Climate for Africa growth more conducive - Ethiopia PM

31 March, 2008

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - China and India's explosion of trade with Africa and greater investment and tolerance by traditional partners have boosted the continent's development climate, Ethiopia's prime minister said on Monday. more >>

Ethiopia claims arresting suspects in China oil field attack: report

31 March, 2008

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — Ethiopia said on Sunday its security forces had arrested eight men suspected of involvement in last year's deadly raid on a Chinese oil venture, state media reported. more >>

Ethiopian Bekele wins men's world cross title

30 March, 2008

EDINBURGH (AFP) - Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele overcame almost losing a running shoe to win the men's world cross country title here on Sunday for a record sixth time. more >>

Ethiopia: Draft Press Law Tabled For Discussion

30 March, 2008

Addis Ababa (ENA) - The draft press law was tabled for discussion here on Saturday. Opening the discussion Information Minister Berhan Hailu said the new press law would encourage more people to engage in press works. more >>

Government Lifts Sur Tax On Edible Oil, Soap

30 March, 2008

Addis Ababa - The government has lifted all types of tax imposed on cooking oil and sur tax on soap as of Saturday, the Ministry of Trade and Industry announced. more >>

Eritrea shackles youth in struggle for 'self-reliance'

29 March, 2008

ASMARA - The red and blue logo of US-government food aid is all over Eritrea, though now on grain sacks re-stitched into popular shopping bags or cooking oil tins retooled as windowsill flower pots. more >>

Ethiopia: German corp. sets up shoes manufacturing in Kaliti

29 March, 2008

German shoe manufacturer giant, ara shoes has finalized preparations to set up a multi-million birr shoe manufacturing plant in Kaliti, less than 30kms on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. more >>

Ethiopia: Two prisoners of conscience freed

28 March, 2008

Amnesty International today welcomed the release of human rights activists Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie, who had been detained in Ethiopia since November 2005, but said the two prisoners of conscience should be compensated for the time they spent in prison. more >>

Muslim countries, Europeans condemn anti-Islam film

28 March, 2008

THE HAGUE - An anti-Islam film posted online by a far-right Dutch deputy drew fire Friday from Muslims and European officials, and a call for calm from Muslims in The Netherlands fearing a violent response. more >>

Ethiopia problems set to continue

28 March, 2008

Fifa has confirmed that it will not send a delegation to a meeting on Saturday to restore sanity within the Ethiopia Football Federation (EFF). more >>

UNICEF seeks 650 million dollars for Ethiopia sanitation

27 March, 2008

NAIROBI - The United Nations Children's Fund is seeking 650 million dollars for sanitation in Ethiopia, where 35 million people are deprived of adequate hygiene, a UNICEF statement said Tuesday. more >>

Microsoft Introduces New Software Solutions

27 March, 2008

Addis Ababa (The Daily Monitor/All Africa Global Media) US-based software giant Microsoft said on Tuesday it launched in to the Ethiopian market three new software products as part of a worldwide event the company says was its largest ever. more >>

India's Tata acquires Jaguar, Land Rover for 2.3 billion dollars

26 March, 2008

NEW DELHI (AFP) - India's Tata Motors said Wednesday it was buying British luxury icons Jaguar and Land Rover from ailing US carmaker Ford for 2.3 billion dollars as it vaulted into the premium global car market. more >>

Arrests over Ethiopia's fake gold

26 March, 2008

Twenty-six people are under arrest over the discovery of 90kg (14 stone) of fake gold in the vaults of Ethiopia's central bank, a senior official says. more >>

Ethiopian and Lufthansa set to Launch Codeshare Flights

25 March, 2008

Ethiopian Airlines is pleased to announce to its esteemed customers the commencement of codeshare flights with Lufthansa German Airlines as of March 30. These flights will operate on the Addis Ababa-Frankfurt route. more >>

Ethiopian ambassador: Ethiopia does not need political reform

25 March, 2008

The people of Ethiopia brought in the new Ethiopian millennium on Sep. 12, 2007. Ethiopians do not attach any particular religious meaning to the new millennium like some countries in the West; for them the millennium is all about looking to the future. more >>

Eritrea urges east Africa to wean itself off aid

25 March, 2008

NAIROBI (AFP) - Eritrea's national development minister urged other east African nations Tuesday to reduce their dependence on foreign aid by pursuing policies of self-reliance. more >>

