EHRCO: Release or Prosecute those Detained in Nekemte

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

____________________

Also:
- Today's Top HEADLINES
- INTERNATIONAL news
- Picture of the Day
____________________

Plea to all Ethiopians regardless of Political Party Affiliation

____________________

(ETHIOPIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL - EHRCO)

Urgent Appeal -- Police in Nekemte town, Eastern Wellega Zone in the Oromia Region, detained fifteen people since August 23, 2007 without taking them to a court of law until the date of issuance of this report.

The police came with a search warrant stating that they are suspected of hiding arms and papers calling for violence. However, although they searched their homes and found nothing, they took away the individuals without an arrest warrant and held them in detention since then.

Three of the detainees are Executive Committee Members of EHRCO's Nekemte Branch Office.

*Released on August 30, 2007 around 6:00 PM

EHRCO expresses its grave concern over the detention of its members and other citizens and urges the government to immediately take them to a court of law or release them.

EHRCO also calls on those who stand for the respect of human rights, local and international human rights groups, government envoys and concerned individuals to exert pressure on the government to take the detainees to a court of law or to release them without delay.(MORE...)

Today's Top HEADLINES

-EACA chairman’s letter to the UN on the Ogaden (Ethiopian American Civic Advocacy)
-MSF says blocked from Ethiopia's volatile Ogaden
-UN Assessing Needs of Civilians in Ogaden(AUDIO REPORT)
-CUD Accuses Government for 'Mishandling' Inflation
-ETHIOPIA FINALIZES STUDIES FOR BUILDING HYDROPOWER DAMS
-Somali govt. sacks its ambassador to Ethiopia
-Somalia opposition conference in Eritrea delayed
-US calls for urgent deployment of Somali peacekeepers
-TOP STORIES FROM LAST WEEK (The Week in Review)

_______________________

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THE WORLD’S OLDEST WOMAN DOING IN HOUSTON?
(Alemayehu G. Mariam)

We call her Dinkenesh. They call her “Lucy”. But what’s in a name? “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” said Shakespeare. But Lucy is one of a kind. She is unlike any other hominid fossil ever found. She is the most complete hominid skeleton of the Pliocene Epoch [1.8-5.3 million years ago]....But what in the world is she doing in Houston, Texas?(More...)

_______________________

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

-Guinea-Bissau 'to shoot down drug planes'
-Protests Persist in BURMAA, Despite Arrests
-Bush discusses Iraq, China military
-Shiite’s Tale: How Gulf With Sunnis Widened
-UN Says Iran's Cooperation a 'Significant Step Forward'
-Forbes: Merkel most powerful woman

_______________________

Musharraf's allies question deal with Bhutto

Allies of Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf have raised objections to a power-sharing deal he is negotiating with former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, casting fresh doubt on the future of the embattled president.(More..)

_______________________

Picture of the Day

(An Ethiopian reggae fan looks at photographs of Bob Marley at an exhibition in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.(Antony Njuguna/Reuters)
In February of 2005, MARC LACEY of the New York Times, who at the time Was covering the celebration of Marley’s birthday in Addis Abeba wrote, “If he had been onstage, Bob Marley would have waved his graying dreadlocks in the air and beseeched black people to continue struggling. In that lilting voice of his, he would have sung of love, of unity, of his beloved Ethiopia.”

Ethiopia held a special place in Marley’s heart; he regularly expressed his interest to move there permanently. Unfortunately, the emergence of the DERG hindered Marley’s wishes from becoming reality.

-MARLEY IN HIS OWN WORDS (VIDEO)



___________________________________

EHRCO: Release or Prosecute those Detained in Nekemte

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

____________________

Also:
- Today's Top HEADLINES
- INTERNATIONAL news
- Picture of the Day
____________________

Plea to all Ethiopians regardless of Political Party Affiliation

____________________

(ETHIOPIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL - EHRCO)

Urgent Appeal -- Police in Nekemte town, Eastern Wellega Zone in the Oromia Region, detained fifteen people since August 23, 2007 without taking them to a court of law until the date of issuance of this report.

The police came with a search warrant stating that they are suspected of hiding arms and papers calling for violence. However, although they searched their homes and found nothing, they took away the individuals without an arrest warrant and held them in detention since then.

Three of the detainees are Executive Committee Members of EHRCO's Nekemte Branch Office.

*Released on August 30, 2007 around 6:00 PM

EHRCO expresses its grave concern over the detention of its members and other citizens and urges the government to immediately take them to a court of law or release them.

EHRCO also calls on those who stand for the respect of human rights, local and international human rights groups, government envoys and concerned individuals to exert pressure on the government to take the detainees to a court of law or to release them without delay.(MORE...)

Today's Top HEADLINES

-EACA chairman’s letter to the UN on the Ogaden (Ethiopian American Civic Advocacy)
-MSF says blocked from Ethiopia's volatile Ogaden
-UN Assessing Needs of Civilians in Ogaden(AUDIO REPORT)
-CUD Accuses Government for 'Mishandling' Inflation
-ETHIOPIA FINALIZES STUDIES FOR BUILDING HYDROPOWER DAMS
-Somali govt. sacks its ambassador to Ethiopia
-Somalia opposition conference in Eritrea delayed
-US calls for urgent deployment of Somali peacekeepers
-TOP STORIES FROM LAST WEEK (The Week in Review)

_______________________

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THE WORLD’S OLDEST WOMAN DOING IN HOUSTON?
(Alemayehu G. Mariam)

We call her Dinkenesh. They call her “Lucy”. But what’s in a name? “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” said Shakespeare. But Lucy is one of a kind. She is unlike any other hominid fossil ever found. She is the most complete hominid skeleton of the Pliocene Epoch [1.8-5.3 million years ago]....But what in the world is she doing in Houston, Texas?(More...)

