U.S. silence worries Ethiopians

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Also in the news:
[Hundreds Hospitalized in Somali Unrest] - [Ugandan troops in Somalia this week: Somali president] - [US warship tackles Somali pirates] - [Activists' trial halted again] - [Ethiopia second lowest in World chubbiness survey]

International:
[Senegal's president ahead as results trickle in] - [Iraqi Vice President wounded in bombing] - [Reporter: U.S. planning Iran bombs] - [How The Nazis Conned The World] - [Oscar glory goes to Scorsese and The Departed] and more of today's top stories!

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March 2 - worldwide candlelight vigil for prisoners of Conscience in Ethiopia

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100,000 letters-in-ten-days campaign

Surely, by now you have heard of the 100,000 letters-in-10-days campaign, but have you participated yet? (More...)
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U.S. silence worries Ethiopians

Ethiopians fear that the Bush administration's pursuit of alleged terrorists in the Horn of Africa is diverting attention from a human rights crackdown by their prime minister

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Journalists here don't criticize the government much anymore, perhaps because doing so has landed at least 15 of them in prison on treason charges.

Since a bloody crackdown after elections in 2005, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi also has tried dozens of opposition leaders on treason charges, blocked antigovernment websites and attempted to muzzle an independent inquiry into the postelection violence, which found that government security forces had killed 193 civilians.(More...)

Activists' trial halted again

Legalbrief Africa

The Federal High Court in Ethiopia has once again adjourned the trial of 111 opposition activists and journalists, including more than 70 defendants who have been held in custody since November 2005 on charges of instigating unrest to overthrow the government.

Federal High Court Judge Adil Ahmed adjourned the trial until March 5, according to a report from Irin, saying a speech allegedly made in the US Congress by one of the defendants - the leader of the main opposition party, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), Hailu Shawl before his arrest - needed to be translated from English into Amharic. (More...)

Hundreds Hospitalized in Somali Unrest

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Hundreds of civilians have been wounded in recent fighting in the Somali capital between Ethiopian-backed government forces and Islamic insurgents, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Saturday.

AP Television filmed a number of people being brought to Mogadishu's Madina hospital, though it was not clear how they were injured.

The capital of 2 (m) million people remained tense on Saturday as families continued to flee to safer areas outside the coastal city.(More...)

Ugandan troops in Somalia this week: Somali president

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) - Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed on Monday said a deployment of Ugandan troops to Somalia, the first members of an 8,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force, should begin this week.

"The African Union is coming, the Ugandans are coming. My estimation is that they should be in Somalia for the first week of next month (which begins Thursday)," he said at the fifth Sanaa Forum for cooperation, a gathering of leaders from Yemen, Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia.(More...)

US warship tackles Somali pirates

A US warship is heading towards the Somali coast where a United Nations-chartered cargo ship was hijacked by pirates, say aid officials. UN staff say the hijacked ship, the MV Rozen, is at anchor after delivering food aid in north-eastern Somalia.

There have been no reports of demands from the pirates who boarded the ship armed with AK-47s. It is not known if any of the 12 crew have been injured. Piracy was rampant in Somalia, but stopped during recent Islamist rule.(More...)

Senegalese vote in one of Africa’s most stable democracies

DAKAR, Senegal - The president of one of Africa’s most stable democracies sought another five-year term Sunday, jostling with 14 contenders in a race that may hinge on the votes of young people hungry for jobs.

Early results reported by Senegalese Press indicated President Abdoulaye Wade was in the lead but did not say by how much. It was not known how many votes had been counted, but they included polling stations in key cities including the capital Dakar and Thies, the agency said.

The first official results are not expected to be released by the electoral commission until Monday night, Election Commissioner Issa Sall told The Associated Press.(More...)

Ethiopia second lowest in World chubbiness survey

In a list of the countries with the greatest percentage of overweight people, Nauru tops a list with an alarming 94.5% of its adult population (ages 15+) classified as such, based on the most recent estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to Forbes Magazine, Ethiopia and Eritrea rank as the lowest countries with fat people. 5.6 % of its adult population over ages 15+ in Ethiopia is overweight and Eritrea is declared as a country where the lowest percentage of overweight people live in, as only 4.4 % of the population are overweight.

There are currently 1.6 billion overweight adults in the world. In just 10 years, the WHO projects that number will grow by 40%.(More...)

Today's Top Stories

-Iraqi Vice President wounded, 12 killed in bombing at ministry
-Bush To Musharraf: Deal Or No Deal?
-Ill Iraqi President in Jordan for Tests
-Israeli forces raid Nablus
-Reporter: U.S. planning Iran bombs
-Political problems mount for Ahmadinejad
-Serbia cleared of responsibility for genocide
-How The Nazis Conned The World (Used A Children's Opera To Deceive International Observers)
-Farewell appearance for Farrakhan
-Oscar glory goes to Scorsese and The Departed
-Retarded mice get smarter with drug





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