Worancha ወራንቻ

President says: Bilateral relationship between Ethiopia, South Korea deepen President Mulatu Teshome said that the bilateral relationship between Ethiopia and South Korea has been further boosting. While discussing with departing South Korean Ambassador to Ethiopia Kim Jong Geun yesterday, the President noted the ties between the two countries in economic, social, political and cultural areas have deepen. The President urged the need to deepen ties in investment and trade to further boost the relationships, according to a high level official who attended the meeting. The departing ambassador for his part said the bilateral relationship between the two countries is further strengthening. He noted that 20 South Korean companies are investing in Ethiopia in various areas, including industry and infrastructure development, among others. According to the Ambassador, South Korea is preparing to provide assistance for construction of the Modjo- Hawassa highway. After a decade of closure,

The  Good Food Awards  announced its 2015 finalists in several categories, including beer, chocolate, and pickles. In the coffee category, 25 coffees from 23 roasters earned finalist nods, with 20 of those 25 hailing from East Africa (16 from Ethiopia and four from Kenya). Sustainable Harvest ®  proudly sourced two of the Ethiopian coffees to earn finalist spots: Sidama Homacho Waeno from San Francisco’s  Blue Bottle Coffee  and Shilicho (pictured above) from Ashland, Ore.’s  Noble Coffee . Both coffees are now available in Sustainable Harvest®’s  Current Offerings . Homacho Waeno is a 3,500-member cooperative whose members  cultivate coffee on 2,000 sloped hectares of rich volcanic soils in Ethiopia’s Sidama region. The co-op  produces world-class coffee with citrus and spice notes balanced by nice acidity and a nuanced, sweet aftertaste. Blue Bottle won first place with the coffee in the Africa category at Sustainable Harvest ® ’s Roaster HarVees earlier this month, held in

Amnesty International made waves this week with  its report  alleging ”patterns of human rights violations” on the Oromos – a community to which the President of Ethiopia belongs. The London-based rights group claimed: “at least 5,000 Oromos have been arrested based on their actual or suspected peaceful opposition to the government” and presented troubling accounts of individuals who allegedly had been subjected ”to treatment amounting to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.” Inadequacy of the human rights practices in Ethiopia is not a much disputed matter. Even the authorities in Addis Ababa felt the need to launched an inter-ministerial  National Human Rights Action Plan  (NHRAP) so as to “review the  present  human  rights  situation  of  the country, identifies potential problems, and sets feasible solutions.” But the similarity ends there. What the NHRAP acknowledges is “occasional human rights violations are committed by some police officers due