_______________________

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

-Guinea-Bissau 'to shoot down drug planes'
-Protests Persist in BURMAA, Despite Arrests
-Bush discusses Iraq, China military
-Shiite’s Tale: How Gulf With Sunnis Widened
-UN Says Iran's Cooperation a 'Significant Step Forward'
-Forbes: Merkel most powerful woman

_______________________

Musharraf's allies question deal with Bhutto

Allies of Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf have raised objections to a power-sharing deal he is negotiating with former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, casting fresh doubt on the future of the embattled president.(More..)

_______________________

Picture of the Day

(An Ethiopian reggae fan looks at photographs of Bob Marley at an exhibition in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.(Antony Njuguna/Reuters)
In February of 2005, MARC LACEY of the New York Times, who at the time Was covering the celebration of Marley’s birthday in Addis Abeba wrote, “If he had been onstage, Bob Marley would have waved his graying dreadlocks in the air and beseeched black people to continue struggling. In that lilting voice of his, he would have sung of love, of unity, of his beloved Ethiopia.”

Ethiopia held a special place in Marley’s heart; he regularly expressed his interest to move there permanently. Unfortunately, the emergence of the DERG hindered Marley’s wishes from becoming reality.

-MARLEY IN HIS OWN WORDS (VIDEO)



___________________________________

Norway to cut aid to Ethiopia

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

____________________

Also:
- Today's Top HEADLINES
- INTERNATIONAL news
- Picture of the Day
____________________

Plea to all Ethiopians regardless of Political Party Affiliation


____________________

30 Aug 2007 Report - Ethiopia's decision to expel six of nine Norwegian diplomats from the country means Ethiopia will lose around NOK 30 million in Norwegian development aid.

"This isn't a punishment, but a consequence of the fact that so many people at the Norwegian Embassy are being kicked out," Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told newspaper Aftenposten. That will leave a staffing shortage at the embassy, that will hinder its ability to handle foreign aid.

One of the diplomats' most important jobs involved monitoring the use of aid funds that are sent through the embassy. The total amounts to around NOK 100 million (about USD 16 million) this year alone.

With only three diplomats left on the embassy staff, capacity to handle aid funding is sharply reduced, and the aid itself will be reduced as well.

Most of the aid Norway extends to Ethiopia is channeled through the United Nations, and it won't be affected. Norway donated a total of NOK 268 million to Ethiopia last year.

Støre wouldn't say exactly what led to the expulsion, noting only that "we need to go through our experience." He expects to meet his Ethiopian counterpart in New York next month, at the US General Assembly. (Source)

Today's Top HEADLINES

-Ethiopia: The Annual Great Run postponed
-Chicago firm opens first IT Outsourcing Center in Ethiopia
-Exile at all costs for many young Eritreans
-Ordinary people, extraordinary deeds! (ethiomedia)
-African free-for-all? (Analysis)
-Coffee Price on the Rise: Who’s Going To Profit?(Analysis)
-TOP STORIES FROM LAST WEEK (The Week in Review)

_______________________

SOMALIA PEACE TALKS TO WRAP UP WITH NO PROGRESS

Talks aimed at ending 16 years of conflict in Somalia were due to wrap up Thursday, with diplomats saying the parley had made no progress after six weeks of marathon negotiations.(More...)

Also see: Somalia peace talks fail as UN roots for all-inclusive dialogue

_______________________

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

-Canada expels Sudanese envoy
-VIDEO: Castro picks Clinton and Obama (In an editorial Cuba's Fidel Castro said a Clinton/Obama ticket would be best for the U.S.)
-Sarkozy calls Chavez for help on Colombia hostages
-Musharraf rejects pressure to quit
-US Congressional Report Finds Little Progress in Iraq
-Mafia suspects arrested in Italy
-New York's ‘Queen of Mean’ leaves $12 million to dog

_______________________

Liberia discovers 7000 'ghost' workers

Liberia's government says it has found more than 7,000 'ghost' workers on its payroll - employees who do not actually exist, or do not work for it. The discovery was made when the government embarked on a civil service overhaul to improve efficiency. (More..)

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Picture of the Day

(King Tona of Wolaita)

(The last king of Wolaita King Tona, reigned from about 1890 to 1900. He was reputedly the seventeenth monarch of a dynasty which traced itself back to a chief from Tegray. Tona himself succeeded his grandfather Gobie, and traced his line back, through his mother, to a noble Oromo family from Arsi.(Richard Pankhurst).........Yes, we Ethiopians are all interconnected.

-^{Must Read}COMMON FACTORS UNITING THE PEOPLES OF ETHIOPIA (by Fikre Tolossa, 1994)



___________________________________

Norway to cut aid to Ethiopia

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

____________________

Also:
- Today's Top HEADLINES
- INTERNATIONAL news
- Picture of the Day
____________________

Plea to all Ethiopians regardless of Political Party Affiliation


____________________

30 Aug 2007 Report - Ethiopia's decision to expel six of nine Norwegian diplomats from the country means Ethiopia will lose around NOK 30 million in Norwegian development aid.

"This isn't a punishment, but a consequence of the fact that so many people at the Norwegian Embassy are being kicked out," Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told newspaper Aftenposten. That will leave a staffing shortage at the embassy, that will hinder its ability to handle foreign aid.

One of the diplomats' most important jobs involved monitoring the use of aid funds that are sent through the embassy. The total amounts to around NOK 100 million (about USD 16 million) this year alone.

With only three diplomats left on the embassy staff, capacity to handle aid funding is sharply reduced, and the aid itself will be reduced as well.

Most of the aid Norway extends to Ethiopia is channeled through the United Nations, and it won't be affected. Norway donated a total of NOK 268 million to Ethiopia last year.

