Ethiopia mobilizes volunteers to cope with Saudi returnees

ADDIS ABABA, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia has mobilized 700 volunteers to cope with the thousands of undocumented Ethiopians still stranded in Saudi Arabia ahead of coming expiry of an amnesty.

The statement on Friday by Meles Alem, Spokesperson for Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said it is trying to return Ethiopians before the expiry of amnesty deadline by Saudi Arabia for illegal foreign residents.

Only 11 days were left after Saudi Arabia issued a 90-day deadline for foreigners living illegally in the country to leave the Middle East country.

Alem further said so far 82,343 undocumented Ethiopians living in Saudi Arabia have taken travel documents to return to Ethiopia.

Spurred by low prices and increasing population, Saudi Arabia is encouraging its citizens to work on jobs normally done by foreigners, both legal and illegal residents.

"Already 1,400 Ethiopians have arrived on Thursday, but we're expecting some undocumented Ethiopians to be left even after the deadline of the expiry deadline," he said.

He said the Ethiopian government is giving tax exemptions on goods brought by the returnees and is working with regional and federal authorities to smoothen the Ethiopians' arrival back home. Read more here

Archaeologists in Ethiopia uncover ancient city in Harlaa

Image copyright

A forgotten city thought to date back as far as the 10th century AD has been uncovered by a team of archaeologists in eastern Ethiopia.

Artefacts from Egypt, India and China have been found in the city in the Harlaa region.

The archaeologists also uncovered a 12th Century mosque which is similar to those found in Tanzania and Somaliland.

Archaeologists says this proves historic connections between different Islamic communities in Africa.

Africa Live: BBC news updates

Image copyrightPROF TIM INSOLL, UNIVERSITY OF EXETER

Image captionA 12th Century mosque in Harlaa

"This discovery revolutionises our understanding of trade in an archaeologically neglected part of Ethiopia. What we have found shows this area was the centre of trade in that region," lead archaeologist Professor Timothy Insoll from the University of Exeter said.

The team also found jewellery and other artefacts from Madagascar, the Maldives, Yemen and China.

'City of giants'

BBC Ethiopia correspondent Emmanuel Igunza says there was a local myth that the area was occupied by giants because the settlement buildings and walls were constructed with large stone blocks that could not be lifted by ordinary people.

However the archaeologists found no evidence of this.

"We have obviously disproved that, but I'm not sure they fully believe us yet," said Prof Insoll.

Image copyrightPROF TIM INSOLL, UNIVERSITY OF EXETER

Image captionHarlaa was said to have been a thriving hub for regional trade

A statement from the team says the remains of some of the 300 people buried in the cemetery are being analysed to find out what their diet consisted of.

Further excavations are expected to be conducted next year. Read more here

Ethiopian to inaugurate its new State of the Art Cargo Terminal-II

Ethiopian to inaugurate its new State of the Art Cargo Terminal-II

Accra, June 15, GNA - Africa’s largest cargo operator, Ethiopian Airlines, has inaugurated its state of the art Cargo Terminal-II during the Second ICAO Global Air Cargo Development Forum which will be hosted by Ethiopian from June 27 to 29.

Covering a total area of 150,000 m2 area of land, the new Cargo Terminal includes facilities such as Dry Cargo Terminal warehouse, Perishable Cargo Terminal with cool Chain Storage, fully automated with latest technology ETV (Elevating Transport Vehicle), G+2 office building, apron area which accommodates 5 additional big freighter aircraft, sufficient truck parking apron as well as employees canteen and wash rooms.

Mrs Hanna Atnafu, Manager Corporate Communications, Ethiopian Airlines said the new Cargo Terminal was also fitted with different climate chambers for storage and handling of temperature sensitive products such as fresh agricultural products, pharmaceuticals and life Science Products.

Mr Tewolde GebreMariam, the Group CEO Ethiopian Airlines said: “Infrastructure development being one of the four pillars of our fast, profitable and sustainable growth strategic roadmap, Vision 2025, we have been making massive investments in infrastructure projects to modernise and expand our cargo facilities at a total cost of USD 150 million.”

He said the new Cargo Terminal-II combined with their existing Terminal-I “would give us a total tonnage capacity of around 1 million per annum which is the largest in the continent of Africa”.

“Moreover, upon completion of the second phase, which adds 600,000 tonnes annual uplift capacity, Ethiopian Cargo and Logistics Services will have one of the world’s largest cargo terminals; a capability equivalent to cargo terminals in Amsterdam Schiphol, Singapore Changi, or Hong Kong,” he added.

He said the investment and the resulting massive cargo facilities along with the 6 modern B-777F fleet and 2 B-757F  would create adequate air cargo transporting capacity for the fast growing export and import demand of the continent which was critically essential in the socio- economic development of the African countries.

Ethiopian Cargo  and Logistics Services operates eight dedicated freighters to 39 global freighter destinations in Africa, the Gulf, the Middle East, Asia and Europe with an average daily uplift of 650 tons on top of the belly hold capacity, 150 tons, to over 95 destinations globally.

