It’s been six months since Ginbot 7 Movement for Freedom and Democracy in Ethiopia was formed. In June 2007, EthiopianReview.com wrote (read here) that the new movement has less than 6 months to prove itself. Did it prove itself to be a viable opposition party? What did it accomplish so far and what is it currently doing?
Ethiopian Review will pose these and other questions to Ato Andargachew Tsege, a senior official of Ginbot 7, in a live interview Sunday, Oct. 26, 2008, at 2:00 PM Washington DC time.
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (Bloomberg) — Ethiopia’s annual inflation rate declined to 59.6 percent in September from 61.7 percent in August, the Central Statistical Agency said.
Food prices increased by 80.9 percent, slower than the annualized rate of 85 percent in August, the Addis Ababa-based agency said in a report handed to Bloomberg News today.
Drought and the boom in global food prices have helped to fuel price increases in the Horn of Africa country. In September 2007, the annual inflation rate was 22.6 percent.
KHARTOUM (AFP) — Sudan has apologised to Ethiopia Woyanne after police arrested the Ethiopian Woyanne military attaché’s sister and impounded liquor from the diplomat’s home in the capital Khartoum, an Sudanese official said on Friday.
Sharia law applies in predominantly Muslim northern Sudan, and alcohol is officially banned.
“The foreign ministry officially apologised to the Ethiopian Woyanne embassy and Foreign Minister Deng Alor phoned the Ethiopian Woyanne foreign minister Seyoum Mesfin to apologise for what happened,” said ministry official Ali Yousuf.
Sudanese police, apparently unaware that the unmarked residence belonged to a foreign diplomat, raided the home of the Ethiopian military attaché this week while the diplomat was out.
“The police confiscated the alcohol and took the lady, who said she was his sister,” said Yousuf.
Following contact with the Ethiopian Woyanne embassy, foreign ministry officials went to the police station and secured the woman’s immediate release.
Although relations between Sudan and neighbouring Ethiopia the Woyanne regime are close, the raid came just days after Khartoum summoned the Ethiopian Woyanne ambassador over concerns that Addis Ababa shipped weapons to semi-autonomous southern Sudan.
Ethiopian A Woyanne plane flew light weapons into the southern capital Juba that the Ethiopian ambassador said were destined for an arms exhibition.
“This (raid) is an isolated incident that has nothing to do with the weapons in the south. We have strategic relations with Ethiopia Woyanne and we have full respect for all Ethiopian Woyanne diplomats,” said Yousuf.
He said the raid was “not intentional” and a “mistake”.
Diplomatic sources said police confiscated between 50 and 60 bottles of alcohol from the Ethiopian Woyanne diplomat’s home.
The Ethiopian Woyanne embassy in Khartoum refused to comment.
UAE (BI) – Runners from across the world have been quick to sign up for the 2009 Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon following the announcement that Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia will launch an attempt on his own world record time in the Emirate, a press release said.
Entries for the event, scheduled for 16 January 2009, continue to rise as competitors sign up for the full marathon, the popular 10km event and the 3km Fun Run through the event’s official website
Runners of all ages can only register online or visit any branch of Fitness First in Dubai. Details of all branches of Fitness First are available at www.fitnessfirst.ae.
Held under the patronage of HH Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, and staged under the aegis of the Dubai Sports Council, this year’s Dubai Marathon saw Ethiopian legend Gebrselassie set the then second fastest marathon time in history and narrowly miss out on a record US$1 million bonus.
Gebrselassie – fresh from setting a new world best of 2 hours 3 minutes and 59 seconds in Berlin last month – has already confirmed he will have another attempt at landing the biggest prize in athletics in January, a move that is already encouraging even more amateur names to sign up for the entry list.
“The 2008 event was the best in the history of the Dubai Marathon and we are looking forward to a record turnout in 2009,” said Event Director Peter Connerton.
“Thanks to the support of title sponsors Standard Chartered as well as our other supporters such as Dubai Holding, who are again offering US$1 million for a new world record, and the regular appearance of athletes such as Haile, Dubai is now well established as a leading marathon venue in world athletics.”
Despite registration opening three months before the start gun, Ahmed Al Kamali, Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon General Co-ordinator, President of the UAE Athletics Federation and Al Ahli Club Board Member, urged UAE runners not to be slow in signing up for the event. “We will close registrations on 15 December around one month before the race in order to finalise numbers and ensure we have all the necessary logistics in place to handle the exact number of runners,” he said.