Støre wouldn't say exactly what led to the expulsion, noting only that "we need to go through our experience." He expects to meet his Ethiopian counterpart in New York next month, at the US General Assembly. (Source)

Today's Top HEADLINES

-Ethiopia: The Annual Great Run postponed
-Chicago firm opens first IT Outsourcing Center in Ethiopia
-Exile at all costs for many young Eritreans
-Ordinary people, extraordinary deeds! (ethiomedia)
-African free-for-all? (Analysis)
-Coffee Price on the Rise: Who’s Going To Profit?(Analysis)
-TOP STORIES FROM LAST WEEK (The Week in Review)

_______________________

SOMALIA PEACE TALKS TO WRAP UP WITH NO PROGRESS

Talks aimed at ending 16 years of conflict in Somalia were due to wrap up Thursday, with diplomats saying the parley had made no progress after six weeks of marathon negotiations.(More...)

Also see: Somalia peace talks fail as UN roots for all-inclusive dialogue

_______________________

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

-Canada expels Sudanese envoy
-VIDEO: Castro picks Clinton and Obama (In an editorial Cuba's Fidel Castro said a Clinton/Obama ticket would be best for the U.S.)
-Sarkozy calls Chavez for help on Colombia hostages
-Musharraf rejects pressure to quit
-US Congressional Report Finds Little Progress in Iraq
-Mafia suspects arrested in Italy
-New York's ‘Queen of Mean’ leaves $12 million to dog

_______________________

Liberia discovers 7000 'ghost' workers

Liberia's government says it has found more than 7,000 'ghost' workers on its payroll - employees who do not actually exist, or do not work for it. The discovery was made when the government embarked on a civil service overhaul to improve efficiency. (More..)

_______________________

Picture of the Day

(King Tona of Wolaita)

(The last king of Wolaita King Tona, reigned from about 1890 to 1900. He was reputedly the seventeenth monarch of a dynasty which traced itself back to a chief from Tegray. Tona himself succeeded his grandfather Gobie, and traced his line back, through his mother, to a noble Oromo family from Arsi.(Richard Pankhurst).........Yes, we Ethiopians are all interconnected.

-^{Must Read}COMMON FACTORS UNITING THE PEOPLES OF ETHIOPIA (by Fikre Tolossa, 1994)



___________________________________

UN to send a fact-finding mission to the Ogaden

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

____________________

Also:
- Today's Top HEADLINES
- INTERNATIONAL news
- Pictures of the Day
____________________

ADDIS ABABA, Aug 29 (Reuters) - The United Nations plans to send a fact-finding mission to Ethiopia's Ogaden region where separatist rebels who killed 74 people in an April attack say they are facing the toughest government crackdown in years.

The mission, due to start on Aug. 30, will assess allegations by the rebels and rights groups of human rights abuses as well as the food, water and health needs of Ogaden's ethnic Somalis.

The remote region bordering Somalia has come under growing scrutiny since the government launched a campaign two months ago to flush out Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) rebels after they carried out one of their bloodiest attacks on a Chinese-run oil exploration field in April.

Rights groups accuse soldiers of shooting civilians, burning homes and seizing livestock in its hunt for the ONLF, which wants more autonomy for the area believed to be rich in oil and gas.

"The information coming from the Somali region since the beginning of the Ethiopian government campaign against the ONLF has been secondhand, and it has been worrying," Paul Hebert, head of the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Ethiopia, told Reuters on Wednesday.(More...)

_______________________

UNITE THE PEOPLE: DIVISION AND FRAGMENTATION HAS NOT AND WILL NEVER WORK

(NES: Professor Mammo Muchie)

“Where there has been racial hatred, it must be ended. Where there has been tribal animosity, it will be finished. Let us not dwell upon the bitterness of the past....rather look to the future....If we can create this sense of national direction and identity, we shall have gone a long way toward solving our economic problems.” - Kenyatta.(More...)

_______________________

Today's Top HEADLINES

-Happy New Year! Govt. moves Homeless Out of Capital
-Ethiopia: Water - Tomorrow's Oil
-UN Says Many Ethiopians, Somalis Risk Lives to Flee
-Failed states think alike? (Opinion)
-Clinic treats abused donkeys, the Ethiopian 'family car'
-8 months on, Somalia's government cannot tame Mogadishu
-TOP STORIES FROM LAST WEEK (The Week in Review)

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

-Mandela statue unveiled in London
-Burma (Myanmar) rulers try to crush dissent
-12 South Koreans freed in Afghanistan
-Firefighters gain upper hand over Greek fires
-US Troops Release Detained Iranians
-Sadr 'freezes' militia activities
-Minister Says Musharraf-Bhutto Alliance Nearly Complete

_______________________

Ghana U17 stun Brazil at World Cup

Ghana knocked tournament favourites Brazil out of the under-17 World Cup in South Korea with a 1-0 win on Wednesday. Isaac Donkor scored the only goal of the game, played in Gwangyang, on 51 minutes.(More...)

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Pictures of the Day

The patriotism and devotion to country Ethiopian athletes possess is legendary. When Tirunesh suffering from terrible stomach pain, won the race in Osaka last Saturday, she said “I did it for my country. I was struggling but I told myself to hang in. I didn't want to let down the people back home in Ethiopia.”

This sentiment is not new to Ethiopian athletes. Just see the conversation below between Mamo Wolde and Abebe Bikila, as Abebe realized he was too sick to finish the race and defend his title at the 1968 marathon in Mexico City.

As narrated by Mamo Wolde

(Ten miles into the race), he (Abebe) turned and beckoned teammate, Mamo Wolde,

Abebe: "Lieutenant."
Mamo: "Captain."
Abebe: "I'm not finishing this race."
Mamo: "Sorry, sir."
Abebe:"But Lieutenant, you will win this race."
Mamo: "Sir, yes sir."
Abebe:"Don't let me down."

when Abebe Bikila emerged from an ambulance (just after Mamo won the race), He caught Wolde's eye, came to attention and saluted. Wolde, mission accomplished, crisply returned it. Wolde's victory meant his country hadn't produced a lone prodigy, but a succession. Wolde had made the marathon Ethiopia's own. (Excerpted from ‘The Ordeal of Mamo Wolde” by Kenny Moore)

(Mamo Wolde wins Olympic Gold in Mexico, 1968 )

(Legendary Ethiopian athletes, Abebe Bikila and Mamo Wolde)



_______________________________________

UN to send a fact-finding mission to the Ogaden

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

____________________

Also:
- Today's Top HEADLINES
- INTERNATIONAL news
- Pictures of the Day
____________________

ADDIS ABABA, Aug 29 (Reuters) - The United Nations plans to send a fact-finding mission to Ethiopia's Ogaden region where separatist rebels who killed 74 people in an April attack say they are facing the toughest government crackdown in years.

