Stories about Ethiopia from October, 2006
Ethiopia: clash over trademark
Ethan discusses the clash between the Ethiopian government and Starbucks over trademark, “Last year, the Ethiopian government filed trademark applications to protect the names “Sidaro”, “Harar” and “Yirgacheffe” – the hope was to prevent unscrupulous coffee dealers from buying inexpensive beans from other countries and selling them as “Sidaro”, whether...
Ethiopian blogger scoops mainstream media
The story broke at 12.42 pm. An Ethiopian human rights activist, another unnamed Ethiopian and two senior officials from the European Commission had been arrested that morning close to Ethiopia's border with Kenya. The report from Ethiopian blogger Ethio-Zagol named the activist as Yalemzewd Bekele and the two European officials...
Ethiopia: this was a massacre
The Sub-Saharan Africa Roundtable declares, “This was a massacre,”: “Ethiopia struck me as a story of crucial importance. Parliamentary elections had just been held on May 15, and the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy charged fraud upon the announcement of the results. Anti-government demonstrations transformed into riots, which Ethiopian...
Ethiopia: comedy in parliament, abuse of human rights
Ethiopian Life, Politics, Culture and Arts writes about comedy in the Ethiopian parliament and reports that the family of the jailed human rights lawyer, Yalemzewd Bekele, has been denied access to him.
Ethiopia: human rights lawyer arrested
“Yalemzewd Bekele, a prominent human rights activist and a lawyer working for the European Commission in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, was arrested on the morning of 19 October by the Ethiopian authorities, while trying to cross the border to Kenya with another Ethiopian,” reports Ethiopian Life, Politics, Culture and...
Africa: using soccer to fight AIDS
All African Bazaar writes about a non-profit organization, which uses soccer to fight AIDS in Africa, “Founded by Tommy Clark,MD, Grassroot Soccer became a registered 501(c)3 charitable organization in 2002. Dr. Clark conceived of the idea after having played soccer professionally in Zimbabwe. During that time he witnessed first hand...
Somalia: potential conflict between Islamic Courts Union and Kenya?
What does the advance of the Islamic Courts Union of Somalia mean to the region? Read the Voice of Somaliland Diaspora-Ottawa.
Ethiopia: the US needs to reshape its policy
The US needs to reconsider its policy in the Horn of Africa, read Weichegud's analysis.
Ethiopia's bloggers emerge refreshed after rainy season
Ethiopia's bloggers emerged refreshed from their long rainy season with a series of dazzling posts on everything from Somalia to stolen secondhand books. For once there was no unifying theme – because there was just so much to catch up on as the sun came up after four months of...
Ethiopia: publicity war over a port
Meskel Square writes about publicity war over a port:”Once upon a time Ethiopia only had access to one port. If you wanted to get your goods delivered in bulk, you had to pack them in containers and send them through Djibouti. Then Ethiopia did a deal with Somaliland and its...
Africa: rice and neo-colonialism
What has rice got to do with neo-colonialism in Africa? Mining Exploration has the answer: “Africa is home to 8% of the world’s oil reserves, which has prompted Beijing to spend billions of dollars to secure drilling rights in Nigeria, Sudan and Angola and to negotiate exploration contracts with Chad,...
Africa: roundup from the Horn of Africa
What is happening in the Horn of Africa?: meanwhile in Somalia…
Ethiopia: Yvonne Chaka Chaka sings under a fig tree
The “Princess of Africa” sings a song by “Mama Africa” under a fig tree. According to Meskel Square, it could only happen in Ethiopia.