US government seeks $70M from African official

The son of Equatorial Guinea president plundered his country natural resources through corruption, spending more than $70 million in looted profits on a Malibu mansion, a Gulfstream jet and Michael Jackson memorabilia, the U.S. government said. in what appeared to be a concerted action, France last month seized 11 luxury sports cars belonging to Teodorin Nguema Obiang Mangue, a government minister in the West African country and heir-apparent to the presidency. And a Spanish investigative judge has been asked to seize properties in Madrid and Las Palmas in the Canary Islands owned by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, his sons and some ministers, acting on a case brought by the Pro-Human Rights Association of Spain. Read more ….

US claims the existence of its drones in Ethiopia are not in strike mission

The White House on Friday confirmed the existence of US drones in Ethiopia, but said they are not conducting strike missions. "The UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) are not conducting any strike missions from Ethiopia," White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters at his daily briefing, stressing the aircraft were deployed in the East African country to counter terrorism and to promote stability in the Horn of Africa, reported Xinhua. The spokesman was responding to a question about a Washington Post report Thursday that the US is operating armed Reaper drones in Ethiopia to carry out counterterrorism missions. The drone base is located at the Arba Minch airport, about 300 miles south of Addis Ababa and about 600 miles east of the Somali border, the report said. This is within reach of standard models of the Reaper, about 1,150 miles. The report came at a time when the US has been expanding the use of drones on counterterrorism missions, and have increasingly targeted al-Qaeda's affiliates outside South Asia, particularly in Yemen and Somalia. Source ( newkerala.com)

Video footage shows 'Gaddafi's killer'

Video footage has emerged of fighters loyal to Libya's National Transitional Council claiming to be the assassins of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
On Monday, his body remained on display to the public and it is still unclear where he will be buried. Saadi Gaddafi, Gaddafi's son, said he was "outraged by the vicious brutality" shown towards his father and his brother Motassim, who were both killed last week. More video clips showing Gaddafi's last moments are slowly trickling in, and they are likely to come under closer scrutiny in the coming days as the UN, rights organizations and US, backs an investigation into the deaths source ( Aljazera)
Click here; please be advised that the clip is disturbing and graphic

Video footage showed Mummer Gadafi , shortly before he was killed

Acting Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril announced the death, and later said the colonel had been killed in crossfire between Gaddafi loyalists and fighters from the transitional authorities. He confirmed that Col Gaddafi had been taken alive, but died of bullet wounds minutes before reaching hospital. Video footage suggests he was also dragged through the streets. It is unclear from the footage, broadcast by al-Jazeera TV, whether he was alive or dead at the time. Watch this exclusive video, please be warned that the video is graphic . Click here

Swedish Journalists’ Terror Trial Opens in Ethiopia

The two Swedes, freelance investigative reporter Martin Schibbye and photojournalist Johan Persson, were arrested in July in Ethiopia’s Somali region while traveling with rebels of the Ogaden National Liberation Front, which is fighting for regional autonomy. The government alleges the pair were not just journalists, but were actively supporting the rebels and has charged them under an anti-terrorism law. The trial’s brief opening session was adjourned to allow time for two surprise co-defendants to be given court-appointed lawyers. Lead defense attorney Sileshi Kesela told reporters he had used the opening session to demand the prosecution share evidence confiscated during the arrests, including a video shot by the defendants and their press credentials.“It was the court which asked did you not receive any of the evidence, and we indicated we haven’t received this and this evidence, one written material and one cassette,” said Kesela. Read more…

Ethiopia’s ‘Distorted’ Monetary Plan Needs Reform, IMF Says

“High and rising inflation and entrenched negative real interest rates also threaten Ethiopia’s macroeconomic stability.” The coffee-producing nation’s commodity-dependent economy grew 8 percent last year, versus 10 percent in 2010, the fifth- fastest in sub-Saharan Africa after the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Nigeria, IMF data showed. Read more…

Ethiopia Faces Threat from Wahabi Muslim Extremists

Some Wahabi Muslim extremists in Ethiopia are being engaged in underground violence and unrest instigation activities by abusing the freedom of religion and faith guaranteed by the constitution says, Ethiopian government official. Arab Wahabi missionaries, mainly from Saudi Arabia, continue to make inroads into the Ethiopian Muslim community, but are meeting increasing resistance in doing so, according to a recent US cable released by Wikileaks. The indigenous Muslim culture (mainly Sufi Muslim community) has come under attack since 9/11 by Wahabi missionaries engaging in what amounts to cultural imperialism against Ethiopian Islam. Read more....