The Services has recently won ‘Cargo Airline Award for Network Development” at Brussels; ‘African Cargo Airline of the Year’ and many more. Read more here

The man 'whose faulty fridge started tower inferno': Neighbour reveals how Ethiopian taxi driver raised the alarm when deadly blaze started in his fourth-floor kitchen

• Behailu Kebede raised the alarm as the Grenfell Tower inferno began to spread, his neighbours have said
• Father of one, a taxi driver from Ethiopia, discovered the fire in his fourth floor kitchen ahead of blaze
• Mr Kebede banged on a neighbour's door and alerted her to the fire, potentially saving many lives
• Tower block resident Maryam Adam said he knocked on her door to warn her at 12.50am on Tuesday night
• At 12.54am, a resident called  999 and the first engines arrived at the scene in west London within six minutes
• After 15 minutes, most of the tower was alight, 30 minutes later the building was engulfed in flames

This is the mini-cab driver whose faulty fridge is alleged to have started the Grenfell Tower inferno.

Behailu Kebede, a father of one, raised the alarm after flames took hold in his flat at number 16 on the fourth floor.

Maryann Adam, 41, who lived at number 14, told how Mr Kebede banged on her front door in the early hours of Wednesday to tell her that there was a fire in his kitchen.

She said: 'He knocked on the door, and he said there was a fire in his flat. It was exactly 12.50am because I was sleeping and it woke me up. 

'The fire was small in the kitchen. I could see it because the flat door was open. There was no alarm.' 

The 27-storey Grenfell building, which was built in 1974 but refurbished last year, has an average of six flats per floor lived in by council tenants and a smaller number of private owners or tenants - fire had largely engulfed it in around 15 minutes

Mr Kebede friend Eshete Meried said the 44-year-old taxi driver originally from Ethiopia, escaped the building - but was still in shock.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Mr Meried said: 'Behailu did raise the alarm, that is what I am hearing.

'He is fine but he is not in a position to talk about anything right now. I understand that he in a temporary shelter, staying with friends.' 

Another friend said Mr Kebede had spoken to police who are investigating the fire.

Maryam left her phone with her belongings in her flat and has been unable to check on other residents. She later attended the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital after feeling dizzy, but was given the all-clear. 

Speaking today from emergency accommodation close to the scene of the disaster, Mr Kebede told of his distress at witnessing the very beginning of the inferno, which it is feared to claimed more than 100 lives.

He told MailOnline: 'I am very upset'. Asked whether the fire started in his flat by MailOnline Mr Kebede replied: 'I'm busy, I'm busy. Goodbye.'

A Scotland Yard spokesman said today: 'The investigation is ongoing.'

Mr Kebede's identity emerged today as:

• The official death toll was raised to 17, but is expected to soar as rescuers piece their way through the ruined flats where more than 400 people were living when the fire ripped through.
• Prime Minister Theresa May visited the site and ordered a full public inquiry into the blaze after it was claimed ministers were warned over the cladding suspected to have helped the fire spread.
• Two young girls, part of a family of five who lived on the tower's 20th floor, were found by relatives in a London hospital. Their mother, father and six-month-old baby sister are still missing.
• Three generations of one family are missing after three girls, a mother and father and grandmother were caught up in the blaze. 
• Bosses of the company running the building and those who carried out recent refurbishment work were challenged to explain whether new cladding led it to go up 'like a firelighter' in around 15 minutes. 
• More than £1 million has been raised to help those affected by the fire, while volunteers and charities have helped feed and shelter people who could not return to their homes. 
• The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, who live in the London borough, donated to the fund set up to help those affected, and the Queen offered her condolences to victims' families.

Dozens of residents at Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, West London, are feared dead — just a year after a £10million refurbishment of the block that developers said was safe.

Read more here

The Folly of Internet Shutdown in Ethiopia

By Seble Teweldebirhan

June 15, 2017 (Ezega.com) - After almost ten days of internet blackout, Communications Affair’s Minister Negere Lencho, told reporters that the shutdown of service was to protect the moral of high school students who were taking national exams. ‘We just did not want them to be disturbed by all the negativity and false information online. We wanted them to focus,’ he told reporters. Negeri did not agree with the assertion that the government shutdown of the internet was because of the fear that the national exams will be stolen and distributed online, as it happened last year. Instead, he argued that this is something the government will never have to worry about again.

However, he refrained from answering many critical questions, including who takes responsibility for the financial losses suffered by many organizations and, more importantly, the huge hit the country is taking on its image as a result of such crude remedies. Because, if there was one action the government could have taken to roll back and negate the carefully crafted message of renaissance and revival, this will be it.

The minister also did not address whether there was any better mechanism put in place to protect documents and exams from leaking again. There was also no apology for the tremendous inconvenience and delay caused by the outage to many local and international organizations. In fact, the minister said that the government can basically make any decision deemed necessary to protect the nation, and blocking the internet isn’t really a big deal compared to other measures.

