Ethiopian News in Amharic : Wednesday, February 29, 2012 - YouTube: ""
'via Blog this'
EPRDF regime's self image of ethnically Balkanized Ethiopia, established by late Dictator Melese Zenawie. Freedom of Press is Dead in ethnocracy based irridentism. Fertile land is grabbed by foreign speculators, over 5 million are starving. 500'000 kids are on the streets. Millions are displaced by force. The regime is arming proxy warriors. Dams are built wantonly risking the existence of millions of indigenous people. Eritreans Moles are Ruling even after seceding in 1991.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Anchor falls on Internet in East Africa, disrupts access in six countries - BlogPost - The Washington Post
A ship anchor. ( Geograph.org )After a ship dropped its anchor onto a fiber-optic cable off of Kenya’s coast Monday, six countries in East Africa saw their Internet “severely disrupted,” the BBC reports. The problem could take up to 14 days to repair. In the meantime, connections in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Ethiopia and part of South Sudan have slowed to a crawl.
The mishap occurred after the ship entered a restricted area while waiting to enter Mombasa. The affected undersea cable is one of three that were delivered to the region since 2009. The cables have provided much faster Internet access — in the first 12 months after they arrived, Internet subscriptions in Kenya jumped from 1.8 million to 3.1 million.
Watch how these cables get laid below:
(Via Geekosystem.)
But although Africa now boasts 139 million Internet users, in large part thanks to the cables, that’s small potatoes compared with the access available in and number of users in the rest of the world:
Monday, February 27, 2012
Ethiopia Not Ready to Join Free Trade Area after Decade
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Sunday, February 26, 2012
Ethiopian Dictator pressured Djibouti's president to create clan Somali region after signing with clan leaders to building new port for Ethiopia
After the Ethiopian dictator signing with Saylac (Sunatimes) tribes of Somalia in Djibouti the president forced to create a new region.
Saylac (Sunatimes) Ismail Omar Gelle, the Djiboutian president in Horn of Africa who has power for Somali politics plans to establish an autonomy regional state named Saylac and Lughaye state of Somalia which stands for his clan.
Sheikh Abdirahman who is from Isse clan (Djiboutian) is one of the minister's counsels of Saylac and Lughaye state of Somalia.
The president of Saylac and Lughaye state of Somalia named Mahad Abib Mohamud talked to Royal TV but he said Bokh while he wanted to say Boon which one of towns which will be under the control of his state.
The dialect of the president of Saylac and Lughaye state of Somalia seems that he was born in Djibouti or other countries which was under the French colony because his tones appears that he knows French more than Somali language.
"if our people faces starvation and drought while we are in 21 century so, there is no reasons that we have too look for recognitions, because of We have international recognition and we don't need other recognition from the other people" Mr. Abib said after he was asked that he will look for acceptations from Somaliland government.
It's clear that the clans reside in Saylac and Lughaye (Isse and Gadabursi) were neglected but this new regional autonomy will be the interest of Ismail Omar Gelle, the president of Djibouti for the Selal and Awdal regions.
The efforts from Ismail Omar Gelle resulted after the Somaliland president rejected projects which Ismail Omar Gelle wanted to carry out inside of El-gal area in order to get water to the Djiboutian society.
On the other hand, reports from important sources have indicated that the Djiboutian president annoyed after the Silanyo government has singed to Ethiopian government to use Berbera port.
Mr. Gelle's wife is from Somali Lander so it's believed that this new regional autonomy will be fruitful since he is a politician who has economic and military power.
The relationship between Somaliland and Djibouti was not good and the Djiboutian government stopped to enter in their country for the Somaliland passport.
Previously, the Somaliland passport used to enter inside of Djibouti but right now if some one has a Somaliland passport keeps inside of the immigration as well as the person will be given when he leaves from Djibouti.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
Ethiopia launches ICT Park, after Kenya [51709456] | African news, analysis and opinion – The Africa Report.com
n launch an information and communication technology (ICT) park, becoming the second East African nation, after Kenya, to do so.
MAP OF ETHIOPIA
Construction of the first phase, which began three years ago, will soon be completed, the country's Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT) announced.
Ethiopia's Silicon Valley is spread of 200 hectares of land and authorities claim it is the second of its kind in Africa, after a similar one planned in Kenya.
Earlier this month, Kenya announced plans to construct an ICT park on a 5,000 acre site in the capital, Nairobi.
When complete the Sh800bn ($9.6 million) Konza Technology City, which is part of Kenya's Vision 2030, is expected to create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the ICT sector.
"The first phase with an area of approximately 70 hectares which consists of MCIT headquarters, data and incubation centres is expected to be complete soon," the ministry said.
"The establishment of the IT Park would help attract overseas investment, generate foreign earnings, stimulate growth of domestic ICT industry and create employment and career opportunities for Ethiopian citizens."
