President Obama makes immigration reform push

 

 President Barack Obama has said the time has come for a sweeping overhaul of the US immigration system.

He made his case at a high school in Las Vegas, Nevada, a day after a bipartisan group of senators outlined a framework for reform.

Obama ber Kongressen vedta innvandringsforlik

USAs president Barack Obama ba tirsdag Kongressen om å vedta et forslag om reform av innvandringspolitikken. Forslaget kan gi elleve millioner ulovlige innvandrere en vei til statsborgerskap.

Fra talerstolen i Las Vegas ba Obama politikerne i Senatet og Representantenes hus om å fatte beslutninger raskt og på tvers av partigrensene.

Obama Hails Bipartisan Plan to Overhaul Immigration

LAS VEGAS — Seizing on a groundswell of support for rewriting the nation’s immigration laws, President Obama challenged Congress on Tuesday to act swiftly to put 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States on a clear path to citizenship.

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Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

President Obama delivered remarks on immigration reform on Tuesday in Las Vegas.

• VIDEO: Obama Remarks on Immigration Reform

• VIDEO: Analysis of Obama’s Immigration Speech

Related

• Full Transcript of President Obama’s Remarks on Immigration Reform (January 30, 2013)

• Senators Offer a Bipartisan Blueprint for Immigration(January 28, 2013)

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He also praised a bipartisan group of senators, who proposed their own sweeping immigration overhaul a day earlier, saying their plan was very much in line with his own proposals, and suggested there was a “genuine desire to get this done soon.

Unemployment in Europe: Is there a solution?

The recession in Europe is entering its fifth year and unemployment doesn't look like it will be returning to normal levels anytime soon.

In the countries with debt problems, especially Greece and Spain, unemployment skyrocketed in the last couple of years and is now at unprecedented levels. One in two young workers is out of a job.

Christopher Pissarides

Are we losing a whole new generation of young workers? Are we wasting hard-earned skills?

Algeria attack changes terror landscape in North Africa

Algerian security personnel watch as empty coffins are transported to collect the victims killed at the In Amenas gas facility

It was the most ambitious and the deadliest terror attack since the rampage by Pakistani militants through Mumbai five years ago. And it raises the alarming prospect that al Qaeda affiliates and other jihadist outfits could turn

Norway goat cheese fire closes tunnel

 
Brunost has a high concentration of fat and sugar

A road tunnel in Norway has been closed - by a lorry-load of burning cheese.

About 27 tonnes of caramelised brown goat cheese - a delicacy known as Brunost - caught light as it was being driven through the Brattli Tunnel at Tysfjord,

Martin Luther King's dream is alive

Kevin Powell is the author of "Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, and The Ghost of Dr. King: Blogs and Essays." E-mail him at kevin@kevinpowell.net, or follow him on Twitter @kevin_powell.

(CNN) -- The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would hardly recognize America in 2013, the 50th anniversary year of his world-famous "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

The efforts of King and countless others have not only made it possible for Barack Obama to become the first black president of the United States, but also created unprecedented opportunities for the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and virtually anyone who had previously been given a check that has, as King put it, "come back marked 'insufficient funds

Algeria siege: 37 foreigners died, PM says

 Algeria's Prime Minister has said 37 foreigners of eight nationalities and one Algerian worker were killed during the hostage crisis at a gas plant.

PM Abdelmalek Sellal's address was broadcast on state TV

PM Abdelmalek Sellal said 29 of the militants who overran the facility near the desert town of In Amenas had been killed and three captured alive.

Dreamliner crisis: Boeing halts 787 jet deliveries

                                                                                    

Boeing has suspended deliveries of its new 787 Dreamliner aircraft until a battery problem is resolved.

An email from the US aerospace giant said it would continue to build the plane, but not deliver any until US safety officials gave their backing

Algeria crisis: 'Captors and hostages die in assault'

Algerian troops have ended a siege at a gas facility in the Sahara desert killing 11 Islamist militants after they killed seven hostages, Algerian state news agency APS has said.