የኢትዮጵያውያን ሰቆቃ በሊቢያና በማልታ ሰማዮች::

በየለቱ በሞትና በህይወት መካከል ናቸው:: ትናንት አብረዋቸው የነበሩ ጔደኞችቻቸው ዛሬ የሉም:: ወይ ውሀ በልቷቸዋል ከዛ የተረፉትን ደሞ ጥይት እስከ መጨረሻው ዝም አሰኝቷቸዋል:: ስደት, ተስፋ መቁረጥ ከምድር ወደ ባህር ከባህር ወደ ምድር በሰው ሰራሽም ሆነ በተፈጥሮ ማእበል እየተንገላቱ ዛሬም አሉ...መኖር ከተባለ...በቻድና በኒጀር በረሀ የቀሩትን ደሞ የበረሀው ሰማይ ይቁጠራቸው..ይሄ ኢትዮጵያውያኑን ብቻ ሳይሆን ከተለያዩ የአፍሪካ አገሮች ወይ የተሻለ ኑሮ ፍለጋ አለያም ካገራቸው ፖሎቲካ ለመሸሽ የተሰደዱትን ሁሉ ይጨምራል:: ቢቀናን ቢለው ከሊቢያ ወደ ማልታ አቅንተውም ነበር...ማልታ ሲደርሱ ግን የስደተኞች ካምፕ ሳይሆን የካምፕ ጽሁፍ በትልቁ የተለጠፈብት እስር ቤት ውስጥ ነው ያስገቧቸው:: በሩ ከውጭ ይቆለፋል ..በቀን ላንድ ስአት ብቻ የጸሀይ ብርሀን እንዲያገኙ ይወጣሉ:: ዛሬ በሊቢያ ምድር ኢትዮጵያውያኑ ብቻ ሳይሆኑ በሺዎች የሚቆጠሩ አፍሪካውያን የኮለኔል ጋዳፊ ደጋፊዎች ናችሁ በሚል ባዲሱ የሽግግር መንግስት ቁም ስቅላቸውን እያዩ ነው:: ሚስቶቻቸው የተደፈረባቸው , ሰርተው ያፈሩት ሀብት የተወረሰባቸው , የተደበደቡና የተገደሉትን ቤት ይቁጠር..:: በስድተኞች አንጻር በሊቢያ ምድር ላይ የሚታየው የነጠረ እውነታ ይህ ነው:: የኢትዮጵያ በዚህ ሳምንት አዘጋጅ በሊቢያ ስላሉ ኢትዮጵያውያን ሰቆቃ የሚመለከት ከጀርመን ድምጽ ያገኘውን ዘገባ እንደሚከተለው አቀናብሮታል:: http://ia700704.us.archive.org/20/items/EthipiansSufferInLybiaAndMalta/LybiaSagaEditedv..mp3

Ethiopian faces deportation

Pune: The city police arrested an Ethiopian national, Gebreyesus Kiberab for illegally staying in the country for 15 years. Kiberab is one of the victims of the German Bakery blast, on September 28 Kiberab has been working as a disc jockey (DJ). The deputy commissioner of police (special branch), Makrand Ranade, said they would discuss the matter with the Ethiopian embassy and serve a leave-India notice on him or deport him. Kiberab was injured on his leg in the German Bakery blast and was treated at Sassoon General hospital. Source (dailybahskar.com)

Steve Jobs Has Died at Age 56

Apple is reporting that co-founder and longtime CEO of the company, Steve Jobs, has died at the age of 56. Jobs was just 21 when he helped found the fledgling computer company. Apple is now one of the largest companies in the world. Its resurgent success was largely due to Jobs’s uncompromising vision as CEO, where he introduced not only many Mac products but also the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Jobs suffered from a rare form of pancreatic cancer. He stepped down as CEO earlier this year. He had left Apple previously in 1985 but returned in 1996 and created one of the largest tech company turnarounds in US history. “We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today,” read a statement attributed to Apple’s board of directors. ”Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve. His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.” The long, sad fight with cancer was brutal to watch. He will be missed. Source (Forbes)