The mission, due to start on Aug. 30, will assess allegations by the rebels and rights groups of human rights abuses as well as the food, water and health needs of Ogaden's ethnic Somalis.

The remote region bordering Somalia has come under growing scrutiny since the government launched a campaign two months ago to flush out Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) rebels after they carried out one of their bloodiest attacks on a Chinese-run oil exploration field in April.

Rights groups accuse soldiers of shooting civilians, burning homes and seizing livestock in its hunt for the ONLF, which wants more autonomy for the area believed to be rich in oil and gas.

"The information coming from the Somali region since the beginning of the Ethiopian government campaign against the ONLF has been secondhand, and it has been worrying," Paul Hebert, head of the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Ethiopia, told Reuters on Wednesday.(More...)

_______________________

UNITE THE PEOPLE: DIVISION AND FRAGMENTATION HAS NOT AND WILL NEVER WORK

(NES: Professor Mammo Muchie)

“Where there has been racial hatred, it must be ended. Where there has been tribal animosity, it will be finished. Let us not dwell upon the bitterness of the past....rather look to the future....If we can create this sense of national direction and identity, we shall have gone a long way toward solving our economic problems.” - Kenyatta.(More...)

_______________________

Today's Top HEADLINES

-Happy New Year! Govt. moves Homeless Out of Capital
-Ethiopia: Water - Tomorrow's Oil
-UN Says Many Ethiopians, Somalis Risk Lives to Flee
-Failed states think alike? (Opinion)
-Clinic treats abused donkeys, the Ethiopian 'family car'
-8 months on, Somalia's government cannot tame Mogadishu
-TOP STORIES FROM LAST WEEK (The Week in Review)

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

-Mandela statue unveiled in London
-Burma (Myanmar) rulers try to crush dissent
-12 South Koreans freed in Afghanistan
-Firefighters gain upper hand over Greek fires
-US Troops Release Detained Iranians
-Sadr 'freezes' militia activities
-Minister Says Musharraf-Bhutto Alliance Nearly Complete

_______________________

Ghana U17 stun Brazil at World Cup

Ghana knocked tournament favourites Brazil out of the under-17 World Cup in South Korea with a 1-0 win on Wednesday. Isaac Donkor scored the only goal of the game, played in Gwangyang, on 51 minutes.(More...)

_______________________

Pictures of the Day

The patriotism and devotion to country Ethiopian athletes possess is legendary. When Tirunesh suffering from terrible stomach pain, won the race in Osaka last Saturday, she said “I did it for my country. I was struggling but I told myself to hang in. I didn't want to let down the people back home in Ethiopia.”

This sentiment is not new to Ethiopian athletes. Just see the conversation below between Mamo Wolde and Abebe Bikila, as Abebe realized he was too sick to finish the race and defend his title at the 1968 marathon in Mexico City.

As narrated by Mamo Wolde

(Ten miles into the race), he (Abebe) turned and beckoned teammate, Mamo Wolde,

Abebe: "Lieutenant."
Mamo: "Captain."
Abebe: "I'm not finishing this race."
Mamo: "Sorry, sir."
Abebe:"But Lieutenant, you will win this race."
Mamo: "Sir, yes sir."
Abebe:"Don't let me down."

when Abebe Bikila emerged from an ambulance (just after Mamo won the race), He caught Wolde's eye, came to attention and saluted. Wolde, mission accomplished, crisply returned it. Wolde's victory meant his country hadn't produced a lone prodigy, but a succession. Wolde had made the marathon Ethiopia's own. (Excerpted from ‘The Ordeal of Mamo Wolde” by Kenny Moore)

(Mamo Wolde wins Olympic Gold in Mexico, 1968 )

(Legendary Ethiopian athletes, Abebe Bikila and Mamo Wolde)



_______________________________________

Ethiopian govt. accuses Norway of 'destabilizing' region

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

____________________

Also:
- Today's Top HEADLINES
- INTERNATIONAL news
- Video of the Day
____________________

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) - Ethiopia on Tuesday justified its decision to expel Norwegian diplomats arguing that Oslo was interfering in its internal affairs and destablising the Horn of Africa.

"The reason for their expulsion is Norway's repeated and widespread interference in destabilising the Horn of Africa, and Ethiopia in particular," Bereket Simon, a top aide to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, told AFP.

"This decision is not sudden, we have repeatedly raised the issue with Norwegian officials. We had warned them to refrain from interfering in our internal affairs," he said.

Norway announced Monday it had been informed by Ethiopia on August 15 that Addis Ababa was "dissatisfied" with Oslo's diplomacy in the region and was demanding the Scandinavian country downscale its embassy staff.

Norwegian Junior Foreign Minister Raymond Johansen told AFP on Monday that Addis Ababa had accused Oslo of favouring its arch-foe Eritrea in regional mediation efforts.(More...)

_______________________

MR. OBANG METHO ADDRESSES OGADENIS IN MINNESOTA

"The first step is for all Ethiopians to get to know each other as unique people and as fellow human beings, to acknowledge whatever pain and suffering we might have caused each other and then reconcile....I believe that some of these liberation fronts do not really want to break away, but are doing it because their rights are being rampantly violated and they have been denied countless opportunities that are reserved for those few in power."(More...)

