Athlete Meseret Defar awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree from Gondar University

Athlete Meseret Defar awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree from Gondar University

Meseret Defar Tola is a female long- distance runner who competes chiefly in the 3000 metres and 5000 metres events.

She has won medals at top-tier international competitions including Olympic and World Championship gold medals over 5000 metres. She broke the world record in the event in 2006, broke it again in 2007 and held it until 2008, when fellow Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba beat her time.

In a day Gondor University Celebrating its 60th Year and at a Student Graduation Athlete Meseret Defar received an honorary Doctorate degree among four other Candidates.

Congratulations to Meseret Defar!

Aster aweke receives honorary degree

Aster aweke receives honorary degree

Aster—born in 1959 in Gondar, Ethiopia—was raised in the capital city of Addis Ababa. Her father was a senior civil servant in the Imperial government. By the age of 13, Aster was determined to become a musician, and began her career at Hager Fikir Theatre in Addis Ababa.

Starting in her late teens, she was performing in clubs and hotels in the capital with bands such as the Continental Band, Hotel D'Afrique Band, Shebele Band and Ibex Band, before they became the internationally known as Roha Band.

Aster's distinct style has been influenced by other Ethiopian singers, such as Bizunesh Bekele. Launching a solo career, she was encouraged by musical entrepreneur Ali Tango, who financed and released five cassettes and two singles of her music.

By 1981, Aster had become disillusioned by Ethiopia's oppressive political climate following the death of Haile Selassie, and relocated to the United States. Temporarily settling in the Bay Area of California, with plans to pursue higher education within a period of two years, she settled in Washington, D.C., where one of the largest Ethiopian expat communities in the country existed.

There, she became increasingly popular within the Ethiopian community, performing in restaurants and clubs. Aster also remains popular in Ethiopia. In 1997, she performed in Addis Ababa for a crowd of over 50,000 people. In 2003, Aster also performed a two-part concert series to raise funds for relief and school initiatives in Ethiopia.

The first concert was held in November on Eid Al-Fitr day at the Addis Ababa Stadium, with an audience of 40,000 in attendance. The second performance was a gala-dinner at the Sheraton Hotel.[1] More recently, on May 9, 2009, Aster performed in front of a crowd of 10,000 spectators during the Peace Through Unity, Unity Through Music concert held in the capital's Millennium Hall, alongside other Ethiopian music artists.

In a day Gondor University Celebrating its 60th Year and at a Student Graduation Aster Aweke received an honorary Doctorate degree among four other Candidates.

Congratulations to Aster Aweke

Overpass collapse at World Cup host city leaves at least one dead

Overpass collapse at World Cup host city leaves at least one dead

At least one person was killed when an overpass bridge under construction collapsed in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, one of the host cities for the ongoing World Cup, firefighters said Thursday on Twitter.

Two buses were also damaged in the collapse, said CNN affiliate TV Record, which cited firefighters.Images that circulated on social media showed a bus trapped by the collapsed concrete structure. Another photo showed at least one car was crushed.

No further details were immediately available. The overpass traverses a major thoroughfare and is almost four miles from the 58,170-seat Estadio Mineirao where the World Cup games are being played in Belo Horizonte.

The overpass was supposed to have been completed in time for the World Cup.

Brazil's preparations for the World Cup have been controversial. Some critics say the spending was lavish at the expense of schools, public services and hospitals. Also, many of the country's 12 venues struggled to meet construction schedules in time for the games, and several workers died on World Cup stadium construction sites.

Belo Horizonte will host Tuesday's semifinal match between the winner of the France-Germany match and the winner of the Brazil-Colombia game.

The city has so far hosted five World Cup games since June 14, when Colombia beat Greece 3-0. Tuesday's game will be the last to be hosted by the city in this year's World Cup.

The U.S. team did not compete there this year. Most recently, Brazil and Chile played to a 1-1 tie in Belo Horizonte on Saturday.

Estadio Mineirao is one of the most historic venues in Brazilian soccer and was overhauled for the games: The pitch surface was lowered, accessibility improved, and a system installed to capture and store rainwater for reuse. The facility's official name is Estadio Governador Magalhaes Pinto, but it's commonly known as the Mineirao. The stadium is home to Atletico Mineiro and Cruzeiro, both former national champions in Brazil.

Source: CNN

under construction collapsed in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, one of the host cities for the ongoing World Cup, firefighters said Thursday on Twitter.

Two buses were also damaged in the collapse, said CNN affiliate TV Record, which cited firefighters.Images that circulated on social media showed a bus trapped by the collapsed concrete structure. Another photo showed at least one car was crushed.

