The Board of Directors of the World Bank is expected to approve an interim strategy document that will pave the way to finance "protection of basic services" in Ethiopia at a cost of 255 million dollars. The amount will be provided to Ethiopia through low interest loans from the International Development Association (IDA).

Officials at the Ministry of Mines are preparing to cancel a 25-year concession agreement signed with SI-Tech International (SIL), a Jordanian based company, for a petroleum development and production sharing agreement project in the Ogaden Basin, Somali Regional State.

For the first time in its six-year history, the Federal Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission is investigating foreign nationals of Asian origin that have been taken into custody by federal police for alleged corruption involving a truck found carrying what it says were stolen goods.

After a month long evaluation, United Bank S.C. has awarded its computerized banking project, estimated to cost about a million dollars, to the Indian based i-flex on Friday, February 24, 2006.

The Environmental Protection Authority under the Addis Abeba City Administration has taken over six title deeds for established parks across the city with a view to improving services by outsourcing them to private companies and individuals; the decision to give responsibility for the parks to the Authority was passed by the City Cabinet.

The Federal High Court rejected the prominent Mercato merchant Haj Welela Ahmed’s appeal, and upheld the First Instance Court’s decision which found him guilty of tax evasion of over one million Birr on January 18, 2006, handing down a seven year sentence.

Dire Industries, prominent leather exporter and producer of Peacock shoe, is in negotiations with the Privatisation and Public Enterprises Supervisory Agency (PPESA) to buy Anbessa Shoe S.C.

The 66-year old shoe factory, best known for its military and police boots has been placed on the privatisation bloc before but never received any interested buyers. It is one of the two state owned shoe factories and has an annual revenue of 24.8 million Br, producing over 500,000 pairs of shoes every year.

Turkish Airlines (THY), the flag carrier of Turkey, will begin bi-weekly flights to Addis Abeba in April; a delegation of ministers, parliamentarians, business people and journalists will arrive in Addis Abeba for the inaugural flight on April 24, 2006.

People in the village dub him as ‘Tejo’. Others call him ‘Hornblower’ in reference to his duties of blowing a traditional bugle-like horn to get the attention of the members of the Idir (Community Association). Young people in the village refer to him as DJ Abate. He is quite a character.
By Girma Feyessa

After reading the piece I wrote last week, a friend told me I should take a bit of time out and listen to some music. The reason behind the advice was that music has a healing quality and that I needed some serious healing. Now, although there is no possibility that a few tunes could change my whole perspective, attitude, or my being fed up, it is true that music can be healing in its own way and that it breeds something in people that is warm and soft.
By Lulit Amdemariam

Aid conditionality is a thorny subject that is rocking the international development community, not only in Ethiopia but in several countries. Myanmar turns out to be a classic case where years of economic sanctions against a military junta have done little to help the country’s pro-democratic forces and secure the release of its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.