FRANCE: UNFPA to move Africa bureau to Ethiopia

Paris, 09/22 - The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has decided to move its Africa Bureau based in New York to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a reliable source disclosed here Thursday

The Ethiopian capital was also selected to host the UNFPA East Africa sub-regional Bureau that will cover Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and Tanzania.

This transfer is part of UNFPA new global strategy, which provides for the decentralisation of its activities as well as the setting up of Bureau for each of the five African regions - North, West, East, Central and Southern Africa.

UNFPA provides countries with assistance in population-related activities, notably in the area of reproductive health.

Source: Angola Press

Eritrea Says US Sides With Ethiopia, Has Narrow Interests (EasyBourse)

UNITED NATIONS (AP)--An Eritrean government minister accused the United States of pursuing its "perceived narrow interests" and siding with rival Ethiopia at the expense of peace in the Horn of Africa region. In a speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Monday, Eritrea's Health Minister Saleh Meky said years of failure to resolve a border dispute with Ethiopia were a result of the West's condoning Ethiopia's violations of a peace settlement. "To single out Ethiopia as the primary and only culprit would be missing the forest for the woods," Meky said. "The fact is Ethiopia has neither the power not the political skill to defy international law for a single day, let along for four long years." Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war, but their border was never settled. In April 2002, following another, 2 1/2-year, border war, an international boundary commission awarded the key town of Badme to Eritrea - but Ethiopia has refused to implement the deal. Angered at the international community's failure to ensure that the ruling is obeyed, Eritrea banned U.N. helicopter flights and vehicle movements at night on its side of the buffer zone and ordered Western peacekeepers to leave the U.N. force in December. [For full story click here]

SpectrumData wins Ethiopian exploration data contract (WA Business News)

Bentley-based data recovery specialist SpectrumData Recovery has signed a four year contract with the Ethiopian Government to recover volumes of exploration data from collections of deteriorating magnetic reel tapes.

The full text of a company announcement is pasted belowSaving a large proportion of Ethiopia's exploration data archive will be a rescue mission performed by WA-based data recovery and storage company SpectrumData following the signing of a unique four-year contract.

Under the contract with the Ethiopian Government, SpectrumData will recover and reformat large volumes of exploration data from deteriorating magnetic reel tapes using specialist data recovery software and processes developed by the company through 20 years' experience in seismic data recovery.

The data, made up of over one million files and recovered from over 3000 highly deteriorated and at risk tapes, covers over 5,000 linear kilometres of seismic data within Ethiopia's Ogaden Basin. [For full story Read Here]

Firms seek positive brand for Ethiopia (Business in Africa)

Anaclet Rwegayura Posted Tue, 26 Sep 2006

Addis Ababa – Around 30 Ethiopian firms were actively seeking a common approach to market their country abroad.

The key issue that industries and the government were addressing in the marketing drive was to improve the image of Ethiopia as a location where business could thrive.
Ethiopian entrepreneurs had little to show thus far, but their effort was indicative of their determination to succeed.

The hope of the Ethiopian industries to make an impact on regional and overseas markets lies with the abundance of raw materials, such as coffee, livestock, leather and minerals as well as the new technologies being introduced into the country.

In their enthusiasm to create a new image of Ethiopia, though, both the government and the local entrepreneurs were up against the challenges of competition that include communications, market intelligence gathering, packaging and branding their products.

"There is a knowledge gap of how to sell goods in the global market and stick with it," said Stephan Willms, a German product branding and marketing expert, after conducting a training session for Ethiopian industrialists in Addis Ababa.

"There are very successful companies in Ethiopia, very well-led too in different areas, but their products are not known by consumers outside the country."

Through its capacity building ministry, the Ethiopian government was working to improve the competitiveness of local industries at national and international levels.

In this endeavour, Germany was providing essential support through its Development Co-operation Agency (GTZ) by training managers of Ethiopian industries to develop their own product branding strategies. [For full story Click Here]

Ethiopian Airlines is Africa's best

ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopian Airlines has won the African Airline of the Year 2006 Award, the company`s management announced here Wednesday.

US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs in the Department of Transport, Susan Mcdemoff, handed the award plaque on Monday to Ethiopian Airlines chief Girma Wake in Cape Town, South Africa at the end of the 15th Annual Air Finance for Africa Conference.

The Africa Aviation Journal introduced the award in 1999 to give international recognition to individuals, companies and organisations that make significant contribution to aviation development in Africa.

Ethiopian Airlines was commended for its financial performance and overall profitability, passenger growth, route network expansion, fleet modernisation, in-flight services and customer care, the Journal said.