_______________________

Today's Top HEADLINES

-Govt. orders 6 Norwegian diplomats to leave country
-Norway 'shocked' over diplomatic expulsion
-Homeless being moved out of Addis Abeba in time for millennium
-In Ethiopia Flood survivors struggle one year on
-Horn of Africa neighbours renew border talks
-Texas museum to show Lucy fossil amid criticism
-US Relations with Eritrea continue to Sour
-Gun battles rock Somali capital (BBC)
-Top Ethiopian distance runner Dibaba pulls out of 5,000m
-Ethiopia: A Simple Life? (Opinion)
-TOP STORIES FROM LAST WEEK (The Week in Review)

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

-Emergency threat in Sierra Leone
-Taliban Agree to Free S. Korean Hostages
-Olmert, Abbas meet in Jerusalem
-French President Calls for Timed Troop Exit From Iraq
-Greek fire drama (Video)
-Armed forces issue warning on eve of Turkish presidential vote
-'Massive' gem dug up in S Africa

_______________________

PACT COULD END ANONYMOUS BLOGGING IN CHINA

Internet companies including Yahoo and MSN have signed on to new government guidelines on blogging in China. An international press-freedom watchdog says the pact will lead to censoring and silencing of those who post their words on computer Web logs.(More...) - [Click here for audio report]

_______________________

Video of the Day

A Trailer of an upcoming Documentary Film about the wonders and mystery of Lalibela Ethiopia. By Addis Art & Culture, L.L.C.in collaboration with Addis Film Production - Ethiopia







_________________________________________

Ethiopian govt. accuses Norway of 'destabilizing' region

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

____________________

Also:
- Today's Top HEADLINES
- INTERNATIONAL news
- Video of the Day
____________________

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) - Ethiopia on Tuesday justified its decision to expel Norwegian diplomats arguing that Oslo was interfering in its internal affairs and destablising the Horn of Africa.

"The reason for their expulsion is Norway's repeated and widespread interference in destabilising the Horn of Africa, and Ethiopia in particular," Bereket Simon, a top aide to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, told AFP.

"This decision is not sudden, we have repeatedly raised the issue with Norwegian officials. We had warned them to refrain from interfering in our internal affairs," he said.

Norway announced Monday it had been informed by Ethiopia on August 15 that Addis Ababa was "dissatisfied" with Oslo's diplomacy in the region and was demanding the Scandinavian country downscale its embassy staff.

Norwegian Junior Foreign Minister Raymond Johansen told AFP on Monday that Addis Ababa had accused Oslo of favouring its arch-foe Eritrea in regional mediation efforts.(More...)

_______________________

MR. OBANG METHO ADDRESSES OGADENIS IN MINNESOTA

"The first step is for all Ethiopians to get to know each other as unique people and as fellow human beings, to acknowledge whatever pain and suffering we might have caused each other and then reconcile....I believe that some of these liberation fronts do not really want to break away, but are doing it because their rights are being rampantly violated and they have been denied countless opportunities that are reserved for those few in power."(More...)

_______________________

Today's Top HEADLINES

-Govt. orders 6 Norwegian diplomats to leave country
-Norway 'shocked' over diplomatic expulsion
-Homeless being moved out of Addis Abeba in time for millennium
-In Ethiopia Flood survivors struggle one year on
-Horn of Africa neighbours renew border talks
-Texas museum to show Lucy fossil amid criticism
-US Relations with Eritrea continue to Sour
-Gun battles rock Somali capital (BBC)
-Top Ethiopian distance runner Dibaba pulls out of 5,000m
-Ethiopia: A Simple Life? (Opinion)
-TOP STORIES FROM LAST WEEK (The Week in Review)

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

-Emergency threat in Sierra Leone
-Taliban Agree to Free S. Korean Hostages
-Olmert, Abbas meet in Jerusalem
-French President Calls for Timed Troop Exit From Iraq
-Greek fire drama (Video)
-Armed forces issue warning on eve of Turkish presidential vote
-'Massive' gem dug up in S Africa

_______________________

PACT COULD END ANONYMOUS BLOGGING IN CHINA

Internet companies including Yahoo and MSN have signed on to new government guidelines on blogging in China. An international press-freedom watchdog says the pact will lead to censoring and silencing of those who post their words on computer Web logs.(More...) - [Click here for audio report]

_______________________

Video of the Day

A Trailer of an upcoming Documentary Film about the wonders and mystery of Lalibela Ethiopia. By Addis Art & Culture, L.L.C.in collaboration with Addis Film Production - Ethiopia







_________________________________________

Human Rights Group Seeks Accounting of Ethiopian Food Aid

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

____________________

Also:
- Today's Top HEADLINES
- INTERNATIONAL news
- Video of the Day
____________________

OSAKA - Our athletes, as usual, are dominating the world athletics championships. At the moment Ethiopia is ranked Number 4. Kudos to our athletes!

[See Medal Table]
____________________

Report - An Ethiopian human rights group is demanding that the United States and other international donors monitor the food and financial aid they give to Ethiopia for its impoverished Ogaden region.

As Nick Wadhams reports from Nairobi, activists say the government has blocked food aid to the Ogaden as it tries to quash a local rebel group.

[AUDIO report]

The Ogaden Human Rights Committee says Ethiopia's government has sparked a humanitarian crisis in the Ogaden and is asking nations from around the world to contribute aid. But it says they must make sure the donations get to the people who need them most.

Last week, the United States announced it is providing nearly $19 million in food assistance for the Ogaden through the U.N. World Food Program. Some money also will help pay for health, nutrition, and livelihood programs.(More...)

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ETHIOPIA SAYS IT WILL ATTEND ERITREA BORDER TALKS

Ethiopia said on Monday it will attend a meeting next week in The Hague to discuss its disputed border with Eritrea, but said its neighbour had made demarcation of the frontier impossible.(More...)