The hostages were summarily killed as the troops tried to free them, it said.

UK, Norway say Algeria hostage crisis is over

The Algerian military operation to end a deadly hostage crisis at a remote gas plant in Algeria is over, British and Norwegian

Hostage situation unclear after report says Algerian operation frees 650

 Militants strapping plastic explosives around the necks of foreign workers seized in the remote Algerian desert. Hostages secretly inventing disguises to escape their captors

'Mr. Marlboro': The veteran jihadist behind the attack in Algeria

(CNN) -- The terrorist attack on a natural gas installation at In Amenas in eastern Algeria may be an isolated act of revenge for the French intervention in Mali -- or an ominous portent of things to come in North Africa, where Islamist militancy is gaining traction fast.

The man claiming responsibility for the operation is a veteran jihadist who is also renowned for hostage-taking and smuggling anything from cigarettes to refugees.

Read more: Islamists take foreign hostages in attack on Algerian oil field

Henok Semaegzer: A reporter or a spin doctor?

There is probably no reporter in VOA Amharic service’s history, save Mimi Sibhatu, whose dubious and deliberately manipulative reporting skills have raised eyebrows and controversies as much as those of Henok Semaegzer Fente. Some of Ethiopia’s well-known dissidents and rights defenders such as Tamagn Beyene, Obang Metho, Dr. Berhanu Nega, Abebe Belew, Neamin Zeleke and Abebe Gellaw, among others, have complained at various times on his dubious reports that are mostly borderline misrepresentation and over-edited or censored broadcasts that reflect a burning desire to do spin on sensitive political issues. The recent Addis Ababa University student unrest in which Oromo and Tigrian students clashed is a case in point. One can say that he killed the story by focusing on non-issues and giving little air to those who were the victims of the repressive measures

Henok Semaegzer: A reporter or a spin doctor?

 There is probably no reporter in VOA Amharic service’s history, save Mimi Sibhatu, whose dubious and deliberately manipulative reporting skills have raised eyebrows and controversies as much as those of Henok Semaegzer Fente. Some of Ethiopia’s well-known dissidents and rights defenders such as Tamagn Beyene, Obang Metho, Dr. Berhanu Nega, Abebe Belew, Neamin Zeleke and Abebe Gellaw, among others, have complained at various times on his dubious reports that are mostly borderline misrepresentation and over-edited or censored broadcasts that reflect a burning desire to do spin on sensitive political issues. The recent Addis Ababa University student unrest in which Oromo and Tigrian students clashed is a case in point. One can say that he killed the story by focusing on non-issues and giving little air to those who were the victims of the repressive measures.

Henok’s recent interview with Abebe Gellaw demonstrated another spin by Henok aimed at misleading listeners. While Abebe clearly explained to him that the issue was not about an attempt on his life but was a plot to commit murder which was nipped in the bud, Henok tried to leave the impression on listeners’ mind that there was no “assassination attempt” as far as the FBI was concerned. Yes, but an attempt was not the issue at all. If the FBI is investigating a plot, not an attempt, why was it necessary for Henok to enquire about assassination attempt, as the plot did not develop into an attempt, as widely reported. It was confounding why Henok’s effort was clearly to imply that the allegations against Guesh, still under investigation for serious allegations, were frivolous. This is undoubtedly a dereliction of duty on the part on the dubious VOA broadcaster who has been repeatedly accused of distortion and misrepresentation.

