Kenyan athletes hit by the global economic downturn

31 March, 2009

BBC NEWS - This is the so-called athletics capital of Kenya. The high altitude and clean air produces some of the best athletes in the world. But as the economic downturn slashes sports sponsorship, their livelihoods are at risk. more >>

Ethiopian spends big for capacity building

31 March, 2009

Capital - In an effort to equip itself to compete in increasingly aggressive aviation markets, Ethiopian Airlines is currently in the second year of a huge three year, 60 million dollars capacity building project. more >>

Air Ethiopia looking to acquire two more planes

30 March, 2009

Capital - Air Ethiopia, the newly established local private airline company, is seeking to acquire two additional Beech 1900s in three to four weeks’ time more >>

Ethiopian Coffee Exporters Awaiting Devaluation, Exchange Says

30 March, 2009

(Bloomberg) -- Coffee exporters in Ethiopia, Africa’s biggest producer, are stockpiling beans in anticipation of a further devaluation of the national currency, the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange said. more >>

Ethiopia: New draft policy evokes protest from waste collectors

28 March, 2009

Reporter - The Beautification and Park Development Agency has drafted a policy which small private businesses and associations involved in solid waste management think is a threat to their survival. more >>

Ethiopia: FIFA’s road map to be put into effect

28 March, 2009

Reporter - After a stand-off that lasted for over two years, pitting Ashebir Woldegiorgis on one hand and the existing general assembly of the Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF), on the other the latter yesterday accepted for the first time, the road map proposed by the international football governing body, FIFA. more >>

Coca-Cola Flows in Ethiopia, But Drains Foreign Currency

28 March, 2009

(VOANews) - The American soft drink Coca-Cola has become a symbol of Ethiopia's deepening financial troubles. The beverage is flowing again after a brief pause, even though it drains the country's precious foreign exchange reserves. more >>

Sudan's Bashir heads to Ethiopia, defying ICC

26 March, 2009

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir departed Sudan on Thursday for Ethiopia in a show of defiance to an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court on charges of Darfur war crimes. more >>

Ethiopia revokes coffee licences

25 March, 2009

BBC NEWS - The Ethiopian government has revoked the licences of six of the country's main coffee exporters, accusing them of hoarding supplies.
It also confiscated 17,000 tonnes of stock of around 80 other traders, saying it would auction the coffee. more >>

Khat use spreads to British youth

24 March, 2009

BBC NEWS - 'Khat' is a popular stimulant chewed across east Africa. Now it is crossing cultural divides and becoming a drug of choice for an increasing number of young people in the UK. more >>

Meles tells parliament it does not need to know how many Ethiopian soldiers died in Somalia

23 March, 2009

Capital - Prime Minister Meles Zenawi refused to disclose to parliament the casualties suffered by the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) during its two year stay in Somalia. more >>

Sudan's Bashir in Eritrea despite ICC warrant

23 March, 2009

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's president visited Eritrea on Monday on his first foreign visit since he was indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Darfur, Eritrea's government said. more >>

Ethiopia annual inflation falls to 32.8 pct in Feb

23 March, 2009

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia's annual inflation rate fell to 32.8 percent in February compared with 37.8 percent in January, the government said on Monday. more >>

Ethiopia Prepares For Battle With Malaria

21 March, 2009

VOA NEWS - Ethiopia is gearing up for an epic battle with malaria, possibly later this year. The stakes are high, with international aid agencies betting millions of dollars that the Horn of Africa's largest country can wipe out a disease that kills at least a million Africans every year. more >>

Madagascar's Rajoelina installed as president

21 March, 2009

ANTANANARIVO (AFP) – Andry Rajoelina promised an end to dictatorship and a new era of good governance in Madagascar Saturday in an inaugural speech capping his internationally-condemned takeover of the island. more >>

Ethiopian generates 6.7bln birr in mid-year revenue

21 March, 2009

Reporter - The Ethiopian Airlines has bagged 6.7 billion birr in mid-year revenue during the first half of the current fiscal year, the airlines said Friday. more >>

Ethiopia to double earnings from livestock exports

20 March, 2009

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia plans to more than double earnings from livestock exports to $85 million in 2009 by curbing illegal trade and opening new marketing centres, a government official said on Friday. more >>

Ethiopia Should Ease Bank, Telecom Rules to Join WTO, U.S. Says

20 March, 2009

(Bloomberg) -- Ethiopia should liberalize its protected banking and telecom sectors as a step toward joining the World Trade Organization, a U.S. trade official said. more >>

Dutch to return Ghana king's head

20 March, 2009

BBC NEWS - The head of a Ghanaian king executed by Dutch colonists in the 1830s is to be returned to its homeland for burial, say authorities in the Netherlands. more >>