While organisers continue to work behind the scenes on assembling a powerful field for next year’s marathon, event sponsors Standard Chartered are calling on the UAE public to put on their running shoes and get into training for all three race categories.
“Standard Chartered has been the title sponsor of the Dubai Marathon for the last four years and we are excited about our fifth year as sponsors in 2009. The Dubai marathon has grown into an international success story that reaches out to every member in our local UAE community,” said Shayne Nelson, Standard Chartered Regional CEO, Middle East and North Africa.
“The Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon, the 10km race and the 3km ‘Seeing is Believing’ Fun Run are great ways to get fit as well as raise money and awareness for local and international charities.
For us, the marathon is a key component of the Bank’s community strategy as we help to raise awareness about the rise of diabetes in the region, and how we can effectively combat this illness through regular exercise.
Those who take the challenge to participate in any one of the runs have the potential to make a significant difference. I look forward to welcoming thousands of athletes of all ages, nationalities and abilities to the starting line on 16 January next year.”
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (APA) – National Bank of Ethiopia admitted on Thursday that $27 million has been withdrawn fraudulently from its City Bank account in New York by three Nigerians.
The bank, however, said the withdrawal has not affected its domestic operations.
“We have observed that South Korean police had arrested three Nigerians for allegedly obtaining millions of dollars from Citibank with a forged document purportedly from National Bank of Ethiopia,” the bank said.
It was reported that the suspects were caught on Monday in the Yongsan district of Seoul following a tip-off from a local bank employee.
In August, the trio allegedly sent a forged payment request from the National Bank of Ethiopia to Citibank in New York, according to the Ethiopian bank.
They asked for more than 30 million dollars to be sent to bank accounts in several countries, including South Korea, China and Tanzania.
According to the National Bank of Ethiopia, the money that was withdrawn in the name of the Ethiopian bank will soon be returned to the City Bank in New York.
“This fake withdrawal was carried out with fake photo copy documents and fax messages. There is no connection with the suspected Nigerians and employees of the National Bank of Ethiopia. We have been informed by City Bank that the money will soon be returned to Ethiopian saving account there,” said the bank.
The bank said the Nigerians were arrested while trying to withdraw some few remaining money from the bank in Seoul.
Two of the suspects were in South Korea on business visas while a third was an illegal immigrant. Their names were withheld.
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — The United States on Thursday warned Eritrea that it faces “appropriate action” from the UN Security Council if it refuses to cooperate to resolve its border dispute with Djibouti peacefully.
US Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad said Asmara had defied the world community by attacking its smaller neighbor last June “in a violent confrontation that left 44 Djiboutian soldiers dead and many more missing.”
He said a UN fact-finding mission “has clearly documented the extent to which the Djiboutian govt has worked to resolve the crisis peacefully.”
Khalilzad said that in line with the mission’s recommendation, the United States was calling on UN chief Ban Ki-moon to send a high-level envoy to the area “immediately.”
“Eritrea should be given a clear timeframe in which to accept the assistance of the United Nations, the African Union or any other organization or body that is acceptable to both parties to find a peaceful solution to the crisis,” he said.
“However if Eritrea rebuffs any such effort at resolution, the council must react appropriately,” he added.
France’s UN Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert for his part proposed that the 15-member council begin early consultations on a text that would “strongly reiterate its demands to Eritrea, notably the withdrawal of its forces (from Djiboutian territory).”
He said such demands should be coupled with “a clear timeframe.”
Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh meanwhile urged the Council to demand that both parties be given three weeks to resolve the crisis.
“Any failure to comply should trigger sanctions from the Council,” he added.
But Eritrea’s UN Ambassador Araya Desta slammed what he called “the series of hostile campaigns” against his country and “the unwarranted statements that followed any concrete evidence.”
He asserted that the June border clashes was “instigated by the unprovoked attack unleashed by Djibouti against our units inside our own territory.”
“Contrary to the claims made, Eritrea has not taken any land that belongs to Djibouti and it does not have territorial ambitions,” he added.
Last June, the Security Council has already urged Eritrea to withdraw its troops from a border area in dispute with Djibouti. A similar demand was made by the African Union in July.
The long-running border row between Djibouti and Eritrea over the disputed Ras Doumeira promontory on the shores of the Red Sea flared up last June after previous clashes in 1996 and 1999.
The clashes have assumed a greater strategic significance because both France and the United States have bases in Djibouti, a former French colony. Some 100 French troops have deployed along the border.
The United States has more than 1,200 troops stationed in Djibouti, which hosts an anti-terrorism task force in the Horn of Africa.