                                               


The most serious misreporting or rather under-reporting by Henok was observed during the May 18, 2012 G8 Food Security Symposium. While the protest of Abebe Gellaw was arguably a newsworthy event in the high profile gathering from an Ethiopian perspective, his coverage barely mentioned what happened. He dwelt too much on what Meles and other dignitaries said without properly covering the protest against the late dictator.
As a result of his dubious reporting, Ethiopians across the world complained and VOA was forced to make an apology to its listeners. It also made a correction to rectify Henok’s blunders. What was even surprising about that particular reporting was the fact that Henok and Abebe were reportedly sitting next to each other at that meeting. Henok witnessed first-hand what happened but preferred to cut out the flesh and wasted time gnawing hard bone.
Dishonest tactic
After the public outcry against Henok was heard loud and clear, he was given a chance to address what all the complaints and petitioning against him were all about. He appeared on VOA’s "Straight Talk Africa on May 23, 2012. The host, Shaka Ssali, raised various questions to Henok but he tried his best to elusively dodge the controversies surrounding his reporting tactics and spins.
Shaka asked Henok about the lowlights of the event as far as he was concerned. Again in his skilful manner of evading serious matters, he focused on side issues and talked about the “tough” questions he asked and the disappointing answers he got from some unnamed attendees. Confused with his non-answer, Shaka raised a blunt question at the end of his seven-minute long interview with Henok.
“What about some Ethiopians who have been complaining that you attended the meeting but you sort of under-reported the event? What is it that you knew very important to them that you did not bring out?”
As usual, the artful dodger was not prepared for an honest answer. “They felt their numbers were downplayed but as you know, Shaka, once the President of the United States is in a meeting it is not possible to move around, go out and cover demonstrations outside and come inside. And from a news sense, I give premise [sic] to what the President of the United States says more plus there is [sic] also world leaders discussing issues of food security inside. I was covering that. If they were misrepresented…of course it was because of that. It wasn’t in a way to stifle their voice or trying to undermine their political activism.” How nauseating! Was that all? According to Henok, that was it!

Ethiopia: A time to heal, a time to reconcile

Prof. Al Mariam

An ethnic-based conflict between Addis Ababa University (AAU) students following derogatory graffiti posted on toilet-walls and library walls has left half a dozen students with severe injuries while others had faced arrest. For decades, the clash between students at universities has witnessed many ethnic-based conflicts which many observers claim it to be the weakness of the administering body. Likewise, the Wednesday

Eritrea attacks Human Rights Watch over 'forced labor' report

ADDIS ABABA - Eritrea’s government rejected as “cheap shots and lies” a report by Human Rights Watch that said forced labor was used to construct a gold mine it owns with Canada’s Nevsun Resources Ltd. (NSU)

Mr. Girma Asmerom (Photo: Ethiomedia)

Segen Construction Co., a sub-contractor owned by the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice that worked on the project, used conscripts during the building of the Bisha Mine from 2009 to 2011, the New York-based advocacy group said in a reportreleased Jan. 15. “Conscripts are regularly subjected to torture and other serious abuses,” it said.

Ethiopian Air grounds Boeing 787s as precaution

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- Ethiopian Airlines on Thursday grounded its four Boeing 787 Dreamliners following a decision by the Federal Aviation Administration to take the planes out of service in the United States because of a risk of fire from its lithium batteries

Algeria says military operation to free hostages 'over'

An Algerian military operation to free hostages being held by militants at a desert gas plant is now over, state news agency APS reports.


A group of al-Qaeda linked militants attacked the remote gas plant on Wednesday

Algerian state TV said four foreigners were killed in the operation. Others were freed, but there was no confirmation of how many hostages survived

Austrian ex-MEP Ernst Strasser jailed for bribe-taking

A former Austrian interior minister and Euro MP, Ernst Strasser, has been sentenced to four years in jail after being convicted of bribe-taking.

