By Eden Habtamu | Ezega News

Addis Ababa — In Ethiopia, the rainy season starts sometime in June. This year, Ethiopian cities are starting the season dark and cold. Many people are spending their after work times at various places: …

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) – The Ethiopian government Woyanne tribal junta and the Ogaden rebel group both claimed victory after weekend clashes in the east of the country, but there was no way to verify either side’s claims because of …

Addis Journal — The Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is set to hold an emergency meeting Monday, Addis Neger reported.

[ER sources say that Azeb Mesfin, Meles Zenawi’s wife, is backing the move by the Synod to strip …

By Jonathan Clayton and Tristan McConnell | Times Online

Barack Obama, Kenya’s most famous son, may have a deep attachment to his ancestral homeland but he is not letting emotions rule his head. On his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa …

A resident from Ethiopia was shot and killed by two men as they tried to hijack his car in Esigubudu in Nongoma on Wednesday, KwaZulu-Natal police said.

“The man was attacked by two men who tried to hijack him. When …

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Agency for International Development announced today the swearing in of Thomas H. Staal as its new Mission Director for Ethiopia. Counselor to the Agency Lisa Chiles presided at the event and administered the oath to Staal.…

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — Ethiopia’s [rubber-stamp] parliament on Tuesday adopted a new anti-terrorism bill despite criticism by rights groups that the legislation violates civil liberties.

The law, proposed last year after a string of bomb attacks in the capital, comprises …

By Wene Owino

GABORONE (Nation) — Botswana has said that it does not agree with the African Union (AU) decision to denounce the International Criminal Court (ICC) and to refuse to extradite Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to stand …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Addis Journal) — The popular Ethiopian singer Teddy Afro has appeared before Court of Cassation this morning to hear a decision on an appeal filed by the prosecutor protesting the reduction of his prison terms …

Addis Ababa (Addis Journal) – Head of the Dessie Ethiopian Orthodox Church Diocese, Aba GebreSelassie, was arrested on charges of ‘inciting violence’ that caused the death of three people in the town last week, according to Addis Neger.…

Los Angeles (AP) — The more than 1.6 million fans who registered for tickets to Michael Jackson’s memorial service will wait until Monday to learn if they received one of the 11,000 tickets for Tuesday’s ceremony.

The two-day registration period …

Addis Ababa (AFP) – Ethiopia’s tribal junta has criticized the Human Rights Watch (HRW) over its report that the country’s draft anti-terrorism law would violate human rights.

“HRW’s so-called analysis is replete with harsh generalisations,” Ethiopia’s foreign ministry said in …

NAIROBI, July 4 (Reuters) – The United States will encourage [the Woyanne tribal junta in] Ethiopia not to return to Somalia as it would be against the interests of both Horn of African nations, Assistant Secretary of State for African …

PRESS CONFERENCE: Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and former US Ambassador to Kenya Johnnie Carson

Mr Carson: We have actively sought to engage the Eritreans to encourage them not to support al-Shabaab, not to send money or ammunition …

By Nick Tattersall

LAGOS (Reuters) — U.S. President Barack Obama’s choice of Ghana for his first official trip to Africa next week has triggered a bout of self-questioning in Nigeria and Kenya, where many see his itinerary as a deliberate …

By Rachael Daigle | Boise Weekly

Tucson, Arizona — Ethiopian. That’s my new restaurant request to all you potential restaurateurs out there. Don’t worry, I’m not holding my breath.

Six years ago, former BW staffer Cynthia Sewell, who’s now a …

By Denise Taylor | Boston.com

BOSTON — Incense perfumes Habesha Restaurant as we’re seated near the large, dark wood bar that anchors the dimly lighted dining room. The musk scented smoke is so strong that it’s dizzying, but soon another …

By Laure Wybie | The Jerusalem Post

Thirty years – officially – after the first Ethiopian Jews set foot on Israeli soil, the first Israeli film about the Ethiopian community of the Holy Land is being released in theaters on …

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister dictator Meles Zenawi says he wants to step down after 18 years running sub-Saharan Africa’s second most populous country. Meles says he is “bored” of questions about this, and will only repeat he needs the permission of …

Oslo, Norway – The world’s greatest women’s distance runners Tirunesh Dibaba and Meseret Defar, the ‘Duelling D’s’ of Ethiopia will clash over 5000m at the ExxonMobil Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway, on Friday 3 July, the second leg of the …

London (SkyNews) — The man behind the world’s biggest online Michael Jackson fan club has said heartbroken followers of the star have committed suicide because of his death.

