Cairo and Khartoum in talks on Ethiopia Nile diversion

Egypt and Sudan were holding talks on Wednesday following a decision by Ethiopia to divert the Blue Nile as part of a giant dam project which risks affecting the two downstream Arab states.

Sudan’s minister of irrigation, Osama Abdallah al-Hassan, arrived in Cairo for a one-day visit to discuss the issue with authorities, Egypt’s official MENA news agency said.

And Ethiopia’s ambassador to Cairo, Mohammed Idriss, held talks with senior officials at the foreign ministry, it said.

Cairo said it was awaiting the outcome of a tripartite report by Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia to assess the impact of the project.

Officials in Cairo have described Ethiopia’s move as technical, saying it was unlikely to affect Egypt.

Essam Haddad, a senior advisor to President Mohamed Morsi, stressed that Addis Ababa’s decision “does not have a direct impact on Egypt or its Nile water.”

But Ethiopia’s move did unnerve authorities, prompting a cabinet meeting on Wednesday headed by Prime Minister Hisham Qandil.

In a statement, the government said Cairo was opposed to all projects which could affect the flow of the Nile.

It said it had planned “several scenarios” depending on the outcome of the report, without elaborating.

The $4.2 billion Grand Renaissance Dam hydroelectric project has to divert a short section of the Blue Nile -- one of two major tributaries of the Nile -- to allow the main dam wall to be built.

The river is being shifted about 550 meters from its natural course, officials in Addis Ababa said earlier on Wednesday, but stressed that water levels would not be affected.

The first phase of construction is expected to be complete in three years, with a capacity of 700 megawatts.

Once complete, the dam will have a capacity of 6,000 megawatts.

In Khartoum, the foreign ministry said Sudan would not be affected by the project, stressing in a statement that there are agreements and consultations between Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia.

“Sudan respects the agreements to cooperate with those two countries (Egypt and Ethiopia) in matters that concern sharing the waters of the Nile and sharing mutual revenues,” the Sudanese foreign ministry said.

Both Sudan and Egypt, arid nations that rely heavily on the Nile for water, particularly for agriculture, are extremely sensitive about projects that could alter the flow.

Egypt believes its “historic rights” to the Nile are guaranteed by two treaties from 1929 and 1959 which allow it 87 percent of the Nile’s flow and give it veto power over upstream projects.

But a new deal was signed in 2010 by other Nile Basin countries, including Ethiopia, allowing them to work on river projects without Cairo’s prior agreement.

Source: http://ethioprofessionals.com

CNN interview with Betsegaw Tadele: Obama called him the 'skinny guy with the funny name', but who is he?

By: Meron Moges-Gerbi, CNN

(CNN) -- On a rainy afternoon this spring when President Barack Obama gave the commencement speech at Morehouse College in Atlanta, he called valedictorian Betsegaw Tadele the "skinny guy with a funny name" -- a nickname Obama has often called himself.

So, who is that other "skinny guy?"

Tadele's journey to sharing a stage with the president began in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the youngest of Tadele Alemu and Almaz Ayalew's two children. Tadele's first name, Betsegaw, means "by God's grace" in Amharic, his native language.

In the summer of 2009, Tadele came to the United States in pursuit of a higher education.

Morehouse College, a historically black college, was not Tadele's first choice; he was initially interested in more technical schools. Morehouse only awarded him enough scholarship funds to pay for tuition, not room and board. But Tadele's brother happened to be living and working in Atlanta. Tadele saw this as an opportunity to spend time with his brother while taking advantage of what the university had to offer. Morehouse became his new destination.

After four years at Morehouse, Tadele had a 3.99 GPA. He graduated with a degree in computer science and a minor in mathematics. He won departmental awards in math and the school's computer science leadership and scholarship award, led Morehouse's Computer Science Club and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

"There is no impossible. There is no unbelievable. There is no unachievable, if you have the audacity to hope," Tadele said during his speech, paraphrasing the name of the president's 2006 book, "The Audacity of Hope."

The next stop in Tadele's journey is Seattle, where he'll work for Microsoft.

Here's what Tadele had to say about meeting the president and finishing college:

CNN: First thing first, what was it like to meet President Obama?

Betsegaw Tadele: I didn't really get to meet him except on stage. There were a lot of Secret Service (agents) around him. Many were suggesting I go and hug him, but I couldn't do that. But it was great; after my speech, he got up gave me a hug and told me he was proud of me. That was a great honor.

CNN: What was the greatest part of being a Morehouse valedictorian?

Tadele: It was great to be able to mark that moment and summarize our journey at Morehouse. I wasn't nervous at all. I could feel the energy of the crowd, everyone was happy to be there. It was an honor to be able to acknowledge all these parents who sacrificed so much for their kids to be there. Acknowledging them and our hard work and the energy of that moment was unforgettable.

CNN: How did it feel to have President Obama talk about you during his commencement speech, and later receiving a standing ovation from him?

