International News

• Emirates passenger jet carrying 275 people has crash landed at Dubai Airport

  Aug 3, 2016 by Ethiopia Hagere / 747 Views

  This is the terrifying moment Emirates Flight EK521 packed 275 passengers crash lands at Dubai International Airport before exploding on the runway.

  

  
  

  
  The Dubai government confirmed the Boeing 777-300 jet crash-landed at the airport shortly after 1pm local time (9am UK time) with 275 passengers and crew on board.

  The three-hour flight took off from Trivandrum International Airport in India at around 6am UK time before the captain is understood to have sent out and emergency signal shortly before the plane was due to land.
  No-one is currently believed to have been injured and passengers have been evacuated.
  Emergency services are currently on the runway. All landings at the airport have been suspended.
  
  An Emirates spokesman said: "Emirates can confirm that today, 3rd August 2016, flight EK521 travelling from Trivandrum International Airport in Thiruvananthapuram, India to Dubai has been involved in an accident at Dubai International Airport". There were 275 passengers and crew on board.
  
  "The Boeing 777 aircraft, departed at 10.19am from Trivandrum International Airport and was scheduled to land at 12.50pm at Dubai International Airport."
  
  We'll be bringing you the very latest updates, pictures and video on this breaking news story.

  Source: FanaBC.com and Telegraph.co.uk

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• World Bank approves $100mln additional fund for Ethiopia

  Jul 2, 2016 by Ethiopia Hagere / 324 Views

   

  The World Bank Groups’ Board of Executive Directors yesterday approved 100 million US dollars in additional financing from the International Development Association (IDA) Crisis Response Window (CRW) to the Productive Safety Net Project 4 (PSNP 4).

  The funds will help support the government of Ethiopia’s efforts to respond to the ongoing drought.

  Ethiopia is experiencing the worst drought in fifty years. The government issued a humanitarian appeal in December 2015 seeking international assistance for the drought response.

  “PSNP is providing regular cash or food transfers to eight million of the poorest people in those areas which are most often hit by drought,” said Carolyn Turk, Country Director for Ethiopia. “The additional support will prevent millions of households from falling deeper into poverty, as a result of the drought.”

  PSNP is helping Ethiopia to further reduce extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity by strengthening the resilience of the poorest households to natural shocks. The additional financing will help ensure that the poorest people in drought affected area continue to receive reliable support from the government through to the next harvest.

  “This additional financing will allow the program to extend the duration of safety net support to existing beneficiaries. It is also delivered through national systems, which are the first line of define against shocks, such as drought, in Ethiopia,” said Sarah Coll-Black, World Bank Task Team Leader for the project.

  The PSNP4 is implemented in 318 districts in Ethiopia, reaching 8 million food insecure people per year and includes a total budget of approximately 3.6 billion US dollars from the government and 11 development partners including the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, Irish Aid, the European Union, Canadian International Development Agency, Swedish International Development Agency, the Netherlands, Danish International Development Agency, the United States Agency for International Development, UN Children's Fund, the World Food Program and the World Bank.

  Source: World Bank

   

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• IGAD Congratulates Ethiopia on its election as non-permanent member of UNSC

  Jun 30, 2016 by Ethiopia Hagere / 256 Views

  

  The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) congratulated Ethiopia on its election as non-permanent member of the United Nation Security Council (UNSC).

  “IGAD is proud to learn that Ethiopia, one of its Member States and a founding member of the United Nations has been elected to serve a non- permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council for the next five years with an overwhelming support from members of the UN General Assembly,” Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Ambassador (Eng.) Mahboub Maalim said on behalf of IGAD.

  Ambassador Maalim continued to say that IGAD recognizes Ethiopia's election to the position as a well-deserved achievement given its historic contributions to African political and socio-economic aspirations and its contribution to peace and stability in the IGAD region and beyond.

  Ethiopia is currently recognized as one of the leading contributors of peace keepers around the world with contributions of over 80,000 military and police personnel to UN peacekeeping missions worldwide. In addition, the country is demonstrating exemplary economic development and is currently recognized as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

  IGAD is confident that the region and African continent will be ably represented in the Security Council through the membership of Ethiopia and salutes its people and government for making the regional bloc proud.

  IGAD wishes to seize this occasion to congratulate the government and people of Ethiopia for this great achievement for Africa.

  Source: IGAD

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• Delivery of aircraft from Airbus heightens Ethiopian position in aviation industry

  Jun 30, 2016 by Ethiopia Hagere / 319 Views

   

  Addis Ababa June29/2016 The delivery of Africa's first Airbus A350XWB intensifies Ethiopian Airlines' leading position in Africa's aviation industry, Ethiopian Group CEO Tewolde Gebremariam said.

  Ethiopian Airlines becomes the first African airliner to receive today Airbus A350XWB, and the first airliner in the world to fly the airplane with the capacity of carrying 343 passengers in the African skies. 

  Ethiopian has named the Airbus A350 XWB after Simien Mountains, a national park in North Gondar Zone of Amhara Regional State and one of the country’s inscribed world heritages.

  During the delivery ceremony held here today, the CEO stated that the aircraft puts Ethiopian in the highest position in Africa's aviation industry and will enable it to scale up the service it renders for its increasing customers.