Gary Taylor, president and owner of MJJcommunity.com, said he understood …

(WorldNetDaily) –The [fake patriarch] leader of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church on Friday backed off on a much-anticipated announcement about the Ark of the Covenant — the ancient container holding the Ten Commandment — which he claims to have …

By Wondirad Seifu | The Reporter

Lake Abijata is dying, although the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is boasting that it is the country’s sanctuary for a colony of exciting birds. Oddly enough, the Environmental Protection Authority has indexed the …

ADDIS ABABA — The Export and Import (EXIM) Bank of India is in negotiations with Ethiopian officials about the opening of an East African office in Addis Ababa.

Board directors of the bank have already decided to open their East …

By Melaku Demissie | The Reporter

This week’s humanitarian situation update by the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that standard nutrition surveys are needed in the affected areas in different regions to assess the scope of …

By Hayal Alemayehu | The Reporter

When the Ethiopian Electric and Power Corporation (EEPCo) instituted nationwide power shedding in March and consequently ordered high-power consuming plants not to use power a month later, Mugher Cement Enterprise did not consider the …

Yesterday, millions were waiting to watch eagerly the Ark of the Covenant revealed. A day passed but it was not made public. “No, the ark is not going to be revealed. Nobody could touch it. If you do so, God …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (EthioPolitics.com) — Reporter – Most of the time, MPs or journalists attending parliamentary sessions are accustomed to witnessing MPs belonging to the ruling party EPRDF raising their hands, almost without exception, in favour of passing …

By Will Ross | BBC

If you think you face an uphill challenge at work today, spare a thought for Farah Ahmed Omar, the man in charge of Somalia’s navy.

He has neither boats nor equipment and admits he has …

By Kirubel Tadesse | Ethiopolitics.com

Capital – A new anti-terrorism bill endorsed by cabinet recently will allow hearsay evidence on terrorism suspects’ trials, if accepted by parliament, the Government announced last Monday.

Law scholars say the move would violate international …

(Addis Fortune) — Ehiopia’s first FM radio station broadcasting in the English language began pre-test broadcasting approximately a week ago.

The station, run by Paconet Media Plc, incorporated in January 2008 with an initial capital of about 3 …

DOOM-MONGERS have got it wrong – there is enough space in the world to produce the extra food needed to feed a growing population. And contrary to expectation, most of it can be grown in Africa, say two international reports …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Ethiopolitics.com) — Many businesses in Ethiopia have been forced to close temporarily because of power rationing which began in April.

Cement, metal and other big factories suspended their activities last month due to the power …

By Hailu T. | Reporter

The Cross of Saint Yared, the famed father of Ethiopian church music, was returned to Ethiopia after it was looted from the church of Tana Tcherkos at gun point in the early 1990s.

The cross …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ( Reporter ) — The “One Laptop per Child” (OLPC) scheme, which has sent over a million US$100 laptops to children in the developing world, has been criticised by researchers who found that, unless they are introduced …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Addis Fortune) — British Council Ethiopia’s new two story building on Comoros Street around the British Embassy has been officially opened in the presence of over 300 invited guests and members, on June 4, 2009.…

(BBC) — The global economic crisis is exacerbating human rights abuses, Amnesty International has warned.

In its annual report, the group said the downturn had distracted attention from abuses and created new problems.

Rising prices meant millions were struggling to …

By Mary Beth Sheridan | Washington Post

The U.S. government has provided about 40 tons of weapons and ammunition to shore up the besieged government of Somalia in the past six weeks and has sent funding to train Somali soldiers, …

BBC — With the death of pop star Michael Jackson at the age of 50, BBC correspondents report on the reaction around the world.

By MAGGIE SHIELS, LOS ANGELES

Throughout the day camera crews and media from around the world …

By Dan Robinson | VOA News

The violent and unstable situation in Somalia was the subject of a U.S. congressional hearing on Thursday. Testimony by officials from Somalia, the United Nations and the African Union, and experts came as the …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia EthioPolitics.com — Ethiopian artists and music fans on Friday mourned the death of Michael Jackson which occurred late on Thursday with heart related health problems.

The news was received here with surprise and shock for the majority …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — Lower birth rate and high death rate especially from HIV/AIDS are the factors causing lower population increase rate in the Amhara regional state, a controversial study by the Population Census Commission revealed this week.

The head …

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) — Ethiopia’s [tribal junta] (the Woyanne regime) said on Friday it arrested three Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) rebels who beat up Chinese technicians in a raid on a dam construction site in the west.

State TV said …

By Maggie Lee

CLARKSON, GA — In this small town on the edge of Atlanta, the FBI and local law enforcement are looking out for an alarming kind of crime: radical Islamist terrorists potentially trying to recruit the town’s young …

Washington (DPA) – Physicians at the UCLA Medical Centre in Los Angeles worked for more than an hour to resuscitate pop icon Michael Jackson, according to his brother Jermaine Jackson in broadcast remarks Thursday.

