Rastafarians in Ethiopia (The PRI's World)

by Megan Verlee

Rastafarian artist Bandi Payne leads visitors through the jungle-like garden that surrounds his house in Shashamane, pointing out the many trees he’s planted in his two decades here.

“That’s guava, my guava tree. Tangerine, banana trees and… that is cassava,” Payne said pointing to the shrubby plant...(more..)

In Ethiopia, hope takes a stronger hold (Irish Echo)

I found the following article very interesting for my readership and decided to create a link to it below.

I recently traveled to Ethiopia with Michael Pryce and Joe McCarthy on behalf of the HOPe Charity Organization. Our task was to assess an HIV/AIDS education and development project HOPe is funding with partner organizations, CVM (Community Volunteers of the World) and APA (Aids Partnership with Africa). For ten days we traveled throughout the rural Amhara region in the north. From the orphaned street children to reformed sex workers living with HIV, we witnessed both beauty and crushing poverty, and encountered hope and strength in the people we met.
The first case of AIDS was discovered in Ethiopia in 1984. More than 25 years later the pandemic and its aftermath is still posing a major challenge. A review of the history explains why.
During the late 70s and early 80s the country experienced several man-made and natural disasters: a disruptive Communist government, severe droughts followed by devastating famines. Also, a civil war broke out in 60s and In 1998 a fierce war with Eritrea erupted. This deadly mixture of events fueled the tragic spread of AIDS.[read more..]

Ethiopia must take back Eritrea's Assab port says Opposition leader Yacob (Jimma Times)

Dr. Yacob Hailemariam, senior executive member of the opposition party Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), told the media that Ethiopia “must regain her Assab port.” Speaking to local newspapers, Yacob said the Assab port issue is not a closed case.Dr. Yacob, who previously worked as the lead prosecutor in the United Nations tribunal on war crimes in Rwanda and as a professor of law in American university, has often referred to the Assab case as a matter of international law and justice. He mocked the new “illegal” border agreements, saying the signatories cannot pick and choose which laws and treaties to uphold. When Prime Minister Meles Zenawi signed several agreements with Eritrean leaders Dr. Yacob declared “the question of Aseb is not going to be put to rest by mere signatures” of unelected and illegitimate politicians since the people of Ethiopia have always had access to the sea for several millennia...[Read more]

Millennium Dam: a turning point in the Ethiopian History (Walta)

Molla Mitiku

Between the two mountains: Lebeyate and Negro, in the Benishangul Gumuz Regional State, history will repeat itself. The history made by our forefathers against foreign conquerors in the Northern Mountains of Ethiopia will be certainly repeated by this generation by making poverty a history...Read more

Ethiopia Plans to Build New Hydropower Plant to Generate 5,250 Megawatts (Bloomberg)

Ethiopia will build a new hydropower plant in the Nile River basin that will generate 5,250 megawatts of electricity, Water and Energy Minister Alemayehu Tegenu said. ..Read more

Ethiopia’s to increase defense budget amid rising tension with Eritrea (Sudan Tribune)

 Ethiopia will increase its military spending to safeguard itself from its enemies, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Saturday, days after Addis Ababa threatened to take military action against neighboring Eritrea.Zenawi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the National Defense Forces, did not disclose how much the increase would be...More

Ethiopia minister says ready to send troops into Somalia if Asked

By: Abdalle Ahmed
Mogadishu (RBC) Ethiopia's State minister for foreign affairs Berhan Jipkirist
dismissed claims about Ethiopian forces fighting inside Somalia alongside with
the transitional federal government forces of Somalia. The minister interviewed
by Almasri Al-Yom newspaper has denied that any of Ethiopian forces entered into
the Somali border and took fighting against Al Shabab rebel group...Read More

Thousands Homeless after Radical Muslim Attack

According to CBN News a few hours ago, some Islamic extremists set fire to 59
church buildings and 28 Christian homes in Asendabo...

It is a serious issue for that country. This must stop immediately. What does
everyone think about this?