"It is a special privilege for Ethiopian (Airlines) to have been awarded African Airline of the Year 2006. The award inspires the airline to enhance its commitment to provide quality services to its esteemed customers," said Girma.

Since its launch 5 December 1945, with a maiden flight from Addis Ababa to Cairo (Egypt) 8 April 1946, Ethiopian Airlines has steadily grown to become a reputable carrier.

From its Addis Ababa hub, it provides flight connections to 47 destinations in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe and North America.

With the motto: "Bringing Africa Together and Closer to the World" Ethiopian Airlines boasts the largest network in the continent, both in passenger and cargo services, earning it the nickname of "Africa`s World Class Airline" by loyal clients.

Source: Ethiomedia

Ethiopians are divided into two camps on Aseb’s port issue

By Magn Nyang
September 20, 2006 — A final limitation on the role of the public is its relatively low level of political information. Some citizens pay close attention to politics, but most do not, and some people pay hardly any attention at all. As a result, most people are poorly informed about politics. How many Ethiopians can name all fourteen regions correctly?

Although people with lower education levels are more likely to be uninformed, many college-educated people also lack basic information. However, public’s lack of information is not as significant a factor as might seem the case. Citizens do not necessarily have to be well informed about a situation to have a reasonable opinion about it.

There is a debate going on among Ethiopians concerning the future of Aseb’s port. Ethiopia is a multi-national state and all are entitled to their opinions on Aseb’s issue.

Opponents of another war between Ethiopia and Eritrea argued that war will further damage the prospect of economic growth for Ethiopia. They also argued that Eritrea’s sovereignty must be respected by all nations, including Ethiopia.

Supporters of war responded by asserting that the last arbiter of conflicts has always been power. They argued that a more powerful country like Ethiopia should not be stopped from having a port of its own by a tinny neighbor like Eritrea. They dismissed the notion of Eritrea’s sovereignty. They argued that what sovereignty means is that nations live under international anarchy. And this international anarchy can be easily broken when needed. They argued that any powerful nation can always violate the sovereignty of a weaker or a smaller country with out fearing the international community. They pointed to former Soviet Union nations such as Georgia and Ukraine. These nations, they said, were sovereign before annexation by the Soviet Union. Therefore, they said, Ethiopia should attack Eritrea to get Aseb’s port back.

Some readers may want to know which camp I (the author) belong to. My camp is with those who want nothing but peace between Eritrea and Ethiopia. I do believe that war will destroy both countries economically. Remember the war between these two countries between 1998 and 2000? That war cost one million dollars for each country per day, according to UN observers. Do you know what a million dollar a day means for Ethiopia or Eritrea in economic term? It is too much of a waste for two poor countries.

Personally, I do believe in international rules and regulations. Therefore, I do strongly believe in respecting the sovereignty of all countries. Just because you are stronger and more powerful does not mean that you go around breaking international rules by violating the sovereignty of weaker and smaller countries.

Lesson needs to be learnt from what is now happening to the most powerful country on the face of the earth, the United States. The United States brook the international laws and violated the sovereignty of a weaker and a smaller country, Iraq. Now it is paying for it politically and economically.

For me the argument that Ethiopia needs a port to grow economically does not hold water. There are landlocked countries in Europe with very powerful economies. Educated manpower and economically oriented leadership are enough to make a country grow economically.
Some Ethiopians also go as far as wanting to get the whole Eritrea back by use of force. This is not a realistic goal. Eritrea is a sovereign country recognized by the world community. No country would annex Eritrea by force without loosing face with the world community.

If there must be a reunification between Ethiopia and Eritrea, Eritreans are the only one who will make it happen. They can have a referendum to vote themselves back to Ethiopia. There fore, the thought of war with Eritrea to force her back is just a day dream.

I know that some Ethiopians pride themselves on being warriors and heroes and they may question my lack of heroism. However, I want them to know that heroism has no room in today’s world. You no longer need to be a warrior or a hero to win wars or to earn respect. The best wars are now fought around tables with pens, not with live ammunitions. It is not about being a warrior any more. It is about how you present and sell yourself to the world community that earn you respect and get what you want.
Ethiopia needs a period of peace and prosperity. Any attempt toward regaining the port of Aseb must be through negotiations.

* The author is a son of Gambella and lives in the United States and can be reached by writing to magnnyang@yahoo.com

Source: Sudan Tribune

Ethiopia's pride in 'Lucy' find (BBC)

By Pallab Ghosh Science correspondent, BBC News, Addis Ababa

Zeresenay Alemseged and the skull of "Lucy's baby"A tropical storm beats against the national museum in Addis Ababa. The violent thunder and lashing rain contrasts with the serene activity within.

