Tesfaye Gabiso 2014 Girum Abat Neh ግሩም አባት ነህ

I have been out of using my blog account for such a long time. It might be due to many other businesses that I have been engaged. Now I come back to use it for the daily business more effectively. Hopping that I will have more acclaimed stories to share with others too.

Zeray leaves ERTA to run broadcast authority

Head of Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency, Zeray Asgedom, has been assigned to run the relatively younger institution Ethiopian Broadcasting Authority (EBA) filling a position which remained vacant for the past three months after its former Director General, Destaw Tesfaw, left for the Prime Minister's Office.

According to sources close to matter, the former manager of Walta Information Center and currently general manager of Endowment Fund for the Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT), Birhane Kidanemariam, is assigned to replace Zeray to run the state-owned agency that oversees the national television and radio station.

However, until press time, The Reporter was unable to confirm if Birhane was in fact handed the letter of appointment.

Zeray, who took over from Tabor Gebremichael, has been running ERTA for the past five years where he was acclaimed to have brought considerable changes in terms of improving infrastructure, expansing transmission range as well as laying the ground work to transform the agency from analog to digital system. 

Nevertheless, ERTA also faced one of the biggest staff turnover rates in recent times. On Thursday, Head of Government Communication Affairs Office, Redwan Hussien, who is also the current Board Chairman of ERTA told the Houses of Peoples' Representatives said that in the past six months alone over 137 employees have left the agency. 

Redwan further told Members of Parliament (MPs) that one of the reason for employee turnover is the low salary scale the Agency offers to its workers.

Ethiopian returnees from Saudi Arabia top 151,000

Ethiopia - Two months after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) started its crackdown on irregular migration, the operation to repatriate Ethiopian irregular migrants from the Kingdom continues, with over 151,000 already returned home.    

Since the outset IOM has provided the returnees, over a third of whom are women and children, with emergency medical assistance, food, essential items for those in dire need, and reintegration allowances to help people to return to their areas of origin.

Some 339 Unaccompanied Minors (UAMs) have been reunited with their families by IOM, in collaboration with UNICEF and the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs. Some 60 UAMs are still awaiting family reunification at an IOM transit centre.

IOM’s health team, together with government and other partners are providing post-arrival health assistance, including psychological first aid, treatment and referrals both at the airport and in the transit center.

IOM has appealed for USD 20.15 million to pay for post-arrival assistance to the returnees. While many donors have come forward to assist, the operation still faces a funding shortfall of USD 12.35 million.

Current donors include CERF-OCHA, HRF-OCHA, ECHO-ERM, Plan International, Indian Business Forum, Irish Embassy and IOM’s US-based partner, the US Association for International Migration (USAIM). USAIM this week received USD 30,000 from the Global Alliance for the Rights of Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia.

In-kind assistance has also been received from International  Rescue Committee (IRC), Save  the Children,  UNHCR, WFP,  UNICEF, Plan  International, MSF Spain, Ethiopian  Red  Cross Society, ICRC, VEDIKA  Ethiopia Telugu – Association, Association  of French  in  Ethiopia (ADFE), and Medhanialem  Church Fellow Members Association.

How News is gathered,Produced and Disseminated in The Reporter

The Reporter is a giant news paper that gets many readers and appear twice a week in its bi-weekly Amharic and weekly English version.

The Reporter newspaper is a private newspaper published by the Media and Communication Center (MCC). The MCC has been in operation for about 20 years now. The MCC has English and Amharic newspapers. The Amharic newspaper is one of the leading private newspapers in the country.

Sheger TV has had the opportunity to visit the newsroom and talk to Managing Editor, Ato Biruh Yihunbelay (English) and Assistant Editor for the Amharic newspaper, Ato Yemane Nagish as they were producing their paper.               

                                         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl9-sWqa-yQ

Sheger TV has gotten a glimpse of the busy bustle of the newsroom to meet the deadline on December 26^th, 2013 date.

"I want to run a world record in my first marathon"

Ethiopian running legend Kenenisa Bekele already holds two world records, and now he says he is eyeing a third -- this time in the marathon.

He will be the star draw of the April 6 Paris marathon, just a week before track rival Mo Farah of Great Britain makes his own marathon debut in London -- making for two back-to-back must-watch performances.

Both will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Ethiopian "emperor" Haile Gebreselassie and others who have made a successful leap from the track to the roads, as well as show they can put up a stiff challenge to the seemingly unstoppable Kenyans.

"I want to run a world record in my first marathon," Kenenisa told AFP at his personal training camp set in the lush hills and thin air above Addis Ababa.

"My dream all the time is to run a fast time, you know, to be the best."

