Ethiopian crash victims were aid workers, doctors, academics

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Sarah Auffret from the UK was identified as a victim of the doomed Ethiopian Airlines flight which crashed shortly after take off from Addis Ababa on Sunday Morning. (AP)
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Reverend Norman Tendis a long-time pastor in the protestant congregation of St. Ruprecht in Villach, Austria who has been named among those aboard the doomed Ethiopian Airlines flight from Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa on Sunday, March 10, 2019. (AP)
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Karoline Aadland, a finance officer for The Red Cross of Norway, was also killed in the crash. (Red Cross of Norway via AP)
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Pius Adesanmi. Adesanmi, a Nigerian professor with Carleton University in Ottowa, Canada, was one of the victims. (AP)
Updated 11 March 2019
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Ethiopian crash victims were aid workers, doctors, academics

  • The victims included three Austrian physicians, the co-founder of an international aid organization, a career ambassador and the wife and children of a Slovak legislator

ADDIS ABABA: Three Austrian physicians. The co-founder of an international aid organization. A career ambassador. The wife and children of a Slovak legislator. A Nigerian-born Canadian college professor and satirist. They were among the 157 people from 35 countries who died Sunday morning when an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 jetliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa en route to Nairobi, Kenya. Here are some of their stories.
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Kenya: 32 victims
— Hussein Swaleh, the former secretary general of the Football Kenya Federation, was named as being among the dead by Sofapaka Football Club. He was returning home on the flight after working as the match commissioner in an African Champions League game in Egypt on Friday.
— Cedric Asiavugwa, who studied international business and economic law at Georgetown University in Washington, was on his way to Nairobi after the death of his fiancee's mother, the university said in a statement.
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Canada: 18 victims
— Pius Adesanmi, a Nigerian professor with Carleton University in Ottawa, was on his way to a meeting of the African Union's Economic, Social and Cultural Council in Nairobi, Nigeria's representative to the panel, John O. Oba, told The Associated Press.




Pius Adesanmi


Adesanmi is the author of "Naija No Dey Carry Last," a collection of satirical essays.
"Pius was a towering figure in African and post-colonial scholarship and his sudden loss is a tragedy," said Benoit-Antoine Bacon, Carleton's president and vice chancellor.
Adesanmi was the winner of the inaugural Penguin Prize for African non-fiction writing in 2010.
—Mohamed Hassan Ali confirmed that he had lost his sister and niece.
Ali said his sister, Amina Ibrahim Odowaa, 33, and her 5-year-old daughter, Sofia Faisal Abdulkadir, were on board the jet. He said his sister lived in Edmonton and was travelling to Kenya to visit with relatives.
— Derick Lwugi, an accountant with the City of Calgary, was also among the victims, his wife, Gladys Kivia, said. He leaves behind three children, aged 17, 19 and 20. Lwugi had been headed to Kenya to visit both of their parents.
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Ethiopia: 9 victims
— Catholic Relief Services said four of its Ethiopian staff members died. The aid group in a statement says Sara Chalachew, Getnet Alemayehu, Sintayehu Aymeku, and Mulusew Alemu had been traveling to Nairobi for training.
The four had worked with the organization for as long as a decade. They worked in procurement, logistics and finance.
— The aid group Save the Children said an Ethiopian colleague died in the crash.
Tamirat Mulu Demessie was a technical adviser on child protection in emergencies and "worked tirelessly to ensure that vulnerable children are safe during humanitarian crises," the group said in a statement.
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China: 8 victims
— A statement from the Chinese Embassy in Addis Ababa said the Chinese victims included five men and three women, including one person from the semi-autonomous region of Hong Kong.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said two United Nations workers were among the eight Chinese killed. Four were working for a Chinese company and two had travelled to Ethiopia for "private matters."
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Italy: 8 victims
— Paolo Dieci, one of the founders of the International Committee for the Development of Peoples, was among the dead, the group said on its website.
"The world of international cooperation has lost one of its most brilliant advocates and Italian civil society has lost a precious point of reference," wrote the group, which partners with UNICEF in northern Africa. UNICEF Italia sent a tweet of condolences over Dieci's death, noting that the group was a partner in Kenya, Libya and Algeria.
— Sebastiano Tusa, the Sicilian regional assessor to the Italian Culture Ministry, was en route to Nairobi when the plane crashed, according to Sicilian regional President Nello Musemeci. Tusa was also a noted underwater archaeologist.
— The World Food Program confirmed that two of the Italian victims worked for the Rome-based U.N. agency. A WFP spokeswoman identified the victims as Virginia Chimenti and Maria Pilar Buzzetti.
— Three other Italians worked for the Bergamo-based humanitarian agency, Africa Tremila: Carlo Spini, his wife, Gabriella Viggiani and the treasurer, Matteo Ravasio.
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United States: 8 victims
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France: 7 victims
— A group representing members of the African diaspora in Europe is mourning the loss of its co-chairperson and "foremost brother," Karim Saafi. The 38-year-old French-Tunisian was on an official mission representing the African Diaspora Youth Forum in Europe, the group announced on its Facebook page.
"Karim's smile, his charming and generous personality, eternal positivity, and his noble contribution to Youth employment, diaspora engagement and Africa's socio-economic development will never be forgotten," the post read. Saafi left behind a fiancee.
— Sarah Auffret, a French-British national living in Tromsoe, northern Norway, was on the plane, the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators said. Auffret, a staffer, was on the way to Nairobi to talk about a Cleans Seas project in connection with the U.N. Environment Assembly this week, the company said in a statement.
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Britain: 7 victims
— Joanna Toole, a 36-year-old from Exmouth, Devon, was heading to Nairobi to attend the United Nations Environment Assembly. Her father, Adrian, described her as a "very soft and loving" woman whose "work was not a job — it was her vocation."


