A Journalist explains his brief experience In Ethiopian Detention Center ( Makelawi )

Authorities   in Addis told him that   he was been engaged in Illegal reporting, said Peter   Heinlein   soon after he released from Ethiopian Detention Center, commonly   known as Mekealwi. The VOA American journalist along with his translator Semeinesh Yekoye and his driver ( his name was   not identified )  have been detained  inside the mosque  on Friday when Muslims gathered for their Friday prayer. Ethiopian Government official Sheimeles l Kemal explained the incident that Peter was arrested after failing to identify himself to police. Other sources close to the story reported that Peter Heinlein carries a diplomat passport when he entered to the mosque. Neither Peter nor VOA provided confirmation on his dual ID. In recent days groups of Muslims have been holding protest in Awleya  mosues   over two   different  ideologies of Muslims   ( Al Ahabaesh ( Followers of Ethiopian Muslim scholar Shek Abduel)  and  the Wahbi’s). The latter constantly blame the Ethiopian Government interfering to their affair. (By Admin )

Click   the following link to listen the interview held with Peter   Heinlein after he released from the detention center .

http://www.voanews.com/audio/audio/98068.html

Teddy Afro engaged with Ethiopian model and actress Amleset Muchie

Ethiopian pop star Teddy Afro engaged with his longtime girlfriend Amleset Muchie in mid-April.
 The singer proposed to the model and former beauty pageant contestant at a party attended by his family and friends in Addis Ababa. In traditional fashion, Teddy kneeled on one knee, took the microphone and asked her in Amharic if she would be his wife. She enthusiastically replied with 'yes!' and embraced him with a passionate kiss. The couples have been together since late 2009; just months after Teddy was released from prison, where the 36-year-old pop singer served over two years on alleged drunk driving incident that left one homeless man dead. Ethiopian citizens first received a glimpse at how serious their relationship had grown when Teddy released his latest smash hit album, Tikur Sew (black person), which featured a song dedicated to his 25-year-old fiancé.  Source ( Durame)

Genzebe Dibaba & Hagos Gebrehiwet shine in Shanghai

Genzebe Dibaba, younger sister of Tirunesh & Ejigayehu, shined at the Shanghai Golden Grand Prix when she won the women’s 1,500m race here today in 3:57.77, an Ethiopian record and more than eight seconds quicker than the previous fastest time in the world this year. Equally amazing was the performance of Hagos Gebrehiwet of Ethiopia, who won the men’s 5,000m in 13:11.00, the fastest in the world this year. Gebrehiwet celebrated his 18^th birthday just a week ago, Meanwhile, Kenenisa Bekele, the Olympic champion over 5,000 and 10,000 meters could only finish a disappointing fifth.

The Shanghai Golden Grand Prix is the second in the 14-meet Samsung Diamond League series

Women’s 1,500m:

1. Genzebe Dibaba (Ethiopia) 3:57.77 (World Lead, Meet Record, National Record)

2. Abeba Aregawi (Ethiopia) 3:59.23 (Personal Best)

9. Meskerem Assefa (Ethiopia) 4:07.96

12. Senbere Teferi (Ethiopia) 4:10.49 (PB)

Women’s 3,000 Steeplechase:

2. Sofia Assefa (Ethiopia) 9:16.83

10. Sofia Birtukan Adamu (Ethiopia) 9:41.71

Men’s 5,000m:

1. Hagos Gebrehiwet (Ethiopia) 13:11.00 (WL, MR)

5. Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia (13:13.89)

10. Mosinet Geremew (Ethiopia) 13:17.41

13. Yitayal Zerihun (Ethiopia) 13:21.27

Source ( EthioSports Tourism)

CPJ called on Obama to reassess US-Ethiopia relation over Media restrictions

The requests came just before Obama on Friday announced $3 billion in private-sector pledges to help feed Africa’s poor. The U.S. is a major contributor of aid to Ethiopia. The Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia and the Oakland Institute asked Obama in a Thursday letter to “reassess the terms” of U.S. aid to Ethiopia during weekend talks with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Meles is one of four African leaders invited to discuss food security at Camp David. The longtime leader has been accused of restricting freedoms and the media. Some in Ethiopia see him as a dictator. The Committee to Protect Journalists said in a Wednesday letter to the White House it was concerned that Ethiopia had charged 11 independent journalists under sweeping anti-terror laws. “Since 2011, under the guise of a counterterrorism sweep, the government of Ethiopia has brought terrorism and anti-state charges against 11 independent journalists, including blogger Eskinder Nega, who may face life in prison for his writing about the struggle for democracy,” CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said in the letter. “Such policies deter reporting on all sensitive topics, including food security.”  Read more…

