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Founder and Former Chairman of the Ethiopian National United Front (ENUF) Engineer Kitaw Ejigu  Colonel Asrat Bogale Dismissed  and his organization, the Ethiopian National United Patriotic Front (ENUPF) Dissolved (10/09/06)  Additional Information on Asrat Bogale

ETHIOPIAN NATIONAL UNITED FRONT WEB SITE Ethiopia Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights Advancement Act of 2006 (HR 5680) Haile Selassie I  International Development Foundation Response to the Statement Issued by the "Chairman of Crown Council of Ethiopia" on June 26, 2006  June 28, 2006,  Bekele Molla, Ph.D. President,  HSIIDF (English pdf) VISIT HAILE SELASSIE I INTERNATIONAL  DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION WEB SITE

The ever affectionate family man and brilliant scientist Kitaw Ejigu ቅጣው አባደፋር ከኪነጥበብ (ለንደን) ጥር ፲፱፻፺፰ ዓ.ም. Deutsche Welle Radio Report on Kitaw Ejigu (Amharic Program Broadcast on 01/22/06) VOA Brief Report on the Life and Achievements of Scientist Kitaw Ejigu (Broadcast on 01/24/06)

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   zn aty[y@Ethiopia :  NEWS and  CURRENT EVENT   

Fierce Fighting Between Meles Zenawi's TPLF Mercenary Troops and Somali Insurgents Rocks Mogadishu (news.bbc.co.uk, 08/10/07) "Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, has been rocked by the sound of fierce fighting during a two-hour gun battle between insurgents and government forces. A BBC correspondent says the sound of the clashes echoed across the city, leading to widespread fear. The heavily armed insurgents attacked a military base and a police station with mortars and heavy machine guns. At least three civilians have died. This is the most serious fighting since a reconciliation conference began." RELATED STORY: Amnesty International Urges Release of Somaliland Political Prisoners (uk.reuters.com, 08/09/07)

Unseen by Western Hysteria, Darfur Edges Closer to Peace (guardian.co.uk, 08/10/07) "....Sudan does not deserve the demonisation it is subject to from the Darfur lobby. It is no more authoritarian than Egypt, the west's darling, or Libya, the emerging new favourite. Looking east, Ethiopia and Eritrea are equally undemocratic or worse. But, unlike those countries, the Sudanese regime has signed an internationally supervised agreement to permit multiparty politics and free elections for the first time since it came to power in a 1989 coup. It must be held to that."

Extreme Floods Hit 500 Million People a Year (uk.reuters.com, 08/10/07) "....Floods increased from 60 to 100 per year in that time span and in 2007 some 70 serious floods have been registered, including in Sudan, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, China, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Colombia. Changes in weather patterns were documented on Wednesday by the Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization, which noted natural disasters hit the poor hardest. Heat waves were above average in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. And the Arabian sea near Oman had it first ever documented cyclone, WMO said."

129 Killed in Ethiopia Floods (herald.co.zw -afp- 08/09/07) "ADDIS ABABA. AT least 129 people were killed overnight in flash floods in eastern Ethiopia after an intense, sudden downpour pounded the region, sweeping away many in their sleep, police said yesterday. "So far 129 people are confirmed dead. We are still looking for more on the outskirts of the city and all along the river from the north to south," Inspector Beniam Fikru, a top police official in Dire Dawa region, said. The region lies about 500 kilometres east of the capital Addis Ababa. 
Ethiopian security forces, aid workers and residents, who scoured for survivors and bodies, said several thousand civilians were displaced and others reported missing in the Addis Ketema, Genfele, Coca Cola and Aftessa areas, which lie adjacent to the township."

Insurgency Endangering Somali Civilians (newsday.com -ap- 08/09/07) "MOGADISHU, Somalia - Mohamed Hussein heard the grenade explode and he froze. Hussein, 39, knew what was coming next because he has been through it before: gunfire arriving from every direction as soldiers frantically tried to kill the person who had thrown the weapon. When the shots finally stopped, Hussein saw four bloodied corpses, all of them civilians caught in the crossfire. It's a tragic, common story in this capital, where streets are marked with blood and the sight of burned-out cars is common. Nearly 3,000 civilians have died since December as Islamic insurgents launched a guerrilla war against the government and its Ethiopian military backers, human rights groups say." RELATED STORY: Why Somalia Has Been in Incessant Strife? (people.com.cn, 080907)

British Resident Cleared to Leave Guantanamo (nytimes.com, 08/09/07) "MIAMI (Reuters) - One of the five British residents London wants freed from the Guantanamo prison camp has already been cleared for release but will not be sent to his native land because of fears he would be abused there, a Pentagon official said on Thursday. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband sent a formal request to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday for the release of five Guantanamo captives who had legally resided in Britain before their detention but are not British citizens."

