Connecting Ethiopians worldwide.
Addis Ababa/New Delhi, Jan 30 : As the glitzy China-built African Union building opened in the Ethiopian capital, India was quietly engaged in intense consultations with delegations from around 25 African countries, including foreign office talks with Ethiopia, to fast-track implementation of key projects agreed at the second India-Africa summit. Read the rest of this entry »
Prof. Al Mariam
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is on the chase; and over the past few months, things have taken a slow turn for the worse for African dictators and human rights violators. They are finding out that they can’t run and they can’t hide.
Laurent “Cling-to-power-at-any-cost” Gbagbo of Cote d’Ivoire was snatched from his palatial hiding place in April 2011 after he defiantly refused to give up power to Alassane Ouattara in a presidential election certified by international observers in December 2010. In late November 2011, Gbagbo was quietly whisked away to the Hague from house arrest in Korhogo in the north of the country to face justice before the ICC on charges of crimes against humanity (murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, persecution and other inhuman acts) that were allegedly committed during the post-election period. The U.N. estimates well over three thousand people died between December 2010 and April 2011as a result of extrajudicial killings by supporters of Gbagbo and Ouattara. Gbagbo is the second former head of state to be tried by the ICC since it was set up in 2002. Read the rest of this entry »
An Ethiopian judge has sentenced a group of five journalists and politicians to prison sentences ranging from 13 years to life.
The five were arrested last year and charged last week under Ethiopia’s controversial anti-terrorism laws. Read the rest of this entry »
Prof. Al Mariam | January 23, 2012
Crimes Against the Mind
If a person were to maliciously burn or vandalize another’s house, it would be regarded as a serious property crime under the laws of any nation. If one were to walk into a bookstore and steal thousands of books and give them away to any passerby, that would also be a major property crime. How about taking a copyrighted book, scanning it and making it available to anyone in digital form online? Is that a serious criminal act? Is it also an immoral and depraved act? Read the rest of this entry »
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Gunmen in Ethiopia’s arid north attacked a group of European tourists, killing five, wounding two and kidnapping two, an Ethiopian official said Wednesday.
Ethiopian Communications Minister Bereket Simon said the gunmen came from neighboring Eritrea and attacked the tourist group before dawn on Tuesday. Two Ethiopians were also taken hostage. Eritrea denied it was involved. Read the rest of this entry »
Every now and then, I profile outstanding African women who’re making giant strides in business, politics, technology, entrepreneurship and leadership on the continent and elsewhere around the world. This week, I profile the spectacular Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, an Ethiopian entrepreneur and the founder of SoleRebels, a thriving eco-sensitive footwear brand that pundits hail as Africa’s answer to brands such as Nike, Reebok and Adidas.
Entrepreneur Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu was born and raised in Zenebework, a small, impoverished rural community in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia. As a child, she discovered that people of her community were living in abject squalor because there were very few jobs available. Read the rest of this entry »
Land in Ethiopia is being leased to agro-industry investors on very long terms and below market rates. The beneficiaries have good political connections. But then land has been the play-thing of centralising authoritarians throughout Ethiopia’s recent history. Read the rest of this entry »
Jason McLure : American Journalist Jason McLure worked in Ethiopia as a foreign correspondent for Bloomberg from 2007 to 2010. McLure left Ethiopia on his own volition after his difficult assignment in Ethiopia, where he, along was a translator, was even detained by security agents in Mekele for two days. He was investigating allegations of food aid misuse for political ends in Ethiopia. Read the rest of this entry »
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA: An Indian IT major is assisting the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority (ERCA) transform its valuation methodology to a transaction cost system from a minimum price setting system to prevent under-invoicing. Read the rest of this entry »
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — A court in Ethiopia on Tuesday sentenced two Swedish journalists to 11 years in prison on charges of supporting terrorism after the two illegally entered the country with an ethnic Somali rebel group in a case that has been criticized by media rights groups.
Judge Shemsu Sirgaga ruled that the two freelance journalists — Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye — will serve “rigorous imprisonment” following their convictions last week. Read the rest of this entry »