Tadele: That was really great! I heard him call me "the skinny guy with a funny name," and I knew I heard it somewhere and I later found out that he was comparing me to himself, which was great. Some people in the Ethiopian community who had not heard him use the phrase on himself before found it offensive. They thought that "skinny" was a reference to the Western image of Ethiopia as poverty-stricken country and "funny name" as a trivial jab at my Amharic name. In fact, it was getting so out of hand, that I actually had to clarify on Facebook where the reference came from.

CNN: Quoting President Obama, "As Morehouse men, many of you know what it's like to be an outsider; know what it's like to be marginalized; know what it's like to feel the sting of discrimination. And that's an experience that a lot of Americans share." What has been your experience during your educational journey in the United States as an Ethiopian? Do you relate to his statement or was he aiming this only at the black community as some critics have stated?

Tadele: I do think the president was making a particular reference to the African-American experience, which is appropriate considering that he was the commencement speaker at a (historically black college or university.) However, more than that, he was speaking of the human experience. The struggle of fitting in a place that is new and strange is a common experience. As human beings, we fear the unknown. As long as there are people who deviate from the norm, there will always be people who discriminate against them. And thus discrimination is a universal experience.

When I first came to Morehouse, people thought I was not smart because of my strong English accent. As a native of Ethiopia, I have a very noticeable accent when I speak English, which leads a lot of Americans I meet to assume that I am not very smart. The cause for this assumption is simply the fact that experience and norm say that smart people's English sounds good. I had to prove myself. I can associate with a Morehouse man who might be stereotyped because of his color of skin.

CNN: Is it all work? What do you do for fun?

Tadele: Like most Ethiopians, I like to sit in Starbucks and have coffee, hang out with my friends. I was pretty involved in my church youth group until about a year ago. I spent a lot of time with them and that is a big part of who I am. I do spend a lot of time on computers. To me, computers are not work. I enjoy working on them. I don't see it as work at all, so that is fun for me.

CNN: Who or what inspires you?

Tadele: I have had many people who have served as my role-models, but none more than Jesus. Though I am a technically inclined person, I don't believe that I can have a meaningful life through my technical skills. I think, more importantly, my character and who I am as a person has a lot more to do with how meaningful my life is. And for this, the best example I have is Jesus.

He inspires me to work harder every day to prioritize people over my work. I try every day to shape my character like him. It is this attitude that enabled him to change the world.

Source: http://ethioprofessionals.com

Egyptian politicians caught discussing plan to sabotage Ethiopian dam

Egyptian politicians - including president Mohamed Morsi - have been caught live on air discussing plans to sabotage an Ethiopian dam project.

Ethiopia has begun diverting the Blue Nile, a major tributary to the Nile River, 500 metres from its natural course to construct a $4.7 billion hydroelectric project known as Grand Renaissance Dam.

It has sparked fears of a major impact downstream in Egpyt and Sudan.

Without knowing their comments were being aired, Egyptian politicians at a meeting chaired by Mr Morsi began to suggest ways to stop the project - including backing rebels to sabotage it.

Ayman Nour, head of the liberal Ghad Party, suggested spreading rumours that Egypt was buying military planes in order to create the impression that it was planning an airstrike to destroy the dam.

He also suggested Cairo send political, intelligence and military teams to Addis Ababa because "we need to intervene in their domestic affairs".

Yunis Makhyun, who heads the conservative Islamist Nur Party, said the dam constituted a "strategic danger for Egypt", requiring Cairo to support Ethiopian rebels "which would put pressure on the Ethiopian government".

An aide to Mr Morsi later apologised for not letting the politicians know that their comments were being aired.

"Due to the importance of the topic, it was decided at the last minute to air the meeting live," Pakinam El-Sharwaki, the presidential aide for political affairs, wrote on Twitter.

"I forgot to inform the participants about the changes.

"I apologise for any embarrassment caused to the political leaders."

The meeting, a huge embarrassment both for the presidency and the opposition members who attended, caused a storm of ridicule and anger in the media and prompted even those who did not attend to apologise on behalf of Egyptians.

"Sincere apologies to the people and governments of Ethiopia & Sudan for the irresponsible utterances at the president's "national dialogue"," wrote leading dissident and former UN nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei on Twitter.

"A scandal in front of the world," read the headline of the independent daily Al-Tahrir.

Popular talk show host Reem Magued, who aired parts of the meeting on her show, said: "It's true that we asked for transparency from the government but not like this, not to the point of scandal."

Ethiopian water and energy minister Alemayehu Tegenu said he had not heard about the incident, but insisted Ethiopia's relationship with Egypt remained "healthy".

He insisted water levels would not be affected by the construction of the dam.

"Why diversion is a headache for some groups, I am not clear about. Any layman can understand what river diversion means," he said.

Egypt believes its "historic rights" to the Nile are guaranteed by two treaties from 1929 and 1959, which allow it 87 per cent of the Nile's flow and give it veto power over upstream projects.

But a new deal was signed in 2010 by other Nile Basin countries, including Ethiopia, allowing them to work on river projects without Cairo's prior agreement.

The first phase of the project is expected to be completed in three years.

Source: http://ethioprofessionals.com