Mafia accused over nuclear waste

A Mafia clan linked to six blood feud murders is being investigated for the alleging trafficking of nuclear waste and plutonium production, reports claim.

Two members of the 'Ndrangheta mafia, a Calabrian clan, are accused of shipping radioactive waste to Somalia, along with eight former employees of state energy research agency Enea, the Guardian reports.

Francesco Basentini, a magistrate from the southern town of Potenza, is investigating claims that the mob men were paid off by the Enea staff, taking shipments of waste from the agency's centre in Rotondella, Basilicata, in the 1980s and 1990s.

The allegations were made by a 'Ndrangheta turncoat, who claims an Enea manager paid the two clan members to dispose of some 600 drums of nuclear waste, with 500 shipped to Somalia and 100 buried in Basilicata (the 'Ndrangheta being unwilling to bury the waste in Calabria due to "love of their home region").

An anonymous Enea manager denied the turncoat's allegations, saying: "Enea has always worked within the rules and under strict national and international supervision."

The 'Ndrangheta clan are accused of exploiting links with Colombia to become Europe's biggest cocaine importer, while the August shooting of six Italians in Germany has been linked to a blood feud with a rival clan from San Luca, Calabria.

Nicola Gratteri, the magistrate investigating the murders, argued that nuclear waste disposal and even the production of plutonium would not be an unlikely activity for the 'Ndrangheta, the Guardian quoted him as saying.

"The 'Ndrangheta has no morals and, if there is money in an activity, it will have no problem getting involved, even nuclear waste," he said.

However, he complained the European police forces had a lax attitude to clans like the 'Ndrangheta or the Sicilian Cosa Nostra.

"The mafias were the first to take advantage of Europe's disappearing frontiers," he said, "but when I go to Germany I see they have not introduced the crime of mafia association and do not allow wire taps in public places.

"I'm tired of round tables and conventions; what we need is more courage," he added.

 

Source: inthenews.co.uk

Somali car bomb kills Ethiopians (BBC)

Two Ethiopian soldiers have been killed by a car bomb in the Somali town of Baidoa on Wednesday evening.

The bomber's target was an Ethiopian military post close to the hotel where the prime minister, Ali Mohamed Ghedi, was staying.

After the attack, Mogadishu-based Simba Radio aired an Islamist insurgent commander's claim of responsibility for the attempted assassination.

Somali forces have raided the radio and arrested its chief Abdullahi Ali Farak.

A reporter at the station said a journalist was also arrested in the raid, and the radio ordered to shut down.

A reporter at the scene says the area has been sealed off since the blast, but eyewitnesses say a suicide bomber driving a car also died.

"The explosion was so deafening and strong it rocked our entire hotel compound," an aide of the prime minister, Mohamed Abdi Haji, told AP news agency.

Mr Ghedi is in Baidoa for what correspondents expect to be a showdown between him and the president, Abdullahi Yusuf, later this week.

Source: BBC

Exhibition on Ethiopian Millennium held in New York

Addis Ababa, October 9, 2007 (Addis Ababa) - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said an exhibition that promotes Ethiopia and its new Millennium was held in United Nations headquarter in New York.

The ministry told ENA on Monday that the exhibition was held last Wednesday at the Vienna Cafe.

The exhibition was organized according to the decision passed by the 61st UN General Assembly designating a one year period starting from September 12, 2007 as the year of Ethiopian Millennium, which the world body dubbed a world heritage.

The ministry said detailed information about the exhibition was published in the daily journal of the UN.

The opening ceremony of the exhibition was covered by UN Television program. Fliers that promote the Ethiopian Millennium were also distributed, it said.

The exhibition has created a vital forum to promote the economic growth registered by the country and show Ethiopia as being on the right development track.

Various countries' delegations visited the exhibition opened by Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin.