Ethiopia: Inside the hottest place on Earth

19 March, 2009

BBC NEWS - Earth scientist Dr Dougal Jerram, from Durham University, joined a BBC team to investigate the geology of the Danakil desert in northern Ethiopia - officially the hottest place on Earth. more >>

Bin Laden rallies Somali militants in Web message

19 March, 2009

CAIRO (AP) – Al-Qaida's chief Osama bin Laden urged Somali militants to overthrow the country's new president in a new Web audiotape posted Thursday, trying to torpedo a new push for peace in a lawless African nation where many fear al-Qaida is gaining a foothold. more >>

Ethiopia threatens to sell exporters' coffee stocks

19 March, 2009

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi threatened on Thursday to seize and sell coffee stocks being held by exporters who he accuses of hoarding. more >>

Pope rejects condom use in Africa

17 March, 2009

BBC NEWS - Pope Benedict XVI has said that handing out condoms is not the answer in the fight against HIV/Aids, as he makes his first visit to Africa as pontiff. more >>

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi warned the G20 on Monday

16 March, 2009

LONDON (AFP) - Some African countries could "go under" if they are not helped through the global downturn, threatening "total chaos and violence", Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi warned the G20 on Monday. more >>

Sudan wants aid groups to stop distributing relief

16 March, 2009

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudan's president said on Monday he wanted foreign aid groups to stop distributing aid in Sudan within a year, in an escalation in the country's defiant response to an international war crimes warrant against him.

Bashir said Sudan's neighbors Ethiopia and Eritrea had carried out similar programs to distribute foreign aid through local groups. more >>

Austrian Fritzl incest-imprisonment trial opens

16 March, 2009

ST. POELTEN, Austria (AP) – A man accused of imprisoning his daughter for nearly a quarter of a century and fathering her seven children repeatedly raped her in front of the youngsters, prosecutors said Monday as his trial opened in Austria. more >>

Coca Cola hits the brake affected by foreign currency shortage

14 March, 2009

Reporter - East African Bottling Share Company (EABSC) has as of Thursday, “temporarily stopped” its production in Ethiopia, affecting the livelihood of some 150,000 people, mostly involved in the supply chain of the company. more >>

Sudan’s spy chief praises security cooperation with Ethiopia

14 March, 2009

(Al-DAMAZIN) – The head of security and intelligence service praised the security cooperation between Sudan and Ethiopia saying the two neighboring countries made a considerable progress. more >>

Eritrea invites Beshir in show of solidarity

11 March, 2009

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) – Eritrea has invited Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir to pay a visit in a show of solidarity after international prosecutors issued a warrant for his arrest, the government said Wednesday. more >>

Ethiopia: Chinese company warns to pullout

11 March, 2009

Africanews - Chinese Bridge and Road Corporation (CRBC), a local subsidiary of a state-owned Chinese construction firm, has warned Addis Ababa Road Authority that it will stop work on three major new roads unless it is paid for past projects. more >>

Ethiopian film takes top prize at Africa film festival

07 March, 2009

OUAGADOUGOU (AFP) – The Ethiopian film "Teza" by director Haile Gerima took the Golden Stallion of Yennenga on Saturday for best film at the Pan-African Film and Television Festival. more >>

ICC warrant raises questions on leaders targeted

06 March, 2009

JOHANNESBURG (AP) – The International Criminal Court's decision to pursue a sitting head of state on war crimes charges puts others around the world on notice, but it's also raising questions about which leaders are being targeted.

In Africa, those considered possible targets of the court are leaders in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Chad, Ivory Coast, Rwanda and Central African Republic. more >>

Ethiopian cattle-herding tribe crowns new king

05 March, 2009

BADHAASAA, Ethiopia (AP) – A cattle-herding tribe in southern Ethiopia has crowned a new king in a secret ceremony considered so sacred that the Borena people believe it has the power to kill unauthorized observers. more >>

Hague court issues warrant for Sudan's Bashir

04 March, 2009

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Wednesday for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. more >>

UDJ's planned public protest is impossible: Government

02 March, 2009

Capital - Opposition party, Unity for Democracy (UDJ) has set a date to stage a public demonstration in Addis Ababa to protest at what it calls clear and widespread violations of the constitution, including the re-arrest of its chairperson, Birtukan Midekssa. more >>

Ethiopia celebrates 113th anniversary of victory against Italian invaders

02 March, 2009

APA - Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) Ethiopians observed on Monday the 113th anniversary of the Victory of Adwa against the Italian invaders who attempted to colonize the country in 1896. more >>

Ethiopia says recession hits Dutch flower sales

02 March, 2009

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia says it is seeking new buyers for its fresh flowers because the global economic downturn is cutting sales in its main market, the Netherlands. more >>

Opposition slams Ethiopian government

01 March, 2009

Addis Ababa - An Ethiopian opposition party on Thursday accused the government of arbitrarily arresting its members and closing down its branches ahead of the 2010 general elections. more >>