The sudden death of the rock …

By Andrew Blankstein, Phil Willon and Harriet Ryan | Los Angeles Times

Michael Jackson is rushed into hospital in Los Angeles [Photo: x17online.com]

Pop star Michael Jackson was pronounced dead today after paramedics found him in a coma at his …

Michael Jackson is rushed into hospital in Los Angeles [Photo: x17online.com]

(CBS) – Pop star Michael Jackson was pronounced dead by doctors this afternoon after arriving at a hospital in a deep coma, city and law enforcement sources told The …

(The New York Times)

Update | 6:37 p.m. The Associated Press is reporting that Mr. Jackson is dead.

Reaction | 6:37 p.m. Television news images showed large crowds gathering outside the UCLA Medical Center. “People are already showing up in …

By Christine Kellett | Brisbane Times

Michael Jackson is rushed into hospital in Los Angeles [Photo: x17online.com]

Media reports have said the star, 50, was taken to hospital in Los Angeles, California, after he was found not breathing following a …

By MINXIN PEI and ALI WYNE | The New York Times

If, as Iran’s opposition has alleged, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has rigged the country’s presidential election, he will join a long roster of autocrats who have tried to preserve their …

By Rick Kardonne | Jewish Tribune

TEL AVIV — Winnipeg-born-and-raised theatre producer-director Howard Rypp’s Nephesh Theatre, which began in Toronto, has, for Tel Aviv’s 100th anniversary, presented two original plays about the Ethiopian-Jewish immigration to Israel, which have already been …

Teff, a gluten free grain, is now available from Tobia-Teff and is ideal for those looking to reduce their wheat intake or those suffering from coeliac disease. Teff is an ancient grain from Ethiopia. The company is owned by Sophie …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (The Reporter) — While the sold out Mestsky stadium crowd packed every nook and cranny of the facility to catch a fleeting glimpse of the world’s fastest man, the 20,000-plus were treated by several solid …

By Erkki Vettenniemi 

Considering the well-known achievements of the Ethiopian distance runners over the past fifty years or so, one is perhaps entitled to lament the lack of interest in the history of Ethiopian athletics.

While scholars have tackled innumerable …

By Brett Mauser | Hamptons.com

NEW YORK, Shelter Island — Although the forecast threatened to rain on the annual celebration of Shelter Island – the Shelter Island 10K and 5K Run/Walk – devoted participants ferried in for the early evening …

By Barry Malone | Reuters

When Ethiopia’s rebel-turned-leader Meles Zenawi emerged from the bush to take power in 1991, he sat for a long-distance learning degree to feel more qualified to run Africa’s second most populous nation.

Despite studying while …

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (Canada.com) — Got 48 hours to spare in Addis Ababa — Africa’s diplomatic hub and one of the highest capital cities in the world? Reuters correspondents with local knowledge give tips on how to make …

By Danny Jacobs | The Daily Record

A Baltimore County judge has dismissed a $4.3 million lawsuit filed by more than 100 former members of an Ethiopian church against its board of trustees after the plaintiffs failed to respond to …

optical amplifier(Examiner.com) — Washington-based Girls Gotta Run is already supporting Ethiopian girls training to be professional runners.

Now, the Chevy Chase volunteer-run nonprofit is supporting the work of an Occidental College student named Kayla Nolan who is spending the …

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.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) “reports …

(CNN) — Somalia’s transitional government has the right to request military help from its neighbors against armed militants, the African Union said Monday, but Kenya was quick to reject the idea of sending troops and suggested the AU …

The following is a list of 50 great software applications that you can download and install for free. The list is originally compiled by TechVivo and edited by Elias Kifle.

1. Audacity – Audacity is a free, easy-to-use audio …

By Benjamin Muindi | (Nation)

Ethiopia’s regime has rejected Kenya’s proposal to monitor the construction of a hydro-power dam on River Omo that could lead to the death of Lake Turkana.

A row between the two countries now …

KAKUMA, Kenya (Xinhua)  — Suspected Ethiopian warriors killed two Kenyans and wounded 14 others on Wednesday night in a ritual killing barely a fortnight when deadly clashes between Merrile and Turkana tribesmen killed dozens others along the common frontier.

Survivors …

(UN News) — An independent United Nations human rights expert proposed a set of measures today to guide large-scale international land purchases, known as “land grabbing,” ahead of upcoming negotiations by the “Group of Eight” (G8) industrialized nations on responsible …

UN News Centre — The head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was in Ethiopia today, where she met with the country’s leader and discussed ways to support efforts to tackle poverty, address climate change and ensure that progress …

ATLANTA, GA (WABE) – The Atlanta-based Carter Center has been fighting neglected tropical diseases like river blindness and guinea worm all over the world. In our week-long series “From Georgia to Ethiopia”, WABE’s Odette Yousef focused on the Center’s fight …

By Oliver Evans | This is Local London

London, UK — Buckinghamshire NHS Hospitals NHS Trust has signed a memorandum of understanding to advise staff at Menelik II Hospital, in Addis Ababa.

