Latest news with #Amharic
AFP
5 days ago
- Politics
- AFP
Compilation of clips shows dams in South Africa and Brazil, not Ethiopia's new Nile River project
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced in July 2025 that the multi-billion-dollar Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project would be inaugurated in September 2025. Following this announcement, a post published on Facebook claims to show footage of the dam in operation ahead of its inauguration. However, this is misleading; the video shows dams in South Africa and Brazil. The post contains a text overlay in Amharic, which translates to: 'This is happening in Meskrem 2018 E.C: the inauguration of the GERD dam and the start of oil production will take place together.' Meskerem 2018 in the Ethiopian calendar is equivalent to September 2025. Image Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on July 15, 2025 The post was originally published on TikTok and has been shared more than 110 times since it was reposted to Facebook on July 4, 2025. The 53-second video features a male news presenter reporting on an announcement made by Abiy in early July. Footage of various dam facilities display on the screen over the audio. 'Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told members of parliament during the 42nd ordinary session that Ethiopia will begin marketing oil starting next September,' the presenter says. 'In addition, he confirmed that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will be inaugurated this coming September.' The GERD On July 3, 2025, Abiy announced the completion of the multi-billion-dollar mega-dam on the Blue Nile and said it would be officially inaugurated in September 2025 (archived here). Launched in 2011 with a $4 billion budget, the GERD is considered Africa's largest hydroelectric project. The dam wall spans 1.8 kilometres (1.1 miles) and is 145 metres (475 feet) high. While Addis Ababa views the dam as essential to its national electrification program, it has been a source of tension with downstream countries Egypt and Sudan, who fear it could threaten their water supply from the Nile (archived here). However, the video does not show Ethiopia's new dam, set for inauguration in September. Gariep Dam AFP Fact Check used the video verification tool InVID-WeVerify to conduct reverse image searches on keyframes from the video and established that none of the clips featured show the GERD. Search results indicate that the first 12 seconds of the video show the Gariep Dam, located between the Free State and Eastern Cape provinces in South Africa. The footage was published on TikTok on January 30, 2021, with the English caption: 'Gariep Dam 30/01/2021, 114% Full.' The length of the video also exactly matches the footage in the misleading clip. Search results also led to similar videos here and here showing the Gariep Dam overflowing (archived here and here). AFP Fact Check further verified the dam's location by comparing features visible in the video with satellite imagery on Google Maps (archived here). The spillway, crest and surrounding greenery all align with features visible in the video. Image Screenshots of the misleading clip (top) and Google Maps showing Gariep Dam, taken on July 15, 2025 Pictures of the Gariep Dam wall on stock photo site Shutterstock also match the structure in the clip (archived here). Funil hydro plant Search results confirmed that the portion of the clip from 13 to 40 seconds features the Funil Hydroelectric Power Plant — a Brazilian dam located on the Paraíba do Sul River in Resende, Rio de Janeiro. The segment was uploaded to YouTube on October 6, 2023, with the title, 'Opening of the spillway gate at the Funil hydroelectric plant in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil' (archived here). It was also published on X on November 3, 2023, with the caption: 'Spillway gates at the Funil Hydroelectric Power Plant in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, serve the crucial function of releasing surplus water from the reservoir (archived here).' Spillway gates at the Funil Hydroelectric Power Plant in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, serve the crucial function of releasing surplus water from the reservoir — Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) November 3, 2023 AFP Fact Check again corroborated these findings by comparing features visible in the video with satellite imagery on Google Maps. The dam's distinctive circular spillway gate, the large road in front of the spillway, and the surrounding forest all match the footage. Image Meanwhile, AFP file photos of the GERD taken during construction in 2022 show that it is structurally different from the dams seen in the Facebook clip.
Sydney Morning Herald
5 days ago
- General
- Sydney Morning Herald
Is this tiny restaurant in Perth's inner-north home to the city's best-value vegan meal deal?
Rather than dessert, Eritrean and Ethiopian meals conclude with thick coffee that's been pan-roasted in-house and, if you like, sharpened with ground ginger. An elegant woven mesob basket filled with warm popcorn is a thoughtful touch; the wispy smoke emitted by a burning square of bakhoor incense is a show of hospitality borrowed from the traditional coffee ceremony. Based on a handful of outings to Adulis, the promise of a hot drink that tastes like home is reason enough for some within Perth's (East) African diaspora to set course for Yokine. Make no mistake, this is a restaurant run by its community, for its community. The room features artefacts adorned with Amharic script and posters of Eritrean sports stars Biniam Girmay and Alexander Isak. The combination of an Ethio-jazz soundtrack and spirited African language conversations gives the space a casual, loungeroom-style energy. Use the call bell at the counter to get the attention of a (otherwise obliging) staff member if you have to. You might be new to these parts, but you're eager to learn about the deep, rich history of Eritrean and Ethiopian food.
The Age
5 days ago
- General
- The Age
Is this tiny restaurant in Perth's inner-north home to the city's best-value vegan meal deal?
