A World Cup berth appears unlikely after their home defeat to Nigeria but a growing legion of Ethiopian fans are taking to Twitter to lure overseas-based players eligible to represent the Walyas. Nigeria came from behind to snatch a last-gasp 2-1 win over Ethiopia in the first leg of their playoff in Addis Ababa after two goals from Emmanuel Emenike helped them take a big step towards next year's finals in Brazil.

Ethiopia, however, is not the sole recipient of aid, loans or developmental assistance from China. The country is fourth on a long list - behind Ghana, Nigeria and Sudan - among the top African beneficiaries of Chinese largesse. Since 2002, China has invested an estimated $75bn on the continent, hot on the heels of the United States, which invested $90bn during the same period. The US might still hold the edge over China on investment, but the Chinese replaced the US as Africa's biggest trade partner in 2009.

The idea is to stimulate young entrepreneurs in both Africa and India and to build connections between them across the Indian Ocean. “We are trying to enter people’s minds and give them a better understanding of other cultures,” he elucidates.

Ethiopia's decision to begin diverting the course of the Blue Nile (the largest of the Nile river’s branches), as a prelude to the construction of the Renaissance Dam, put Egyptian diplomacy in a difficult position and stirred fears over Cairo’s declining share in the Nile waters, but the Egyptian presidency managed to tame these fears.

Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara D. Sonenshine will travel to Ethiopia to meet with government officials, local media, students, and activists to advance shared goals in the areas of press freedom, education, youth development, and conservation April 27-30.

Ethiopian Ambassadors and heads of Mission from all Ethiopian missions abroad and Director Generals at the head office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today (April 1st) began a five-day meeting in Addis Ababa.

The Ethiopian Embassy in India has announced that it is to launch a Cultural and Tourism Center to introduce African culture to Indians in November 2012. It is expected that center is to be the first of its kind in India. The center is to be an indispensable element to promoting African values and Ethiopian culture in particular according to Metasebia Tadesse, Counselor for Political, Public Relations, Public Diplomacy.

Electricity is a key to Ethiopia’s future. However, historically, proposed exploitation of these resources has brought it in to diplomatic conflict with downstream states, namely Egypt. Now Ethiopia has more successfully levied its regional diplomatic power to ensure the Egyptian government is no longer able to block its attempts to produce the hydroelectric power and irrigation necessary to power its growing economy.