OFFICIAL: ETHIOPIA DETAINED 4 AMERICAN SOLDIERS IN MAY

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Also:
- Today's Top HEADLINES
- INTERNATIONAL news
- Picture of the Day - (millennium edition featuring Faces of Ethiopia)
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[VIDEO] - THE STRUGGLE FOR DEMOCRACY IN ETHIOPIA: A TALK BY DR. BERHANU NEGA (PART 1, 2 and 3)

[AUDIO] - INTERVIEW OF DR. BERHANU NEGA WITH LEONARD LOPATE - WNYC

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PRESS RELEASE - The Citizens Charter Group is pleased to release the millennium edition of the "Citizens Charter for a Democratic Ethiopia". An Amharic translation is provided for the first time, and translations in other major Ethiopian languages shall follow soon. [CLICK HERE TO READ]

INTERVIEW: The CITIZENS’CHARTER GROUP is not affiliated with any political party and is comprised of Ethiopians from a variety of ethnic backgrounds [Interview Part 1] - [Interview Part 2]

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By ANITA POWELL

(AP) September 7, 2007 - Ethiopia briefly detained what it said were four American soldiers trying to contact a rebel group that has been fighting for greater autonomy for eastern Ethiopia, Ethiopian officials said Friday.

Bereket Simon, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, declined to say when the soldiers were detained or give any further details. Asked about the U.S. soldiers, he told The Associated Press: "Four soldiers, or some soldiers, were detained. They were trying to contact the ONLF (the Ogaden National Liberation Front). That was not permitted." An official at the U.S. Embassy could not immediately comment on the issue.

In an interview published in this week's edition of Time magazine, Meles said Ethiopia had no proof the American soldiers made contact with the rebels but they could have been "moving in that direction."

"As far as we know, these personalities did not have official sanction to do that what they were doing. They were violating their own code of conduct," the premier told Time in an interview conducted last month.

An official familiar with the case said that the soldiers were detained in May in the eastern region of Somali State, as the Ogaden is known. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said they were immediately released and their Ethiopian-American interpreter released in August. At the time, the U.S. soldiers' detention was not made public.

Today's Top HEADLINES

-Migrants' horror stories offer glimpse of Ogaden repression
-Somali opposition to discuss military strategy against Ethiopia
-[AUDIO] - Govt. Detains Opposition Oromo Ethiopians
-Millennium celebrations fall flat for some Ethiopians
-U.S. Donates for Restoration of 130 Year Old House in Addis
-Ethiopia: Horn of Dilemma (Time)
-Somali PM to meet Islamist financier in Djibouti
-TOP STORIES FROM LAST WEEK (The Week in Review)

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Interview: Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi

"We are supposed to have burned villages. I can tell you, not a single village, and as far as I know not a single hut has been burned. We have been accused of dislocating thousands of people from their villages and keeping them in camps. Nobody has come up with a shred of evidence. Nobody."(More...)

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INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

-Moroccans vote for new parliament
-BURMA junta blames Diaspora for unrest
-Tension rises after Syria opens fire on Israeli planes
-Al-Qaida Prepares to Release New Bin Laden Video
-Bush, South Korean president have testy exchange
-Tutu praises 'unifying' barbecues

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Darfur peace talks set for Oct. 27 in Libya

Sudan's government and rebel groups will start talks on October 27 in Libya to push for peace in violence-torn Darfur before 26,000 peacekeepers deploy there, the United Nations and Khartoum announced on Thursday. The choice of Libya as a venue came as a surprise as Tanzania had been seen as most likely to host the talks.(More..)

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PICTURE OF THE DAY - FACES OF ETHIOPIA^{Millennium edition}

(Omo Valley, Ethiopia - Mursi girl)

The Mursi are a nomadic cattle herder ethnic group located in the Debub Omo Zone in Ethiopia, close to the Sudanese border. The estimated population of the Mursi is 6-10,000. Surrounded by mountains between the Omo River and its tributary the Mago, the home of the Mursi is one of the most isolated regions of the country. Their neighbors include the Aari, the Banna, the Bodi, the Kara, the Kwegu, the Nyangatom and the Surma.
For more beautiful pictures of the Mursi- Click here




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