ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopian Airlines said on Monday it was cutting flights to the United States and China as the global financial crisis hit passenger numbers.
Girma Wake, chief executive officer of the airline — one of Africa’s leading carriers — said they had seen a fall in the number of incoming passengers coming from the two countries.
“Ethiopian Airlines began to feel passenger and cargo contraction in November 2008, but December 2008 was when the changes became noticeable,” he said in a statement.
Girma said the six weekly flights to the United States would be cut to four, while the number of weekly flights to China had been cut to 12 from 14. The airline hopes to boost operating revenue by more than 6 percent to $1 billion this year.
Tourism represents just 2.5 percent of Ethiopia’s gross national product. But the government has set an ambitious goal of attracting a million foreign visitors a year by 2010, quadrupling current figures.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (IAAF) – African 10,000m bronze medallist Wude Ayalew’s shock {www:defeat} of cross country specialists Gelete Burka and Meselech Melkamu in the senior women’s 8km was the highlight of the 26th Jan Meda International Cross Country — Ethiopia’s trials for the World Cross Country Championships — held at the Jan Meda race course in Addis Ababa this morning.
Gebregziabher Gebremariam produced a trademark sprint {www:finish} to take {www:victory} in the men’s 12km race. Ayele Abshiro and Sule Utura were comfortable winners of the men’s and women’s junior races respectively.
Ayalew stuns Melkamu for 8km victory
After a series of domestic cross country races throughout Ethiopia, the {www:meeting} at the Jan Meda brought together the finest Ethiopian hopes in this cross country season. With Ethiopia’s golden trio Kenenisa Bekele, Tirunesh Dibaba, and Sileshi Sihine all missing the race due to injury, it gave the chance to the country’s upcoming and established runners to push for places in Ethiopia’s World Cross Country Championships squad.
Perhaps the biggest winner of the day was the 20-year old Ayalew who has looked impressive on the road in the 2008/09 season with victories in the Great Ethiopian Run (10km) and Sao Silvestre 15km road race in Brazil.
In her debut cross country race in 2009, Ayalew proved that she can not only compete against the so-called cross country specialists, but also beat them.
After a frenetic start to the race, a group of ten runners initially led by Burka started to push on the pace after the first lap (2km). But with the warm and windy conditions affecting the field, the runners were forced to slow down to a virtually walking pace that allowed lagging runners to catch up on the field.
Melkamu, Burka, Ayalew, and Koreni Jelila all exchanged leads at the head of the pack before Burka at the start of the final lap and looked {www:comfortable} for her second ever 8km victory at the Jan Meda race course.
With 200m of the race left, Melkamu was the first run to inject a serious pace at the head of the pack. But Ayalew covered that superbly and launched her own kick to take victory in front of an appreciative crowd.
Melkamu beat Burka for second place with Jelila, Sentayehu Ejigu (winner of the Boston indoor 5000m two weeks ago), and Mamitu Deska occupying the top six places.
The biggest disappointment of the race was defending world cross country silver medallist Mestawet Tufa, who aggravated a leg injury and dropped out of the content with laps of the race left.
“It was a very tough race and I am happy with the victory,” says Ayalew. “I am hoping for a medal in Amman. Although I have not run much recently, cross country is quite important for me. I want to win something this year and hopefully make the Ethiopian 10,000m team for the world championships in Berlin.”
Gebremariam outsprints young field in men’s 12km
In contrast, the men’s 12km had a great element of predictability with African 10,000m champion Gebregziabher Gebremariam taking a sprint victory over upcoming runner Feyissa Lelisa.
A thoroughbred of the course since he made his debut running for his Tigray regional team in 2001, Gebremariam has now won the senior men’s 12km race a whooping three times.
Gebremariam’s Yuriy Borzakovsky-esque-come-from-the-back is often a risk he happily takes. And in a course like Jan Meda where heavy winds prevent any emotional front running, such tactics do not have such pronounced effects always giving him the edge.
The only runner who tried to apply pressure to the field at various intervals was All-African Games 10,000m silver medallist Tadesse Tola, but with the likes of World indoor 3000m champion Tariku Bekele and Abebe Dinkessa following suit, his moves were always covered.