2013 U.S. Diversity Visa Lottery Begins on October 4, 2011

The Embassy of the United States of America today announced the beginning of the 2013 Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery application season. Applications for the 2013 DV Program will be accepted from October 4 to November 5, 2011. Applicants may access the electronic Diversity Visa entry form (E-DV) at dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period. Paper entries will not be accepted. Applicants are strongly encouraged not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter as heavy demand may result in website delays. No entries will be accepted after noon Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), on November 5, 2011. The annual DV program makes visas available to persons meeting the simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. Every DV lottery entrant must have at least a high school education or its equivalent as defined by local requirements or have two years of work experience within the past five years in an occupation requiring at least three years of training or experience. Applicants who do not meet the educational or work experience requirements will be disqualified. A computer-generated, random lottery drawing chooses selectees for Diversity Visas.The visas are distributed among six geographic regions globally, with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration, and with no visas going to nationals of countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States over the past five years. Within each region, no single country may receive more than seven percent of the available Diversity Visas in any one year. or detailed information about entry requirements, along with frequently asked questions about the DV lottery, please see the instructions for the DV-2013 Diversity Visa lottery on the Department’s Consular Affairs Website at dvlottery.state.gov.

Diageo to Buy Ethiopian Brewer for $225 Million, Agency Says

The world’s largest distiller, agreed to buy Ethiopia’s state-owned Meta Abo Brewery for $225 million after outbidding SABMiller Plc and Heineken NV. (HEIA) Diageo, which makes Guinness stout, will expand Meta Abo and introduce new products, Wondafrash Assefa, a spokesman for Ethiopia’s Private and Public Enterprises Supervising Agency, said today by phone from Addis Ababa. SABMiller, the world’s second-biggest brewer by volume, bid $190 million for the asset, and Heineken offered $188 million, he said. London-based Diageo, which sells spirits including Johnnie Walker whisky and Smirnoff vodka, is among consumer-goods companies seeking sales growth in emerging markets to offset weaker demand in western Europe and the U.S. Africa is attractive as consumers have increasing disposable income, Nick Blazquez, head of Diageo’s Africa unit, said in April. Meta Abo is the last of Ethiopia’s state-owned brewing assets to be sold. Heineken, the world’s third-largest brewer, bought two beermakers in the country for about $160 million in May. Source (Bloomberg)

Ethiopia land dream shattered

According to Steven Golding, president of the Marcus Garvey-founded Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) Kingston Chapter who visited Ethiopia in May this year, the land offer no longer exists. "Going there, we found in actuality, there is not a land grant offer to take up," Golding, whose father, Bruce, is Jamaica's prime minister, told the Sunday Observer. In fact, according to the younger Golding, persons who actually took up Selassie's offer many years ago have lost some of the land and are now living in unacceptable conditions. Shashemene gained international attention in the African diaspora when 500 acres of its fertile land was granted to the 'Black People of the West' in 1948 by Selassie, the Ethiopian emperor at the time. It was a gesture of appreciation for their massive support to Ethiopia during the Italian occupation of 1935-1941. Read more…

Rachel's legacy: clean water for 55,000 Ethiopians

More than $1.26 million flowed into Rachel's campaign after her death from injuries in a car crash on Interstate 90 in July. Rachel and her mother had started the campaign for her 9th birthday. The campaign closed Thursday, although the charity said it was launching a new campaign on Friday in Rachel's memory. "Knowing that Rachel's decision to give up her ninth birthday will now help save thousands of people brings me to tears," Rachel's mother, Samantha Paul, said in a statement. Paul will travel to Ethiopia on the anniversary of Rachel's death to see the impact of the projects, the charity said. Scott Harrison, founder and CEO of charity: water, said Rachel's campaign was the largest in the organization's five-year history. The money will be used to work with WaterAid and A Glimmer of Hope, two of the organization's best implementing partners, he said. Charity: water said it would share on its website the impact of the projects when they are completed in 18 months. Donors will be able to see photos, stories and GPS coordinates, Harrison said. Meanwhile, the charity said it is launching a campaign, at the request of Rachel's family, to continue bringing clean water to those in need. The projectcan be found at mycharitywater.org/rachelswish. "We know that Rachel's spirit will live on through inspiring others to act in service and unselfishness," Harrison said. Source (Seattle Times)