Construction of the second stage is due to be complete in the next three years.
Upon completion, the IT Park is expected to generate some 300,000 job opportunities in the country.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Ethiopia Courts Chinese Investors for Stake in Tantalum Mine - Businessweek
By William Davison
(Updates with Ethiopia’s share of global tantalum output in final paragraph.)
Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Ethiopia’s government is courting investors from at least four countries including China and Germany to buy a stake in the state-owned company that operates what it says ranks among the world’s top 10 tantalum producers.
The sale of part of the company will help fund the expansion of the Kenticha mine and construction of a factory to process the rare earth metal, Zerihun Desta, general manager of Ethiopian Mineral Development SC, or EMDSC, said in an interview yesterday in Addis Ababa, the capital. Tantalum is used in transistors for mobile phones, computers and digital cameras.
“We are looking for a potential partner who has technology for the value-adding factory and also the economic capability,” he said. Chinese, Swedish, German and South Korean companies are “aggressively looking” at entering into a joint venture with EMDSC, he said, without identifying them.
Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous nation, is seeking to diversify its economy to reduce its reliance on coffee and other agricultural commodities for most of its export earnings. Mining may become the biggest generator of foreign exchange in “a couple of years,” Zemen Bank, an Addis Ababa-based lender, said in September.
The expansion of Kenticha, 550 kilometers (342 miles) south of Addis Ababa, may quadruple annual tantalum-export revenue to $80 million, Zerihun said. The metal is inexpensive to mine in Ethiopia because of the softness of the rock around the deposit and “cheap” labor, he said. “If the price of tantalum goes down, we will be the last to close,” he said.
Exports to China
About 80 percent of the 220 metric tons of tantalite concentrate mined at Kenticha in the 12 months to July 7, the end of Ethiopia’s fiscal year, was shipped to China, said Zerihun.
“This material is highly needed because the market for electronic products is growing,” he said. “And the material itself is a rare metal. Accordingly, demand is always strong.”
A valuation of EMDSC, estimated to be worth $25 million 10 years ago, is currently under way and a partner may be selected by the Privatization and Public Enterprises Supervising Agency within five months, said Zerihun.
Kenticha may contain sufficient deposits to produce as much as 9,000 tons of processed tantalum products over “more than 15 years,” he said. The mine also contains quartz, feldspar, kaolin and dolomite that are sold in Ethiopia for industrial uses.
EMDSC, which was established in 1995, has concessions for gold, silver and copper exploration in other parts of the country, according to Zerihun.
The company is Ethiopia’s only commercial producer of tantalum and Kenticha ranks as the world’s sixth-biggest miner of the metal, according to Zerihun. Artisanal miners shipped about $5 million worth of the mineral last fiscal year, he said.
Ethiopia’s share of global tantalum production in 2009 was 6 percent, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s website.
--Editors: Paul Richardson, Vernon Wessels.
To contact the reporter on this story: William Davison in Addis Ababa via Nairobi at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Richardson in Nairobi at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.
Blasts in Somali town seized by Ethiopia from rebels
Blasts in Somali town seized by Ethiopia from rebels
MOGADISHU — Two strong explosions rocked the strategic Somali city of Baidoa hours after Ethiopian and pro-government forces wrested it from Al-Qaeda-backed insurgents, officials and witnesses said Thursday.
Shebab spokesman Sheikh Abdulaziz Abu Musab claimed responsibility for the blasts late Wednesday, saying they had inflicted "heavy losses" on pro-government forces.
He said the explosions "struck them when they entered positions our fighters had emptied". He pledged to continue the conflict "until Islam becomes the only principle that rules the country."
News of the blasts came as world powers met the fragile Somali goverment at a London conference Thursday to try to build on progress in the struggle against the Islamist militants, who have allied themselves to Al-Qaeda.
The Shebab claims of casualties could not be verified.
Ethiopian troops, who recently entered the country to back up a weak government army, have placed the southern Somali town under curfew after sweeping into Baidoa on Wednesday afternoon without resistance.
One resident, Warsame Adan, said a local factory had been targeted in one of the blasts after Ethiopian forces took it over.
"We don't know if there were casualties, as we could not go out at night because there was a curfew."
A man suspected of looting was shot dead by Somali forces, said Derow Nur, another resident.
"He had entered a former Al-Shebab base and was killed by Somali troops," Nur said.
"The Ethiopian soldiers have set up bases around town, and traffic on the streets is gradually getting back to normal," he said.
The black flag of the Shebab was hauled down off a flag pole in the centre of town on Thursday morning and Somali government officials said the town was calm.
They added that they would continue attacking the Shebab insurgents who had fled Baidoa hours before the Ethiopian-backed forces took control.
