Yemen fighting delays Ethiopia flights to Israel

Yemen fighting delays Ethiopia flights to Israel

Two Ethiopian Airlines flights denied permission to fly to Israel due to regional security tensions; After long delays, 280 Israelis fly back to country.

Dani Sadeh
Published: 03.27.15, 17:04 / Israel News


Ethiopian Airlines was forced to postpone two flights to Israel on Thursday after it did not have permission to fly on route due to the escalating turmoil in Yemen and in light of information received from security sources. About 280 Israelis who were on vacation in the area were supposed to be aboard the flights, which eventually took off after long delays.




The first flight was scheduled to take off from the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport in the afternoon hours, and land in Tel Aviv at 8 pm. The second flight was supposed to take off in the evening and land in the Ben Gurion International Airport at 3 am.

Dark Day for Lufthansa;' 150 Feared Dead After Germanwings Airbus Crashes in French Alps

Some 150 people on board an Airbus operated by Lufthansa's low cost airline Germanwings are now all feared dead after it crashed in a remote region of the French Alps Tuesday.

In an earlier Reuters report, French President Francois Hollande, said there were 148 people on board the Airbus and there appeared to be no survivors. Lufthansa later confirm the number of people on the carrier to be 150.

"There were 148 people on board. The conditions of the accident, which have not yet been clarified, lead us to think there are no survivors," said Hollande.
In a statement released via Lufthansa's Twitter account the company's chief executive Carsten Spohr said if those fears are confirmed it will be a "dark day for Lufthansa."

"We do not yet know what has happened to flight 4U 9525. My deepest sympathy goes to the families and friends of our passengers and crew on 4U 9525. If our fears are confirmed, this is a dark day for Lufthansa. We hope to find survivors," said Spohr.

Shortly after that, the worst was confirmed.

"We must confirm to our deepest regret that Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 from Barcelona to Düsseldorf has suffered an accident over the French Alps. The flight was being operated with an Airbus A320 aircraft, and was carrying 144 passengers and six crew members," said the statement.

"Lufthansa and Germanwings have established a telephone hotline. The toll-free 0800 11 33 55 77 number is available to all the families of the passengers involved for care and assistance," it continued.

"Everyone at Germanwings and Lufthansa is deeply shocked and saddened by these events. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the passengers and crew members," it ended.

French officials told Reuters that the plane issued a distress call at 0947 GMT, some 52 minutes after take-off.

The flight was traveling from Barcelona to Duesseldorf and Hollande explained that a significant number of Germans were likely to be on it.

According to CNN, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that he's been in contact with his French counterpart and "we will cooperate closely."

"I already want to thank the French government, which has acted immediately and prudently," said Steinmeier. "In these difficult hours, our thoughts are with those who have to fear that their close ones are among the passengers and crew."

Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan sign deal to end Nile dispute

Three African leaders have signed an initial deal to end a long-running dispute over the sharing of Nile waters and the building of Africa's biggest hydroelectric dam, in Ethiopia.

The leaders of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan signed the agreement in Sudan's capital, Khartoum.
Egypt has opposed the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, saying it would worsen its water shortages.
Ethiopia says the dam will give it a fairer share of Nile waters.
In 2013, Ethiopia's parliament ratified a controversial treaty to replace colonial-era agreements that gave Egypt and Sudan the biggest share of the Nile's water.
Egypt's then-President Mohamed Morsi said he did not want war but he would not allow Egypt's water supply to be endangered by the dam.
Mr Morsi's successor, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi signed the deal with Ethiopia's Prime Minister Halemariam Desalegn and Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir.

'Veto power'

The three leaders welcomed the "declaration of principles" agreement in speeches in Khartoum's Republican Palace, and watched a short film about the Grand Renaissance Dam that highlighted how it could benefit the region, the Associated Press news agency reports.
Mr Halemariam said he wanted to give an assurance that the dam would "not cause any harm to downstream countries", Reuters news agency reports.
Mr Sisi said the project remained a source of concern to Egypt.
"The Renaissance Dam project represents a source of development for the millions of Ethiopia's citizens through producing green and sustainable energy, but for their brothers living on the banks of that very Nile in Egypt, and who approximately equal them in numbers, it represents a source of concern and worry," he said.
"This is because the Nile is their only source of water, in fact their source of life."

Ethiopia wants to replace a 1929 treaty written by Britain that awarded Egypt veto power over any project involving the Nile by upstream countries.
Ethiopia says the $4.7bn (£3.1bn) dam will eventually provide 6,000 megawatts of power.
Egypt was apparently caught by surprise when Ethiopia started diverting the Blue Nile - a tributary of the Nile - in 2013.
Ethiopia says the river will be slightly diverted but will then be able to follow its natural course.
Egyptian politicians were inadvertently heard on live TV in 2013, proposing military action over the dam.
Ethiopia has received strong backing from five other Nile-basin countries - Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and Burundi.

Tips on Making Estimated Tax Payments

IRS Tax Tip 2014-49, April 7, 2014
If you don’t have taxes withheld from your pay, or you don’t have enough tax withheld, then you may need to make estimated tax payments. If you’re self-employed you normally have to pay your taxes this way.
Here are six tips you should know about estimated taxes:

1. You should pay estimated taxes in 2014 if you expect to owe $1,000 or more when you file your federal tax return. Special rules apply to farmers and fishermen.
   
   
2. Estimate the amount of income you expect to receive for the year to determine the amount of taxes you may owe. Make sure that you take into account any tax deductions and credits that you will be eligible to claim. Life changes during the year, such as a change in marital status or the birth of a child, can affect your taxes.
   
