RANDOLPH TOWNSHIP, NEW JERSEY – Paul Michael Designs, 477 Route 10 East, will hold a holiday open house fundraiser to benefit Ethiopian orphans from 5 – 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008.
The event will feature jewelry made by the children of the Orphans and Vulnerable Children Program of the Medhan Social Center in Addis Ababa.
Sale proceeds will be donated to the program through the township-based Medhen Orphan Relieef Effort (MORE).
Founded eight years ago, the non-profit organization has raised over $100,000 for the program. For more information, call (973) 989-3993.
(GIN)—By a close margin, Zambians chose a centrist candidate, Rupiah Banda, as president in this southern African country. African regional electoral monitors said voting had been free and fair.
At his swearing on Nov. 2, Banda promised “to be an agent of continuity, good governance and will campaign against corruption,… I also promise to fight poverty because poverty is demeaning.”
Banda called for national unity since citizens were greatly divided during pre-elections campaigns.
“It does not matter which party you voted for, at the end of the day we are all Zambians,” Banda said. “It is time we all unite and work for a better future.”
Banda, 71, succeeds Levy Mwanawasa who died unexpectedly in August after suffering a stroke.
The Government of Southern Sudan has secured assistance from USAID to carry out major reconstruction of the badly eroded and impassable road. According to Mr Mark Wease of Louis the Berger Group, the 192-Km road would effectively boost trade between Uganda and south Sudan. Many Ugandan traders say the construction of the road would offer a great opportunity for trade because of smooth transportation of goods.
“This is good news for us who want to take advantage of the trade boom in Sudan. Those people still need our services but the bad state of the road was a major hindrance to us,” Mr Emmanuel Acidri, a Sudan-based Arua businessman said. Due to delays, several traders have had their merchandise perish before reaching intended consumers. About seven people perished in October over the bad status of road.
In South Sudan, there is high demand for cement, iron sheets, soft drinks and agricultural produce. Mr Wease said the other link to south Sudan through Gulu is also under construction.
Widespread arrest of Oromos in Addis Ababa and other parts of the counrty continued, this time targeting women, including a 3-year-old child, OLF News correspondent reported from Addis Ababa.
Among several women who were apprehended from their homes and work places in Addis Ababa on November 4 and 5, 2008, by the government “security” forces that wear plain cloth are Mrs. Asaadaa Imaanaa; Mrs. Caaltuu Taakkalaa; Mrs. Urgee Abbabaa fi; Mrs. Dirribee (Boontuu) Ittaanaa.
Particularly, Mrs. Urgee Abbabaa is reported to have been arrested with all her family: her brother Darguu, her husband Girmaa and more shockingly, with her three year old child.
This is a continuation of the current wave of arrest of the Oromo people by the regime in power, as reported by OLF News and many other media outlets, including TPLF government controlled media.
It is also to be recalled that OLF News has reported that, on October 30, 2008 the TPLF forces have arrested a prominent Oromo TV journalist Mrs. Lalisee Wadaajoo, the wife of Mr. Dhaabasa Wakjira, a journalist himself detained for three years and now forced into exile.
As we have reported earlier, Mrs. Wadaajoo have been denied visit of her relatives which only strengthened the suspicion that she must have been severely brutalized in prison. Particularly from the latest report, which indicates that, the lawyer of Mrs. Wadaajoo was turned down and even intimidated when he attempted to visit her on November 3, 2008.
Nigeria’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Buba Marwa, said yesterday in Pretoria, that Nigerians and South Africans are soon to enjoy visa-free regime.
He told the Southern Africa correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) officials of both countries were now studying the proposal.
He said the visa-free regime was one of the issues discussed at the meeting of the implementation committee of the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-national Commission, which ended in Pretoria on November 6.
“At the meeting, we reviewed our relationships and tried to move the visa regime to another level, whereby holders of red and blue passports of the two countries can do away with visa.”
This is the first step towards what will be the ultimate regime of completely doing away with visa between our two great countries in due course,” Marwa said, adding that he was disappointed at “the uncivil and unruly” behaviour of a South African immigration official who verbally assaulted and humiliated some Nigerian officials on Saturday.
He said the Mission had already sent a strongly worded letter of protest to the South Africa’s Department of Foreign Affairs and wondered how a senior immigration officer should be lacking in such a simple elementary civil behaviour at this point of strategic levels of relations between Nigeria and South Africa.
A South African immigration official was reported to have verbally assaulted a former Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, as well as two Senators at the OR Tambo International Airport.
Insurance for Ethiopian livestock is poised to become more widespread as it will now be supported by weather information and satellite imagery. The pilot project nearing completion in Asai, Kenya aims to provide insurance companies with the necessary information to offer policies insuring livestock owners against disease and drought.
The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), currently operating in 15 countries, is developing satellite imagery to plot agro-climatic information and create an animal survival capacity database. This data will supply insurers with the tools to properly calculate risk indexes and create policies tailored to the specifics of the land.
Carlos Sere (PhD), director general of ILRI, told Capital that one of the major ways ILRI is working to help poor pastoralists is to reduce the risks of drought, famine and disease. This information portal will provide the data to facilitate insurance not only in Ethiopia, but also throughout the world.
“It is not good enough to give pastoralists a good breed of cow; if there is drought risk, that cow will die,” says Dr. Sere. “This mechanism will help to manage risks. Previous approaches concentrated on increasing grazing and watering points, but this initiative targets the financial side of the business.”
