Daily Ethiopia

The Gilgel Gibe III Dam is once again under fire from environmentalists who had previously raised concerns over dangers they claim are associated with the dam, including allegations that more than half a million people's livelihoods along the Lower Omo Valley in Ethiopia or around Lake Turkana in Kenya could be threatened by the construction of the project. The dam, which will generate more than 1,800MWs of power, is now nearly two thirds complete.

Metals and Engineering Corp., an Ethiopian military-run corporation, said it plans to partner with more foreign companies as it spearheads a government-drive to develop industries in Africa's second-most populous nation.

Uganda announced that it was granting asylum to the 15 players from the Eritrean football team and the team doctor who stayed in Uganda and asked for refuge in December during the 2012 Cecafa Tusker Senior Challenge Cup.

The active politician is a creator, an initiator; but he neither creates from nothing nor does he move in the turbid void of his own desires and dreams. He bases himself on effective reality… applies one's will to the creation of a new equilibrium, [and] does so in order to dominate and transcend it. What 'ought to be' is therefore concrete; indeed it is the only realistic and historicist interpretation of reality, it alone is history in the making and philosophy in the making, it alone is politics.

Sudan's President, Omar Al Bashir, paid a visit to Isaias Afwerki in Asmara today.  Accompanying Al Bashir were Sudan’s Defense Minister and Intelligence Chief.   Isaias Afwerki, as usual, broke with protocol and was not accompanied by his defense minister or chief of intelligence.  The "working visit" lasted a day and Al Bashir returned back to Sudan.

The National Secretariat of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has announced that it will be introducing new ways of fund raising to help finance the construction of GERD. A special lottery and musical concerts are among the new fund raising methods which will be introduced shortly.

The letter from the Egyptian Foreign Minister, in November, to his Ethiopian counterpart, re-assuring commitment to cooperation on Nile and distancing Cairo from the remarks of some officials in the media, seems to have laid to rest the months long speculations on the matter.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which was hailed as a 'game changer' with the state of the art technology, is in trouble with all the 50 aircraft currently under service around the world being grounded. The aircraft have encountered a series of mishaps in the past few months since its debut early in 2012. The most serious setback yet is this past week’s battery fire that forced an All Nippon Airways’ (ANA) aircraft to make an emergency landing.

Holland Car Plc customers, who did not get their automobiles delivered sued not only the company, but also Zemen Bank and their own committee. The Lideta Federal High Court 8th Civil Bench started to hear the case on Monday January 14.

The UK Guardian newspaper published an article last Friday entitled "UK tenders to train paramilitaries accused of abuses". The story related to a decision by the UK's Department of International Development to provide training for the special police in the Somali Regional State of Ethiopia, in order to improve the professionalism and accountability of the force and increase security in the region. DfID is going to fund a 13-15 million pound program for this training.