Ogaden's downward spiral

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Also:
- Today's Top HEADLINES
- INTERNATIONAL news
- Picture of the day
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Rising tensions in the Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia, combined with chronic instability in neighbouring Somalia, Eritrean enmity, and human rights concerns, are testing US support for the Addis Ababa government led by Clinton-era good governance pin-up Meles Zenawi.

The Bush administration welcomed the recent release of 38 opposition politicians detained after violent protests over the conduct of elections in 2005. But it has kept quiet over Ethiopia's subsequent expulsion of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) workers from Ogaden's Somali regional state, following claims they were aiding Ogaden National Liberation Front separatists (ONLF).

The ICRC condemned Ethiopia's action, warning it would have "an inevitable, negative impact" on an already impoverished, largely nomadic population. The ONLF claimed the expulsions, and a ban on foreign media, were an attempt to prevent the international community witnessing "the war crimes taking place against the civilians of Ogaden at the hands of the Ethiopian regime".(More...)

Today's Top HEADLINES

-Ethiopia army says it killed over 200 ONLF rebels
-Government plans to pardon over 13,000 prisoners says Capital
-Ethiopia threatens Shabelle Media Network
-Burundi again delays Somali deployment
-UN seeks to rejuvenate Somali talks
-Ethiopian Court Launches e-Litigation (Internet) Services
-New journey begins when pavement ends
-TOP STORIES FROM THE PAST WEEK (The Week in review)

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

-Britain wants Guantanamo detainees back
-Bush, Karzai rule out concessions to free hostages
-Israel Forcibly Removes Hebron Settlers
-Georgia: Russia Jets Dropped Missile
-The Beijing Olympics: One Year and Counting
-Team finds largest exoplanet yet
-Giuliani’s Daughter Shows Support for Obama, for a Time

Picture of the day

(Picture shows a reconstructed replica skeleton of what a more than 3-million-year-old female hominid known as "Lucy" might have looked like at the National Museum in Addis Ababa, August 7, 2007.REUTERS.ETHIOPIA)

Prostituting LUCY

(Prostitution = Renting/selling one’s body for money) - Ethiopian officials are sending LUCY to a six year American tour for an undisclosed amount of money. Ever since LUCY was discovered, Ethiopians were not permitted to see her; instead, a replica of LUCY was featured at the national museum. The real Lucy has only been displayed twice in Ethiopia. But now, LUCY will be leaving for a SIX year tour to the United States. Renowned U.S. museums refuse to display LUCY saying “fossils should only be removed from their vaults for "compelling" scientific purposes “. Experts agree “Lucy is irreplaceable and is now being placed at huge risk” they say. What if the plane carrying LUCY crashes? What If there is a crack, breaks or is tainted in any way; what amount of insurance money can replace a 3 million year old fossil? What is the government of Ethiopia thinking when it approved this tour? MONEY!?

-Ethiopians fret as 'Lucy' skeleton heads to U.S.
-Row sparked by US tour of 3.2m-year-old Lucy skeleton





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