Israel to train Ethiopian medical doctors, nurses (Walta)

Addis Ababa, October 24, 2006 - Israel is to train Ethiopian medical doctors and nurses on treatment of AIDS patients as per the emergency plan initiated by US President George W. Bush, ynetnews.com reported.

In Ethiopia, out of the four million people living with the virus, only about 10 thousand of them receive treatment for the virus, it said.

As part of an emergency plan initiated by President Bush, 100 million US dollars would be transferred to Ethiopia annually for the purchase of medicines, it added.

A major problem was that Ethiopia has shortage of medical doctors who are knowledgeable about the drugs and how to treat HIV patients, it said. Israel decided to give a hand in the struggle against the deadly epidemic in training Ethiopian medical doctors on the subject.

The report said the first envoy of 11 Ethiopian medical doctors arrived in Israel this week from Addis Ababa. They were expected to undergo training in the AIDS clinics at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre, Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem, and the Central Virology Laboratory at the Sheba Medical Centre in Tel-Hashomer.

(ENA)

Rare bird sighted in Ethiopia for first time since 1970s (BBC)

Bird charities are ecstatic after identifying the winter home of the northern bald ibis, a critically endangered species.

Three birds have now been followed by satellite tags from their summer grounds in Syria to Ethiopia.

Britain's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) describes the find as a "major breakthrough". It says the ibis is the rarest bird in the Middle East; exact numbers are unknown but could be under 1,000. Read more..

Scores killed as fundametalists set church on fire (EthioMedia)

JIMMA, Southern Ethiopia - An unknown number of people have been killed and others wounded when a group of Islamic fundamentalists set a church on fire, and butchered the faithful to death with matchetes and knives, according to email messages that reached Ethiomedia on Sunday. Following are the messages that earnestly call on leaders of the two great religions (Islam and Christianity) to resolve the crisis immediately before the situation gets out of hand, and wreaks further havoc on communities that have lived harmoniously for generations. Read more..

Nation secures 1 bln. USD from Agricultural exports (Walta)

October 17, 2006 - The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said Ethiopia has managed to get 1 billion USD from export of agricultural products.

Speaking on the celebration of World Food Day and FAO’s 60th year anniversary held in Awash Fentale woreda Sunday, State Minister Ahmed Nasser said Ethiopia has secured the stated sum in export revenue owing to the sound policies and strategies the government pursues.

Ahmed said efforts would also be strengthened in developing the sector carried out by investors, farmers and the government to further enhance qualities of agricultural exports.

He said the celebration entitled by “Investing Agriculture for Food Security” would go in line with policies and strategies of the country and support the development activities carried out in the sector. Read more..

Ethiopia to install telescope centre (Walta)

Addis Ababa, October 16, 2006 - The Ethiopian Space Society announced plans to establish a telescope centre that would link Ethiopia with other international space centres.

The society also said it would begin providing information on events taking place in the space for its members in Addis Ababa and some other places.

Tolu Biresa, Manager of the Society told ENA that the telescope centre, due to be established on Entoto Mountain, would conduct various research and studies in the Space Society and exchange research findings from similar centres in other countries. Read more..

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