In Africa, Beyond Humanitarianism (washingtonpost.com, 08/09/07) "Africa has risen steadily in importance to the United States in recent years. Traditionally, Africa has been thought of primarily as an object of humanitarian concern. That perception has been highlighted by popular figures, such as Bono, Bob Geldof, George Clooney and others, focusing public attention on Africa's poverty, conflicts and major diseases. Africa has further captured worldwide attention due to the conflict in Darfur. Because the United States has judged the Sudanese government's campaign in the region to be genocide, the conflict has taken on enormous moral importance."

Somali Officials Deny Selling Oil Rights (voanews.com, 08/08/07) "Officials with Somalia's transitional government are promising not to begin searching for oil until after parliament adopts a new petroleum law and their shattered country achieves peace. But as Nick Wadhams reports from Nairobi, new evidence suggests they are looking to carve up oil rights. Last month, the Financial Times reported that President Abdullahi Yusuf had awarded Prime Minister Gedi and his staff are promising not to sign any deals until a natural resources law is enacted. Parliament is scheduled to consider the bill this week."

The Tigrean People's Liberation Front Regime Says it Killed 502, Captured 170 Ogaden Rebels (africa.reuters.com, 08/08/07) "ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia said on Wednesday it had killed more than 500 rebels and captured 170 in the past two months during an offensive in the volatile but energy-rich Ogaden region bordering Somalia. The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) dismissed the statement as an attempt by the government to lull oil companies interested in the region into a "false sense of security", and urged foreign firms to stay away. The local president of Ogaden, Abdullahi Hassan Mohammed, said Ethiopian security forces had killed 502 ONLF fighters in a two-month military campaign against the "terrorists." "Rebel activities in the region... have been eliminated," he added in a statement. But the ONLF, which carried out a deadly attack on a Chinese-run oilfield in the area in April, said the government was trying to hide the fact that it had lost control of Ogaden." RELATED STORY: Ethiopia Rebels Warn Oil Companies to Stay Away (africa.reuters.com, 08/08/07)

Burundi Once Again Delays Somali Deployment of Her AU Contingent Troops (news.bbc.co.uk, 08/07/07) "Burundi has again delayed the planned deployment of 2,000 troops to Somalia, as part of an African Union (AU) peacekeeping force. The soldiers are ready to go but communications and transport equipment promised by the US and France had not arrived, an army spokesman said. Just 1,600 Ugandans are in Somalia of the planned 8,000-strong AU force."

Meles Zenawi Claims His TPLF Troops Killed 200 Somali and Oromo Insurgents/Elders in the Ogaden (mg.co.za, 08/07/07) "Ethiopia's Defence Ministry on Tuesday said government troops had killed 200 rebels and captured hundreds in the restive predominantly Somali southern region of Ogaden over the past month. "Over 200 anti-peace elements have been killed by the military," the ministry said in a statement, adding that militants had "been destroyed ... in a successful operation". "All the elements belonged to the ONLF [Ogaden National Liberation Front], OLF [Oromo Liberation Front] and al-Ittihad," the ministry said." RELATED STORY: The Tigrean People's Liberation Front (TPLF) Regime Claims Gains Over Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) Rebels (voanews.com, 08/07/07)

ANALYSIS-Somalis Still Talking, But Peace Elusive (uk.reuters.com, 08/07/07) "MOGADISHU, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Critics may say Somalia's national recoonciliation conference has little concrete to show half-way into the six-week meeting of 2,000 delegates charged with dragging the Horn of Africa nation out of anarchy. Big players are missing, and no accords are yet struck. But after braving a barrage of verbal threats and physical attacks near the venue, those inside the heavily fortified old police garage in north Mogadishu would argue the mere fact that they are still talking is a huge achievement in itself." RELATED STORY: U.N. Envoy Makes Surprise Somalia Visit (newsday.com -ap- 08/07/07)

