Ethiopia carries out rare execution

Ethiopia carried out its second execution in a decade on Monday, against a military officer convicted of killing the country's former head of security and immigration, the Federal Prison Service said.
Major Tsehai Wolde Selassie was convicted of shooting dead Kinfe Gebremedhin, a close ally of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, outside an officers' club in 2001. "Major Tsehai was executed after his appeal for clemency to the Supreme Court was turned down and his death sentence was approved by President Girma Wolde Giorgis, "the Federal Prison Administration said in a statement.”
The last time Ethiopia carried out the death penalty was in 1998, when it executed an Eritrean businessman for the shooting of a popular Ethiopian general. The FPA did not say how Tsehai was executed but soldiers are supposed to face a firing squad, according to Ethiopian law. (The Daily Monitor)
Ethiopia benefits from 23.2 billion Birr foreign aid, loan
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED) said Ethiopia benefited from a total of 23.2 billion Birr foreign loan and aid during the past Ethiopian budget year.
Public Relations and Information Department Head with the Ministry, Getachew Admassu told Ethiopian News Agency that 15.9 billion Birr of the stated sum was secured in aid while the balance in loan.
Getachew said 20.2 billion Birr loan and aid was obtained from multilateral institutions while the remaining 3.0 billion Birr was secured from development partner governments. Britain, Sweden, Canada, Ireland, France, Germany, Japan, China, the Netherlands, the USA and Finland were among the development partners who extended aid to Ethiopia during the reported period.
He said most of the external resource would be used for the implementation of programs in the agriculture, electric power service, health, education, road construction, clean water provision, food security and disaster prevention, capacity building and the expansion of telecom service, among others. (WIC)
Lebanese investor to construct 145 million Birr hospital
The Adama town administration and a Lebanese investor signed an agreement providing the latter to construct a state-of-the-art hospital in the town with an outlay of 145 million Birr.
The Lebanese investor, Soubra Abdallah has received a title deed for five hectares of land to be used for the construction of the hospital as part of the several investment projects he intends to commence in Ethiopia.
Soubra said the hospital that would be constructed using Chinese technologies would start rendering service after completion by March 2008. (ENA)

Three cement factories with 315,000 tons of annual production to go operational this month

Ministry of Trade and Industry disclosed that three new cement factories with 315,000 tons of cement annual production would go operational this month.
Chemical Industries Support and Convention Execution Department Head with the Ministry, Shimeles Wolde, told WIC that the cement production would be secured from the Abyssinia Cement and Jema Cement private limited companies as well as the National Cement Expansion Projects.
Meanwhile the existing Cement factories namely, Mugher, Mesobo and National have produced over 1.6 million tons of cement which is by far less than the five million tons required for the rapidly growing construction sector in the country. (WIC)

Ethiopia says killed 500 Ogaden rebels

Ethiopia said on Wednesday it had killed more than 500 rebels and captured 170 in the past two months during an offensive in the volatile but energy-rich Ogaden region bordering Somalia.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) dismissed the statement as an attempt by the government to lull oil companies interested in the region into a "false sense of security", and urged foreign firms to stay away. Pursing oil and natural gas exploration activities in Ogaden at this stage can only be characterized as gross corporate irresponsibility," the rebels said. (The Daily Monitor)

479 million tree seedlings so far transplanted

The Ethiopian Millennium Celebration National Council Secretariat said 479 million tree seedlings have so far been transplanted in the "Two Trees for 2000 Project" launched since 5 June 2007.
It said the plan was to transplant 60 million tree seedlings. Over 320 million of the seedlings are indigenous.
Officials of the secretariat told journalists on Thursday that the number exceeded the set target due to the concerted efforts of the mass media to give wide coverage to the issue, which helped raise the awareness of the community.
Office director general, Seyoum Bereded said various community members, governmental and non-governmental organizations have contributed a significant share in providing seedlings and transportation facilities for the implementation of the project.
Seyoum said various international and continental organizations took part in the implementation of the project being carried out across the nation.
The project is deemed to help in particular environment conservation, sanitation, tourism, wild life protection and drought mitigation. (ENA)