No further details were immediately available. The overpass traverses a major thoroughfare and is almost four miles from the 58,170-seat Estadio Mineirao where the World Cup games are being played in Belo Horizonte.

The overpass was supposed to have been completed in time for the World Cup.

Brazil's preparations for the World Cup have been controversial. Some critics say the spending was lavish at the expense of schools, public services and hospitals. Also, many of the country's 12 venues struggled to meet construction schedules in time for the games, and several workers died on World Cup stadium construction sites.

Belo Horizonte will host Tuesday's semifinal match between the winner of the France-Germany match and the winner of the Brazil-Colombia game.

The city has so far hosted five World Cup games since June 14, when Colombia beat Greece 3-0. Tuesday's game will be the last to be hosted by the city in this year's World Cup.

The U.S. team did not compete there this year. Most recently, Brazil and Chile played to a 1-1 tie in Belo Horizonte on Saturday.

Estadio Mineirao is one of the most historic venues in Brazilian soccer and was overhauled for the games: The pitch surface was lowered, accessibility improved, and a system installed to capture and store rainwater for reuse. The facility's official name is Estadio Governador Magalhaes Pinto, but it's commonly known as the Mineirao. The stadium is home to Atletico Mineiro and Cruzeiro, both former national champions in Brazil.

Source: CNN

“No star except Ethiopia”, Coach Mariano Barreto

Published On Thursday, July 03, 2014 By Rahel Samuel. Under: Coaches, Latest News. Tags: Addis Ababa, Coach, Ethiopia, Ethiopian Football Federation, Mariano Barreto  

Henok Reta, The Reporter
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - The Ethiopian National Football Team head coach, Mariano Barreto, said that Ethiopia should be considered a star before anyone.

At a press conference he held with journalists last Thursday, he said that the purpose of any sporting activity is to represent a sovereign state and players can never become stars by violating this rule.

He said this after criticizing the conduct of some selected players who didn’t give proper responses to his calls. “There is no star other than Ethiopia” he exclaimed.

A Portuguese national, Barreto also stated some of the hurdles he has faced since the day of his appointment as a head coach of the National Team side of the Waliyas. “I can promise we can reach the CAF in Morocco in 2015, but there is a tough road ahead of us,” he said.

Despite the provisions he has been delivering since his arrival he says he has learnt many things. From organizational problems in the Ethiopian Football Federation to the system, he reacted critically. According to him, the very thing to be done is organizing the structure of football to find out talents that should represent such a vast and proud nation. In this regard, he said that the Ethiopian Football Federation  should facilitate things. “My focus is on an under-20 team, and establishing a certain group contest to scout talents ahead of the CAF qualification matches,” he said.

According to him, he has already submitted his proposal to the Federation and is waiting for a reply as the premier league approaches its end. “This is what I think should be done before playing for the qualifications,” he asserted. He said that Ethiopia was absent for three decades in the continental football competitions and if it fails to do so this time around, it should at least come back stronger and well-built to qualify for the next tournament.
Read more at: The Reporter

Yemen detains Ethiopian rebel leader during transit at airport

Yemen detains Ethiopian rebel leader during transit at airport

WASHINGTON, DC – Yemeni authorities on June 24 arrested a top Ethiopian rebel group leader while he was in transit at Sanaa airport, sources said.

Andargatchew Tsige, secretary of Ginbot 7, a rebel group based in Eritrea, arrived in the Yemeni capital aboard Yemenia Airlines. He was waiting for his flight when Yemeni security men whisked him away into detention. Fears are mounting he might be extradited to Ethiopia.

The countries in the region, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Yemen, Sudan, and Djibouti are rogue states they don’t really need ‘extradition treaties’ to hand over political opponents as ‘convicted criminals.’

“Yemen should understand that any harm befalling the human rights, democracy and justice activist Andargatchew Tsige would painfully hurt the interests of the Ethiopian people who are struggling for freedom from life under the brutal TPLF regime,” the rebel group Ginbot 7 said in a statement.

“We call for his immediate release; any attempt to hand over Andargachew to the regime in Addis Ababa would irrevocably damage the age-old relations between Ethiopia and Yemen,” the rebel group said in its press release.

Andargachew’s life was checkered by arrests, tortures, and exiled life before he helped found Ginbot 7, an Eritrea-based armed group vowing to overthrow the regime in Addis by all means possible.

In June 2012, Andargachew, and other top leaders of Ginbot 7, including Ginbot 7 chairman Dr Berhanu Nega, were tried on trumped-up terrorism charges and sentenced to life in absentia.

Source: indepthafrica.com