He told the DevonLive website Toole used to keep homing pigeons and pet rats and traveled to the remote Faroe Islands to prevent whaling.
— Joseph Waithaka, 55, lived in Hull, England for a decade before moving back to his native Kenya, also died in the crash, his son told the Hull Daily Mail. Ben Kuria said his father had worked for the Probation Service, adding: "He helped so many people in Hull who had found themselves on the wrong side of the law."
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Egypt: 6 victims
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Germany: 5 victims
— The U.N. migration agency said that one of its staffers, German citizen Anne-Katrin Feigl, was en route to a training course in Nairobi.
— Rev. Norman Tendis was a long-time pastor in the protestant congregation of St. Ruprecht in Villach, Austria. The World Council of Churches said Monday that he was traveling to a U.N. environment summit in Nairobi. The 51-year-old is survived by his wife and three children.

 




Reverend Norman Tendis. (AP)


— The German development aid organization GIZ said one of its staff was also on the plane. GIZ spokeswoman Tanja Stumpff said the woman was on a business trip. She declined to provide further details, citing privacy reasons.
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India: 4 victims
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Slovakia: 4 victims
— A lawmaker of the Slovak Parliament said his wife, daughter and son were killed in the crash. Anton Hrnko, a legislator for the ultra-nationalist Slovak National Party, said he was "in deep grief" over the deaths of his wife, Blanka; son, Martin; and daughter, Michala. Their ages weren't immediately available.
Martin Hrnko worked for the Bubo travel agency and was traveling on vacation to Kenya, the agency said.
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Sweden: 4 victims
— Hospitality company Tamarind Group announced "with immense shock and grief" that its chief executive Jonathan Seex was among the fatalities.
— The Stockholm-based Civil Rights Defenders, an international human rights group, said employee Josefin Ekermann, 30, was on board the plane. Ekermann, who worked to support human rights defenders, was on her way to meet Kenyan partner organizations. The group's executive director, Anders L. Pettersson, says "Josefin was a highly appreciated and respected colleague."
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Austria: 3 victims
—Austrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Peter Guschelbauer confirmed that three Austrian doctors in their early 30s were on board the flight. The men were on their way to Zanzibar, he said, but he could not confirm the purpose of their trip.
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Russia: 3 victims
—The Russian Embassy in Ethiopia said airline authorities had identified its deceased citizens as Yekaterina Polyakova, Alexander Polyakov and Sergei Vyalikov.
Russian news reports identified Polyakova and Polyakov as a married couple. State news agency RIA-Novosibirsk said the three were visiting Africa as tourists.
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Israel: 2 victims
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Morocco: 2 victims
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Poland: 2 victims
— Poland's Foreign Ministry says two victims were men and not related to each other. The ministry does not plan to say more about them, citing the need to respect privacy and the interest of the men's families.
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Spain: 2 victims
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Belgium: 1 victim
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Djibouti: 1 victim
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Indonesia: 1 victim
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Ireland: 1 victim
— Irishman Michael Ryan was among seven people from the United Nations' World Food Program who were killed.