Rather than dessert, Eritrean and Ethiopian meals conclude with thick coffee that's been pan-roasted in-house and, if you like, sharpened with ground ginger. An elegant woven mesob basket filled with warm popcorn is a thoughtful touch; the wispy smoke emitted by a burning square of bakhoor incense is a show of hospitality borrowed from the traditional coffee ceremony. Based on a handful of outings to Adulis, the promise of a hot drink that tastes like home is reason enough for some within Perth's (East) African diaspora to set course for Yokine. Make no mistake, this is a restaurant run by its community, for its community. The room features artefacts adorned with Amharic script and posters of Eritrean sports stars Biniam Girmay and Alexander Isak. The combination of an Ethio-jazz soundtrack and spirited African language conversations gives the space a casual, loungeroom-style energy. Use the call bell at the counter to get the attention of a (otherwise obliging) staff member if you have to. You might be new to these parts, but you're eager to learn about the deep, rich history of Eritrean and Ethiopian food.
The Star
14-07-2025
- Politics
- The Star
France's beloved 'petanque' game finds an unlikely outpost
Petanque, or boules, is more readily associated with French village squares where locals are often to be found in sand pits throwing metal balls at a jack while enjoying an afternoon drink. But for decades, it has also been a beloved pastime for members of a club near the iconic Meskel Square in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. — Photos: Marco Simoncelli/ AFP In an unlikely Ethiopian outpost of one the most French of pastimes, four men are leaning over their petanque balls, arguing over who is winning. Petanque, the bowling game also known as boules,is more readily associated with French village squares where locals launch metal balls at a jack while enjoying an afternoon drink. But for decades, it has also been a beloved pastime for members of a club near the iconic Meskel Square in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. It was founded in the early 20th century to cater to French railway workers, who built a line connecting Addis Ababa to the French colony of Djibouti. With around 150 members, it still bears the name Le Club des Cheminots (The Railway Club), though the line stopped operating in 2008. Club members play a match of petanque at the Club des Cheminots. But a new threat has emerged from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's vast demolition and construction programme in the city. "We're worried because we've been told the area will be demolished and the whole neighbourhood will be relocated," said Daniel Bewektu, 38, who has played daily for nearly seven years. "I don't think anyone will preserve the place," he added. The players gather daily under the club's corrugated metal roof, playing in sand imported from Dire Dawa, a city about 350 kilometres (220 miles) east of the capital. On a recent Saturday, speakers blared local music while men sat around plastic tables, reading, playing dominoes and drinking beer. On the courts, familiar scenes played out: minor arguments over disputed points, the sound of metal balls clinking and shouts of "gobez" ("well played" in Amharic). A club member measures the distance between a boule and the jack with a tape measure during a petanque match at the Club des Cheminots. Nowhere to go Assefaw Geremew retrieved his boules from an old locker, an almost daily ritual for the 68-year-old, a retired railway worker like many of his fellow members. "I started playing petanque when the French were in charge. When they completed the railway work and left Ethiopia, we Ethiopians took over and continued the game," he said. He has witnessed many changes in the neighbourhood, including the demolition of the nearby Buffet de la Gare, a famous hotel and restaurant dating back to 1924 that was replaced by an apartment block in 2019. "If this place didn't exist, the workers and retired people wouldn't have anywhere to go," Geremew said. "Here, you can stay as long as you want. You meet your old friends, and you meet new people," he added, highlighting the extremely modest membership fee of just 6 birrs (five US cents) per month for retirees. Club president Alemneh Abebe hopes the authorities will come to their rescue. "If possible, with government support, we'd like to be given another space," he said. But Bewektu is worried: "If this place is taken away, petanque will disappear." – AFP
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Old video report misleadingly used to claim Ethiopian oil supplied to market
The post in Amharic, published on Facebook on June 27, 2025, reads: 'Ethiopian oil has become available to the market'. 'Ethiopian oil production has been increased and made available to the market,' adds the post, which has been shared more than 240 times since. The post contains a six-second clip divided into two sections: the top half of the screen shows a news anchor speaking in Amharic while the bottom half shows thick black liquid bubbling out of the ground. On July 3, 2025, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced that in September, Ethiopia will begin supplying domestically produced natural gas to the market for the first time in the country's history (archived here). However, the video does not show that Ethiopian oil has already been supplied to the market. There have been no official announcements about Ethiopian oil being made available to the market. Prime Minister Abiy's recent announcement said that his country would supply natural gas to the market in September. AFP Fact Check used the video verification tool InVID-WeVerify to conduct reverse image searches on keyframes from the video. The search results for the footage of the news anchor established that it was originally published on the official channel of the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation back in June 2018 (archived here). The original video is over 29 minutes long and features an anchor presenting various news items, including a segment on Ethiopian crude oil production. Between the 50- and 56-second mark, the anchor says in Amharic: 'Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced that Ethiopia will begin testing oil production starting tomorrow.' The misleading clip was extracted from this portion of the broadcast. In July 2018, Ethiopia tested the production of crude oil in partnership with Chinese company Poly-GCL Petroleum Investments Limited from two reserves in the Ogaden Basin — the Kalub and Hilala fields in the eastern part of the country (archived here). Search results for the second clip revealed that it shows a sewage leak in the US, not oil in Ethiopia (archived here). AFP Fact Check previously debunked the clip in January 2024. Experts confirmed that visual clues indicated the liquid in the video was not oil.