At the bell, Tola led the quartet in a scramble for positions at the head of the pack. Young runners Hunegnaw Mesfin and Habtamu Fekadu also tried their hand at the lead, but Gebremariam, who at this point was the back of the pack, made his move with 150m left. At the end, his burst of acceleration had taken a full 20m ahead of the chasing pack before he started celebrations way ahead of the finishing tape.
Lelisa, who has been the top domestic performer in the Ethiopian cross country circuit this season, beat Tola for second place, while Tariku Bekele, Mesfin, and Fekadu made up the other qualifying positions for Amman.
Utura beats Genzebe Dibaba in the battle of the future
Much like their older compatriots Tirunesh Dibaba and Meseret Defar, youngsters Sule Utura and Genzebe Dibaba who are widely hailed as the future of Ethiopia’s women distance running are developing into fierce rivals each time they come up against each other.
After Genzebe, youngster sister to Tirunesh Dibaba, defeated Utura in last year’s race, Utura gained revenge at the World junior championships last year when taking the 5000m title.
The outcome of the latest instalment of the Dibaba v Utura went the way of Utura who powered ahead of her archrival with 200m of the race left for victory. It was Utura’s second junior race title in three years, the last race she will compete as a junior before moving up the ranks in 2010.
Unlike Dibaba, Utura has never won a medal at the World cross and victory in Amman looks more likely following her impressive performance here.
In the men’s junior race, world junior cross country silver medallist Ayele Abshiro lived up to his pre-race billing taking a comfortable victory ahead of Yetwale Kinde and Dejen Gebremeskel.
– By Elshadai Negash for the IAAF
Leading Results
Women’s Junior 6km
1. Sule Utura (Defence)
2. Genzebe Dibaba (Muger Cement)
3. Emebet Anteneh (Amhara region)
4. Meseret Mengistu (Oromiya Police)
5. Tsega Gelaw (Defence)
6. Frehiwot Goshu (Prisons Police)
Men’s Junior 8km
1. Ayele Abshiro (Unattached )
2. Yetwale Kinde (Unattached)
3. Dejen Gebremeskel (Ethiopian Banks)
4. Atalay Yersaw (Defence)
5. Debebe Woldesenbet (Omedla)
6. Legesse Lemiso (Defence)
Women’s Senior 8km
1. Wude Ayalew (EEPCO)
2. Meselech Melkamu (EEPCO)
3. Gelete Burka (Unattached)
4. Koreni Jelila (Defence)
5. Sentayehu Ejigu (Ethiopian Banks)
6. Mamitu Deska (Oromiya Police)
Men’s Senior 12km
1. Gebregziabher Gebremariam (Ethiopian Banks)
2. Feyissa Lelisa (Defence)
3. Tadesse Tola (Prisons Police)
4. Tariku Bekele (Muger Cement)
5. Hunegnaw Mesfin (Ethiopian Banks)
6. Habtamu Fekadu (Defence)
By Rosa Prince | Telegraph.co.uk
In a statement, David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, revealed that a team of officials will accompany the doctor to prepare for the Ethiopian-born former British resident’s return to the UK.
Britain is seeking to secure Mr Mohamed’s release from Guantanamo Bay, where he is believed to be in a fragile condition after going on hunger strike in protest at the refusal of the US authorities to release documents said to show British security service involvement in his torture.
Mr Miliband said: “We have long been concerned by reports of Mr Mohamed’s welfare and medical condition.
“The visit will help us make preparations for his return, should the review confirm a decision to release him.
“The team will include a medical examiner, who would take part in any return, so that he may assess Mr Mohamed’s condition himself and report back.”
Matthew Elliott, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance criticised the use of public funds. He said: “If he continues his hunger strike during the flight, that’s his problem. Why should any additional cost be placed on British taxpayers when the prisoners of Guantanamo all wanted the camp to be closed?”
By Tesfa-alem Tekle | Sudan Tribune
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — A Sudan based petroleum company has penetrated to Ethiopian oil {www:market} to start operation on lubricants, fuel {www:distribution} and to provide related service in the country
Wadi Alsundus Petroleum Co, oil products distributor, is the second Sudanese oil company to operate in Ethiopia will begin functioning by the end of January, sources from the company said.
It exports gasoline to Ethiopia on behalf of Sudan government.
Wadi Alsundus has already opened branch office in the Ethiopian capital and built two oil-pumping stations in the outskirts of Addis Ababa at Mojo and Sebeta with each having an installed capacity of 160,000 liters.