The Rome-based aid worker and engineer known as Mick was thought to be married with two children. His work projects included creating safe conditions for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and assessing the damage to rural roads in Nepal that were blocked by landslides.
His mother, Christine Ryan, told broadcaster RTE "he never wanted a 9 to 5 job. He put everything into his work."
Irish premier Leo Varadkar said: "Michael was doing life-changing work in Africa with the World Food Program."
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Mozambique: 1 victim
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Nepal: 1 victim
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Nigeria: 1 victim
—The Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it received the news of retired Ambassador Abiodun Oluremi Bashu's death "with great shock."
Bashu was born in Ibadan in 1951 and joined the Nigerian Foreign Service in 1976. He had served in different capacities both at headquarters and abroad, including in Austria, Ivory Coast and Tehran, Iran. He also served as secretary to the Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
At the time of his death, Bashu was on contract with the United Nations Economic Commission of Africa.
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Norway: 1 victim
—The Red Cross of Norway confirmed that Karoline Aadland, a finance officer, was on the flight. Aadland, 28, was originally from Bergen, Norway. The Red Cross said she was traveling to Nairobi for a meeting.
Aadland's Linkedin page says she had done humanitarian and environmental work. It says her work and studies had taken her to France, Kenya, South Africa and Malawi.




Karoline Aadland


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Rwanda: 1 victim
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Saudi Arabia: 1 victim
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Serbia: 1 victim
Serbia's Foreign Ministry confirmed that a citizen of Serbia was on the plane and gave no details. Serbian media identified him as Djordje Vdovic, 54. The Vecernje Novosti newspaper reported Vdovic worked for the U.N. World Food Program.
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Somalia: 1 victim
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Sudan: 1 victim
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Togo: 1 victim
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Uganda: 1 victim
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Yemen: 1 victim
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U.N. passport: 1 victim
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FBI thwarts Iranian murder-for-hire plan targeting Donald Trump

Updated 9 sec ago
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FBI thwarts Iranian murder-for-hire plan targeting Donald Trump

Shakeri told the FBI he didn’t plan to propose a plan to murder Trump
The plot reflects what federal officials have described as ongoing efforts by Iran to target US government officials

WASHINGTON: The Justice Department unsealed criminal charges Friday in a thwarted Iranian plot to kill President-elect Donald Trump before this week’s presidential election.
A criminal complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan alleges that an unnamed official in Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard instructed a contact this past September to put together a plan to surveil and ultimately kill Trump.
If the man, identified as Farjad Shakeri, was unable to create a plan by then, the complaint said, the official told him Iran would pause its plan until after the presidential election because the official believed Trump would lose and it would be easier to assassinate him then, the complaint said.
Shakeri told the FBI he didn’t plan to propose a plan to murder Trump within the seven days the official had requested, according to the complaint.
The plot, with the charges unsealed just days after Trump’s defeat of Democrat Kamala Harris, reflects what federal officials have described as ongoing efforts by Iran to target US government officials, including Trump, on US soil.

