http://www.voanews.com Voice of America is an international news and broadcast organization serving Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia, the Middle East and Balkan countries http://www.voanews.com/img/voa/rssLogo_VOA.gif http://www.voanews.com en-US 2012 - VOA 60 Fri, 24 May 2013 18:23:52 -0400 Pangea CMS – VOA A first round of mediated peace talks between Sudan and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement - North has ended without an agreement. Talks are centered on politics, security and providing humanitarian aid to Sudan's South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.  Negotiators from the Sudanese government and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement-North, SPLM-N, have made no progress on humanitarian aid, political and security matters. Talks mediated by the African Union ended ... http://www.voanews.com/content/no-progress-in-sudan-and-splm-north-talks/1650079.html http://www.voanews.com/content/no-progress-in-sudan-and-splm-north-talks/1650079.html Sat, 27 Apr 2013 10:42:05 -0400 Africa http://www.voanews.com/content/no-progress-in-sudan-and-splm-north-talks/1650079.html#relatedInfoContainer African countries face a $7-billion funding gap to control and eliminate malaria.  To discuss this issue among others, African ministers of health came together at the African Union headquarters to commemorate World Malaria Day.  Every year 660,000 people die from malaria, and 90 percent of those deaths are in Africa.  Eliminating malaria by 2015 is one of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals.  But an estimated $26.9 billion is needed in the next  ... http://www.voanews.com/content/africa-needs-billions-to-control-malaria/1648613.html http://www.voanews.com/content/africa-needs-billions-to-control-malaria/1648613.html Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:05:14 -0400 Africa http://www.voanews.com/content/africa-needs-billions-to-control-malaria/1648613.html#relatedInfoContainer Ethiopian Airlines will start flying its Dreamliner passenger jet again to Nairobi this weekend, on April 22. The company was the third in the world, and the first in Africa, to obtain the new Boeing passenger jet last August. But, due to technical failures with the battery, Dreamliners around the world were grounded in January. Randy Tinseth of Boeing says that technical teams improved the battery. "We’ve added three levels of protection to the airplane. We’ve improved the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopian-airlines-to-start-flying-dreamliner-again/1647864.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopian-airlines-to-start-flying-dreamliner-again/1647864.html Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:11:57 -0400 Africa http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopian-airlines-to-start-flying-dreamliner-again/1647864.html#relatedInfoContainer An international contact group on Somali piracy is developing the foundations for a legal framework so pirates can be prosecuted, convicted and serve their sentences in Somalia.   The Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia is developing a regional prosecution model for Somali pirates that are captured at sea. The legal framework also will include guidelines for the future Somali police and Coast Guard on arresting pirates in international waters.   John Steed of the United ... http://www.voanews.com/content/group_envisions_legal_plan_to_prosecute_somali_pirates/1625099.html http://www.voanews.com/content/group_envisions_legal_plan_to_prosecute_somali_pirates/1625099.html Wed, 20 Mar 2013 09:33:49 -0400 Africa http://www.voanews.com/content/group_envisions_legal_plan_to_prosecute_somali_pirates/1625099.html#relatedInfoContainer Sudan and South Sudan have agreed that by March 14 they will pull back their troops from a buffer zone along their border. Marthe van der Wolf reports for VOA from Addis Ababa that both countries signed an agreement on Friday night to implement a security deal.   The agreement signed by defense ministers of Sudan and South Sudan outlines how and when security arrangements will be implemented. The signed document also says that troops should be pulled back from the common border by March ... http://www.voanews.com/content/south-sudan-border-agreement/1618172.html http://www.voanews.com/content/south-sudan-border-agreement/1618172.html Fri, 08 Mar 2013 16:24:12 -0500 Africa http://www.voanews.com/content/south-sudan-border-agreement/1618172.html#relatedInfoContainer Ethiopia has unveiled its first Human Rights Action Plan, with the goal of ensuring human rights in the East African country. Activists have long complained about the Ethiopian government's record of quashing political dissent and freedom of expression.    The Ethiopian government presented a draft Human Rights Action Plan on Thursday to discuss with stakeholders such as the United Nations, civil societies and development partners.   Musa Gassama, the regional ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopia-presents-human-rights-action-plan/1615576.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopia-presents-human-rights-action-plan/1615576.html Tue, 05 Mar 2013 11:34:55 -0500 Africa http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopia-presents-human-rights-action-plan/1615576.html#relatedInfoContainer Eleven African countries have signed a peace deal aimed at ending decades of conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The agreement was signed on Sunday at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa. The 11 signing countries are from the Great Lakes region and Southern Africa. The Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the DRC and the Region will likely lead to deploying an intervention brigade in the DRC. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon says the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/african-leaders-sign-deal-for-drc/1609673.html http://www.voanews.com/content/african-leaders-sign-deal-for-drc/1609673.html Sun, 24 Feb 2013 05:12:44 -0500 Africa East African ministers are gathering in Ethiopia to discuss their policies for increasing resilience against drought.  The last regional drought in 2011 triggered famine conditions in southern Somalia and forced hundreds of thousands of Somalis to flee to Kenya and Ethiopia.   Dealing with future drought is taking center stage at the the IGAD meeting, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a group of East African nations.  Droughts occur in this region about every three ... http://www.voanews.com/content/east-african-nations-assess-drought-resilience/1608683.html http://www.voanews.com/content/east-african-nations-assess-drought-resilience/1608683.html Fri, 22 Feb 2013 08:01:12 -0500 Africa http://www.voanews.com/content/east-african-nations-assess-drought-resilience/1608683.html#relatedInfoContainer A group of 150 Ethiopian doctors living abroad are constructing a hospital in their home country that will offer state-of-the-art medical treatment. This new hospital is designed to reduce the number of Ethiopians seeking medical facilities abroad.   The Ethio-American Doctors Group, an association of more than150 Ethiopian doctors in the diaspora, is realizing its dream: establishing an up-to-date hospital in their homeland that includes a medical school and a medical research ... http://www.voanews.com/content/diaspora_doctors_to_start_specialized_hospital_in_ethiopia/1608344.html http://www.voanews.com/content/diaspora_doctors_to_start_specialized_hospital_in_ethiopia/1608344.html Thu, 21 Feb 2013 15:21:36 -0500 Africa http://www.voanews.com/content/diaspora_doctors_to_start_specialized_hospital_in_ethiopia/1608344.html#relatedInfoContainer The Ethiopian government and the United Nations want to train more than 200,000 entrepreneurs in the East African country. Both believe Ethiopia needs a stronger private sector to maintain its fast economic growth.   The Ethiopian government and the United Nations Development Program, UNDP, have launched a three-year program to train the entrepreneurs. The say the businesses established by these new entrepreneurs potentially could create about 1.2 million jobs.   Ethiopia’s minister ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopia_focuses_on_entrepreneurs_to_maintain_economic_growth/1606891.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopia_focuses_on_entrepreneurs_to_maintain_economic_growth/1606891.html Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:42:13 -0500 Africa http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopia_focuses_on_entrepreneurs_to_maintain_economic_growth/1606891.html#relatedInfoContainer Ethiopia’s flower exporters are cashing in on Valentine’s Day, as the industry blooms.   Many of the roses that lovers give each other on Valentine’s Day happen to be grown in Ethiopia. In the last decade, the industry has grown from nothing to one of the dominant players on the international market. Zelalem Messele, an Ethiopian flower grower and chairman of EHPEA, the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association, said Valentine's Day is very important for the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopia_flower_exporters_cash_in_on_valentines_day/1603643.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopia_flower_exporters_cash_in_on_valentines_day/1603643.html Thu, 14 Feb 2013 10:33:44 -0500 Africa http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopia_flower_exporters_cash_in_on_valentines_day/1603643.html#relatedInfoContainer An Ethiopian court has revoked the adoption of a girl by a family in the Netherlands. This is the first time a foreign adoption has been revoked in Ethiopia’s long history of overseas adoption.   Betty Lub is a 14-year-old Ethiopian girl that was adopted at the age of seven by a Dutch family that abused her. She stayed with them for two years, but still carries their last name because of legal procedures.   Betty got the adoption revoked through an Ethiopian court. Her lawyer, ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopian_adoptee_wins_legal_case_to_revoke_adoption/1601306.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopian_adoptee_wins_legal_case_to_revoke_adoption/1601306.html Mon, 11 Feb 2013 10:59:35 -0500 Africa http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopian_adoptee_wins_legal_case_to_revoke_adoption/1601306.html#relatedInfoContainer African Union leaders meeting in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, are grappling with how to solve some of the complex problems hindering the continent's economic development.  The theme of this year's summit is Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance.  Speaking at the opening of the African Union summit Monday, African Union Commission Chairman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said the continent is on the rise, but still faces many challenges. "Our continent still has to ... http://www.voanews.com/content/au-summit-to-focus-on-development-issues/1587771.html http://www.voanews.com/content/au-summit-to-focus-on-development-issues/1587771.html Mon, 21 Jan 2013 07:56:57 -0500 Africa African heads of state will choose a new chairperson for the African Union next Sunday.  Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn is expected to be elected. Hailemariam has only been in office since September, after long-time leader Meles Zenawi died in August. Institute for Security Studies senior researcher Solomon Dersso says the Ethiopian leader has shown he is involved in African affairs. "During that period the major African engagements that we have seen was basically ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopia-prime-minister-to-be-new-african-union-chair/1587545.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopia-prime-minister-to-be-new-african-union-chair/1587545.html Sun, 20 Jan 2013 14:35:37 -0500 Africa http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopia-prime-minister-to-be-new-african-union-chair/1587545.html#relatedInfoContainer African governments will implement a health scorecard to reduce child deaths on the continent. Delegates attending the African Child Survival Conference also set higher targets to bring down the child mortality rate.   The health scorecard is a monitoring system that publicly collects and reports health data and it has produced good results in several African countries such as Ethiopia. Delegates adopted the scorecard to reduce child deaths as they gathered at the African Union ... http://www.voanews.com/content/africa-using-health-scorecard-to-monitor-child-mortality-rates/1586663.html http://www.voanews.com/content/africa-using-health-scorecard-to-monitor-child-mortality-rates/1586663.html Fri, 18 Jan 2013 13:24:10 -0500 Africa http://www.voanews.com/content/africa-using-health-scorecard-to-monitor-child-mortality-rates/1586663.html#relatedInfoContainer An Ethiopian court has convicted ten people of having links to al-Qaida, but did not issue life sentences as the prosecution requested.  The accused say they will appeal. Prison sentences ranging from three to 20 years were handed to nine Ethiopians and one Kenyan on Tuesday after they were found guilty of having links with the terrorist organization al-Qaida.  One Ethiopian was set free. Lawyer Temam Ababulga defended one of the Ethiopians who was convicted on charges of ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ten_sentenced_in_ethiopian_al_qaida_case/1584121.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ten_sentenced_in_ethiopian_al_qaida_case/1584121.html Tue, 15 Jan 2013 10:07:47 -0500 Africa http://www.voanews.com/content/ten_sentenced_in_ethiopian_al_qaida_case/1584121.html#relatedInfoContainer The Ethiopian government wants a uniform health evaluation process to be introduced in all of Africa to help reduce child deaths. The idea will be recommended during an upcoming African Child Survival Conference.   One goal of the United Nation's millennium development project is to reduce the child mortality rate in sub-Saharan Africa by two-thirds by 2015. So far the reduction has been 39%. Ethiopia stands out because it already has reached a 60% reduction in the mortality rate of ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopia_to_push_health_scorecoard_for_african_continent/1582724.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopia_to_push_health_scorecoard_for_african_continent/1582724.html Sat, 12 Jan 2013 15:26:49 -0500 Africa http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopia_to_push_health_scorecoard_for_african_continent/1582724.html#relatedInfoContainer Ethiopia’s football (soccer) team hopes to excel when it makes its first appearance in 31 years at the Africa Cup of Nations. The young players hope to relive Ethiopia's past glories at the tournament that begins next week in South Africa.    Ethiopia participated in the very first Africa Cup of Nations, in 1957, and won the trophy in 1962.  But that was a long time ago, and national team coach Sewnet Bishaw said his young team is under a lot of pressure, as this is a new ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopia-football-team-pressured-to-succeed/1581972.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ethiopia-football-team-pressured-to-succeed/1581972.html Fri, 11 Jan 2013 09:54:04 -0500 Africa A neutral international force could be deployed within the coming weeks in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Discussions about the force developed after rebel group M23 declared a unilateral ceasefire. African ministers and international partners met on Tuesday at AU headquarters in Addis Ababa to discuss the best means to establish and deploy the force in the eastern DRC. The Congolese rebels declared a unilateral ceasefire Tuesday ahead of the second round of ... http://www.voanews.com/content/congo-m23-rebels-peacekeeping-force/1580149.html http://www.voanews.com/content/congo-m23-rebels-peacekeeping-force/1580149.html Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:34:48 -0500 Africa Sudan and South Sudan agreed on Saturday to start implementing all outstanding agreements immediately at the close of a two-day summit in Addis Ababa between Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and South Sudanese President Salva Kiir.   African Union mediator and former South African president Thabo Mbeki says the two heads of state discussed the Abyei region, security, demarcation of the border zone and the implementation of the existing agreements.   “On Abyei, they agreed that ... http://www.voanews.com/content/sudans-agree-to-begin-implementation-process/1578388.html http://www.voanews.com/content/sudans-agree-to-begin-implementation-process/1578388.html Sat, 05 Jan 2013 15:02:11 -0500 Africa http://www.voanews.com/content/sudans-agree-to-begin-implementation-process/1578388.html#relatedInfoContainer