Henok Tesfaye, an Ethiopian immigrant to the US, started in the parking business with just himself and a few family members as employees. Now he manages some of the largest car parks in the Washington DC area, including the city’s convention centre, baseball stadium and Reagan National Airport, with a staff of over 600. Now [...]

(USA TODAY)Ethiopian Airlines today became the first airline in the world outside Japan to fly paying passengers on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The carrier entered the aviation history books today at 12:50 p.m. ET, inaugurating passenger service on the jet around 1:30 p.m. with a special flight from Washington Dulles to the carrier’s hub in Addis Ababa. [...]

During the Jumaa prayers, Islamic parching (hutba) will be presented by the Imam. Sometimes it coincides with the sound of the Mass prayers from the church. The faithful will be disturbed by a mingled and distorted voice from the two loud speakers. St. Raguel’s Church has a big building on one side of the fence. The shops in the building exhibit the same confusion.

Devolution to regional and local government structures has increased the shift of power away from Tigrayans, whose control of the police and military has been reduced in recent years. They now make up just over 18% of the army, down from well over half in the mid-1990s, and many senior Tigrayan officers have recently retired. Amhara soldiers have risen to 30% from 25% and Oromo to 25% from 21%. The Amhara opposition insists that Tigrayans run the federal government but this is no longer the case, say analysts in Addis.

(ደጀ ሰላም፤ ነሐሴ 10/2004 ዓ.ም፤ ኦገስት 16/ 2012/ )፦ኻያኛ ዓመት በዓለ ሢመታቸውን ከሐምሌ 5 ቀን 2004 ዓ.ም ጀምሮ እስከ ወሩ መገባዳጃ ሲያከበሩ የቆዩት አምስተኛው የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን ፓትርያርክ ብፁዕ ወቅዱስ አቡነ ጳውሎስ በጠና ታመው ነሐሴ 8 ማምሻውን ወደ ደጃዝማች ባልቻ ሆስፒታል ከገቡ በኋላ በሕክምና ሲረዱ ቆይተው ማረፋቸውን ምንጮቻችን እየገለጹ ነው። አቡነ ጳውሎስ በምንገኝበት የፍልሰታ ለማርያም ጾም የሰሞኑ ውሏቸው [...]

Matthew D. LaPlante (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ When the summer rains come, as they have in cleansing torrents over recent weeks, the 3 million residents of Ethiopia’s smog-choked capital usually inhale a little more deeply and exhale a little more freely. But at this moment it seems the entire city is holding its breath. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, the [...]

According to outgoing Chairperson Bulcha Demekssa, he is not the only leader to be replaced by the new leadership team. Bulcha says, “I am not the only leader to be replaced. The election is meant to replace all of the leadership team members.” Bulcha does not want to disclose the venue of the meeting, fearing interference from government cadres.

(UPDATE) Addis Neger Online has confirmed that the jailed opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa has been freed from  prison. -Birtukan said that she requested pardon from government. -Birtukan’s first interviewer was VOA’s Meleskachew Amaha. -Our correspondent in Addis Ababa said that he had never seen such an emotional welcome. -Birtukan walked on red carpet to get [...]

-ኀይለማርያም ደሳለኝ ምክትል ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር እና የውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስትር ኾኑ
-ሥዩም መስፍን እና ግርማ ብሩ ከካቢኔ ውጭ ኾነዋል
-በዛሬው የካቢኔ ሹም ሽር ከደሕዴግ እና ኦህዴድ አምስት፣ ከብአዴን አራት ፤ ከህወሓት እና ከሶማሌ ሕዝቦች ዴሞክራሲያዊ ፓርቲ (ሶሕዴፓ) ሁለት ሚኒስትር ተሹመዋል። የአፋር ብሔራዊ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ፓርቲ (አብዴፓ) አንድ ሚኒስትር አሹሟል። የፓርቲ አባል ያልኾኑት አቶ መኮንንም የሚኒስትርነት ሥልጣን ለመጀመርያ ጊዜ አግኝተዋል።