  Tewolde indicated the delivery manifests the airliner’s commitment to extend its pioneering role in African aviation and to give its passengers ‘excellent’ travel service.

  He said the aircraft also has crucial importance to support Ethiopian vision of becoming the most competitive and leading aviation group in Africa by 2025.

  Deputy President of Airbus Middle East and Africa, Fouad Attar said that the aircraft plays its own part in the Ethiopian vision of taking a leadership in Africa's aviation and expressed the company’s readiness to extend the necessary technical support for the airliner.

  President Mulatu Teshome affirmed the commitment of the country to hugely invest in air transport so as to enable it realize vision 2025 of the company.

  The Group needs to be equipped with most advanced technologies and create efficient management-staff cooperation to retain its position in the aviation sector, Mulatu added.

  The delivery of the aircraft showcases the attention given for the development of the aviation sector in the country and thereby enhancing regional economic integration through safe and modern transport system, said Minister of Transport Workneh Gebeyehu.

  The minister indicated that the government has given a priority for the expansion of air transport in both the first and second five year development plan of the country, making it an essential part of the national socio-economic development strategy.

  Being the headquarters for the African Union and other regional and international organizations, it is important to connect Addis Ababa with cities in the continent and abroad.

  After the delivery of the aircraft, Ethiopian has broken a Guinness World Record held by Japan’s airline for the largest human image created using 350 people.

  Some 350 staff members of Ethiopian has created an image of Airbus code name A350.

  Head of Gunnies World Records for Middle East and Northern African region Samer Khallouf has awarded the certificate to CEO of Ethiopian Group for the largest human image at the event.

  Source: ENA

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• Ethiopia Secures its Third Term at the United Nations Security Council

  Jun 29, 2016 by Ethiopia Hagere / 398 Views

   

  In one round of voting the United Nations General Assembly elected Ethiopia to serve as non-permanent members on the Security Council for two-year terms commencing on 1 January 2017.   The election of five non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council was held today on 28 June 2016 during the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The candidates from four different regions presented for the election were Ethiopia and Bolivia running on a clean slate basis from the African and the Latin America and Caribbean Groups respectively; Italy, Netherlands and Sweden, competing for two seats for Western Europe and others Group; and Kazakhstan and Thailand competing for a single seat for Asia and the Pacific Group.  As per the rule 92 of the rules of procedure, the election was held by secret ballot and there were no nominations. Therefore, under rule 83 of the rules of procedure, the non-permanent members of the Security Council were elected by a two-thirds majority. Accordingly, the 193 members of the United Nations General Assembly elected Ethiopia with 185 votes from the African Group, Bolivia with 183 votes from the Latin America and the Caribbean Group, Kazakhstan with 113 votes from Asia and the Pacific Group and Sweden with 134 votes from European Group. Since Italy and the Netherland couldn't attain the two-thirds majority vote needed, the two countries have proposed to split a two-year term on the UN Security Council.

   

  In accordance with the United Nations Security Council's rotation rules, out of the ten non-permanent seats rotating among the various regional blocs, three are allotted to Africa. Thus, a single seat comes for an election every even calendar year whereas two seats are up for the grab during odd years. Due to the African Group's established mechanism of rotation among its five sub regions, elections for the African seats tend not to be contested. Hence, Ethiopia was running uncontested for the Eastern African seat, with the full backing of the African Group which was endorsed during in 26th Assembly of Heads of States and Governments of the African Union's in January 2016.   

  As it is widely known, Ethiopia is one of the founding member countries of the United Nations. It has contributed a lot for the realization of the principles of the UN Charter. Yet, as startling as it may sound, to date, it has only served on the Security Council for two times, 1967-1968 and 1989-1990. This week's elections have proved that the 193 member states General Assembly with a majority vote have given Ethiopia its assent to serve on the council for a third term after twenty six years of absence. The election is a clear indication of Ethiopia's ever growing reputation for the maintenance international peace and security.

  Ethiopia has actively been taking part in United Nation's earliest peacekeeping operations in the 1950's and 1960's. Better yet, currently with 8321 military and police forces on duty, it remains to be the single most troop contributing nation to UN peacekeeping missions in the world. Not just only in peacekeeping, by playing a key role in the areas of peacemaking, Ethiopia is also keeping a close tab on the peace and security of the continent. Along with the auspices of the IGAD and the African Union, the coordination and leadership it has demonstrated in the peaceful resolution of the crises in South Sudan, Somalia and Burundi are just cases in point.        

  Ethiopia's third term at the council comes at a time where the country is calling for the enhancement of peacekeeping operations as well as for the advancement of cooperation between the United Nations and regional and sub regional organizations.  By underlining on the necessity for further cooperation that needs to exist between the African Union Peace and Security Council and the United Nations Security Council, Ethiopia is also keen to play key role on the ongoing reform of the United Nations peace and security architecture.

  The newly elected five non-permanent members elected on Tuesday 28 June 2016 will serve until 31 December 2018 by replacing the outgoing Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain and Venezuela that will finish their two years term at the council by the end of 2016.

  Source: Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)

   

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