_______________________

Today's Top HEADLINES

-Kinijit VP Bertukan presented with 90,000 birr Toyota
-Sekota Businesspeople Want Tamrat Layne Freed
-UN agency warns of flood risks in Ethiopia
-Microsoft Keen to Expand Market in Ethiopia, Africa
-First car assembly in Ethiopia to roll out Abay (Blue Nile)
-Somalia: the most deadly country in Africa for the media
-Wave of attacks launched in Mogadishu
-Kenenisa wins third straight title^{Kudos to our athletes!}
-Mesgana Dancers celebrate heritage, life
-TOP STORIES FROM LAST WEEK (The Week in Review)

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

-72 people killed in eastern Uganda
-Embattled U.S. Attorney General Resigns
-Rampaging fires threaten birthplace of the Olympics
-Iraqi leader lashes out at his critics in US Senate
-10 held over Russian journalist's murder
-Narcotic khat dominates Djibouti life

_______________________

MERKEL'S CHINA VISIT MARRED BY HACKING ALLEGATIONS

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to China has been overshadowed by a report claiming that the Chinese government has been hacking into computers in Merkel's chancellery and three other Berlin ministries.(More...)

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Video of the Day

Dibaba wins in miracle fightback

"That was the hardest race of my life," Tirunesh Dibaba told reporters. "I had terrible stomach pain and then I was so far back I thought it would be impossible to come back. "But I did it for my country. I was struggling but I told myself to hang in. I didn't want to let down the people back home in Ethiopia." (Aug. 25, 2007)



(VIDEO - This past Saturday, Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia made an astonishing recovery to win a dramatic women's 10,000 metres)





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Human Rights Group Seeks Accounting of Ethiopian Food Aid

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

____________________

Also:
- Today's Top HEADLINES
- INTERNATIONAL news
- Video of the Day
____________________

OSAKA - Our athletes, as usual, are dominating the world athletics championships. At the moment Ethiopia is ranked Number 4. Kudos to our athletes!

[See Medal Table]
____________________

Report - An Ethiopian human rights group is demanding that the United States and other international donors monitor the food and financial aid they give to Ethiopia for its impoverished Ogaden region.

As Nick Wadhams reports from Nairobi, activists say the government has blocked food aid to the Ogaden as it tries to quash a local rebel group.

[AUDIO report]

The Ogaden Human Rights Committee says Ethiopia's government has sparked a humanitarian crisis in the Ogaden and is asking nations from around the world to contribute aid. But it says they must make sure the donations get to the people who need them most.

Last week, the United States announced it is providing nearly $19 million in food assistance for the Ogaden through the U.N. World Food Program. Some money also will help pay for health, nutrition, and livelihood programs.(More...)

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ETHIOPIA SAYS IT WILL ATTEND ERITREA BORDER TALKS

Ethiopia said on Monday it will attend a meeting next week in The Hague to discuss its disputed border with Eritrea, but said its neighbour had made demarcation of the frontier impossible.(More...)

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Today's Top HEADLINES

-Kinijit VP Bertukan presented with 90,000 birr Toyota
-Sekota Businesspeople Want Tamrat Layne Freed
-UN agency warns of flood risks in Ethiopia
-Microsoft Keen to Expand Market in Ethiopia, Africa
-First car assembly in Ethiopia to roll out Abay (Blue Nile)
-Somalia: the most deadly country in Africa for the media
-Wave of attacks launched in Mogadishu
-Kenenisa wins third straight title^{Kudos to our athletes!}
-Mesgana Dancers celebrate heritage, life
-TOP STORIES FROM LAST WEEK (The Week in Review)

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

-72 people killed in eastern Uganda
-Embattled U.S. Attorney General Resigns
-Rampaging fires threaten birthplace of the Olympics
-Iraqi leader lashes out at his critics in US Senate
-10 held over Russian journalist's murder
-Narcotic khat dominates Djibouti life

_______________________

MERKEL'S CHINA VISIT MARRED BY HACKING ALLEGATIONS

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to China has been overshadowed by a report claiming that the Chinese government has been hacking into computers in Merkel's chancellery and three other Berlin ministries.(More...)

_______________________

Video of the Day

Dibaba wins in miracle fightback

"That was the hardest race of my life," Tirunesh Dibaba told reporters. "I had terrible stomach pain and then I was so far back I thought it would be impossible to come back. "But I did it for my country. I was struggling but I told myself to hang in. I didn't want to let down the people back home in Ethiopia." (Aug. 25, 2007)



(VIDEO - This past Saturday, Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia made an astonishing recovery to win a dramatic women's 10,000 metres)





_______________________________________

The Week in Review

____________________

Also:
- Weekend News and Updates
____________________

The Week in review

TOP STORIES FROM THE PAST WEEK

• Democratic Uncertainty in Ethiopia (Special Report)
• ANTI POVERTY CAMPAIGNERS REMAIN IN ETHIOPIAN PRISON
• FREED ETHIOPIANS DESCRIBE THREATS
• Media Watchdog Criticizes Ethiopia's Press Freedom
• Response to Gary Klein of DLA Piper (Alemayehu G. Mariam)
• Ethiopian govt. upset by U.S. bill
• Statement on the Ogaden(Civic, media organizations)
• Ethiopian govt. to press Ogaden campaign despite criticism
• ETHIOPIAN AMERICAN CIVIC ADVOCACY (EACA) CALLS FOR A SENATE HEARING ON THE OGADEN
• US Announces Emergency Aid to Ethiopia's Ogaden
• AWRA AMBA: ONE MAN'S MODEL FOR A JUST SOCIETY
• Pictures from AWRA AMBA
• [AUDIO] NPR'S IN-DEPTH REPORTING ON LUCY’S (DINKINESH) TOUR
• Preventable diseases kill 300000 children in Ethiopia (UNICEF)
• Ethio-Eritrea Conflict Fueling Somalia Crisis
• Eritrea says U.S. must change policy in Horn of Africa
• Expelled Eritreans seek damages from Ethiopia
• Tribute to Aleka Ayalew Tamiru (Tewodros Abebe)