According to The Atlantics website, the numbers of nations who intentionally interfere with the digital world and shutdown of the internet for variety of reasons are increasing. Countries like Bahrain, Iraq, India, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Gabon, and of course Ethiopia, are well-known for surveillance and censorship, as well as total blackout of the internet for reasons other than cyber-attacks or service issues. The paper by Philip N. Howed on Issues in Technology Innovation indicates that 52% of interference on the internet is caused by authoritarian regimes. While one can make a strong case on the direct relationships of violation of human rights and blocking of the internet (or any means of communication, for that matter), many reports are now making a convincing case that economies take a major hit from just a few days of internet blackout, let alone weeks of shutdown. Darrell West, the director of the think tank group Center for Technology Innovation, examined the economic effects of 81 internet shutdowns that took place in a span of a year, between summer of 2015 and 2016. Based on the reduction of economic activity recorded during the shutdowns, he estimated that they cost a minimum of $2.4 billion in GDP globally.

Following last year’s unrest and demonstrations in many areas of the nation, Ethiopia is under a state of emergency for the last eight months, which suspended many of the fundamental rights of its citizens. The government is now officially at liberty (not that there were practical limitations before that) to take whatever measures deemed necessary under the emergency law for the purposes of ‘peace and security’. Unfortunately, as is usually the case, such measures hit the flow of information very hard, since any form of communication can be potentially considered by the government as a source of trouble. While the private press is already beaten by past measures and is close to extinction, it is the online communications and social media that are the new targets whenever a problem breaks out in the country.

It is important to note that social media has a big problem of its own. The internet and social media came with tremendous benefits to many people and countries around the world but also with some serious flaws. In fact, there is no nation in the world that is not dealing with the negative aspects of social media and the internet, including racism, sexism, messages of hate, propaganda of all sorts, fake news that inflame conflicts and disagreements, to name a few. Studies show that a significant percentage of content on social media is negative by its very nature. In fact, just going through twitter or comment section of any news section could make one realize that hate is a predominant theme of social media content. People take advantage of hiding behind the computer screen, creating fake accounts to hide their true identity, and then writing destructive opinions. Some have clear agenda, be it is political, social or personal. Others are just mean and ill-informed people.

This endless negativity has its effects on real life, and it can alter the political and social landscape for many countries. Though there is little or no research on social media impact in Ethiopia, there are many examples that shows its damaging aspects. Just last year, the fact that the national exams were stolen and distributed online, many celebrated this as some sort of political win, forgetting that this was done at the expense of the integrity of our educational system (which is already under stress by many other factors). Further, during last year’s political unrest in the country, while social media played a positive role in simply allowing people to communicate and unify for things they have in common, there was a tremendous and shocking amount of hate, insult and disrespect directed to specific groups. Sadly, social media seems to make anyone with a few followers on Facebook or Twitter an expert on some of the most critical aspects of society. A misinformed opinion expressed by one becomes a fact worth defending by others. What makes this trend terrifying is that internet penetration in Ethiopia is very small, less than 10%, and that little amount has a significant impact on what goes on offline already. There are many reasons why Ethiopia could be affected most, even damaged, as the number of social media users grow in the country. In a nation where there isn’t a strong and credible traditional media, and where the academia and civil society are weak (basically incapable of disseminating good information on history, economy, politics, or any other thing for that matter), it becomes far easier to sway people one way or another through social media tools.

Notwithstanding such limitations of the internet, if the government were to take the high road, there are several measures that can be taken to counter online misinformation, other than censorship, surveillances or blocking the internet all together, that is. Building strong, reliable and independent media and civil societies is one. Such entities can verify facts and give people constant and balanced information on a variety of issues. The cure is the widespread availability of good information, to fill the void left for fabrications. A transparent government can also save the nation from resorting to alternate news and conspiracy theories. If our officials were only willing to communicate with the people more candidly and defend their positions fairly (rather than constantly insulting the intelligence of their people), then there is a chance that they can control the narrative better.

Disturbed by the amount of online racism, bullying and hate and misinformation, UNESCO recently proposed citizen education program as one solution going forward. The fact that social media is new and that people are figuring it out as they go makes it basically a game without rules. The suggestion is that there should be some level of morality and ethics taught to people on social media use (UNESCO suggests this should be part of a curriculum and media content). In addition, it is also very critical to try to enforce such rules through different encouragement mechanisms and some legal framework for serious offences. Hate speeches, hacking and sharing classified information, and defamation of any sort are criminal offences, regardless of the medium.

In Ethiopia’s case, a significant amount of social media users who are behind some of the most dangerous and irresponsible information can be traced to some pockets of the diaspora communities. For some of these people, it is easy to lose sight of the real effects of their actions on the ground. Their children are not affected by stolen exams, they do not have businesses in Ethiopia taking huge losses by digital blockage, and they do not have to face the federal police chasing them on the streets. Anything and everything seems to be just pure political game for them. To the average citizen here at home, however, the end result is only disturbance and losses as a result of provocations thrown by some from far away and the very primitive and unpolished responses taken by their government. Read more here