Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Ethiopia’s Olympic 5000m/10000m champion Tirunesh Dibaba and two-time Olympic 10000m silver medallist Sileshi Sihine tied the knot in a spectacular two-week long wedding ceremony in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Dubbed “the wedding of the millennium” to coincide with the end of Ethiopia’s millennium celebrations, the athletes contained various elements of Ethiopia’s traditional wedding ceremonies. The highlights of a ten-day ceremony were a big ceremony at the Meskel Square in Addis Ababa where close to half a million people watched the couple take a chariot ride.
– 21 October: Engagement- First ever athlete wedding at the Addis Ababa City Hall
The couple got their wedding ceremony off with a cosy engagement ceremony at the Addis Ababa City Hall. It was perhaps the first time in nearly a year that a couple had even been married at the City Hall. Other engagement ceremonies in Addis Ababa are usually carried out at sub-city level and almost never allowed at the main city hall.
– 23 October: Tilosh- Sihine spends “millions” in dowry for Tirunesh
As is customary in traditional Ethiopian weddings, Sihine then sent his best men and other well-wishers to the family of the bride armed with dowry in order to convince the family to give away their daughter.
This ceremony, which is often a practical formality in modern-day Ethiopia, is often blown out of convention due to the fact that the groom’s best men often exaggerate the quality and price of the items that are offered to the family of the bride as dowry.
Needless to say, Sihine’s entourage did a fine job at massive exaggeration.
The wedding veil, for example, was put at an inflated price of 2.5million Euros, while the entourage over blew the price of various items of clothing, cosmetics, and jewellery.
– 26 October: The wedding day – a long, but memorable adventure
Due their success on the running track, the couple are some of the most sought-after celebrities in Ethiopia. But little did they know that they would be followed everywhere they went on their wedding day.
The wedding day started at the home of Sihine where he, along with his best men and the rest of the wedding entourage, made the trip to the home of the bride in a brand new Limousine. There was an even longer parade and entourage waiting at Dibaba’s residence where the couple joined hands for the day’s ceremonies.
After lunch at the five-star Hilton Addis, the couple headed to Meskel Square where they attended a public gathering of nearly 500,000 people. And after thanking the gathering for braving the rain and wishing them well, they then made a 1km trip to the Sheraton Addis in a chariot.
The couple ended the day with a dinner ceremony at the Sheraton where close to 1000 people attended a larger feast of song and dance. Various ministers, Ambassadors, the country’s top athletes, and government officials were the picks of the attendees.
Young singer Misikir Awol also sang “Tirunesh le Sileshi” (Tirunesh for Sileshi), a special song composed for the couple on their special day.
– 27 October: President hosts couple at the National Palace
A day after their wedding day on Sunday (26 October), the couple and about 15 other guests were hosted by Ethiopian President Girma Woldegiorgis at a special dinner ceremony at the National Palace.
“You continue to make us proud and I wish you a successful marriage,” said Woldegiorgis during a short address at the ceremony.
– October 28: Sister Ejegayehou hosts “the Mels”
Ejegayehou Dibaba, the 2004 Olympic 10,000m silver medallist and elder sister to Tirunesh, has always played a crucial part in the career of her younger sister. And the wedding was no exception.
On Tuesday (28 October), Ejegayehou hosted a glorified dinner party at her magnificent home and even went as far as giving the couple a gift – a miniature grass hut to signify the coming together of the couple and the building of a common home. The ceremony, which is known as “Mels” in Ethiopian tradition, is usually hosted by the family of the bride to invite the family of the groom and start not just a union of the wedding couple, but also their families.
– 30 October 30: Gebrselassie delights at “the Kelekel”
The “Kelekel” is another traditional ceremony by the family of the groom where the newly weds serve guests and the family of the bride.
No ceremony, however, is a formality for Dibaba and Sihine as more surprises emerged on their occasion too. The first came from the couple’s club, the Prisons Police Sport Club, who surprised the newly weds with a gift. The club’s administers had a wedding photo of Dibaba and Sihine printed on leather and presented it at the occasion.
