The Week in review plus weekend news

_________________________________
Weekend Top Stories:
[Suicide bomber kills 7 near Somali PM's home] - [The Plight of Journalists Around The World] - [U.S. Warship Bombards Somalia Militants] - [Ethiopia wants British Queen to return royal bones] and more of the weekend's top stories!
__________________________________

The Week in Review

TOP STORIES FROM THE PAST WEEK

• Serkalem Fasil of Ethiopia wins 2007 'Courage in Journalism' Award, donates winnings to CPJ and Amnesty
• Roadside bomb targets Ethiopian forces in Somalia
• Horror stories of torture hound Ethiopia as it proclaims commitment to reform

__________________________________


Picture - Prince Alemayehu Tewodros, Only son of Emperor Tewodros II. (Bruce Anderson, britishempire.co.uk)

Ethiopia wants British Queen to return royal bones: Ethiopia has called on Britain's Queen Elizabeth to return the bones of an orphan prince buried at Windsor Castle after he was spirited from his homeland by British soldiers nearly 140 years ago.(More...)


The Plight of Journalists Around The World

Report by followthemedia.com's Philip M. Stone

...In Ethiopia, journalists are prosecuted on charges of “treason,” “conspiracy” to overthrow the government, or defamation. Through licensing and registration systems, restrictions on cross-ownership, harsh press offences and an obedient press council, the government holds endless means to harm and control the press.

In 2006 alone, eight newspapers were reportedly banned. Starting to realize the potential of Internet, the government ordered to block websites critical of the authorities and users of Internet cafes to be registered.

..In Somalia, journalists have been caught in the military standoff between the Islamists, backed by neighboring Eritrea, and the transitional government, backed by Ethiopia. Arbitrary arrests, brutal interrogations, threats and seizures of materials are constant.

In March, the authorities issued a decree that prohibits activities of media groups without prior consent of the government. Four radio journalists have been killed in crossfire since the beginning of the year.(More...)

Suicide bomber kills 7 near Somali PM's home

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed seven people outside the Somali prime minister's home in Mogadishu on Sunday, just hours after an official said Western jihadists were among the dead from U.S. strikes in the north.

Security sources said Ali Mohamed Gedi was unhurt, but five soldiers and two civilians died when the bomber detonated a car rigged with explosives at the gates of his residence in a heavily guarded neighbourhood of the capital.(More...)

U.S. Warship Bombards Somalia Militants

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - A U.S. warship pounded Somalia's remote coastal northeast, targeting Islamic militants hours after a gunbattle with Somali government forces that left eight insurgents dead, officials said Saturday.

The fighting late Friday, which the provincial government said included an American militant, appeared to mark the opening of a new front against Islamic militants in Puntland, a semiautonomous region that has remained relatively peaceful through Somalia's anarchy.(More...)

Also see:
-'Foreign fighters' die in Somalia

Triumphant Ethiopia back in Nations Cup reckoning

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) - Ethiopia edged the Democratic Republic of Congo 1-0 to throw their African Nations Cup qualifying group wide open. 31 minutes at the National Stadium in the Ethiopian capital to lift the hosts above Libya and Namibia into second spot in Group 10 behind the Congolese.

DR Congo, seeking a ninth consecutive appearance at the biennial showcase of African football, have seven points, Ethiopia six, Libya four and Namibia three with only the group winners guaranteed a place among the 16 finalists.(More...)

G-8 Protests in Germany Turn Violent; Police Hurt

ROSTOCK, Germany June 2, 2007, 3:23 p.m. ET · Masked demonstrators showered police with grapefruit-sized rocks and beer bottles, then were driven back with water cannon and tear gas during a protest march Saturday against the upcoming Group of Eight summit in Germany.

The clashes left smoke from burning cars and the sting of tear gas drifting through the harborfront area in the north German port of Rostock. Some 146 police were hurt, 18 of them seriously. Radicals "are smashing everything in their way to pieces," said Karsten Wolff, a police spokesman. There were no immediate numbers for arrests.(More...)

Also see:
-Bush’s Greenhouse Gas Plan Throws Europe Off Guard





________________________________________