Source : ENA

Dutch investor plans five-star hotel, real-estate development (Capital Ethiopia)

Dutch investor plans five-star hotel, real-estate development (Capital Ethiopia)

By Andualem Sisay

Absorbed by the current investment climate and opportunities in Ethiopia, a Dutch national is to invest over 40 mln USD on a five star hotel and real-estate ventures in Addis Ababa.
Mr. Cvan Hal and his Ethiopian wife, Mrs. Genet Abebe, have decided to live in Ethiopia after concluding their 18 year business in the Netherlands. They have now secured 50,000 square meters in Bole area for real-estate purposes and are expecting 4-5,000 square meters of land in the same area for the five-star hotel they plan to build.
"We decided to move to Ethiopia encouraged by the business opportunities and the climate of the country," says Mr. Cvan Hal, an Energy Engineer by profession who owns, along with his wife; Cool Force- a company engaged in the transport and energy sectors.
"The market opportunities in the Netherlands are minimal when compared to that of Ethiopia, as the European market features more competition.
There are lots of opportunities in Ethiopia for an investor," he said.
When completed, the two investments are expected to create 330 permanent jobs.
Commenting on the areas that need improvement in the relevant offices he has visited so far, Mr. Hal suggested: "to make the money transfer short, easy and simple for a foreign investor, the National Bank of Ethiopia has to have one section that deals specifically with letters of credit. "This will help to reverse the current long process that consumes three to four days of a foreign investor by rotating from one office to another."
He also indicated that the investment authorities and other offices that deal with foreign investors need to prepare a web-site or brochures in various international languages so as to save the time an investor wastes not knowing where to go, which process to accomplish first, how to go about it and what documents are expected.

Source: Capital Ethiopia

President Girma reelected (Walta)

Addis Ababa, October 09, 2007 (WIC) – President Girma Wodlegiorgis was reelected today as president of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

While nominating Girma government whip Honorable Shiferaw Jarso told the House that the president has been efficiently discharging his responsibilities during the last term.


He also noted the contribution of Girma in promoting the country’s positive image locally and abroad as well as fostering its relations with various countries.


On top of his impartiality to the nations and nationalities of the country, he has also executed his responsibility as head of state by going to the various states and inspecting development works to provide the necessary support.


Shiferaw further pointed out that the current president was therefore nominated for reelection as he is believed to efficiently execute his responsibility based on the tasks he accomplished and his competence.


The other candidate for presidency, Professor Beyene Petros, was nominated by Honorable Bulcha Demeksa who represented three of the opposition parties in the House, Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), Union of Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) and Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM).


Professor Beyene was nominated for his long years of service as senior government official and 16 years as MP, according to Bulcha.


President Girma finally won the election with 430 votes, 88 objections and 11 abstentions.


After taking oath, the president pledged to do his best to extricate the country from poverty and bring the public and the government closer during his new term.

Source: Walta Information Center

President Girma reelected (Walta)

Addis Ababa, October 09, 2007 (WIC) – President Girma Wodlegiorgis was reelected today as president of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

While nominating Girma government whip Honorable Shiferaw Jarso told the House that the president has been efficiently discharging his responsibilities during the last term.


He also noted the contribution of Girma in promoting the country’s positive image locally and abroad as well as fostering its relations with various countries.


On top of his impartiality to the nations and nationalities of the country, he has also executed his responsibility as head of state by going to the various states and inspecting development works to provide the necessary support.


Shiferaw further pointed out that the current president was therefore nominated for reelection as he is believed to efficiently execute his responsibility based on the tasks he accomplished and his competence.


The other candidate for presidency, Professor Beyene Petros, was nominated by Honorable Bulcha Demeksa who represented three of the opposition parties in the House, Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), Union of Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) and Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM).


Professor Beyene was nominated for his long years of service as senior government official and 16 years as MP, according to Bulcha.


President Girma finally won the election with 430 votes, 88 objections and 11 abstentions.


After taking oath, the president pledged to do his best to extricate the country from poverty and bring the public and the government closer during his new term.