Mr Strasser's meeting with British undercover reporters in 2011 sparked the investigation

The conservative Austrian People's Party MP, was exposed by reporters from the UK's Sunday Times,     

They showed him being offered a 100,000-euro (£81,000; $130,000) annual payment in exchange for influencing EU legislation in the European Parliament

Ethiopia’s Expanding Sectors Prone to Corruption

 A new study says the fastest-growing sectors of Ethiopia's economy, such as telecommunications, land management and construction, are prone to corruption. A study conducted by the World Bank and the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission was made public on Friday

Prominent journalists, Christiane Amanpour and Cynthia McFadden speak up about Reeyot Alemu

Awramba Times (Phoenix, AZ) – Prominent American journalists, Christiane Amanpour and Cynthia McFadden have asked Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn to free jailed Ethiopian columnist, Reeyot Alemu.
Christiane amanpour is the Anchor of ABC’s Global affairs program & CNN’s chief international correspondent and Cynthia McFadden is an anchor and correspondent for ABC News who currently co-anchors Nightline and Primetime

New York Ethiopian Orthodox followers Cry for One Church, One leader (Tedla Asfaw)

By Tedla Asfaw

The New York overcast sky did not deter brave New Yorkers to gather in front of Woyane’s Mission to United Nations at mid day today in Manhattan, New York. “I care for my religion”,

Ethiopia arrests two over murder of Austrian rafter

 Ethiopian police have arrested two men suspected of involvement in the murder of an Austrian rafter shot dead during an apparent robbery of his travel group,

Uneasy Ethiopia Slides Down in Doing Business

If at all there is one edge that the incumbent government ofEthiopiahad been recognised for since it assumed power in 1991, it had been the liberalisation of the economy

Second French soldier 'dies after Somalia raid'

Islamist militants in Somalia say a second French soldier was killed during a failed hostage rescue attempt.

Al-Shabab published a purported photograph of the commando, who they said had died of gunshot wounds

U.S. supported France's failed hostage rescue in Somalia

An undated TV grab shows Denis Allex, a French hostage allegedly held -- and possibly killed -- by Somali militants.

CNN) -- U.S. troops lent "limited technical support" in France's bloody and unsuccessful bid in Somalia to rescue an intelligence agent who'd been held hostage for years, President Barack Obama said Sunday

Fighting the virus of the Zenawi era

Repugnant plot of assassination

This hideous foiled plot to conduct the savage act of assassination in the 21^st century on the icon human rights activist and renowned journalist

The journalist who silenced the tyrant

There is no doubt that 2012 was one of the most memorable years in our history. We witnessed high dramas, an unforgettable protest, a tyrant’s global hide-and-seek game, the elite’s wailing and cries, a mass hysteria, a dictator’s funeral in par with North Korea, the coronation of a puppet….

TPLF and the culture of violence

According to ESAT the FBI has foiled an attempt by the Ethiopian government to assassinate Ato Abebe Gelaw.

The Gurdian Exclusive: Ethiopian paramilitaries accused of abuses

UK tenders to train Ethiopian paramilitaries accused of abuses

Exclusive: documents seen by the Guardian detail £13-£15m government funding for ‘special police’ in Ogaden region

UPDATE: Assassination plot against journalist Abebe Gelaw

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has foiled a plot to shoot and kill Ethiopian journalist Abebe Gellaw in Boston, Massachusetts.

The plot was allegedly orchestrated by a man named

Ethiopian journalist’s last chance for freedom by Christiane Amanpour and Cynthia McFadden

January 2, 2013 — A few months ago, we had the honor of hosting the 2012 Courage in Journalism Award for the International Women’s Media Foundation. It was a moving, even glittering event. But there was one striking absence. Journalist Reeyot Alemu could not come

Human Rights Watch: Civil Society Crackdown in Ethiopia

By Laetitia Bader 

On 1 January 2013, Ethiopia took up its seat on the United Nations Human rights Council. The uncontested election – Africa put forward five countries for five seats – has raised some eyebrows, given the country’s own poor rights record. Elected member countries are obliged to ‘uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights’. Yet, in Ethiopia, hundreds of political prisoners

Court in Egypt orders retrial for Mubarak after appeal

A court in Egypt has ordered a retrial for ex-President Hosni Mubarak after accepting an appeal against his life sentence over the deaths of protesters.

Mubarak, 84, was overthrown in 2011 after mass street protests in the capital Cairo and other cities, and jailed in June.

Ex-Interior Minister Habib al-Adly will also be retried on the same charge.

