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• 5 የኢትዮጵያ አትሌቶች ተገኘባቸው። ምን ? ዝርዝሩን ያንብቡ

  Jun 4, 2016 Admin 0 Comments

  

  5  የኢትዮጵያ  አትሌቶች  ተገኘባቸው። ምን？  ዝርዝሩን ያንብቡ

  ኢትዮጵያን  ወክለው ሪዮ ብራዚል  ላይ  ሊሳተፉ  የተበሩ  አምስት አትሌቶች   መድልኒየም የተባለው እጽ  ተገኘባቸውም።  ደማቸው ውስጥ ግን  እንዴት  እንደገባ   የሚታወቅ  ሁኔታ  የለም

  ይህን  ጠርጠር ነው：：

  Ethiopia team doctor to AP: 5 athletes failed for meldonium

  By ELIAS MESERET Associated Press

  ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

  Five of the six Ethiopian athletes suspended and under investigation for doping by the country's authorities tested positive for the newly banned substance meldonium, the national track team doctor said on Friday.

  Two of the six would have likely made Ethiopia's team for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro "if they were clean," Ayalew Tilahun told The Associated Press in an interview coinciding with a visit to the East African country by a delegation from the World Anti-Doping Agency.

  Ayalew didn't give any names or say what substance the sixth athlete tested positive for.

  Ayalew did say delays in making the cases public are related to the World Anti-Doping Agency's decision to obtain more scientific research on meldonium. Meldonium was banned from Jan. 1, but more research is needed to establish how long traces remain in the body. Athletes who have failed tests could have taken meldonium before it was put on WADA's banned list.

  "So, we are just keeping these athletes under suspension and we won't take measures until we get a green light to do so from WADA and (the) IAAF," Ayalew said. "Both of these organizations have written to us four times, the last one a little bit more than a month ago, to wait for further notice as they are considering to revisit its (meldonium's) use and implications.

  "From the athletes that are under suspension with us, two of them could have made it to the Rio Olympics if they were clean. Their condition was good. I cannot say more than this."

  Meldonium increases blood flow and is used to treat heart conditions. It was developed in Latvia and many of the more than 170 failed tests for meldonium so far have involved Russians. The most high profile is Maria Sharapova.

   

  Ethiopia is also under the spotlight for meldonium.

  Abeba Aregawi, the Ethiopia-born former 1,500-meter world champion who competes for Sweden failed an out-of-competition test for meldonium this year. She reportedly failed the test in Ethiopia. Also, 2015 Tokyo Marathon winner Endeshaw Negesse has been linked to a positive test for meldonium, although Ethiopian authorities have not said if Negesse is one of their athletes being investigated.

  Ayalew attended meetings on Friday in Addis Ababa with WADA deputy director Rob Koehler. WADA's Africa director, Rodney Swigelaar, also traveled to Ethiopia.

  WADA has urged Ethiopia to strengthen its anti-doping program and conduct more tests following serious problems in East African neighbor and fellow distance running power Kenya, which was declared non-compliant by WADA last month and had its drug-testing agency suspended.

  Ethiopian authorities said in April they would attempt to test up to 200 athletes by November. So far, 37 of those doping tests have been carried out, Ayalew said. The results weren't yet available, he added.

  
  Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/article81647497.html#storylink=cpy

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• Ethiopia Wants To Be Africa’s No. 1 Auto Manufacturer

  Jun 2, 2016 Admin 0 Comments

  Local assembly plants in Ethiopia’s fledgling auto industry plan to begin exporting cars in a couple of years in a market dominated by Chinese brands — part of an effort to industrialize the agrarian economy, Reuters reports.

  It’s a grand ambition for the tiny auto industry, transforming a handful of assemblers that bolt together imported kits into a network of factories that can make the country Africa’s biggest car manufacturer over the next two decades.

  If it succeeds, it won’t be the first time Ethiopia delivers on an ambitious goal. With one of Africa’s fastest growing economies for more than a decade, Ethiopia has pulled off the Grand Ethiopian dam and others that helped make it an electricity exporter.

  Ethiopia’s expanding transport network includes the successful Ethiopian Airlines, the largest and fastest growing African airline, according to GhanaWeb. Ethiopian Airlines won the African Airline of the Year Award 2016 at the 25th Anniversary African Aviation Air Finance Africa Conference & Exhibit in Johannesburg.

  This year, a railway will link the landlocked country, population 97 million, to Djibouti port where the Red Sea meets the Indian Ocean, providing a cheap and fast way to import raw materials and export finished goods.

   

  “The aim is to become a leading manufacturing hub in Africa,” said State Minister for Industry Tadesse Haile in a Reuters interview. “We want to become the top producer of cars on the continent in 15 or 20 years.”

  In industrial zones around Addis Ababa and the northern city of Mekelle, Ethiopian firms and Chinese partners assemble vehicle kits. Theey imported 38,000 assembled cars in 2015, a 50 percent-plus increase over 2014.

  Ethiopia produces about 8,000 commercial and other vehicles a year for the local market, including about 2,000 cars but they could make more if they could get more foreign exchange to import more kits, Reuters reported.

  “There is a lot of potential for growth,” said Ma Qun, deputy manager of China’s Lifan auto group in Ethiopia, which has the capacity to assemble 5,000 cars a year but whose output is less than 1000. “We want to start exporting from Ethiopia by 2018, or a year later,” he said.

  For now, Ethiopia has to compete with South Africa, which makes 600,000-plus fully manufactured vehicles, and Morocco, which makes 200,000. Egypt, Kenya and Sudan also assemble vehicles.

  South Africa has a large domestic market with annual per capita income of $6,800 compared to Ethiopia’s $550, according to World Bank 2014 data. Morocco — annual per capita income, $3,070 — is geographically close to the huge European market.

  Assemblers in Ethiopia put together Chinese brands Geely, FAW, BYD and Lifan.

  With Ethiopia’s scant currency reserves, assemblers face challenges getting enough dollars to import kits. Another problem is consumers unsure about quality.

  Chinese car firms are central to Ethiopia’s vehicle manufacturing plans. Chinese car kits are cheaper than rivals such as Japan, said an executive at an Ethiopian manufacturer.

  South Korea wants a piece of the action. South Korean automobile manufacturer Kia Motors Corp. has broken ground on a community-run auto mechanic training center in Ethiopia due to be completed in 2017, EconomicTimes reported. The centers will enable trainee mechanics to work towards national qualifications.

  Ethiopia’s car assemblers face another challenge. Their cars don’t hold their prices as well as finished imports. “The big obstacle they face is resale value,” said Araya Lakew, whose mekina.net website links buyers and sellers.

  Some used imports, such as Toyotas, even gain value with the weaker currency, unlike locally assembled models.

  Lifan’s marketing director Tomi Su said his firm would keep making models that are more attractive to consumers. “There will be new gadgets in every upgrade,” he said.

   

   

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