The second surprise came from Haile Gebrselassie, who had made a big sacrifice by skipping the opportunity to start the Eurasia Marathon in Istanbul last week in order to attend their wedding. On this occasion, Gebrselassie played the piano in the honour of Dibaba and Sihine whose delight at the great man’s presence was just unmistakable!
(KGMB9) – Hawaii’s top health official is trying to stop a rumor about Barack Obama that says he was born in Kenya and therefore isn’t allowed to run for President.
That {www:claim} has been spreading online but Hawaii officials say it’s not true.
Obama was born in Honolulu and the proof is at the state Health Department.
To end the controversy, director Dr. Chiyome Fukino says she’s seen the birth certificate herself. She just can’t release it publicly.
After getting numerous requests for it, she explained again Friday, “state law prohibits the release of a certified birth certificate to persons who do not have a tangible interest in the vital record.”
No state official, including Gov. Linda Lingle, has ever instructed that this vital {www:record} be handled in a manner different from any other vital record in the possession of the state.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Barack Obama’s aunt, a Kenyan woman who has been quietly living in public housing in Boston, is in the United States illegally after an immigration judge rejected her request for asylum four years ago, The Associated Press has learned.
Zeituni Onyango, 56, referred to as “Aunti Zeituni” in Obama’s memoir, was instructed to leave the United States by a U.S. immigration judge who denied her asylum request, a person familiar with the matter told the AP late Friday. This person spoke on condition of anonymity because no one was authorized to discuss Onyango’s case.
Information about the deportation case was disclosed and confirmed by two separate sources, one of them a federal law enforcment official. The information they made available is known to officials in the federal government, but the AP could not establish whether anyone at a political level in the Bush administration or in the McCain campaign had been involved in its release.
Onyango’s refusal to leave the country would represent an administrative, non-criminal violation of U.S. immigration law, meaning such cases are handled outside the criminal court system. Estimates vary, but many experts believe there are more than 10 million such immigrants in the United States.
The AP could not reach Onyango immediately for comment. No one answered the telephone number listed in her name late Friday. It was unclear why her request for asylum was rejected in 2004.
Onyango is not a relative whom Obama has discussed in campaign appearances and, unlike Obama’s father and grandmother, is not someone who has been part of the public discussion about his personal life.
A spokeswoman for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Kelly Nantel, said the government does not comment on an individual’s citizenship status or immigration case.
Onyango’s case—coming to light just days before the presidential election—led to an unusual nationwide directive within Immigrations and Customs Enforcement requiring any deportations prior to Tuesday’s election to be approved at least at the level of ICE regional directors, the U.S. law enforcement official told the AP.
The unusual directive suggests that the Bush administration is sensitive to the political implications of Onyango’s case coming to light so close to the election.
Kenya is in eastern Africa between Somalia and Tanzania. The country has been fractured in violence in recent years, including a period of two months of bloodshed after December 2007 that killed 1,500 people.
The disclosure about Onyango came just one day after Obama’s presidential campaign confirmed to the Times of London that Onyango, who has lived quietly in public housing in South Boston for five years, was Obama’s half aunt on his father’s side.
It was not immediately clear how Onyango might have qualified for public housing with a standing deportation order.
PETERBOROUGH, CANADA – Two local lawyers, Kathy Church of Sustainable Solutions and Sarah Armstrong of GE are holding a Coffee House fundraiser for Ethiopia that includes a silent auction and concert at the Gordon Best Theatre, 216 Hunter St. W., on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 7:30 p. m.
All of the ticket and silent auction proceeds will go to Ethiopia through the
Canadian charity Partners in the Horn of Africa to establish a group home for poor, rural young
women with academic promise to access post-secondary education opportunities.
Many of the young women have come
through the charity’s other programs for HIV orphans and school-support projects for elementary and high school students. The group home project needs $10,000 for the first year. For further information about the charity, visit www.partnersinthehorn.org
“Coffee originated in Ethiopia and in that spirit we’ll be hosting a coffee house, with fair-trade Ethiopian coffee donated and served by Black Honey Cafe, along with cafe sweets from several local coffee houses,” Church says.
The large silent auction will include unique items such as a bird-watching outing with Drew Monkman, a columnist with The Examiner; a sailing afternoon on the Bay of Quinte; an evening of billiards with a competitive pool player; and a professional fireworks display. Other items donated by local merchants include: dinner for two at Parkhill on Hunter, a Sony MP3 player from the Future Shop, and gift certificates from Moondance and Body Bliss.