Inside a solitary figure is cleaning up a 3.3-million-year-old skull.
Dr Zeresenay Alemseged has spent five years removing sandstone, grain by grain, from his precious find.

Illuminated by a single focussed beam of light, this is intricate, delicate work: one mistake and crucial scientific detail could be lost forever.
Alemseged showed me that what has emerged are the delicate features of a creature that was part ape and part human.

"What you have here is the backbone and the thoracic and all the ribs, the shoulder blades the collar bones. But in addition, what you have here is a compete face and the sandstone impression of the brain of a 3.3-million-year-old infant." Full Story..

'Lucy's baby' rattles human evolution (Cosmos)

by Kate Arneman
Cosmos Online

SYDNEY: The discovery of an infant human ancestor, dubbed 'Lucy’s baby', will shake up our understanding of human evolution, according to its finders in Dikika, Ethiopia.

Two articles published today in the British journal Nature identified the fossil remains - the oldest and most complete infant skeleton found to date - as those of a three-year-old girl who lived 3.3 million years ago. She belongs to the species Australopithecus afarensis, of which the iconic adult skeleton, nicknamed 'Lucy', is also a member.

“The Dikika girl stands as one of the major discoveries in the history of palaeoanthropology,” research team leader Zeresenay Alemseged said, citing the remarkably well-preserved condition of the bones, the geological age and completeness of the specimen.

“It’s impossible to overstate the importance of the specimen,” said Charles Lockwood, an anthropologist at University College London. “There is a remarkable amount of new information here.”

Researchers think that the child’s more or less intact body was covered by sandstone sediments in flood waters shortly after death, thus preserving the skeleton.
Infant bones are more fragile than those of adults, and prior to this find, the only remains of young children of this geological age were insubstantial: a partial skull, a piece of jaw or some isolated teeth.

The Dikika discovery, in contrast, includes a complete skull, a sandstone impression of the brain, the entire torso and parts of the upper and lower limbs, making it “a veritable mine of information about a crucial stage in human evolutionary history,” according to Bernard Wood, of the Department of Anthropology at George Washington University.

“The discoverers of the Dikika fossil have only just begun the task of capturing all the data contained in the specimen,” said Wood. As the bones are cleaned, prepared and reconstructed as a skeleton, researchers hope to uncover new information about the growth and development of the individual and the species, and settle an old debate – how A. afarensis moved. [For more..Click Here]

Ireland asks Ethiopia for help with Darfur (Sudan Tribune)

Sept 18, 2006 (DEBLIN) — Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern has asked Ethiopia to intercede with Sudan to allow the deployment of a UN force to Darfur.

In a letter sent on Friday to Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi, Ahern said Ireland was "gravely concerned by the continuing political and humanitarian crisis in Darfur". He urged the Ethiopian authorities, who have good relations with the Sudanese government, to encourage it to change its mind and accept the introduction of a UN force in Darfur.

Ahern also warned that continuing conflict in Darfur could provoke tensions between north African and sub-Saharan states.

A global day of action took place around the world yesterday to press for an end to the conflict in Darfur. Around 40 people, including many from the region, demonstrated outside the GPO in Dublin for the introduction of a UN force. An African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (AMIS) is due to finish at the end of the month. However, the Sudanese government has rejected plans to have UN peacekeepers replace the force. [For more..Click Here]

Ethio-India keen to sharing experience in parliamentary procedures (Walta)

Addis Ababa, September 19, 2006 - Ethiopia and India are desirous of strengthening experience sharing in parliamentary procedures.

Chairperson of Budget and Finance Affairs Standing Committee, Wana Wake as well as Vice-Chairperson of Culture and Information Affairs Standing Committee with the House of Peoples’ Representatives, Ahmed Mohammed expressed the interest while holding talks with the Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir State Legislative Council in India, Abdul Rashid Dar here yesterday.

The MPs said the Houses have been working to achieve the national interest of the country through diplomacy and exchange of experience with similar democratic countries among which India is one.

They said India is a country from which the working procedures and code of conduct of the House has been adopted.

They also said it is a country to which Ethiopian Parliamentary Delegation has gone to exchange views, draw experiences and learn good practices recently.

Ethiopia, through the Federal arrangement of government and with three organs of governments has shown a very good momentum of developing though there is still a long way to go.

Ahmed said the present discussion would enable to strengthen existing friendship between the two countries.

Abdul Rashid Dar on his part said India would like to strengthen the long standing relations with Ethiopia, a country, which has an ancient history.

He said there are two councils in India, most of whose works are similar to that of the Ethiopian Parliament.

He said the two countries have a keen desire to enhance their relationship in culture, education, economy and other fields.

(ENA)