_ከተሿሚዎቹ መካካል ዐሥሩ አዲስ ናቸው

በተወካዮች ምክር ቤት እና በፌዴሬሽን ምክር ቤት 4ኛው የሥራ ዘመን የመጀመርያ ጉባዔ አዲስ መንግሥት እየተመሠረተ ነው። በኢፌዲሪ ፕሬዝዳንት አቶ ግርማ ወ/ጊዬርጊስ ንግግር የተከፈተው የፌዴሬሽን ምክር ቤት ስብሰባ አቶ ደግፌ ቡላን ተክተው እንዲሠሩ አቶ ካሳ ተክለ ብርሃንን የፌዴሬሽን ምክር ቤት አፈ ጉባኤ አድርጎ መርጧቸዋል። አቶ ካሳ በትጥቅ ትግል ተሳትፎ የነበራቸው ነባር የብአዴን የሥራ አስፈፃሚ አባልነት ሲኾን [...]

በዕድሜ ጠና ያሉ የቤተሰቡ አባላት ለእርድ የተዘጋጀውን ከብት ጀርባ እየዳበሱ ረዣዥም ምርቃቶችን ያዥጎደጉዳሉ፤ አገሩ ሰላም እንዲኾን፣ ሳር ቅጠሉ ፍሬ እንዲያፈራ፣ ልጆቻቸው በአውሮፕላን የሚመላለሱ አስመጪ እና ላኪ እንዲኾኑ አጥብቀው ይማጸናሉ። “ማርያም አጊ ትበል፤ ገብሬል አጊ ይበል፣ ጎርጊስ አጊ ይበል…” እያሉ። ክብ ቅርጽ ሠርቶ የተሰበሰበው ቤተሰብ የሽማግሌዎቹ ፀሎት መሬት ጠብ እንዳይል እጁን ዘርግቶ “አሜን!” እያለ ይቀበላል። በተሳተፍኩባቸው የምርቃት እና የእርድ ሥነ-ሥርዐቶች ሁሉ ግን ቀልቤን የሳበኝ በየምርቃቱ ሾልከው የሚገቡ ፖለቲካዊ የሚመስል ይዘት ያላቸው ፀሎቶች ናቸው። ለምሳሌ በብዙዎቹ የእርድ ሥነ ሥርዐቶች “ኤርችትኡት የገነታ ያብቋን” የምትል ዐረፍተ ነገር ሰምቻለሁ። “ሰውየውን ለእናት አገሩ ያብቃው” እንደማለት ነው። ማን ነው ሰውየው?

The secretary general of the party Mamushet Amare said to a group of journalists in Addis Ababa, that the party focused on “internal matters” following the May election in which the opposition including his party couldn’t manage to get seats throughout the country except one in the Federal Parliament won by MEDREK candidate in Addis Ababa.

The general assembly of the party is to convey soon, Ato Mamushet said, without giving a specific date. The assembly will hear the audit report, and elect the leadership. Mamushet stressed the possibility of changes among the ranks of party leadership.

(Mulu G.) The European Union election observer’s team postpones the release of its final report for the second time.  According to an unofficial report from the office of the European Union election team in Addis Ababa, the reason for postponing the launch of the report is not disclosed. In its preliminary report released on May [...]

Ejigayehu “Gigi” Shibawbaw, one of Ethiopia’s best-known singers, is releasing her latest album Mesgana Ethiopia on October 19th through MOD Technologies, the label founded by Grammy-winner Bill Laswell (who has collaborated with countless legends from Mick Jagger to Laurie Anderson to Tony Williams). This release features Gigi singing her original songs mixed with some Ethiopian [...]

The militarism and authoritarianism which now define Eritrea’s political culture have their roots in the region’s violent history. The 30-year war for independence – achieved in 1991 – was part of a network of conflicts which devastated north-east Africa. The real significance of that legacy has only become clear in the last decade, as President Isaias Afwerki and a small cohort of ex-fighters have strengthened their grip on power, while suppressing social freedoms in favour of an agenda centred on an obedient national unity and the notion that Eritrea is surrounded by enemies.