Source: Walta Information Center

Saudi businessman interested to invest in tourism sector (Walta)

A Saudi Arabian businessman Sheikh Hani Yamani said he is keen to invest in tourism in Ethiopia.

After conferring with President Girma Woldegirogis at the national palace on Monday, Yamani said he is prepared to establish tourism investment on a big scale and also in livestock and meat industries. Yamani said feasibility and other relevant studies get underway for him to set foot in Ethiopia with a range of projects.

Yamani is owner to numerous businesses around the world in tourism, catering and other industries. Now he looks to Ethiopia as an auspicious investment destination with an immense market potentials. [Read more..]

Somalia: Eritrea's hope to destabilize Ethiopia by using Somalia’s conflict failed--Ambassador (Sh.M.Network)

Somalia: Eritrea's hope to destabilize Ethiopia by using Somalia’s conflict failed--Ambassador
Aweys Osman YusufMogadishu 28, Feb.07

( Sh.M.Network) Somalia's struggle to form a unified government after 15 years of clan warfare is achieving success, after the TFG and Ethiopian forces drove away the UIC and other destabilizing forces harbored there, said a U.S. diplomat. This joint victory of last December also withered away Eritrea's hopes of destabilizing Ethiopia.

Ambassador Vicky Huddleston who recently served for 15 months as U.S. acting ambassador to Ethiopia told Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) on February 22 in Washington that Eritrea, hoped to use the conflict in Somalia to destabilize Ethiopia, which the government in Asmara sees as its arch enemy Ethiopia. "But this tactic failed."

Huddleston said Eritrea is a country not contributing to stability in Somalia.
She said Somalia's struggle to form a government after 15 years of clan warfare is achieving success thanks to partners in the Horn of Africa region like Ethiopia and with help from the United Nations, the African Union (AU) and the United States.

Huddleston told the CFR audience that the Ethiopian government was instrumental in "pressing for dialogue" between the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Islamic Courts Council (ICC), a radical Islamist movement that had wrested control of Somalia until driven from power by a coalition of TFG and Ethiopian forces in December 2006 after talks failed.

Before that victory, she said, "many warned that if Ethiopia intervened on behalf of the transitional government it would fuel a wider war. They were all wrong," Huddleston told the CFR panel.Now "Ethiopia's and the Somali government's surprisingly easy victories have given Somalia -- and the West -- a second chance to get things right," said Huddleston.

As it stands now, "we do have a success in Somalia," the diplomat said. After cooperating with the TFG to remove the ICC threat, she said, "About one-third of the Ethiopian troops have already withdrawn. There will be a second phase and third phase of withdrawal that hopefully will coincide with the arrival of AU peacekeepers."

Nations that volunteered troops for the AU force in a move recently approved by the U.N. Security Council include Uganda, Burundi and "possibly Nigeria and Tanzania," Huddleston told the panel.

The United Nations approved a force of 8,000 peacekeepers, of which about 4,000 have been pledged so far, she said.

The United States will support the deployment by providing 15 million US dollars for airlift and other logistics, she added.
"A window of opportunity" has opened in Somalia, Huddleston said, and added that "before the Islamists close it by disrupting efforts to stabilize Mogadishu … strong U.S. leadership will prevent Somalia from becoming a haven for al-Qaida terrorism in Africa."She said Somalis themselves are working to achieve national unity, especially on the military level and added that about 10,000 Somalis have been merged into a TFG security force representing all the clans.

This is important, she said, because "in the end, whether Somalia succeeds or not will depend on all Somalis" and their ability to govern themselves and provide their own security.(Nazret)
Shabelle Media Network SomaliaE-mail us: info@shabelle.net

Aluto-Langano Geothermal Power Pilot Project to get finalized in four months (Walta)

Addis Ababa, February 22, 2007 (WIC) - The Aluto-Langano Geothermal Power Pilot Project that has been under rehabilitation and expansion with over 26.6 million birr to generate 30 MW would be finalized within four months, the project coordinator disclosed.

