Ethiopian Airlines will take all 10 of the Boeing (BA.N) 787 Dreamliners it has ordered, its CEO said on Tuesday, and may buy more planes as it sees medium-term growth of 20 percent in revenues and passengers. more >>

Stowaway From Ethiopia Found at Dulles

08 June, 2009

washingtonpost - A stowaway who apparently hid aboard a flight from Ethiopia to Washington was found in the plane's baggage hold by workers at Dulles International Airport, authorities said last night. more >>

EIB statement on its possible involvement in the Gibe 3 project in Ethiopia

07 June, 2009

Following the recent publication of erroneous information regarding the alleged European Investment Bank decision not to finance the Gibe 3 project in Ethiopia, the EIB would like to confirm that, as of today, the Bank has not taken any formal decision on whether to undertake an appraisal of this project. more >>

Ethiopia sees annual growth down at 10 pct

07 June, 2009

CAIRO (Reuters) - Ethiopia expects economic growth to slow to 10 percent in the current fiscal year from 11.6 percent a year earlier, while inflation should dip into single digits by 2009/10, its finance minister said on Sunday. more >>

Harsh Austerity Measures Implemented in Ethiopia

05 June, 2009

VOA News - Ethiopia, already among the poorest countries, has suffered a series of recent economic setbacks, forcing officials to take drastic countermeasures to avoid a financial meltdown. more >>

Ethiopia charges 46 with 'assassination plot'

04 June, 2009

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) – Ethiopia on Thursday charged 46 people, most of them ex-military, of plotting to assassinate government officials, a government spokesman said. more >>

What a nose dive! could it be testing airbags?

03 June, 2009

Addis Ababa (Fortune) - Toyota automobile plunged into a ravine on the night of May 23, 2009, at around 7:30pm, not far from the CMC residential complex, in front of Yetebaberut Gas station. more >>

Ethiopian rebels threaten foreign oil companies

03 June, 2009

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - An Ethiopian rebel group on Wednesday warned international oil companies against exploring in a region of the Horn of Africa nation where the rebels attacked a Chinese-run field in 2007 killing 74 people. more >>