Russia says summoned Canadian diplomat to reject Western sabotage accusations

Updated 25 min 13 sec ago
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Russia says summoned Canadian diplomat to reject Western sabotage accusations

  • Moscow said the Canadian diplomat “was told that these speculations” were being spread in a “coordinated manner, in the context of the hybrid war” being waged against Russia
  • Russia blasted the allegations as “false,” “unacceptable” and part of a “provocation” being led by the US

MOSCOW: Moscow summoned a Canadian diplomat on Friday to rebut Western allegations that Russia’s secret services had orchestrated a campaign to mail explosive packages to addresses in NATO countries, including Canada.
After a series of fires at DHL depots in Britain and Germany this summer, Russia was accused of being behind a brazen plot to ship explosive parcels via commercial airliners.
Ottawa expressed its concern earlier this week to Russian officials after Poland and Lithuania announced several arrests as a result of a probe into attempts to send parcels packaged with explosives on cargo flights to the United States and Canada.
“The deputy head of the Canadian diplomatic mission in Moscow was summoned and handed an official note in connection with the false accusations of alleged planned ‘Russian sabotage’ against NATO countries,” Russia’s foreign ministry said.
Moscow said the Canadian diplomat “was told that these speculations” were being spread in a “coordinated manner, in the context of the hybrid war” being waged against Russia by the West.
Russia blasted the allegations as “false,” “unacceptable” and part of a “provocation” being led by the United States.
Canada’s public safety ministry said Ottawa is “aware of and deeply concerned with Russia’s intensifying campaign, from cyber incidents and disinformation operations to sabotage activities.”
It confirmed the Canadian government had “expressed this concern directly to Russian officials and unequivocally stated that any threat to the safety and security of Canadians is unacceptable.”
The ministry added there was “no imminent threat” to the public but said Canada “will continue to monitor the situation very closely.”
Canada’s Transport Minister Anita Anand told reporters on Wednesday that she required “more information” on the alleged plot but said she would taking “additional steps” to ensure the safety of passengers and packages, without providing details.
The reported plot, involving civilian airlines, comes amid growing concern in the West at what it sees as Russia’s increasingly reckless espionage and sabotage operations inside NATO countries.
“Russian intelligence services have gone a bit feral, frankly,” Richard Moore, head of Britain’s MI6 secret intelligence service said in September in rare public remarks.


Governor Koike discusses areas of cooperation with Egyptian Prime Minister Madbouly

Updated 08 November 2024
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Governor Koike discusses areas of cooperation with Egyptian Prime Minister Madbouly

  • Dr. Mostafa Madbouly congratulated Koike on her re-election as Governor of Tokyo
  • The Prime Minister also lauded Japan’s contribution to implementing the Japanese Tokkatsu educational system