Canada to cut aid to Ethiopia, China and others

The Conservative government will reduce aid to Ethiopia as part of its effort to slash $377 million in foreign aid over the next three years. “Ethiopia has been identified as one of the countries where CIDA will reduce its bilateral programming,” the office of International Cooperation Minister Bev Oda said in an email statement. Oda’s office would not disclose the amount of the cuts. In 2010-11, Canada spent more than $176 million in Ethiopia, making it our third-largest aid recipient after Haiti and Afghanistan. This year’s cut will be the second in a row and comes as the country continues to face food shortages following a devastating drought last year that saw more than one in 10 citizens receive some level of food assistance. Cuts are also coming to 12 of the world’s poorest countries, Postmedia News reported last month. Benin, Niger, Cambodia, China, Nepal, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe are expected to lose virtually all Canadian aid funding. The news comes as the World Economic Forum, which Oda attended, wrapped up Friday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital. European financial woes are expected to slow investment across Africa, but oil-rich Middle-Eastern investors are looking increasingly to Africa, attracted by some of the world’s fastest growing economies, rapidly rising disposable incomes and relative political stability in many countries.  Source (Ottawacitizen.com)

Ethiopia expels 2 Arabs, Middle East origin amid tension with Muslims

Ethiopia's government has expelled two Arabs who flew in from the Middle East after the pair went to a mosque and tried to incite violence, an official said Saturday. The two men visited Addis Ababa's Grand Anwar Mosque on Friday and disseminated materials and made inflammatory statements, said Shimeles Kemal, state minister of communications.

"The Ethiopian government found them to be persona non grata and they were immediately deported," he said. The men's nationalities were not made public. The deportations come one week after security forces arrested a Muslim religious leader in the Oromia region accused of radical statements. A group of Muslims tried to free the imam and clashed with police. Four of the demonstrators were killed and 10 police were wounded, Shimeles said.

A number of suspects are in police custody. The elders in the community there have helped contain the situation and it remains peaceful since the incident," Shimeles added.

The country's Federal Ministry on Thursday issued a statement accusing the unnamed group of trying to declare jihad against the government and incite violence in a number of mosques across the country. The statement said a dozen suspects were recruited by the group from the country’s Oromia, Tigray and Amhara regions to carry out illegal activities are now in police custody.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on April 17 told the country's parliament that a few Salafis formed clandestine al-Qaida cells in the Arsi and Bale zones of the country's southeastern region and are trying "to erode the age-old tradition of tolerance between traditional Sufi Muslims and Christians in Ethiopia." Ethiopia borders Somalia, where al-Shabab militants have pledged allegiance to al-Qaida. More than half of Ethiopians are Christian. About a third are Muslim.  Source ( Boston ,com)   

Barak Obama invited four African leaders at the G8 Summit in Camp David

US President Barack Obama has invited the leaders of Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana and Tanzania to take part in a session on food security in Africa at the G8 summit this month, officials said Thursday. Obama will host the leaders of the rich nation's club at his Camp David retreat in Maryland between May 18-19. He has now asked Benin's president and African Union chairman Thomas Boni Yayi, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, President John Mills of Ghana and Tanzania's President Jakaya Kikwete to join the session on food security. Fears of famine and drought are stalking several areas of Africa Water shortages have hit communities in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. Aid groups have also sounded alarm over a separate hunger crisis in the west of Africa where the Sahel region of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger has been hit hard by drought, high food prices and conflict.  Source ( AFP)

DV Lottery 2013 Result Open on May 1, 2012

DV 2013 Program: Applicants in the Diversity Visa 2013 program may check the status of their entries through Entrant Status Check on the E-DV website beginning on May 1, 2012 through September 30, 2013. Please remember to keep your confirmation, since more DV 2013 entrants may be selected on October 1, 2012. On May 1, 2012 at noon Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), In Ethiopian time 8 PM entrants from DV 2013 (those who submitted entry between October 4, 2011 and November 5, 2011) may check the status of their entry using the confirmation number through Entrant Status Check on the E-DV website. Be advised that additional DV 2013 entrants MAY be selected beginning October 1, 2012. The DV-2013 registration period was from October 4, 2011, until November 5, 2011. Entrant Status Check is the ONLY means of informing you if your entry was selected or not. All entrants, including those NOT selected, may check the status of their entries through the Entrant Status Check on the E-DV website www.dvlottery.state.gov. Entrants will need to use the information from their confirmation pages saved at the time of entry. additionally, Entrant Status Check will provide successful selectees instructions on how to proceed with their application. The Kentucky Consular Center no longer mails notification letters and does not use email to notify DV entrants of their selection in the DV program.

For more information visit the official DV Lottery website www.dvlottery.state.gov

Jailed Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega honoured (BBC)

“I accept this award on behalf of Eskinder Nega at a time when freedom of expression and press freedom are at the lowest in Ethiopia,” Ms Serkalem said on Tuesday night in a ceremony in New York. “If Eskinder were standing here, he’d accept this award, not just as a personal honour, but on behalf of all Ethiopian journalists who toil under withering conditions today: Those who went into exile over the years… those in prison with whom he now resides,” she said. Mr Eskinder has been in Maekelawi prison in the capital, Addis Ababa, since his arrest in September last year.  Read more…