The already built two oil-pumping stations are set to operate by the end of January.
The {www:introduction} of the Sudanese oil company will raise the total number of functioning oil companies in Ethiopia to seven.
The Ethiopian oil market, which had for years been dominated by foreign based Total, Mobil, Agip, Shell, in recent years been penetrated by the Kenyan Kobil, the Sudanese Nile oil, the Libyan Oilibya and now for the second time by another Sudanese oil company, Wadi Alsundus.
All the earliest dominant oil companies Agip, Mobil, and shell are actually No more in the market of the nation except for total.
The Sudanese oil company, Wadi Alsundus, has also planned to build 18 additional fuel stations in {www:different} regions of the nation to provide multi-regional distribution {www:operation}.
When the oil company goes into full operation it will provide direct supply to big enterprises that demand large volume of heavy and light fuels.
In November 2008, the Libyan petroleum dealer Oilibya bought the retailed business of Netherlands based Dutch shell, a shell company that operated in Ethiopian for 60 years and had built 200 retail service stations.
NEW YORK, USA (AVING) – Kia Motors announced today the donation of a mobile clinic in Ethiopia, one of the world’s least developed countries, as a means to help improve maternal and infant health. According to current Ethiopian health data, pregnancy related problems account for 13.8% of in-patient mortality among women of child bearing age.
The philanthropic donation is part of Kia Motors’ “Moving the World Together” CSR initiative. The specialized and equipped mobile clinic is fully funded by Kia Motors.
Mr. Hyoung-Keun Lee, Senior Executive Vice President & COO of the International Business Division, said, “This is a meaningful and important project for Kia Motors. Ethiopia has a high infant and maternal mortality rate, and we believe that this mobile clinic will provide necessary medical care to those in hard-to-reach areas of the country.”
The Kia mobile clinic is constructed to provide prenatal care, postpartum care, gynecological examinations and child immunizations. The inside of the clinic is divided into a delivery and gynecological examination room, an ultrasound /ECG/ and vaccination room, and a patient consultation room. Equipped with everything from an incubator to a fetal heart monitor to infant delivery instruments, this mobile clinic ensures proper care for both mothers and infants.
By Jason McLure and Ichiro Suzuki | Bloomberg
Ethiopia’s tribalist dictatorship urged Japan to lift a ban on imports of its coffee, saying the Horn of Africa country has taken measures to {www:prevent} pesticide contamination that led Japan to halt purchases last year.
“It’s time to put the Japanese market back and this has already been communicated to them,” Ethiopian Trade Minister Girma Birru said in an interview in the capital, Addis Ababa, on Feb. 17. “I think this is a problem we can leave behind us.”
Japan halted deliveries of coffee from Ethiopia in May after finding “abnormally high” pesticide residues in a {www:shipment} of the beans. Japanese officials demanded that Ethiopia find the source of the chemical and prevent future contamination.
Ethiopia is Africa’s biggest coffee producer. Japan had previously purchased about 20 percent of the country’s exports, said Girma, making it the nation’s third-largest market after Germany and Saudi Arabia. Ethiopia exported $525.2 million of coffee in the fiscal year ending July 7, according to the Trade Ministry.
Girma said the coffee shipment that led Japan to halt imports probably was contaminated by growers using sacks that previously contained insecticides or other chemicals. Most Ethiopian coffee is produced by smallholders who grow the beans without chemical sprays, he said.
Mocha beans from Ethiopia are highly regarded in Japan for their distinctive {www:flavor} and last year’s ban forced coffee shop owners to seek new blends.
No Beans
“We haven’t been able to offer Mocha coffee since last November because the supplier said they have no supplies of Ethiopian coffee beans,” said Takayasu Ito, a coffee shop manager in Tokyo’s Jimbocho neighborhood.
Japan will lift the ban once it receives assurances from Ethiopia’s government that there are no “reappearance risks,” Hiroyuki Uchimi, chief of the inspection planning section at Japan’s Health Ministry, said in a phone interview on Feb. 18.
Measures taken by Ethiopia to prevent a {www:recurrence} of contamination include establishing a laboratory to check for impurities in export coffee.
“We are now going to make clean all the coffee from smallholders or from state farms,” Girma said. “We have everything ready.”