Geothermal Project Coordinator with EEPCo, Mulugeta Asaye,said the project which failed to operate due to technical reasons after being finalized in 1998 is being upgraded to generate 30 MW instead of the initially planned 8 MW.

A feasibility study that has been underway in Tendaho area of Afar State with close to 2.5 million birr, in accordance with the agreement reached between the governments of Ethiopia and USA, is also nearing completion, according to Mulugeta.

Aluto-Langano and Tendaho are the major geothermal projects expected to generate power in the foreseeable future, he said, adding that there are about 16 geothermal prospects identified in the country.

According to the coordinator, project proposals have been submitted to the African Rift Geothermal Development Facility (ARGeo) so as to obtain the necessary fund to construct power generation stations particularly in Tendaho and Aluto-Lanagano. ARGeo has promised that Ethiopia would be one of the countries whose proposals would be approved first, Mulugeta said.

Ethiopia has the second largest geothermal resources in Africa and the greatest geothermal potential of Africa is within the East African Rift Valley that runs across Ethiopia for nearly 1,000kms where a number of feasibility studies are currently underway, it was learnt.

Source: Walta Information Center

Starbucks stirred by fair trade film as Ethiopia launches fair trade campaign

Addis Ababa, January 29, 2007 (WIC) – Ethiopia has launched its campaign of securing a fair price for its internationally famous varieties of coffee in London today,the Guardian Unlimited reported.

The campaign was launched while Taddese Meskella,spokesman for the east African country's impoverished coffee growers,met British Prime Minister Tony Blair.


Taddese’s meeting with Blair will be accompanied by a screening of the film Black Gold - a movie on the global coffee industry - to MPs at Westminster,who will also be addressed by the Ethiopian ambassador to Britain.

The spokesman,Tadesse Meskela, who is the subject of Black Gold,together with the film's English makers, brothers Nick and Marc Francis,are a serious irritant to some of the world's coffee giants - in particular Seattle-based Starbucks, whose annual turnover of $7.8bn (£4bn) is not much lower than Ethiopia's entire gross domestic product,the newspaper said.

Taddese runs the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union,representing about 105,000 coffee growers,and struggles to get the best price - although it is nowhere near high enough to earn them a decent living.

He said the country's premium coffees - Yirgacheffe, Sidamo and Harar - can sell for fair trade export at about $1.60 a pound. After deducting costs, the growers get about $1.10. Roasters can sell the coffee on at $20-26 per pound. Coffee retailers make about 52 espressos from a pound of coffee, worth up to $160 a pound.

"This ratio needs to change," Taddese told the Guardian during a visit to London. "Our people are barefoot, have no school, no clean water or health centre.They are living hand to mouth.We need $4 a pound minimum,that's only fair."

Black Gold shows malnourished coffee growers depending on handouts of food from the United States to stave off starvation.The documentary has already been released in the US and goes on general release in Britain in April.

But what of Starbucks,who are opening about 2,000 cafes a year and have put messages on their website saying Black Gold "incompletely represents the work Starbucks is doing"?

"Starbucks may help bring clear water for one community but this does not solve the problem.In 2005, Starbucks' aid to the third world was $1.5m.We don't want this kind of support,we just want a better price.They make huge profits; giving us just one payment of money does not help," said Tadesse.

He already has the backing of Ed Balls,economic secretary to the Treasury.Balls said: "Delivering trade justice is not just morally right,it is an economic necessity for Tadesse and the farmers.

"We urgently need the WTO talks to start again so that we can make good our promise to deliver trade justice for Tadesse and millions of others in the world's poorest countries."

Starbucks told the Guardian it is paying premium prices to farmers in poor countries,well above the average market price.The pictures of smiling Ethiopians in its cafes,however,belie the reality shown in Black Gold.

Source: Walta Information Center