Haileselassie's Band of Armenian Orphans A bond forged through a common Orthodox faith left a lasting imprint on Ethiopia’s music Irina Costache | October 10, 2025 The 40 Armenian orphans with their leader, Kevork Nalbandian , in the middle holding a violin. (From the archives of St. George Armenian Apostolic Church in Addis Ababa , Ethiopia) In the spring of 1924, Ras Tafari Makonnen , Ethiopia’s crown prince, regent plenipotentiary and de facto ruler, embarked on a diplomatic world tour. His country had just become the first African nation admitted to the League of Nations , and the prince (later to become Emperor Haile Selassie ) wanted to thank the countries that had supported Ethiopia’s candidacy, display his country’s modernity and ensure its sovereignty would be respected. Before continuing toward Europe, Tafari made a stop in Jerusalem. Back home, the Ethiopian Church questioned the prince’s religious devotion, so the visit was meant to be a symbolic demonst...
Sisi is trying to distract Egyptians from his corrupt leadership. He seems to have a short memory, Tahrir Uprising only a decade-and-half ago. How does he distract this time? Start a proxy war connected to the Nile, the lifeblood of Egypt. Tell the public that Ethiopia is emptying the Nile (quite a feat), or as his predecessors long ago feared, was planning to poison the waters! It's all nonsense, of course. Now, consider spending $56 billion on spanking new military city (The Octagon) at a time of high unemployment, human rights abuses, economic crisis, and Sisi government making profit from Palestinian suffering. The "Coalition of Seven" that Isaias organized on behalf of Sisi is supposed to serve two purposes: first, by fear-mongering both Isaias and Sisi hope to subdue their respective publics from rising up against their dictatorial rule; secondly, Isaias would benefit in cash and in steady supply of armament (a supply he could never get enough of). Nearly two dec...
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