Mass Paris rally against gay marriage in France

The BBC's Hugh Schofield said the organisers did not want to be seen as homophobic

Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Paris over plans to give gay couples in France the right to marry and adopt children.

Three big marches were converging on the Champs de Mars, next to the Eiffel Tower.

Q&A: Who are Somalia's al-Shabab?

African Union forces in Kismayo drive past sacks of charcoal, a major income generator for al-Shabab

Somali Islamist insurgent group al-Shabab, which has joined al-Qaeda, has been pushed out of all of the main towns they once controlled in southern and central parts of the country but they still remain a potent threat to the UN-backed government.

Who are al-Shabab?

Al-Shabab means The Youth in Arabic. It emerged as the radical youth wing of Somalia's now-defunct Union of Islamic Courts in 2006, as it fought Ethiopian forces who had entered Somalia to back the weak interim government.

French hostages still held in Africa

• Pierre Legrand, 26, Daniel Larribe, 59, Thierry Dole, 29, and Marc Feret, 43, were kidnapped in northern Niger in 2010 by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
• Philippe Verdon and Serge Lazarevic, were kidnapped in northern Mali in November 2011 by AQIM.
• Gilberto Rodriguez Leal, 61, was kidnapped in western Mali in November 2012 by the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (Mujao).
• Francis Collomp, 63, was kidnapped in Nigeria by Islamist group Ansaru.

France Rafale jets target Gao in eastern Mali

France has deployed Mirage jets in Mali

French warplanes have bombed the rebel-held town of Gao in eastern Mali, the government in Paris has confirmed.

France's military went into action against Islamist militants in Mali on Friday, helping government forces recapture the central town of Konna.

TPLF increasingly split in Ethiopia

Despite appearances, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), formerly the hard core of the EPRDF (ruling coalition), does not seem to be getting over the death of its leaderMeles Zenawi. The latter’s widow, Azeb Mesfin, is increasingly isolated and abandoned by her former friends. Abaye Tsehaye, her late husband’s advisor on security issues who became the general director of the Ethiopian Sugar Corporation in 2010, talk to her on the phone. Two other TPLF leaders, the foreign affairs minister Tewodros Adhanom and the Deputy Prime Minister Debretsion Gebremichael, harbour discreet ambitions to become Prime Minister instead of Hailemariam Desalegn. In the last week of December, the TPLF held a two-day long executive committee meeting whose discussions were widely broadcast on television. All except for the first half day, when the debates on delicate matters were held behind closed doors, such as internal division, unease in the army, preparation for the TPLF and EPRDF conferences in February. According to our sources, nothing came out of these discussions other than setting up a commission to discuss the matters.

20 killed, 21 injured to save a burning fuel tanker

DEBRE TABOR, GONDER – At least 20 people were killed and 21 seriously injured when they were trying to put out a fire that had engulfed a fuel tanker near the small town of Kimir Dingai on Wednesday.

FBI foils murder plot on journalist Abebe Gellaw

BOSTON, Massachusetts (Ethiomedia) - The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has foiled a murder plot on award-winning journalist Abebe Gellaw.

The Ethiopian Satellite TV (ESAT) said on Tuesday the suspects were under FBI investigation.
Goosh Abera (ጉዕሽ አበራ), who is staying in the US after seeking a political asylum and yet is an alleged spy for the TPLF ruling party in Ethiopia, was cited in the ESAT report as ring leader of a group of four in the assassination attempt on the life of one of Ethiopia's most prominent journalists based in the US.
The assassination was to be carried out when Abebe Gellaw would have travelled to Boston, MA, last December for an ESAT fund-raising event.

Rebels blow up bus carrying ruling party officials near Lalibela

LALIBELA, Northern Ethiopia (Ethiomedia) - Dozens of ruling party officials were killed and scores of others maimed when a landmine blew up their 45-seater bus near the historic town of Lalibela on Tuesday, rebel sources told Ethiomedia by phone on Wednesday