UK Asks U.S. To Free Residents From Guantanamo (nytimes.com, 08/07/07) "LONDON (Reuters) - Britain asked the United States on Tuesday to release five British residents from Guantanamo Bay in a change of policy that may signal Prime Minister Gordon Brown is taking a more independent stance from Washington. Foreign Secretary David Miliband sent a formal request to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for the release of the five men, who were legally resident in Britain before their detention but are not British nationals. The decision marks a shift from the policy of former Prime Minister Tony Blair's government, which secured the release of all nine British citizens held at the U.S. prison camp in Cuba but maintained it was not responsible for detainees of other nationalities who had simply lived in Britain." "...Britain said it was seeking the release and return to Britain of Shaker Aamer, a Saudi national; Jamil el-Banna, who is Jordanian; Omar Deghayes, a Libyan; Binyam Mohamed from Ethiopia; and Abdennour Sameur, an Algerian."

Row Sparked by US Tour of 3.2m-Year-Old Lucy (Dinknesh) Skeleton: TPLF Gangsters Raid Ethiopian National Museum Under Cover of Darkness and Smuggle the Fossil Out of the Country (guardian.co.uk, 08/07/07) "The 3.2m-year-old Lucy skeleton, one of man's earliest ancestors, has been taken out of Ethiopia, where it was discovered, for a controversial six-year US tour that scientists have warned will expose the fossil to a high risk of damage. Scientists at the Natural History Museum in Addis Ababa arrived at work yesterday to find that the remains had been quietly removed from the vault. Several staff members were also gone, reportedly bound for Texas with the [artefact]." RELATED STORY: Ethiopians Fret as "Lucy" Skeleton and 190 Other Heritage Items Heads to U.S. (uk.reuters.com, 08/07/07)

Two Bombs in Ogaden Region of Ethiopia 1 killed, Wound 8: Meles Zenawi's Agents Blew Up a Church Just Like They did a Year Ago in Wellega to Incite Religious Conflicts (uk.reuters.com, 08/06/07) "ADDIS ABABA, Aug 6 (Reuters) - One civilian was killed and eight wounded in two bomb blasts in Ethiopia's remote Ogaden region, officials said on Monday, as Ogaden rebels and the government blamed each other for the explosions. "Two suspects have been arrested," said a spokesman for Ethiopia's information ministry who declined to be named. He said the attacks, which occurred on Sunday, targeted a marketplace and a church in Ogaden's capital Jijiga. A senior adviser to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi accused the separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) of staging the blasts to discredit the government."

Meles Zenawi's Mercenary Troops Kill a Man During Somalia Weapons Search (newsday.com -ap- 08/06/07) "MOGADISHU, Somalia - Ethiopian troops conducting a house-to-house search for weapons opened fire Monday, killing one civilian, after gunmen threw hand grenades at soldiers, witnesses said. Somalia's fragile government has tried a voluntary program to get arms out of the hands of civilians. But the program has not had much success in a city torn by anarchy and bloodshed in the past 16 years. "Ethiopians opened fire. I saw one dead woman who had a small shop in the area," said resident Mohamed Osman Abdi." RELATED STORY: Explosions Rock Mogadishu as Soldiers Search for Weapons (voanews.com, 08/06/07)

Billed as the Best, Gebrselassie Holds True to Form (nytimes.com, 08/06/07) "Haile Gebrselassie stormed out of hilly Central Park and separated from his two competitors a few blocks down Seventh Avenue. When he reached the strangely serene Times Square at 7:35 yesterday morning, Gebrselassie — an Ethiopian who is considered the world’s greatest distance runner — was alone and more than halfway to victory in the NYC Half-Marathon. He allowed himself to look up and around. “Yesterday I was there, it was many cars, it was very crowded,” Gebrselassie said after the race. “Today — wow — only spectators, and the road was open. “Ah,” he added, laughing, “that’s what I want.”" RELATED STORY: FIFA Says Only 18 African Nations Have Safe Stadiums (nytimes.com, 08/06/07)

Meles Zenawi Engages in Secret Talks With Islamists, Looking for a Way Out of the Quagmire He Created (shabelle.net, 08/04/07) "Mogadishu 04, August.07 ( Sh.M.Network)- The leaders of Somalia's routed Union of Islamic Courts and the Ethiopian government have reportedly been having undisclosed dialog, according to Asharqalawsat, the Arabic online newspaper based in London. The paper reported that no results have yet to come out from the secret talks. An Islamist leader, who asked to remain anonymous, confirmed that Ethiopia and Somalia's Islamists were negotiating, but he did not say if the talks have been done through telephone or meeting, Asharqalawsat said."