   
3. You normally make estimated tax payments four times a year. The dates that apply to most people are April 15, June 16 and Sept. 15 in 2014, and Jan. 15, 2015.
   
   
4. You may pay online or by phone. You may also pay by check or money order, or by credit or debit card. If you mail your payments to the IRS, use the payment vouchers that come with Form 1040-ES, Estimated Tax for Individuals.
   
   
5. Check out the electronic payment options on IRS.gov. The Electronic Filing Tax Payment System is a free and easy way to make your payments electronically.
   
   
6. Use Form 1040-ES and its instructions to figure your estimated taxes.

Additional IRS Resources:

• Publication 505, Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax
• Estimated Tax – frequently asked Q & As
• Tax Topic 306 – Penalty for Underpayment of Estimated Tax

IRS YouTube Videos:

• Estimated Tax Payments – English | Spanish | ASL

IRS Podcasts:

• Estimated Tax Payments – English | Spanish

California taxis sue Uber, allege false advertising, unfair competition

Taxi drivers in California must submit to fingerprinting for criminal background checks. UberX drivers don't have to. Yet Uber Technologies advertises itself as "the safest rides on the road" and executives tout Uber as "safer than a taxi.”

That's deceptive advertising and has caused "significant harm" to the taxi industry, 19 cab companies in California claimed Wednesday morning in a lawsuit filed in federal court. The companies allege that Uber’s false claims hurt the profits and reputations of the taxi business, and are seeking an injunction against what they call false claims, and unspecified damages.

The plaintiffs include cab companies up and down the state, from San Francisco to Palm Springs to San Diego, though most are located near Los Angeles. Southland companies include All Yellow Taxi in Gardena, Bell Cab in Hawthorne, Cabco Yellow in Santa Ana and LA City Cab in Sun Valley.

የአፍሪካ መሪዎችና አውሮፕላ ናቸው::

የአፍሪካ መሪዎችና አውሮፕላ ናቸው::
እንደዚህ ዘገባ የአፍሪካ መሪዎች አንዳንዶቹ የፕሬዜዳንት አውሮፕላን ሲኖራቸው አንዶች ደግሞ ከሌላ ሰው ኮንትራት ይዘው ወይም ደግሞ ከሌላ አገር መሪ ጋር ተዳብለው እንደሚጏዙ ተዘግቧል። ሰሞኑን የአለም መሳለቂያ ሆኖ የሰነበተው የኦጋንዳው መሪ ፕሬዜዳንት ሞሶቮኒ የኬንያ አዬር መንገድን ጠርተው አዬር መንገዱ ግን የሞሶቬንን ጥያቄ ጆሮ ዳባ ልበስ በማለቱ ሞዞቮኒ አንጀታቸው እርር ድብን ብሎ የኢትዮጵያን አዬር መንገድ ጠርተው ካሰቡት ሄደዋል:: እንደ ዘገባው ማብራሪያ ብዙዎቹ የአፍሪካ መሪዎች አውሮፕላን የሌላቸው ሲሆን የዝምባቡዌ መሪ ግን ከፈረንሳይ አየር መንገድ ሱፕር ሶኒክ የተባለውን አውሮፕላን ተከራይቶ የሚወደውን ብስኩት ለመግዛት ከሃራሪ ፓሪስ የሚበር ሲሆን የሩዋንዳው መሪ አውሮፕላን ደግሞ ሰራ ከሌለው በኮንትራት ተቀጥሮ ሲሸቅል ይውላል። ለምሳሌ ባለፈው ኦባማ የአፍሪካ መሪወችን ዋሽንግተን ለስብሰባ ሲጠራ የቀድሞው የማላዊ ፕሬዘዳንት የቦጽዋናውን ፕሬዜዳንት እግረ መንገድህን ውሰደኝ ብሎት ፕሬዘዳንቱን ጥሎት በመሄዱ ተኮራርፈው እንደነበር ምንጮ ይጠቁማሉ። የማሊው ፕሬዜዳንት የአርባ ሚሊዮን ዶላር አውሮፕላን ገዝቶ የ አለም ባንክ ይህ የቅንጦት እቃ ነው ብሎ ብድር የከለከልው ሲሆን በየሱዳኑ ፕሬዜዳንት አል በሽር በተከራየው አውሮፕላን ሳውዲ አረብያ

Jimmy Thoronka, the athlete from Sierra Leone became homeless

Jimmy Thoronka, the athlete from Sierra Leone who disappeared at the end of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last August and was then arrested in London on Friday, has been released from police custody and taken to Home Office accommodation.

The whereabouts of the 20-year-old, Sierra Leone’s leading 100m sprinter, had been a mystery until last week.

He was arrested for overstaying his visa and held at Walworth police station, where he claimed asylum. Speaking to the Guardian before his arrest, he said he hadn’t wanted to go home after hearing that his adoptive family had been wiped out in the Ebola crisis.

Immigration officials took over his case while he was in custody and he was released at about 10pm on Saturday night.

“I am so happy that I am free again,” he said on Sunday. “At first I was told that they were going to send me back to Sierra Leone and I cried and cried. I was very
Thoronka, who has spent the winter living rough in London, said two plainclothes police officers arrested him as he was hurrying to a park where he had left a bag. He said he was asked about drugs, searched and taken to a police station, where officers brought him tea and blankets.

A Sierra Leone government spokesman said it was aware of Thoronka’s ordeal and that his village in the Bombali district had been badly hit by Ebola. “All that area is currently under quarantine,” he said.

John Momodu Kargbo, who heads an Ebola response team in the district said his village was in the poorest chiefdom of the Bombali region.