TOKYO: Governor of Tokyo, Koike Yuriko, who is visiting Cairo, met Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly on Friday at the government headquarters in the New Administrative Capital and discussed several cooperation initiatives, Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) officials told Arab News Japan.
The officials said Dr. Amr Talaat, Egypt’s Minister of Communications, and Information Technology; Ambassador Ahmed Shahin, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Asian Affairs; Mr. Katsunobu Takada, Chargé d’Affaires at the Japanese Embassy in Cairo, and Governor Koike’s accompanying delegation attended the meeting.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Prime Minister warmly welcomed Governor Koike and her delegation. He underscored the strategic and historical relations between Egypt and Japan, a testament to the enduring bond that continues to flourish in various fields.
Dr. Mostafa Madbouly congratulated Koike on her re-election as Governor of Tokyo in July for the third consecutive term and expressed his hopes for continued close coordination on various areas of bilateral cooperation.
The Prime Minister also expressed his fervent hope that Japan’s Prime Minister, alongside Governor Koike, will grace the official opening ceremony of the Grand Egyptian Museum once the project is finalized. He also extended his gratitude for Japan’s substantial contributions to major development projects in Egypt, including the museum.
Dr. Madbouly highlighted the Grand Egyptian Museum project as one of the foremost examples of cooperation between Cairo and Tokyo, along with the Egyptian Japanese educational partnership, exemplified by the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology and Japanese Egyptian schools.
The Prime Minister also lauded Japan’s contribution to implementing the Japanese Tokkatsu educational system, affirming that Egypt is planning to expand this system. He attributed this decision to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s directive, acknowledging the system’s remarkable success and high quality.
Dr. Madbouly also highlighted the ongoing cooperation between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and TMG through the “SUSHI Tech Tokyo” initiative, a platform for promoting technological innovation, and the “Tokyo Innovation Base” platform, a hub for fostering entrepreneurial activities and technological advancements.
In turn, Governor Koike praised the bilateral cooperation between Egypt and Japan, expressing her happiness to visit Egypt, where she has unforgettable memories, having studied at Cairo University.
Koike also commended the well-organized 12th World Urban Forum, a global platform for discussing urban issues and solutions, which attracted a wide global audience.
In the meeting, Tokyo Governor Koike invited the Prime Minister, the Minister of Communications, and other Egyptian entities to participate in the upcoming “SUSHI Tech Tokyo” forum, scheduled for the first half of 2025. She noted that Japan has worked over the years to establish itself as a hub for startups and a welcoming environment for entrepreneurs.
Dr. Amr Talaat discussed several collaborative programs with Koike in information and communication technology, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and entrepreneurship. They explored the potential for experience exchange in business incubators for small projects across various sectors, including financial services, health care, and education.
Talaat highlighted that one of the main areas of cooperation with Tokyo’s government is in the startup and entrepreneurship sectors.
Governor Koike is in Egypt on the first leg of a tour of the region that includes Abu Dhabi of the UAE.


Germany brushes off Musk calling Scholz a ‘fool’

Updated 08 November 2024
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Germany brushes off Musk calling Scholz a ‘fool’

  • Government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann took a playful dig at the US tycoon, saying that “on X, you have Narrenfreiheit,” which translates to the freedom to act like a fool
  • A tight-lipped Scholz simply called it “not very friendly“

BERLIN: German officials on Friday brushed off tech billionaire Elon Musk labelling Olaf Scholz a “fool” on his social media platform X after the dramatic collapse of the chancellor’s coalition government.
In a comment Thursday above a post about the implosion of Scholz’s long-troubled coalition, the world’s richest man tweeted in German: “Olaf ist ein Narr” — “Olaf is a fool.”
Asked about Musk’s comment, government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann took a playful dig at the US tycoon, saying that “on X, you have Narrenfreiheit,” which translates to the freedom to act like a fool.
The word refers to revellers during Germany’s traditional carnival season, which starts next week, having the freedom to act without inhibitions.
Historically, the term echoes the notion of the “jester’s privilege” — the right of a court jester to mock those in power without being punished by the king.
Asked later about the comment, a tight-lipped Scholz simply called it “not very friendly,” adding that Internet companies are “not organs of state so I did not even pay it any attention.”
Musk strongly supported US election winner Donald Trump, and is now positioned to take up a role in his administration as a deputy tasked with restructuring government operations.
It is not the first time the Tesla boss has had run-ins with German officials online.
Last year he said Berlin-funded migrant rescue operations in the Mediterranean could be seen as an “invasion” of Italy, sparking a terse response from the German foreign ministry.
He has also expressed sympathy for some of the positions of Germany’s far-right AfD party, which has notched up a string of recent electoral successes and is riding high in the opinion polls.


First flight with Israelis evacuated from Amsterdam lands in Tel Aviv

Updated 08 November 2024
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First flight with Israelis evacuated from Amsterdam lands in Tel Aviv

  • The plane that arrived in Tel Aviv had passengers evacuated from Amsterdam

TEL AVIV: The first flight carrying Israelis evacuated from Amsterdam after violent clashes following a football match there landed on Friday at Ben Gurion International Airport, the Israel Airports Authority said.
“The plane that arrived in Tel Aviv now has passengers evacuated from Amsterdam,” Liza Dvir, spokeswoman for the airport authority told AFP.