"The city is quiet this morning, and people are feeling free for the first time in more than three years," said Abdifatah Mohamed Ibrahim, governor of the Bay region, which includes Baidoa.
"The enemy fled, and we will keep hunting them down to ensure stability returns to the region," he added. "Security forces will intensify their operations to end insecurity."
Baidoa was one of the Shebab's main bases and its capture leaves the group's fighters in central Somalia increasingly isolated, with the African Union mission (AMISOM) also chasing them out of the capital Mogadishu.
Although the insurgents still control large parts of southern Somalia, they face a land and air offensive by Kenyan forces there.
However, Shebab fighters, who claimed their abandoning of Baidoa was a tactical retreat, said they had seized back areas between the town and the Ethiopian border lost in earlier battles.
"Mujahedeen fighters retook control of several areas the enemy seized on their way to Baidoa," Musab said. The claims could not be verified.
The withdrawal follows the Shebab's abandoning of most fixed positions in Mogadishu last August after failing to oust the transitional government in four years of fighting.
Copyright © 2012 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
Allana Potash says Djibouti government starts new port project in Ethiopia - Proactiveinvestors (NA)
Allana Potash says Djibouti government starts new port project in Ethiopia
Allana Potash Corp. (TSX:AAA)(OTCQX:ALLRF) said Wednesday that the Republic of Djibtouti's government in Ethiopia has started the pre-qualification process to select contractors for the construction of the new port at Tadjoura, Djibouti.
With financing from the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and the Saudi Fund for Development, the Djibouti government-owned Port Authority will build and operate marine civil facilities and common services - to be constructed with an initial 30-hectare yeard and a 435 metre quay, the company said.
Allana said it will continue to work with the Djibouti authorities to integrate the required potash storage and handling facilities into the new port plans.
With a recently-completed, positive preliminary economic assessment (PEA) under its belt for its Dallol potash project in Ethiopia,Allana Potash is expecting a host of developments in 2012, including a feasibility study later this year.
Based on the PEA plan, transportation of the product to Djibouti would be completed through a company-owned fleet of trucks, with port costs based on Allana constructing its own port terminal in Djibouti, including product unloading and storage, shipping facilities and supporting infrastructure.
With regards to infrastructure developments for the project, Allana said again today that highway construction by Ethiopian government contractors was "actively proceeding" to connect the project area with paved roads both to the company's project development staging facilities in Mekele, and to the southern highway access to ports in Djibouti.
The company also said that discussions were progressing with government departments and private sector operators regarding regarding rail facilities linking road and port infrastructure. Allana continues to expect that the infrastructure required for the company's Dallol potash project to reach full operation will be in place at the same time as, or in advance of its projected construction period, it said.
The company is planning to start production at Dallol with one million tonnes at the initial stage by 2015, to reach peak production by year 2017. Start of construction at the project is anticipated as early as late 2012, with minimal output expected by the end of 2014.
President and CEO of Allana, Farhad Abasov, said in a statement Wednesday: "Allana is encouraged by the admirable progress made by the Djibouti Government in the ongoing development of the country's transportation infrastructure.
"Allana understands that both the Djibouti and Ethiopian Governments are looking to the strategic Danakhil potash resource as one of the catalysts for the development of road, port and rail facilities critical to the continued economic growth within the region and we are pleased to have the opportunity to participate in supporting these developments."
Last November, the company announced the results of the PEA for its Dallol potash project for production of one million tonnes, with the potential to expand output at the site to two million tonnes of muriate of potash (MOP) product per year at a later stage.
The economic study, conducted by Ercosplan and based on solution mining with a solar evaporation method, yielded, on an after-tax basis, an internal rate of return (IRR) of 36.8 percent and a net present value (NPV) of US$1.85 billion, based on a 12 percent discount rate.
The results exceeded management's expectations, said Abasov, with the project having "one of the lowest capex and opex in the world" in the potash industry, especially when compared to Saskatchewan players in Canada.
Solar evaporation of the saturated brine solution is possible at the Dallol project due to the year-round hot temperatures and very little rainfall, in contrast to Saskatchewan. Salts harvested from the ponds at Dallol will be processed by standard flotation to create an MOP product.
The Ethiopia project also hosts shallower deposits, which means the company is not required to drill that deep, allowing for cost savings, Abasov told Proactiveinvestors in December.
The ongoing feasibility study, which will consider additional MOP and sulphate of potash (SOP) output, is due out in the third quarter of 2012.
Meanwhile, pilot evaporation pond testwork, hydrogeological studies and solution mining testwork are underway as the company's feasibility study advances. Heavy machinery to construct the ponds is on site, and engineering work and earthworks are in progress, Allana added.