Five senior staff members from the hospital visited …

By Ralph Peters | New York Post

SILENCE is complicity. Our president’s refusal to take a forthright moral stand on the side of the Iranian freedom marchers is read in Tehran as a blank check for the current regime.

The …

By TOM MALITI

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Somalia’s national security minister and at least 24 other people were killed in a suicide attack Thursday, and an extremist Islamic group with alleged links to al-Qaida claimed responsibility.

President Sheik Sharif Sheik …

By Peter Heinlein | Voanews.com

A group charged with conspiracy to overthrow Ethiopia’s government has asked a court for special protection, alleging their human rights have been violated during detention. Our correspondent reports relatives say some defendants have been tortured.…

By Denise Taylor | Boston.com —

Incense perfumes Habesha Restaurant as we’re seated near the large, dark wood bar that anchors the dimly lighted dining room. The musk scented smoke is so strong that it’s dizzying, but soon another more …

By Jeff Jacoby | Boston Globe

TWENTY YEARS ago this month, the first President Bush refused to condemn China’s communist rulers when they unleashed a violent assault on pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing.

For weeks Bush had refrained from encouraging the …

By Peter Heinlein | VOA

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA — A prominent Ethiopian attorney and a Voice of America journalist face stiff prison terms in a case linked to an exiled opposition leader accused of plotting to overthrow Prime Minister Ethiopia’s …

By Jim Nelson | ksfy.com

The bar, located on West 11th Street, faced heavy scrutiny from the city council Monday night. “I have zero tolerance for underage alcohol sales. and I am extremely disappointed, irritated, annoyed and flabbergasted,” says councilwoman …

By Hayal Alemayehu | The Reporter

The shortage of foreign currency reserve has helped drop tax revenues following [a slower] foreign trade performance, Belachew Beyene, Director of Duties and Tax Audit with the Ethiopia Customs and Revenue Authority (ECRA), said …

By Peter Heinlein | VOA

A group charged with conspiracy to overthrow Ethiopia’s government has asked a court for special protection, alleging their human rights have been violated during detention. Our correspondent reports relatives say some defendants have been tortured.…

By Eden Habtamu | Ezega.com

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — I am not good at joking. I don’t even remember most of the jokes I hear, nor do I have the habit of memorizing them to tell others. But I cannot …

By Hallelujah Lule | The Addis Connexion

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA — Forty years ago, the Ethiopian Telecommunications Board (precursor to today’s ETC) was viewed as a progressive government utility agency providing critical services. It even had a robust marketing department …

WAUSAU, Wisconsin (Wausaudailyherald.com) — A Wausau West High School teacher this summer wants to make graduation a little more special for students on the other side of the globe.

Choral director Phil Buch has asked local graduates to …

By Bruck Shewareged | The Reporter

Next fiscal year’s budget shows a deficit of 10 billion birr, Sufian Ahmed, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, told parliament Thursday. The Government was asking parliament to approve a 64.5 billion birr …

Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA (The Reporter) — Electric power outage is becoming one of the most devastating problems in contemporary Ethiopia. It appears to be routine practice living without light every two days, where the power sources are dominantly …

By Bruck Shewareged | The Reporter

In response to the current world economic crisis which is putting a big pressure on developing economies, the World Bank (WB) is set to increase its assistance to Ethiopia to USD 1 billion, World …

By Barry Malone

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – African member countries of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will not pull out of the body despite their opposition to its indictment of the Sudanese President, diplomatic sources said.

The ICC has issued …

ADDIS ABABA (APA) — Ethiopia, which imports around 7,000 cubic meter petroleum products a day, has an annual petroleum import bill of over one billion dollars, Ethiopian Petroleum Enterprise (EPE) said on Thursday.

EPE said this is as a result …

By David Gollust |VOA

Ethiopian scientist Gebisa Ejeta was named on Thursday as the winner of the 2009 World Food Prize in an event at the U.S. State Department. Ejeta, a faculty member at Purdue University in the Midwestern U.S. …

(The Reporter) — The Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) disclosed that is probing some Premier League clubs that staged below-par performance during the matches that took place last weekend.

EFF said that it is now investigating the games between …

(Addis Journal) — The All Ethiopian Unity Party(AEUP) might forge an alliance with the Unity for Democracy and Justice Party (UDJP), well-placed sources disclosed.

If the alliance takes place, the current AEUP chair Engineer Hailu Shawel is likely …

(GBN ) — The European International Bank (EIB) has announced it will not fund the construction of the Gibe 3 Dam in Ethiopia, a press release from International Rivers, an NGO has said.

International Rivers, which is leading a …