Isaias Afeworki Dismisses Extension of UN Border Mission (news.yahoo.com -afp- 08/04/07) "ASMARA (AFP) - Eritrea on Saturday dismissed a United Nations decision to extend by six months the mandate of its mission monitoring a disputed border with arch-foe Ethiopia. Asmara also accused the world body of failing to put pressure on Ethiopia to accept a 2002 ruling by an independent boundary commission. "The (UN Security) Council has once again revealed its consent to remain a springboard for endless deployment of peacekeeping contingents," the state-run Eritrea Profile newspaper said in an editorial."

What I Expect From Our Leaders! (sudantribune.com, 08/03/07) "August 2, 2007 — The best news so far from Ethiopia in 2007 has been the partial release of political prisoners, mostly of the leadership of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD). These leaders have been victims of a cunningly vicious dictator, causalities of chains of stormy events and the helpless saviors of a people under bondage. However, the regime that thought it would interrupt their momentum and support found that their imprisonment had a solidifying effect on the opposition it faced and a justification for its immorality. Their release was as imminent as the light of day as the regime found it unsustainable in the face of the domestic isolation it faced and the growing contempt from the international community."

Darfur's Fractious Rebels in Landmark Reconciliation Talks (news.yahoo.com -afp- 08/04/07) "ARUSHA, Tanzania (AFP) - Darfur's myriad rebel groups sat at the same table for the first time in more than a year Saturday at a meeting in Tanzania, aiming to present a united front in future peace talks with Khartoum. The landmark talks between the political and military leaders of the many factions that have emerged in Darfur over the past four and half years of conflict were overshadowed however by the absence of two key rebel figures."

Anti-Poverty Campaigners Jailed in November 2005 Face Two-Month Wait for Verdict While Woyane Judges Go on Vacation (alertnet.org -reuters- 08/03/07) "Judges trying tthe case of two anti-poverty campaigners in Ethiopia yesterday (Thursday 2 August) adjourned the trial until 8 October, when the court will give judgment. Daniel Bekele, 40, policy manager of ActionAid Ethiopia, and Netsanet Demissie, 29, general manager of the Organisation for Social Justice in Ethiopia, will now spend two more months in prison awaiting the verdict, while the court takes its annual recess. The two were detained in November 2005 alongside opposition political leaders and charged in January 2006 with the crime of 'outrage against the constitution and the constitutional order'. Of 131 originally charged, they are the only two still on trial."

Idi Amin's Son Jailed Over Gang Killing in London (news.bbc.co.uk, 08/03/07) "A man jailed over the killing of a Somali youth is the son of former Ugandan military leader Idi Amin. Faisal Wangita, 25, was among a mob who beat Mahir Osman, 18, to death near Camden Tube station, London, in 2006. He was jailed for five years at the Old Bailey in May for conspiracy to wound with intent and violent disorder."

Red Cross Confirms Pullout From Somali Region in Ethiopia  (africa.reuters.com, 08/02/07) "GENEVA, Aug 2 (Reuters) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has pulled out from Ethiopia's restive Ogaden region following a government order, but still hopes to return, a spokeswoman said on Thursday. Authorities in Ethiopia's Somali regional state last week gave the Swiss-based humanitarian agency seven days' notice to leave, accusing it of consorting with rebels, an accusation it has rejected. "We have left the Somali region, our two offices there are closed," ICRC spokeswoman Anna Schaaf said in Geneva."

A Warm Reception for Refugees: Center Rolls Out The Welcome Mat (washingtonpost.com, 08/02/07) "Whenever Ahmed Maalim sits down with a newly arrived refugee at the Suburban Washington Resettlement Center in Silver Spring, he follows the same routine. "First thing I tell them is my own experience," said Maalim, an employment training coordinator and a native of Somalia, who fled his country's civil war and spent years in refugee camps before resettling in Prince George's County with his wife and five children." "...Unlike immigrants, refugees are brought to the country under the sponsorship of an aid agency and are eligible for federal benefits such as food stamps and Medicaid, center officials said. About 70,000 arrive each year, many coming from Burma, Ethiopia, Burundi, Afghanistan and African countries. Refugees are usually fleeing threats to their safety in their homeland."

