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March 28 , 2020

Doctor of Body, Spirit, Catherine Hamlin Passes

There has been a long-standing ritual for the women that come to be treated at the Addis Abeba Fistula Hospital, which was co-founded by Catherine Hamlin (MD), an Australian obstetrician and gynaecologist. “Who is the bride today?” Hamlin would ask patients that were to undergo a surgery to r...

March 14 , 2020

Impeccably Dressed, Witty Advertising Guru Passes, 82

Debebe Eshetu, one of Ethiopia’s most prominent actors, was a novice giddily looking up to Woubshet Workalemahu when the two were working together on short films for Ethiopian television some four decades ago. At the state-owned broadcaster, the only in the country at the time, there was no equipment to record the half-hour television dramas that Debebe and Woubshet were hired to make. Live broadcast was the only choice, so they had to rehearse the entire performance repeatedly. One night after a rehearsal gone late, Woubshet, as he often did, volunteered to give seven of the cast and cre...

October 12 , 2019

The Pen Behind the Pen Name: Dandew Serbello from Sidist Kilo

Girma Feyissa’s favourite Holiday was Mesqel. He drew his last breath on the early morning of September 28, 2019, as relatives were getting ready to celebrate this year’s Mesqel holiday. Perhaps it is a fitting way to go for a man who loved festivities and family gatherings. His entire family always eagerly waited for his arrival every Saturday at lunch. He never missed it. And he never came empty-handed. He always brought his favourite meal with him – raw beef. He made sure everybody had some, and some more. Then came the jokes and his unmistakable laughter. “Above all, he neve...

July 13 , 2019

Ge’zae: The Good Samaritan

Last Genna (Ethiopian Christmas), a documentary depicting the lives of six families was screened by Demtsi Woyane Television. The families all lost children during the armed struggle with the Dergue. The documentary showed how these families are struggling to make ends meet now, wondering what might have been if they had their children to look after them. After the show aired, the journalist who made the documentary got a call from a man who was touched by the story and wanted to help the families. When a sequel documentary aired during the next festivity, Fasika(Easter), the lives of the...

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September 10 , 2021

Alemayehu Eshete Has Left the Building

Tsegaye Birhane, actor, met Alemayehu Eshete in the most unorthodox of ways. It was not at an event or work. Neither did they run into each other. It was the passing of Alex’s, as Tesgaye calls him...

July 11 , 2021

Mother that Built House Full of Children Passes

The children who grew up with Abebech Gobena called her “Eddaye,” a term of endearment of their creation. It is not clear when it started or how, but for Abebech, it was close in meaning to Aderay...

April 3 , 2021

Tech Savvy Importer, Yazew Bekele, Makes His Last Sale

Alemayehu Ketsela was a young employee of Ethiopian Trade Contacts (ET-CON), an import company, when he joined Yazew Bekele for dinner with business partners at the Sheraton Addis. There he would run...

March 13 , 2021

Prominent Health Personality Dons His Last Kabba

Just a sneak peek of Tibebe Yemanebirhan (PhD) in one of his appearances on television speaks to his status. A dermatologist, research scientist, diplomat that has represented the country on the inter...

January 23 , 2021

Pioneer Retailer, 'Bambis,' Makes Last Sale

When he was young, Panos Tewodros could sometimes be “hot-blooded.” Working as an import manager with Charalambos Tsimas, better known as Bambis, a contraction of his first name, for the supermark...

January 16 , 2021

Instinctually Humanitarian, Yohannes Kifle Breathes His Last

Bonfires are set, and children go house to house singing Hoya Hoyeduring the holiday of Buhe, which is observed annually in August by followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The song is o...

December 19 , 2020

Without Regrets, "Patriot" Fikreselassie Wogderes Passes

Fikreselassie Wogderess was 46 years old when he was thrown into jail after a coalition of rebel forces fought their way into Addis Abeba in 1991. The next two decades of his life would be anticlimact...

December 5 , 2020

James Wolfensohn, Debt Restructuring WB Chief, Departs

The first time James Wolfensohn started working in Africa, a continent that would virtually become his mission as one of the more famous presidents of the World Bank, it was not an easy assignment. It...

November 29 , 2020

Fighter with the Soul of an Artist, Yemane Kidane Passes

It did not take much more than to greet Yemane Kidane, aka "Jamaica," to have an idea of his disposition. Perennially upbeat, a glass half full kind of guy, he consistently replied back to everyone th...

October 31 , 2020

Goatskin Aficionado, Lemma Guya, Lays Down the Brush

One of Lemma Guya's paintings, "Quanta," features dried beef, four cats, spilt milk and a rat. Stripped of its context, it seems bizarre, almost meaningless; a day in the life of a chaotic group of ho...

October 17 , 2020

Polio Warrior, 'Father' of Many, Mohammad Idris, Passes, 85

Mohammed Idris came to feel like a father figure to many that met him. Most striking was his effect on the younger generation. Part of this was that he had come to be known to many young people throug...

October 11 , 2020

Influential 'Ethiopianist,' the Professor Passes, 91

Mesfin Woldemariam (Prof.) took poetic license. An 18-year-old who had read one of his poems found this out by accident. A freshman pre-med student at Addis Abeba University in 1982, he was classmates...

October 3 , 2020

Politically Active Spiritual Leader, Hanfare Alimirah, Passes

Sultan Hanfare Alimirah was not one to stand back when political issues arose. Just as in 1991, he was attentive and aware of the changes that were to lead to the new administration that brought Prime...

August 8 , 2020

Calm Under Fire, Teferi Asfaw Passes, 68

The former Relief & Rehabilitation Commission was an island of sanity in the sea of pandemonium that was Communist-era Ethiopia. Exemplifying this contrast was Teferi Asfaw, who found himself work...

July 13 , 2020

Active to the End, Politician, Business Person Passes, 85

The outing of the Dergue, a left-leaning military junta, in the 1990s was met with a certain level of optimism by some circles in Ethiopia. It included individuals whose assets had been nationalised b...

July 10 , 2020

'Woke' Musician Passes Young, 36

Early on Tuesday morning, youth from the surrounding parts of Addis Abeba entered the city, chanting and wielding sticks. They were angry, and by the time police were routing them back out, violence h...

Columns

Commentaries | Jan 15,2022

Peace Process within Arm's Reach. Beware Spoilers!

Foes and friends of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) agree that his administration is full...

Editorial | January 15 , 2022

Diaspora Homecoming Breathes Life into Businesses. Will It Last?

On the verge of losing his job as a sales officer at Ayat (Real Estate) Share Company, Wak...

Featured | January 15 , 2022 . By SAMUEL BOGALE

Liquidity Crunch Casts Menacing Shadow Over Banking Industry

When the central bank imposed a freeze on collateral-based loans last August, there was no...

Agenda | January 15 , 2022 . By HAWI DADHI

HIBRET STANDS TALL & HIGH

Melaku Kebede (leftmost), president of Hibret Bank, was all smiles late last week as he sh...

Fortune News | January 15 , 2022

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COVID-19 UPDATES: All the stories and commentaries on Coronavirus, in one place

Doctor of Body, Spirit, Catherine Hamlin Passes

Impeccably Dressed, Witty Advertising Guru Passes, 82

The Pen Behind the Pen Name: Dandew Serbello from Sidist Kilo