An update to the NI 43-101 compliant technical report is also expected by the end of the first quarter of 2012, with Abasov expecting substantial additions to resources on the eastern side, and an upgrade to the measured and indicated category on the western side.
Exploration drilling has now shifted to the far eastern part of the property as part of the program designed to add mineral resources.
Allana Potash already has financial support from two strategic investors, IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and Liberty Metals and Mining, and recently announced the closing of a $20 million private placement financing.
Total measured and indicated resources now stand at 673 million tonnes, with an average grade of 18.65% KCI, with total inferred mineral resources of 596 million tonnes at a grade of 19.96% KC
Allana Potash says Djibouti government starts new port project in Ethiopia - Proactiveinvestors (NA)
Allana Potash says Djibouti government starts new port project in Ethiopia
Allana Potash Corp. (TSX:AAA)(OTCQX:ALLRF) said Wednesday that the Republic of Djibtouti's government in Ethiopia has started the pre-qualification process to select contractors for the construction of the new port at Tadjoura, Djibouti.
With financing from the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and the Saudi Fund for Development, the Djibouti government-owned Port Authority will build and operate marine civil facilities and common services - to be constructed with an initial 30-hectare yeard and a 435 metre quay, the company said.
Allana said it will continue to work with the Djibouti authorities to integrate the required potash storage and handling facilities into the new port plans.
With a recently-completed, positive preliminary economic assessment (PEA) under its belt for its Dallol potash project in Ethiopia,Allana Potash is expecting a host of developments in 2012, including a feasibility study later this year.
Based on the PEA plan, transportation of the product to Djibouti would be completed through a company-owned fleet of trucks, with port costs based on Allana constructing its own port terminal in Djibouti, including product unloading and storage, shipping facilities and supporting infrastructure.
With regards to infrastructure developments for the project, Allana said again today that highway construction by Ethiopian government contractors was "actively proceeding" to connect the project area with paved roads both to the company's project development staging facilities in Mekele, and to the southern highway access to ports in Djibouti.
The company also said that discussions were progressing with government departments and private sector operators regarding regarding rail facilities linking road and port infrastructure. Allana continues to expect that the infrastructure required for the company's Dallol potash project to reach full operation will be in place at the same time as, or in advance of its projected construction period, it said.
The company is planning to start production at Dallol with one million tonnes at the initial stage by 2015, to reach peak production by year 2017. Start of construction at the project is anticipated as early as late 2012, with minimal output expected by the end of 2014.
President and CEO of Allana, Farhad Abasov, said in a statement Wednesday: "Allana is encouraged by the admirable progress made by the Djibouti Government in the ongoing development of the country's transportation infrastructure.
"Allana understands that both the Djibouti and Ethiopian Governments are looking to the strategic Danakhil potash resource as one of the catalysts for the development of road, port and rail facilities critical to the continued economic growth within the region and we are pleased to have the opportunity to participate in supporting these developments."
Last November, the company announced the results of the PEA for its Dallol potash project for production of one million tonnes, with the potential to expand output at the site to two million tonnes of muriate of potash (MOP) product per year at a later stage.
The economic study, conducted by Ercosplan and based on solution mining with a solar evaporation method, yielded, on an after-tax basis, an internal rate of return (IRR) of 36.8 percent and a net present value (NPV) of US$1.85 billion, based on a 12 percent discount rate.
The results exceeded management's expectations, said Abasov, with the project having "one of the lowest capex and opex in the world" in the potash industry, especially when compared to Saskatchewan players in Canada.
Solar evaporation of the saturated brine solution is possible at the Dallol project due to the year-round hot temperatures and very little rainfall, in contrast to Saskatchewan. Salts harvested from the ponds at Dallol will be processed by standard flotation to create an MOP product.
The Ethiopia project also hosts shallower deposits, which means the company is not required to drill that deep, allowing for cost savings, Abasov told Proactiveinvestors in December.
The ongoing feasibility study, which will consider additional MOP and sulphate of potash (SOP) output, is due out in the third quarter of 2012.
Meanwhile, pilot evaporation pond testwork, hydrogeological studies and solution mining testwork are underway as the company's feasibility study advances. Heavy machinery to construct the ponds is on site, and engineering work and earthworks are in progress, Allana added.
An update to the NI 43-101 compliant technical report is also expected by the end of the first quarter of 2012, with Abasov expecting substantial additions to resources on the eastern side, and an upgrade to the measured and indicated category on the western side.
Exploration drilling has now shifted to the far eastern part of the property as part of the program designed to add mineral resources.
Allana Potash already has financial support from two strategic investors, IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and Liberty Metals and Mining, and recently announced the closing of a $20 million private placement financing.
Total measured and indicated resources now stand at 673 million tonnes, with an average grade of 18.65% KCI, with total inferred mineral resources of 596 million tonnes at a grade of 19.96% KC
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