For entertainment, Sarah Loucks, a local singer/songwriter who plays acoustic guitar, will be performing along with a team of African drummers, and the Ethiopian coffee ceremony will be demonstrated. Also, John Baigent, who founded Partners in the Horn of Africa after retiring from a successful legal career, will be on hand to talk about the charity.
Tickets cost $20 in advance and $25 at the door. For tickets, call Church at 743-7650 ext. 4, or the Black Honey Cafe at 211 Hunter St. W.
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (APA) – An Indian cultural music group has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for a two-week cultural tour in the country, APA learnt here on Friday.
The Indian embassy in Ethiopia said that the team is in the country as part of the celebration of the Ethio-Indian 60-year diplomatic relation.
Accordingly, the cultural team will perform before millions of people in four selected big cities of Ethiopia namely Addis Ababa, Nazareth, Dire Dawa and Bahid Dar.
On Thursday, an Indian cultural music exhibition was staged in Nazareth in the Oromia State, located at some 100km East of Addis Ababa.
The team is expected to perform in the remaining three towns in the coming days.
The Indian cultural team’s visit to Ethiopia, according to the Indian embassy, is expected to enhance the two countries’ relation on culture and history.
India is currently involved in various investment opportunities in Ethiopia with around US$ 3.5 billion investment capital.
The Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation (ETC) announced on Wednesday its plans to start off operation of installed high-tech multi-inclusive equipments, and thus entertain about 6.5 million more customers during the current fiscal year.
While conferring with local media regarding the corporation’s performance assessment report at ETC’s head office, Amare Amsalu, CEO of the Corporation, Zelalem Bekele, Chief Technical Director, and Abdurahim Ahmed, Communication Affairs Division Manager, divulged the finalization of imports of varied facilities that can enable customers nationwide to utilize them from any locality which are cost effective at the same time.
The CEO said that in addition to the 4000 optical fiber installation, a 2000km additional installation carried out in last year’s budget year will help avoid the internet disconnection problems, particularly due to the malpractices of cutting off the fiber wires that had been witnessed in certain areas. Complementary radio equipment installations in all the service areas have also been operational and now are undergoing pilot-testing, according to Amare.
In parallel, ececutive officer addressed the need to engage in microwave transmission services where there are not optical fiber facilities. Wireless mobile phones are being allocated during this quarter year period to that end, he said.
To alleviate the problems related to the broad band internet network connections, Amare and his colleagues informed the press that 155 mega bites of more fiber links have been created both through links with Sudan and Djibouti, apart from installations of New Generation fixed network facilities which provide all-inclusive services delivery via data and audio-visual services that make use of fiber networks instead of copper networks which render limited internet connection and band width services.
“We believe this umbrella project will bring overall changes in service rendering in the capital as well as in the regions through out the country,” said Amare adding that after the installations are due, about 670 weredas will be capacitated to use the ellaoate broad band services such as video-conferencing, high speed data sending and receiving, among other cost effective transactions.
Meanwhile, to deliver automated services to the people a grand Customer Care and Billing project has been finalized during the past budget year, according to Amare. This project is undertaken such that it can serve close to15 million customers.
Updating ETC’s poor call centre services has also been imperative, admitted Amare besides to contending that, in order to escalate ETC’s present call centre to international standards and enable it to give appropriate services, a vast 750-seat modern call centre has already been built which is believed to entertain 16 million users at a time.
The officials in addition disclosed that to enclose the lower and lower middle section of the society in the phone service delivery, projects are underway to install up to 60,000 cost effective public pay-phones that can serve customers across the country wherever there are mobile as well as wire phone service signals and not necessarily terminals.
Besides to pay-phones, 15,000 E-cards have also been imported to serve those who cannot always purchase a 25 birr voucher card which is the minimum price needed to make a call with a mobile phone.
With the provision of services for the previous year’s 800,000 customers and this year’s 639,074 new customers, the corporation has procured 3.38 billion financial revenue with a 1.065 billion net profit during the past fiscal year, added the CEO.