During the Jumaa prayers, Islamic parching (hutba) will be presented by the Imam. Sometimes it coincides with the sound of the Mass prayers from the church. The faithful will be disturbed by a mingled and distorted voice from the two loud speakers. St. Raguel’s Church has a big building on one side of the fence. The shops in the building exhibit the same confusion.

According to outgoing Chairperson Bulcha Demekssa, he is not the only leader to be replaced by the new leadership team. Bulcha says, “I am not the only leader to be replaced. The election is meant to replace all of the leadership team members.” Bulcha does not want to disclose the venue of the meeting, fearing interference from government cadres.

(UPDATE) Addis Neger Online has confirmed that the jailed opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa has been freed from  prison. -Birtukan said that she requested pardon from government. -Birtukan’s first interviewer was VOA’s Meleskachew Amaha. -Our correspondent in Addis Ababa said that he had never seen such an emotional welcome. -Birtukan walked on red carpet to get [...]

-ኀይለማርያም ደሳለኝ ምክትል ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር እና የውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስትር ኾኑ
-ሥዩም መስፍን እና ግርማ ብሩ ከካቢኔ ውጭ ኾነዋል
-በዛሬው የካቢኔ ሹም ሽር ከደሕዴግ እና ኦህዴድ አምስት፣ ከብአዴን አራት ፤ ከህወሓት እና ከሶማሌ ሕዝቦች ዴሞክራሲያዊ ፓርቲ (ሶሕዴፓ) ሁለት ሚኒስትር ተሹመዋል። የአፋር ብሔራዊ ዴሞክራሲያዊ ፓርቲ (አብዴፓ) አንድ ሚኒስትር አሹሟል። የፓርቲ አባል ያልኾኑት አቶ መኮንንም የሚኒስትርነት ሥልጣን ለመጀመርያ ጊዜ አግኝተዋል።

_ከተሿሚዎቹ መካካል ዐሥሩ አዲስ ናቸው

በተወካዮች ምክር ቤት እና በፌዴሬሽን ምክር ቤት 4ኛው የሥራ ዘመን የመጀመርያ ጉባዔ አዲስ መንግሥት እየተመሠረተ ነው። በኢፌዲሪ ፕሬዝዳንት አቶ ግርማ ወ/ጊዬርጊስ ንግግር የተከፈተው የፌዴሬሽን ምክር ቤት ስብሰባ አቶ ደግፌ ቡላን ተክተው እንዲሠሩ አቶ ካሳ ተክለ ብርሃንን የፌዴሬሽን ምክር ቤት አፈ ጉባኤ አድርጎ መርጧቸዋል። አቶ ካሳ በትጥቅ ትግል ተሳትፎ የነበራቸው ነባር የብአዴን የሥራ አስፈፃሚ አባልነት ሲኾን [...]

በዕድሜ ጠና ያሉ የቤተሰቡ አባላት ለእርድ የተዘጋጀውን ከብት ጀርባ እየዳበሱ ረዣዥም ምርቃቶችን ያዥጎደጉዳሉ፤ አገሩ ሰላም እንዲኾን፣ ሳር ቅጠሉ ፍሬ እንዲያፈራ፣ ልጆቻቸው በአውሮፕላን የሚመላለሱ አስመጪ እና ላኪ እንዲኾኑ አጥብቀው ይማጸናሉ። “ማርያም አጊ ትበል፤ ገብሬል አጊ ይበል፣ ጎርጊስ አጊ ይበል…” እያሉ። ክብ ቅርጽ ሠርቶ የተሰበሰበው ቤተሰብ የሽማግሌዎቹ ፀሎት መሬት ጠብ እንዳይል እጁን ዘርግቶ “አሜን!” እያለ ይቀበላል። በተሳተፍኩባቸው የምርቃት እና የእርድ ሥነ-ሥርዐቶች ሁሉ ግን ቀልቤን የሳበኝ በየምርቃቱ ሾልከው የሚገቡ ፖለቲካዊ የሚመስል ይዘት ያላቸው ፀሎቶች ናቸው። ለምሳሌ በብዙዎቹ የእርድ ሥነ ሥርዐቶች “ኤርችትኡት የገነታ ያብቋን” የምትል ዐረፍተ ነገር ሰምቻለሁ። “ሰውየውን ለእናት አገሩ ያብቃው” እንደማለት ነው። ማን ነው ሰውየው?

