Battle raging between Somaliland and Puntland

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ONE SMALL STEP FOR THE U.S. CONGRESS, ONE GIANT LEAP FOR ETHIOPIAN HUMAN RIGHTS (Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam)

VIDEO - STATEMENT FROM THE ETHIOPIAN TELEVISION NETWORK (ETN)


(ON FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND RESPONSIBLE JOURNALISM -
Amharic article, Tewodros Abebe)
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MOGADISHU (AFP) - At least eight people were killed and several wounded Monday in fighting between forces from the breakaway Somali states of Somaliland and Puntland over a disputed border town, commanders said.

The latest violence, sparked by a long-running territorial dispute, broke out early Monday in Sool, a region split between sub-clans backing the feuding statelets.

"I can confirm... that heavy fighting broke out... early morning causing casualties. The Somaliland forces waged the attack against our military positions in the northern outskirts of Las Anod," Burhan Mohamed, a Puntland commander, told AFP by phone.(More...)

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IPU Says Parliament Members Disappeared in Eritrea

[Click here for AUDIO report]

Canadian Senator Sharon Carstairs says 11 Eritrean members of parliament have been held incommunicado since 2001 after they called for Democratic reforms. "they have literally disappeared off the face of the earth" She says "We know nothing about these individuals. We have asked to take a mission to Eritrea. So far, we have not been able to do that." (More...)
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Today's Top HEADLINES

-EMF On the CUD crisis
-Ethiopia’s elite are letting the country down
-Explosion in Somalia kills three children
-Somali president, PM duel in political showdown
-Bomb targets Ethiopian Convoy in Mogadishu

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China's Hu says Communist Party must stay in charge

China's Communist Party must stay firmly in charge as the nation embraces economic and social change, President Hu Jintao said on Monday in an agenda-setting speech vowing tightly controlled political reforms.(More...)
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INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

-Togo votes free of boycott
-Putin Confirms Iran Trip, Despite assassination Plot
-Bush 'to focus on Mid-East peace'
-Sweden top in Europe for welcoming migrants
-Rumors Fly in France of Sarkozy Divorce
-Drunken priest punches cop, jailed


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