Weekend News and Updates

-Interview: Abraha Belai of Ethiomedia with ETN(Video)
-African leaders invited to Ethiopian millennium fete
-U.N. suspects cholera in Ethiopia
-Two Somali peace delegates injured in hotel attack
-Threat of stronger insurgency in Somalia


DIBABA WINS WORLD TITLE IN MIRACLE FIGHTBACK






_________________________________________

The Week in Review

____________________

Also:
- Weekend News and Updates
____________________

The Week in review

TOP STORIES FROM THE PAST WEEK

• Democratic Uncertainty in Ethiopia (Special Report)
• ANTI POVERTY CAMPAIGNERS REMAIN IN ETHIOPIAN PRISON
• FREED ETHIOPIANS DESCRIBE THREATS
• Media Watchdog Criticizes Ethiopia's Press Freedom
• Response to Gary Klein of DLA Piper (Alemayehu G. Mariam)
• Ethiopian govt. upset by U.S. bill
• Statement on the Ogaden(Civic, media organizations)
• Ethiopian govt. to press Ogaden campaign despite criticism
• ETHIOPIAN AMERICAN CIVIC ADVOCACY (EACA) CALLS FOR A SENATE HEARING ON THE OGADEN
• US Announces Emergency Aid to Ethiopia's Ogaden
• AWRA AMBA: ONE MAN'S MODEL FOR A JUST SOCIETY
• Pictures from AWRA AMBA
• [AUDIO] NPR'S IN-DEPTH REPORTING ON LUCY’S (DINKINESH) TOUR
• Preventable diseases kill 300000 children in Ethiopia (UNICEF)
• Ethio-Eritrea Conflict Fueling Somalia Crisis
• Eritrea says U.S. must change policy in Horn of Africa
• Expelled Eritreans seek damages from Ethiopia
• Tribute to Aleka Ayalew Tamiru (Tewodros Abebe)

Weekend News and Updates

-Interview: Abraha Belai of Ethiomedia with ETN(Video)
-African leaders invited to Ethiopian millennium fete
-U.N. suspects cholera in Ethiopia
-Two Somali peace delegates injured in hotel attack
-Threat of stronger insurgency in Somalia


DIBABA WINS WORLD TITLE IN MIRACLE FIGHTBACK






_________________________________________

Ethiopian govt. to press Ogaden campaign despite criticism

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

____________________

Also:
- Today's Top HEADLINES^Updated
- INTERNATIONAL news^Updated
- Special Coverage: Burma Crackdown**
- Picture of the Day
- Tribute to Aleka Ayalew Tamiru (Tewodros Abebe)
____________________

NAIROBI, Aug 23 (Reuters) -The Ethiopian government, facing low-level, armed opposition in most corners of the country, shows no sign of letting up in a ruthless drive against rebels in the remote Ogaden region.

Government soldiers are accused of burning homes, seizing livestock and killing civilians in the toughest crackdown yet on insurgents in this near-forgotten part of the vast Horn of Africa country.

(Picture - Prime Minister Meles Zenawi)

Rights groups say abuses escalated in Ogaden when the government launched its campaign two months ago to root out separatist insurgents who attacked a Chinese-run oil exploration field in April, killing 74 people.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has branded rebels of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) as "terrorists" bankrolled by arch-foe Eritrea.

Shrugging off pressure from the West, which fears the conflict may further destabilise the Horn, Meles asserts his right to rid the region, bordering lawless Somalia, of the ONLF's "cold-blooded murderers". "No stone will be left unturned," he has vowed.(More...)

_______________________

ETHIOPIAN AMERICAN CIVIC ADVOCACY (EACA) CALLS FOR A SENATE HEARING ON THE OGADEN

The Ethiopian American Civic Advocacy (EACA) calls upon the international community to demand for the immediate halt to the atrocious and gross human rights abuses taking place against Ethiopian civilians in the Ogaden by the Ethiopian authoritarian regime.(More...)

[Request a Senate Hearing on the Ethiopian Ogaden Crisis]


[AUDIO] NPR'S IN-DEPTH REPORTING ON LUCY’S (DINKINESH) TOUR

The Lucy exhibition has been praised by some as a coup for Texas and denounced by others as the reckless exploitation of one of humanity's most famous ancestors. Renowned paleontologist Richard Leakey even called it a form of prostitution.[Listen]

_______________________

Today's Top HEADLINES^Updated

-US Announces Emergency Aid to Ethiopia's Ogaden
-Hugo Chavez to visit Addis Abeba
-Ethiopian govt. upset by U.S. bill
-Statement from the US state department
-Pakistan appoints new envoy to Ethiopia
-Gunmen kill another journalist in Somalia
-Ethio-Eritrea Conflict Fueling Somalia Crisis
-Insurgents Attack Mogadishu Police Stations
-Ethiopian find pushes split back millions of years
-Ethiopia's Dibaba seeks slice of history in Osaka
-Ethiopia's millenium and Chinese technology

____________________

STOCKHOLM: CELEBRATION OF THE ETHIOPIAN MILLENNIUM EVENT SCHEDULE

RESPONSE TO GARY KLEIN OF DLA PIPER
(Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam)

____________________

INTERNATIONAL NEWS^Updated

-Sudan tells EU and Canadian envoys to leave
-Firms Helped US Government's Warrantless Wiretaps
-Ex-Pakistan PM aims to bring down Musharraf
-ETA marks end of ceasefire with car-bomb
-Iran shuts barber shops for 'Western' hairstyles
-Rich Russian tries to buy U.S. bomber at airshow
-Kibaki refuses to sign proposed media law (Admirable!!)

Special Coverage: Burma Crackdown**

-US Condemns Burma's Crackdown - AUDIO
-BBC: Junta break up Burma protests - VIDEO
-Junta squashes more protests in Yangon
-Reuters:BURMA demo crackdown - VIDEO

Picture of the Day^{Posted again by popular demand}

Click to enlarge
(Traditional court in the oromia region where the Oldest Man Serves as Judge. Ethiopia. L Herbert 1966)
Ethiopia, long considered the cradle of mankind, is also credited by scholars as having developed one of the first egalitarian systems in Africa, thanks to the rich culture of the Oromo.