US military death toll in Iraq hits 4,000

24 March, 2008

BAGHDAD (AFP) - The death toll of US soldiers in the five-year Iraq conflict has hit 4,000 in what the US military said Monday was a "tragic" loss of lives after four troops were killed in a Baghdad bombing. more >>

Ethiopia Invited to Attend G-8 Summit

24 March, 2008

A record 23 countries will participate in the Group of Eight summit meeting to be held in July in Toyakocho, Hokkaido, government sources said Wednesday. more >>

Center to begin training Ethiopians traveling to Middle East

24 March, 2008

Addis Ababa (ENA) - A center meant to equip Ethiopians traveling to the Middle Eastern countries for work with the necessary preparations is to be shortly launched here. more >>

Ethiopia's price hikes 'normal'

23 March, 2008

A UN report says that contrary to popular perceptions inside Ethiopia, greedy traders and speculators are not to blame for recent price rises. more >>

Addis to host ICE meet as ECA celebrates 50th anniversary with renewed commitment for stronger integration

22 March, 2008

ECA (ENA) - Experts with the Intergovernmental Committee of ECA's east Africa sub-regional office will sit in a two day meeting amidst golden jubilee celebrations of the UN body, which comits to "starting a new phase for promoting regional integration in support of the African Union's vision and priorities. more >>

Mobile calls on Emirates flights

21 March, 2008

Dubai-based airline Emirates has become the first commercial airline to allow passengers to make mobile phone calls during flights. Emirates said the first permitted mobile phone call was made on a flight between Dubai and Casablanca. more >>

ETHIOPIA: Lifting of grain tax may ease food burden for urban poor

20 March, 2008

ADDIS ABABA (IRIN) - The Ethiopian government’s decision to remove some taxes on grains is unlikely to have an immediate impact on rising food prices in rural areas, where most of the consumers are actually producers, an economist said. more >>

Ethiopia PM defends economic policy as humanitarian crisis looms

By ARGAW ASHINE, NATION Correspondent in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

19 March, 2008

Despite a looming humanitarian crisis and high inflation, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has defended his government’s economic performance. Inflation rate currently stands at 17 per cent and about 8 million people require food aid. more >>

Somali militants 'pleased' to be on US terror list

19 March, 2008

MOGADISHU (AFP) - Somalia's Islamist insurgents are honoured to have been included on the United States' blacklist of terrorist organisations, a senior official from the militant group said Wednesday. more >>

Ethiopia's Gebreselassie won't run in Olympic marathon

18 March, 2008

MADRID (AFP) - World record holder Haile Gebreselassie has confirmed in an interview with a Spanish newspaper that he will not run in the Beijing Olympics marathon due to the climatic conditions in the Chinese capital. more >>

Ethiopia PM Introduces Tough Anti-Inflation Measures

18 March, 2008

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has introduced tough measures to stabilize soaring prices, including a crackdown on what he called "economic criminals," but he says the African nation's economy is essentially sound. more >>

Ethiopian billionaire eyes R200m property

The Times

17 March, 2008

Sheikh Al-Amoudi could join a growing list of wealthy foreigners who own expensive SA land. One of the richest men in the world has placed a bid for arguably South Africa’s priciest piece of vacant land in Sandton, north of Joburg. more >>

Ethiopia: African Parks to leave Nech Sar

15 March, 2008

African Parks started management of Nech Sar Park in 2004. There was very high pressure on the park. The major causes of pressure on the park were firewood for Arba Minch town, illegal fishing, illegal human settlement and cattle grazing inside the park. more >>

Security Council calls for Eritrea’s full cooperation for blue helmets’ relocation

15 March, 2008

The Security Council has called for Eritrea’s full cooperation in the temporary relocation of the personnel and equipment of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). more >>

Gebrselassie told to obey Ethiopian rules for Beijing

14 March, 2008

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - World record holder Haile Gebrselassie cannot opt out of the Beijing Olympics marathon and must follow Ethiopian sports rules, the country's athletics federation said on Friday. more >>

Gold reaches record high 1,000 dollars

13 March, 2008

LONDON (AFP) - Gold prices breached 1,000 dollars for the first time on Thursday as the precious metal benefited from a plunging dollar and its safe-haven status amid fears of rising inflation. more >>