Tigrean People's Liberation Front (TPLF) Kangaroo Court Sentences Five Opposition Figures to Long Term Imprisonment (voanews.com, 08/02/07) "An Ethiopian court has issued prison sentences for five opposition figures convicted of planning to overthrow the government. Ethiopian state media say the high court on Wednesday sentenced Girma Amare to a 16-year prison term, while giving 15-year sentences to co-defendants Kdist Bekele and Mebrato Kebede. Two journalists - Wosenseged Gebrekidan and Dawit Kebede - received terms of four years each."

AU Says Five Nations Pledge to Back Darfur Force, Meles Zenawi Offers Aagazi Troops (washingtonpost.com, 08/02/07) "ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Five African nations pledged on Thursday to send peacekeepers to a mission in Sudan's troubled Darfur region that was approved this week by the U.N. Security Council, a top African Union (AU) official said. Said Djinnit, the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, said member states had responded positively during talks on the deployment of up to 26,000 U.N. and AU troops who will absorb a smaller AU force that has failed to quell the violence."

US Congressman Donald Payne (D NJ)

The White House and the US Department of State Continue to Sustain the Meles Zenawi Terrorist Regime in Ethiopia: Both the Senate and House leaders are baffled by  George W. Bush's infatuation with a rogue Marxist dictatorship. In the House Congressman Donald Payne and co-sponsors have drafted legislation -H.R. 2003: Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007 (fantasycomgress.com) The bill seeks to encourage and facilitate the consolidation of peace and security, respect for human rights, democracy, and economic freedom in Ethiopia. In the Senate Senator Christopher Dodd Seeks Answers from Secretary of State Rice (04/12/07)

Rumblings of Trouble in East Africa (chicagotribune.com, 08/01/07) "THE ETHIOPIA-ERITREA BORDER - Badme doesn't look like the most dangerous town in Africa. Marooned at the end of 20 miles of dirt road, the tiny frontier outpost consists of a knot of rock huts, some jaywalking goats and one communal ping-pong table. Not the sort of place, one would imagine, that once inspired 70,000 men to die in battle. Or still destabilizes a chunk of territory inhabited by 90 million people. Or gives U.S. policymakers in Africa the jitters. Yet remote little Badme, the flash point of a brutal territorial conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea in the late 1990s, is responsible for all of these woes. And today experts worry that the contested town, which is claimed by both countries but controlled by Ethiopia, may be poised to spark even worse trouble ahead -- namely, Africa's next major war."

Ethiopia-American Interpreter Freed (nytimes.com, 08/01/07) "Mohamed Abdi, an Ethiopian-American interpreter detained for more than two months without being charged, was released over the weekend, American officials said. He had been working as an interpreter for the American military in the volatile eastern Ogaden region when Ethiopian troops arrested him and two American soldiers in early May."

U.N. Says Mogadishu Violence Scaring Returnees (news.yahoo.com -reuters- 08/01/07) "MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Unceasing violence in Mogadishu is stopping thousands of people who fled fighting in Somalia's capital earlier this year from venturing home, a senior U.N. official said on Wednesday. Eric Laroche, the U.N. resident aid coordinator, spoke after touring squalid camps housing some of the 250,000 people thought to be sheltering on the outskirts of the city, which saw its worst battles for two decades in March and April."

US Congressman Tom Lantos Addresses Erroneous Reports About Legislation on Ethiopia: Press Release (foreignaffairs.house.gov, 07/31/07) "Washington, DC – To correct erroneous reports about the Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act (H.R. 2003), Chairman Tom Lantos of the House Foreign Affairs Committee issued this statement today: “The full committee did not consider the measure at today’s markup because I wanted to give Ethiopia’s elders, government officials, courts and opposition leaders an opportunity to work out a pardon arrangement for the more than 30 remaining political detainees.  Late last week I notified other members of Congress, including the House leadership, of my decision.  I continue to be concerned about the detainees, and hope for their release soon."