Professor Donald N. Levine writes;

"The institutions of the gadaa system promoted an ethos of egalitarianism in many ways.....Gadaa structures political relations in an anti-authoritarian direction. It does so through the regular circulation of elites, such that no ruling class is in power for more than eight years....In the gadaa system, hereditary and elected leaders serve complementary but separate roles. Leaders are elected for a single term of finite length, with the expectation that they will turn over the reigns of governance smoothly to a properly appointed successor cohort.(OROMO NARRATIVES)”

-Learn more about the 'Gadaa' system

Tribute to Aleka Ayalew Tamiru

(By Tewodros Abebe)



Dear reader, as you probably have heard by now, Aleka Ayalew Tamiru, the renowned theologian and scholar, passed away last Sunday at age 83. Click here to read tribute to Aleka Ayalew by poet Tewodros Abebe.




____________________________________

Ethiopian govt. to press Ogaden campaign despite criticism

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

____________________

Also:
- Today's Top HEADLINES^Updated
- INTERNATIONAL news^Updated
- Special Coverage: Burma Crackdown**
- Picture of the Day
- Tribute to Aleka Ayalew Tamiru (Tewodros Abebe)
____________________

NAIROBI, Aug 23 (Reuters) -The Ethiopian government, facing low-level, armed opposition in most corners of the country, shows no sign of letting up in a ruthless drive against rebels in the remote Ogaden region.

Government soldiers are accused of burning homes, seizing livestock and killing civilians in the toughest crackdown yet on insurgents in this near-forgotten part of the vast Horn of Africa country.

(Picture - Prime Minister Meles Zenawi)

Rights groups say abuses escalated in Ogaden when the government launched its campaign two months ago to root out separatist insurgents who attacked a Chinese-run oil exploration field in April, killing 74 people.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has branded rebels of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) as "terrorists" bankrolled by arch-foe Eritrea.

Shrugging off pressure from the West, which fears the conflict may further destabilise the Horn, Meles asserts his right to rid the region, bordering lawless Somalia, of the ONLF's "cold-blooded murderers". "No stone will be left unturned," he has vowed.(More...)

_______________________

ETHIOPIAN AMERICAN CIVIC ADVOCACY (EACA) CALLS FOR A SENATE HEARING ON THE OGADEN

The Ethiopian American Civic Advocacy (EACA) calls upon the international community to demand for the immediate halt to the atrocious and gross human rights abuses taking place against Ethiopian civilians in the Ogaden by the Ethiopian authoritarian regime.(More...)

[Request a Senate Hearing on the Ethiopian Ogaden Crisis]


[AUDIO] NPR'S IN-DEPTH REPORTING ON LUCY’S (DINKINESH) TOUR

The Lucy exhibition has been praised by some as a coup for Texas and denounced by others as the reckless exploitation of one of humanity's most famous ancestors. Renowned paleontologist Richard Leakey even called it a form of prostitution.[Listen]

_______________________

Today's Top HEADLINES^Updated

-US Announces Emergency Aid to Ethiopia's Ogaden
-Hugo Chavez to visit Addis Abeba
-Ethiopian govt. upset by U.S. bill
-Statement from the US state department
-Pakistan appoints new envoy to Ethiopia
-Gunmen kill another journalist in Somalia
-Ethio-Eritrea Conflict Fueling Somalia Crisis
-Insurgents Attack Mogadishu Police Stations
-Ethiopian find pushes split back millions of years
-Ethiopia's Dibaba seeks slice of history in Osaka
-Ethiopia's millenium and Chinese technology

____________________

STOCKHOLM: CELEBRATION OF THE ETHIOPIAN MILLENNIUM EVENT SCHEDULE

RESPONSE TO GARY KLEIN OF DLA PIPER
(Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam)

____________________

INTERNATIONAL NEWS^Updated

-Sudan tells EU and Canadian envoys to leave
-Firms Helped US Government's Warrantless Wiretaps
-Ex-Pakistan PM aims to bring down Musharraf
-ETA marks end of ceasefire with car-bomb
-Iran shuts barber shops for 'Western' hairstyles
-Rich Russian tries to buy U.S. bomber at airshow
-Kibaki refuses to sign proposed media law (Admirable!!)

Special Coverage: Burma Crackdown**

-US Condemns Burma's Crackdown - AUDIO
-BBC: Junta break up Burma protests - VIDEO
-Junta squashes more protests in Yangon
-Reuters:BURMA demo crackdown - VIDEO

Picture of the Day^{Posted again by popular demand}

Click to enlarge
(Traditional court in the oromia region where the Oldest Man Serves as Judge. Ethiopia. L Herbert 1966)
Ethiopia, long considered the cradle of mankind, is also credited by scholars as having developed one of the first egalitarian systems in Africa, thanks to the rich culture of the Oromo.

Professor Donald N. Levine writes;

"The institutions of the gadaa system promoted an ethos of egalitarianism in many ways.....Gadaa structures political relations in an anti-authoritarian direction. It does so through the regular circulation of elites, such that no ruling class is in power for more than eight years....In the gadaa system, hereditary and elected leaders serve complementary but separate roles. Leaders are elected for a single term of finite length, with the expectation that they will turn over the reigns of governance smoothly to a properly appointed successor cohort.(OROMO NARRATIVES)”

-Learn more about the 'Gadaa' system

Tribute to Aleka Ayalew Tamiru

(By Tewodros Abebe)



Dear reader, as you probably have heard by now, Aleka Ayalew Tamiru, the renowned theologian and scholar, passed away last Sunday at age 83. Click here to read tribute to Aleka Ayalew by poet Tewodros Abebe.




____________________________________