While the Paris marathon loop is not considered a potential world record course -- unlike Berlin, Chicago, Rotterdam or London -- all eyes will be on how close he can get to Kenyan Stanley Biwott's 2:05.11 course record set two years ago.


"If the marathon goes well, if I am feeling okay, I want to run the marathon again and again," he said, viewing the debut as the possible start of a journey that will end on the roads of Rio and Olympic glory in 2016.

Kenenisa already holds the world records for the 5,000m and 10,000m -- set in 2004 and 2005 respectively -- and few runners have even come within spitting distance of those times ever since.

His career was subsequently hurt by a lingering calf injury, but his victory at last year's Great North Run -- his debut half marathon -- signaled a return to form and provided a welcome return of his legendary, devastating kick.

Despite beating Mo Farah in that race, Kenenisa has opted not to go head to head with him in the London marathon, choosing instead to race Paris -- still one of the top-tier marathons but a race where the pressure is likely to be far less intense.

"Paris is a historical place for me, it's a special place for me, I won so many races there so I'm happy to run there again," he said.

Kenenisa said he is currently putting in around 240 kilometers of training per week in preparation, all at altitude.

"If I train well, if I prepare myself very well... I'm not worried about anybody. I will just concentrate on my race to be the best and run fast," he said, stressing that he was training as hard for the marathon as he has done in the past.

He's also hoping to secure the same legendary status of national hero Haile, arguably the greatest runner in history and who at 41 is still giving athletes 10 years his junior a run for their money.

"The only thing left for me is I have to achieve at the marathon. If I will achieve in the marathon, maybe you can compare me with anybody in Ethiopia with the best results ever," Bekele said.

Diplomats, experts seek improved ties between Ethiopia, Nigeria

Diplomats and experts in international relations from Nigeria and Ethiopia have jointly called for expanding of frontiers of cooperation between the governments, agencies and peoples of the two countries.

          

Underscoring the need for improved relations between the two countries, speakers during the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) and Ethiopian International Institute for Peace and Development in Lagos on Tuesday called for strengthening of diplomatic cooperation to include economy, trade and investment, research and education, military as well as abolition of visa fees.

Speaking at the ceremony, Ambassador of Ethiopia to Nigeria, Ali Abdo, noted that the relations between Nigeria and his country are strategic and mutual since both countries enjoyed shared experience running into many decades.

Ali claimed that both countries are the two most populous nations in Africa with many ethnic nationalities and Federal system of government.

He also traced relations between the two nations to formation of Organization of African Union (OAU), decolonization of the continent, promotion of peace and security.

The envoy said he was equally looking forward to improved economic, investment and other relations between the two countries.

To show that the future is great, Alli mentioned the increase in cargo and passenger flights from Lagos and Abuja to Addis Ababa and from Addis Ababa back to the Nigerian capital and commercial center.

He said more Nigerians are investing in Ethiopian economy while others are visiting in search of investment opportunities.

According to him, this would soon bring the chambers of commerce in the two countries together in order to promote trade and investments.

He also expressed his readiness to strengthen parliamentary ties, educational researches and bridge information gaps.

“We are in the right track and I hope we will in the future achieve more,” he said.

Responding Director-General of NIIA, Prof. Bola Akinterinwa, while tracing the processes leading to the event, thanked the envoy for bringing the two bodies together.

He hoped that the signing of the MoU would be the beginning of leading the way for other African countries to move away from dependency on developed countries improve people-to-people and government-to-government cooperation.

He also promised that the MoU would not gather dusts but work effectively and efficiently as aspired by the two research institutes.

But the Executive Director, Ethiopian International Institute for Peace and Development, Sebhat Negga, in his remark, blamed African elites for the problems bedeviling the continent.

Saying that Africa should not blame developed countries for its problems, he reasoned that most of the elites were mystified after independence and abandoned the needs of their people.

He lamented that Africa is appealing to China to come to Africa “and not China begging Africa to come to China.”

“If Africa is to reshape itself, overcome its problems, we have to do our homework, cooperate on equal basis, according to each others’ values,” Sebhat said.

Meanwhile, A professor of International Law, Akin Oyebode, at the event, appealed to Ethiopia and Nigeria to abolish visa fees.

Oyebode reasoned that the time has come for Africa to stop going about begging developed countries for help.

He took an exemption to China building and equipping a secretariat for African Union (AU). According to him, Nigeria alone can build such a secretariat for AU.

He hoped the MoU would work to facilitate the strengthening of research cooperation between the two institutes.

A retired Nigerian ambassador, Tayo Akinsulire, also supported Oyebode in this regard, calling for increase in frontiers of cooperation.