The secretary general of the party Mamushet Amare said to a group of journalists in Addis Ababa, that the party focused on “internal matters” following the May election in which the opposition including his party couldn’t manage to get seats throughout the country except one in the Federal Parliament won by MEDREK candidate in Addis Ababa.

The general assembly of the party is to convey soon, Ato Mamushet said, without giving a specific date. The assembly will hear the audit report, and elect the leadership. Mamushet stressed the possibility of changes among the ranks of party leadership.

(Mulu G.) The European Union election observer’s team postpones the release of its final report for the second time.  According to an unofficial report from the office of the European Union election team in Addis Ababa, the reason for postponing the launch of the report is not disclosed. In its preliminary report released on May [...]

Ejigayehu “Gigi” Shibawbaw, one of Ethiopia’s best-known singers, is releasing her latest album Mesgana Ethiopia on October 19th through MOD Technologies, the label founded by Grammy-winner Bill Laswell (who has collaborated with countless legends from Mick Jagger to Laurie Anderson to Tony Williams). This release features Gigi singing her original songs mixed with some Ethiopian [...]

The militarism and authoritarianism which now define Eritrea’s political culture have their roots in the region’s violent history. The 30-year war for independence – achieved in 1991 – was part of a network of conflicts which devastated north-east Africa. The real significance of that legacy has only become clear in the last decade, as President Isaias Afwerki and a small cohort of ex-fighters have strengthened their grip on power, while suppressing social freedoms in favour of an agenda centred on an obedient national unity and the notion that Eritrea is surrounded by enemies.

I suppose he could offer Columbians a hell of a seminar on dictatorial self-preservation—on how to install puppet governments in neighboring nations with the military and diplomatic blessing of the most powerful country on earth; on how to violently steal elections while provoking minimal global outcry; on how to run a country that’s 171st on the UN’s Human Development Index.

The Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO) conference appeared deadly critical of its outgoing chairman, Abadula Gemeda, close sources told Addis Neger. To the surprise of many observers who followed Abadula’s achievements, key faction leaders and their followers came out with harsh allegations of corruption against Abadula. He lost his chairmanship to an old guard of the party, Alemayehu Atomsa. The “rising star” of the party, Muktar Kedir, secured the position of Deputy Chairman. Muktar is the head of the EPRDF secretariat (Office).

A minor conflict erupted today in Anwar, Addis Ababa’s biggest mosque, during the weekly “Juma’a” prayer. The incident occurred after a mosque-goer received a minor injury resulting from a stone thrown from a nearby building.

EPRDF wins 99.95 % of the regional councils

The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEB) announced today that the opposition All Ethiopia Unity Party (AEUP) won one seat in Benshangul Gumuz regional state.
NEB released the official final result of the May 23 election this afternoon. The result confirmed that EPRDF won 99.6 % of the federal parliament seats, and 99.95 % of the regional councils.

PM Meles gave his first press conference since the election. In his interview this afternoon with local and international journalists, Meles accused EU Election Observers’ recent preliminary report of mixing their political outlooks with facts.
• He rejected the idea of election rerun proposed by opposition leaders as “illegitimate.”
• He said: “we will drop the idea of charging opposition leaders”
• The pressure on Birtukan’s release is “mounting,” he confirmed. “But we will continue resisting”