Supermodel Liya Kebede has created a clothing line primarily geared towards children.
Called Lemlem, the range will cater to children aged three months to 10 years old. Combining some traditional weaving and embroidery techniques with modern silhouettes, all the pieces of the collection are handmade in Ethiopia, Kebede’s native country.
Lemlem, which means “to bloom” in Amharic, a Semitic language from Ethiopia, is expected to launch in early 2008 in limited distribution.
Discovered and signed to an exclusive Gucci contract in 2000 by designer Tom Ford, Kebede currently ranks 11th in Forbes’ list of the highest paid supermodels in the world. The face of Estée Lauder, the supermodel is also known for her charitable and socially relevant work. Apart from her appointment in 2005 as a World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for maternal, newborn, and child health, she has also just recently established The Liya Kebede Foundation, which aims for a reduction in maternal, newborn, and child mortality.
Kinijit North America issues a statement on the planned tour by the party’s high-level delegation in North America. The delegation is expected to depart from Ethiopia in the coming few days.
The Ethiopian set the records at the Golden Spike meet in June in Ostrava, Czech Republic. In both events, he broke 16-year-old previous marks set by Arturo Barrios of Mexico in La Fleche, France.
Gebrselassie ran 21 285m (12.77 miles) in one hour to surpass Barrios’ mark by 184m. He also finished 20 000m in 56 minutes, 25.98 seconds. Barrios had timed 56:55.6.
The IAAF also ratified Meseret Defar’s world record in the 5 000m. The Ethiopian ran 14:16.63 at the Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway, in June to beat her own mark of 14:24.53 set in New York last year.
The Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party’s International Leadership (K.I.L.) announced yesterday that it is handing over political leadership back to the recently freed top leaders of the party in Addis Ababa.
At a press conference that was attended by several Ethiopian editors, publishers, and radio hosts, Dr Moges Gebremariam, chairman of the K.I.L., said that his committee has ceased its activities. Dr Moges explained that the K.I.L.’s mandate was to represent the party’s executive committee only until its members are released from jail.
Earlier yesterday, the Kinijit executive committee sent a letter from Addis Ababa to all Kinijit groups in the Diaspora announcing that it is taking over leadership responsibilities from the party’s international leadership. Click here to read the letter.
Dr Moges, joined by his colleagues Ato Berhane Mewa, Ato Andargachew Tsige, Ato Dawit Kebede and Ato Daniel Assefa, expressed his appreciation for the contribution made by the Ethiopian independent media in the effort to secure the Kinijit leaders’ freedom, and keep the struggle going.
He also thanked Ethiopians around the world who had supported and rallied around the K.I.L. in the past 15 months of its existence.
Following the opening statement by Dr Moges, Ato Berhane Mewa read what he called “K.I.L.’s last official statement,” which announces the end of the leadership group.
The statement outlines K.I.L.’s accomplishments and jobs left unfinished. It is a positive and forward-looking statement.
In the 3-hour press conference, the media representatives took turns to ask questions and make their own comments.
Ethiopian Review asked the K.I.L. members what the future of Kinijit movement in the Diaspora would look like.
Ato Andargachew answered that a high-level Kinijit delegation composed of some of the top leaders will arrive in the United States shortly and it is they who would make such a decision after consulting with the various support groups. Until then, Kinijit North America, which has a democratically elected leadership, will continue to moblize support for the party from Ethiopians in the U.S.
Ato Andargachew said he believes that their decision will be in line with helping Kinijit’s culture of democracy to be firmly established through out the party.
ADDIS ABABA, July 26 (Reuters) – Ethiopian opposition leaders accused the government on Thursday of waging an “intensive propaganda campaign” against them through state media, less than a week after being freed in a clemency deal.
Thirty eight opposition members and activists were freed from jail last Friday after a nearly two-year trial that rights groups and donors complained was an attempt to dismantle the opposition after it made strong gains in 2005 elections.
The defendants were found guilty of inciting violence, treason and trying to topple the government, and 35 of them were given life sentences.
“It is also our belief that the people understand the true nature of the intensive propaganda campaign that the government is waging through the mass media after the conclusion of the agreement,” the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) said in a statement.
“We are also fully confident that the propaganda barrage will not, in any way, reduce the strong support that the people have for CUD.”
Government officials were not immediately available for comment.
Since the pardon, announced by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, state-owned Ethiopian television has aired several interviews with lawyers who said the trial and the convictions were just.
In a broadcast on Saturday, the chief prosecutor in the case, Shimeles Kemal, said the opposition leaders’ crimes justified the death penalty.
The defendants were arrested after two bouts of violence following disputed 2005 elections in which 199 civilians and police were killed, 800 people wounded and 30,000 arrested according to a parliamentary inquiry.
The CUD said it would continue to “struggle for democracy” and pledged to resolve its differences with the government through a reconciliation process initiated by the same elders that negotiated their release.
The group was freed after the government made public a letter it said CUD leaders sent to Meles admitting their guilt and promising to respect the law.
The CUD said a government statement on the clemency agreement was different to what they agreed to, but gave no details.
“It is our belief that the elders will make public the true content of the agreement at a time and in a manner that is convenient to them,” the statement said.
Washington D.C. — Mayor Adrian Fenty of Washington D.C. proclaimed September 12, 2007 as the “Ethiopian Millennium Day”. In recognition of the multiculturalism and diversity of the Ethiopian Community in Washington D.C. Mayor Fenty called upon all of the District’s residents to join him in this special recognition.
Spearheaded by the Committee for the Celebration of the Ethiopian Millennium (CCEM), the effort of getting recognition and proclamation from this important city has been going on for months. As a hub of thousands of Ethiopians, Washington D.C. is the heart of the Ethiopian Diaspora and Mayor Fenty recognized that the Ethiopians in his city give his District its distinct ethnic flavor.
Based on CCEM’s five-day long Ethiopian New Year celebration from September 8-12, and that of other groups, the Mayor said, “Members from Ethiopian American Communities and Community Based Organizations will organize lectures, exhibitions and cultural programs”. In its five-days long Millennium celebration, CCEM is in high gear preparation to hold its multifaceted symposium, photograph and art exhibition, cultural and contemporary musical gala and a day of “March for Democracy”, calling for Peace, justice, and Progress for the people of Ethiopia in the coming Millennium.
Less than two months away, the Millennium celebration in Washington D.C. is gaining momentum. And, Mayor Adrian Fenty’s recognition comes off the hill of a successful dinner held on July 13, 2007 at the U.S. Congress. The Honorable Donald Payne (D–NJ), representatives from the office of the Honorable Chris Smith (R–NJ) and Honorable Mike Honda (D–CA) and many Ethiopians representing the Ethiopian American community in DC Metro are attended the successful dinner at the Rayburn House of Representatives building. CCEM is working on and expects subsequent resolutions and proclamations regarding the Ethiopian Millennium from members of the US Congress, mayors and governors of various cities and states.
UPDATE: The Committee for the Celebration of the Ethiopian Millennium (CCEM) expects thousands of Ethiopians—young and old–to come to Washington D.C. from September 8 – 12, 2007. CCEM is working tirelessly to make the occasion very especial. Please visit us at www.2kethiopia.com for program details and information.
Supermodel Liya Kebede has created a clothing line primarily geared towards children.