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Ethiopia 'promises ID cards for Rastafarians'

Ethiopia 'promises ID cards for Rastafarians'

Posted at 18:54

AFP

Ethiopia's foreign ministry has said it will issue identification cards to Rastafarians, reports AFP news agency.
The Rastafarian community who emigrated to Ethiopia has long complained of living in limbo in their so-called promised land.
Foreign ministry spokesman Meles Alem told AFP that Rastafarians will now be eligible to receive ID cards that will allow them to reside and have most legal rights in the country.
However, they are still not considered citizens.
Under the revised guidelines, the cards will also be available to foreigners who have contributed to the country's development and to Israelis of Ethiopian descent, Mr Meles said.
Rastafarians revere Ethiopia's former-Emperor Haile Selassie as a god.
This started after the black consciousness leader Marcus Garvey's prophecy: "Look to Africa, when a black king shall be crowned, for the day of deliverance is at hand".
Selassie gave land on the outskirts of the town Shashamene to black people from the West who had supported him in his struggles with Mussolini's Italy.
In 1963, a dozen Rastafarians took up the offer and those numbers swelled to around 800 today.
But residents complain that they can't own property, send their children to university or work because they're not Ethiopian citizens.

Various high-profile figures in African football have taken to social media to pay their respects

The world of African football is in mourning once again following the latest tragedy to hit the continental game, after eight football fans were killed when a wall collapsed during the Senegalese League Cup final on Saturday. A further 49 supporters were reportedly injured following a panicked stampede for the exists after police had fired tear gas to disperse the crowd after fights between rival groups of fans.
The match between Stade de Mbour and US Ouakam – which was taking place at Dakar’s Stade Demba Diop – had finished 1-1 after 90 minutes, but the former had taken the lead with an extra-time goal, prompting the disturbance.
Uganda boss Milutin Sredojevic and former Chelsea and Senegal frontman Demba Ba were among some of the high-profile personalities of African football to have paid their tributes to the victims of the disaster.
 goal.com

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Ghana launches its first satellite into space

BBC

Ghana has successfully launched its first satellite into space.

GhanaSat-1, which was developed by students at All Nations University in Koforidua, was sent into orbit from the International Space Centre.

Cheers erupted as 400 people, including the engineers, gathered in the southern Ghanaian city to watch live pictures of the launch. The first signal was received shortly afterwards.

It is the culmination of a two-year project, costing $50,000 (£40,000).

It received support from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

The satellite will be used to monitor Ghana's coastline for mapping purposes, and to build capacity in space science and technology.

Project coordinator Dr Richard Damoah said it marked a new beginning for the country.

"It has opened the door for us to do a lot of activities from space," he told the BBC.

He said it would "also help us train the upcoming generation on how to apply satellites in different activities around our region.

"For instance, [monitoring] illegal mining is one of the things we are looking to accomplish."

The development team behind the satellite