Fake fears over Ethiopia's gold

By Elizabeth Blunt BBC News, Addis Ababa

13 March, 2008

Ethiopia's national bank has been told to inspect all the gold in its vaults to determine its authenticity. It follows the discovery that some of the "gold" it had bought for millions of dollars was gold-plated steel. more >>

Oil hits record $107, U.S. dollar in focus

By Daniel Fineren

10 March, 2008

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil hit a record high of $107 a barrel on Monday, reversing earlier losses as investors sought oil as a hedge against a depressed dollar and inflation. more >>

Ethiopian Shipping Lines Buys Six Million Birr Guest-House In Djibouti

10 March, 2008

Addis Ababa (ENA) - Ethiopia Shipping Lines Share Company said it has bought a two-storey building and 1,520 square meters of land in Djibouti at a cost of six million Birr that would serve it as guest house for Ethiopian ship navigators and their crew. more >>

Europe launches robot space freighter

09 March, 2008

KOUROU, French Guiana (AFP) - The European Space Agency on Sunday carried out the maiden launch of a massive robot freighter designed to rendezvous automatically with the orbital space station. more >>

Addis Ababa No. 6 of World's 25 Dirtiest Cities

08 March, 2008

Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 37.9

Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, faces one of the worst sanitation problems on both the continent of Africa as well as in the world. The lack of adequate sanitation programs results in infant mortality, low life expectancy and the transmission of water-borne diseases. more on www.forbes.com>>

British teacher avoids jail in Ethiopia

07 March, 2008

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - A British teacher avoided a prison term in Ethiopia on Friday despite refusing to comply with a court order to apologise to a Swiss charity for accusing it of covering up sex abuse at a children's home. more >>

Ethiopia: Two newspaper editors, publisher arrested for libel

07 March, 2008

New York, The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the recent arrest and two-week imprisonment of three journalists from Muslim-oriented newspapers on criminal defamation charges in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. more >>

One million Ethiopians face water shortage: UN

05 March, 2008

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) - More than one million people in eastern Ethiopia's drought-hit Somali region face critical water shortages, the United Nations said Wednesday. more >>

An Ethiopian solution to costly food aid

05 March, 2008

JOHANNESBURG (IRIN) - As food prices hit record highs, analysts warn that a re-think of food aid strategies is needed - and Ethiopia, a traditionally food insecure country, could offer some answers. more >>

Ethiopia wins US trademark rights for coffee brand

05 March, 2008

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia has won trademark rights for its specialty Sidamo coffee in the United States, the country's intellectual property office said on Wednesday. more >>

Key leaders absent in Ethiopia polls

03 March, 2008

By Elizabeth Blunt BBC News, Addis Ababa

Ethiopians will soon be getting their first chance to vote since the general election in 2005, which ended with violent protests and the jailing of most of the leaders of the opposition. more >>

Ethiopian Farmers Have New Market for Products

By Peter Heinlein Addis Ababa, VOA News

03 March, 2008

Ethiopian agriculture is about to take a giant step forward from the age of the donkey cart to the digital age. At least that is the hope of a group of visionaries who are launching a revolution in how Ethiopia's farmers market their crops. more >>

VOA Adds Amharic Morning Show

03 March, 2008

PRESS RELEASE - Washington, D.C. - The Voice of America's (VOA) Amharic Service has launched a new morning radio show, offering an additional half-hour of up-to-the-minute news and information to millions of VOA listeners throughout Ethiopia. more >>

Teacher faces jail in Ethiopia after helping to expose paedophiles at a children’s charity

03 March, 2008 Times Online

A British teacher faces jail in Ethiopia after being convicted of defamation for her role in exposing paedophiles working in a children’s charity. more >>

UN says alarmed by prolonged drought in southern Ethiopia

02 March, 2008

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — The United Nations said Friday it was alarmed by a prolonged drought that has worsened food and water availability in Ethiopia's southern Borena region. more >>

Young generation responsible to protect shining victory of Adowa: President Girma

02 March, 2008

Axum (ENA) - President Girma Woldegiorgis said the current generation bears a huge responsibility to protect the shining victory of Adowa not to be overshadowed by poverty and backwardness. more >>

Barack Obama Visited Flood-Displaced Ethiopians in eastern Ethiopia in 2006

01 March, 2008

DIRE DAWA, Ethiopia -- Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., visited a sprawling tent camp in eastern Ethiopia on Thursday for people displaced by devastating floods earlier this month, saying the U.S. military will continue to help the region. more >>