Konso old men spinning wool.#Ethiopia


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Harar without Hararis

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W hat began in the middle of 2018 as nightly chants of “ciao, ciao Adare” (‘goodbye Harari’), pack your bags, and “kinyyaa” (‘this is ours’) culminated with the Harari National League (HNL) surrendering half of the administration of Harar to the Oromo Democratic Party (ODP). Unchecked, this will end in the complete removal of Hararis from Harar—politically and physically.  Hararis are a unique ethnic minority group in Ethiopia, who have now also become a minority in their indigenous home, the ancient city of Harar. While Hararis used to inhabit a much larger area in the past, they have been relegated to behind the walls of Harar (Jugol) and its environs since after the Jugol was erected in the mid 1500s. For centuries, Harar was an important city in Ethiopia: Richard Burton called it “the Timbuktu of the East”; UNESCO  references  it as one of Islam’s holiest cities. During the Italio-Ethiopian war in 1935-36, The New York Times, The Times of India, The Globe, and ot...
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The UAE has successfully launched the Arab world's first Mars mission

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The United Arab Emirates successfully launched its Mars-bound Hope Probe on Sunday, marking the the  Arab world's first interplanetary mission  -- and the first of three international missions to the Red Planet this summer. The Hope Probe took off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan, after a delay last week due to bad weather. The solid rocket booster successfully separated from the launch vehicle, and the probe has established two-way communication with the ground segment in Dubai. The Al Amal probe, as it is called in Arabic, is expected to reach Mars by February 2021. It will be the first time the UAE has orbited Mars, and the probe will stay in orbit for a Martian year -- equivalent to 687 days on Earth -- to gather data about Mars' atmosphere. "It's an honor to be part of the global efforts to explore deep space," tweeted the official Hope Mars Mission account after the launch. "The Hope Probe is the culmination of every single step that ...
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US State Dept. approves UAE’s purchase of F-35 jets, MQ-9 drones

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  The U.S. State Department on Tuesday cleared a massive package of F-35 fighter jets and MQ-9 unmanned systems for the United Arab Emirates, making official a potential sale   st ill opposed  by many congressional Democrats. In a statement, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo  announced that the package , which comes with an estimated price tag of $23.37 billion, includes up to 50 F-35s worth $10.4 billion, 18 MQ-9Bs worth $2.97 billion, and $10 billion worth of air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions. “This is in recognition of our deepening relationship and the UAE’s need for advanced defense capabilities to deter and defend itself against heightened threats from Iran,” Pompeo said. “The UAE’s historic agreement to normalize relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to positively transform the region’s strategic landscape. Our adversaries, especially those in Iran, know this and will stop at nothing to disrupt this...
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