The World Press Freedom Day was celebrated here on Thursday at the new African Union conference center at a half-day event organized by Ethiopian government human rights and media regulatory organizations, local private media institutions and associations as well as UNESCO.

Addis Ababa is one of the fastest growing cities of the world. It is witnessing an unprecedented boom in the construction of roads as well as commercial/office buildings and residential houses by the government, private companies and individuals. Plans are also under way to commence a light railway project in the city and preparations are already proceeding towards this end.

One of the most celebrated painters – if not the most celebrate one – the Most Honorable Maitre Artiste World Laureate Afewerk Tekle passed away last week at the age of eighty.

- Recipe to weaken unity

Diversity is an ineluctable fact of human existence Ethnic, cultural, linguistic or philosophical differences exist in any society.

Lending an ear to others in the vast spectrum of human interaction, whether personal, familial, political, etc, normally elicits in the recipients a desire to return the gesture Needles to say, this holds true if it is done out of a genuine desire and as a matter of principle.

The world presently finds itself in trying times be it in the political, economic or other fields. Despite this bleak picture, however, there exists a favourable condition in Ethiopia which, if properly acted on, can form the basis for the sustainable growth and development of the country.

Ethiopians  are one of the poorest peoples of the world. Even by African standards they are close to the bottom rung. There is no escaping this fact.

The Horn of Africa is a place characterized by polar opposites. On the one hand, it is beset by recurrent famine, conflicts and abject poverty. But all is not doom and gloom. On a positive note it shares deep-rooted and long-standing religious, cultural and linguistic ties, possesses considerable resources and serves as a bridge that connects the Middle East to the rest of Africa.