Ethiopia Treason Suspects "Acted Within Law" (uk.reuters.com, 07/31/07) "ADDIS ABABA, July 31 (Reuters) - A U.N. elections consultant told an Ethiopian treason trial on Tuesday two anti-poverty activists charged with trying to overthrow the government had been acting within the law. Daniel Bekele, 40, and Netsanet Demissie, 29, are the last defendants out of 131 originally charged in the proceedings that followed post-election violence in 2005 which a parliamentary inquiry said killed 199 civilians and police, and resulted in 30,000 arrests. The defendants were involved in deploying observers at polling stations in and around the capital Addis Ababa." RELATED STORY: Opposition Denies Links in TPLF Regime Treason Trial (uk.reuters.com, 07/30/07)

U.S Government - Meles Zenawi Regime: A Double-Edged Partnership (cfr.org, 07/31/07) "After Ethiopia’s December invasion of Somalia to vanquish Islamic militants, many observers labeled Addis Ababa a proxy of the United States, and a few even called it a “Puppet” (Guardian). Both labels implied the United States was an unseemly ally. Now, after the Ethiopian government’s recent attempt to put dozens of opposition politicians to death and reports of military abuse of civilians (HRW), Washington may be starting to balk at its Close Relationship With Addis Ababa (AP)."

Sudan Floods Kill 62 People, Leave Tens of Thousands Homeless (cnn.com, 07/31/07) "KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) -- Floods and heavy rains have caused 23,000 mudbrick homes to collapse and killed at least 62 people across Sudan this month, a senior Sudanese official said Tuesday. As he spoke, residents in the capital stacked sandbags along Nile. General Awad Allah Widaa, head of the Emergency Commission for the Alleviation of the Effects of Floods and Rains, said 145 people had also been injured since the unusually strong seasonal downpours began in June." RELATED STORY: Security Council approves 26,000-strong peacekeeping force for Darfur (iht.com, 07/31/07)

UN: The TPLF, EPLF Regimes Still a Concern- Cantankerous Cousins Spreading Terror in East Africa (washingtonpost.com, 07/30/07) "UNITED NATIONS -- The U.N. Security Council said Monday the lack of progress on resolving the divisive border issue between [Ethiopia and Eritrea] remained a cause of "deep concern" and called on both countries to immediately withdraw their troops from the frontier. The 15-member body voted unanimously to extend the 1,700-member peacekeeping mission in the tense buffer zone between the countries for another six months."

The Coptic Orthodox during Mass at St Catherine of Italy church, in Valletta yesterday. The men in white are being prepared for the Coptic priesthood. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

The Coptic Orthodox Mass at St Catherine of Italy Church, in Valletta (timesofmalta.com, 07/30/07) "Walking near the top of Merchants Street, in Valletta, on a Sunday morning one is bound to be drawn to St Catherine of Italy church by the sound of voices singing in unison. Many stop to watch and listen. The Ethiopian and Eritrean Coptic Orthodox congregation claps as it sings, bodies swaying and arms raised in praise of the Lord. Those who enter remove their shoes, kneel, make the sign of the cross and bow in worship, before sitting. Song dominates the two-and-half-hour long service during which it is evident the participants are enjoying the ceremony."  Editorial Note: Meles Zenawi and Isaias Afeworki, Eat Your Hearts Out. Ethiopia stretches her hands unto God.

Sample Letter to be Sent to the Honorable Speaker of the US House of Representatives- The Coalition H.R. 2003 ( Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007) has requested that you use the sample letter to send a message to the Speaker, the Majority Leader and members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Personal Note Sent by E-mail  To: sf.nancy@mail.house.gov  RELATED STORY: Speaker Nancy Pelosi As A Mother (huffingtonpost.com, 05/11/07)

Kenya's Shame in the Horn of Terror (nationmedia.com, 07/30/07) "A shocking report entitled Horn of Terror just released by Kenya’s Muslim Human Rights Forum details the Kenya government’s culpability in the renditions, incommunicado detention and disappearances of over 100 people from December 2006 to the present. Some were arrested fleeing the conflict created by the Ethiopian army’s entry into Somalia to rout the Islamic Courts Union. Others were their family members, including women and children, arrested at various locations in Kenya — primarily in the north and at the Coast."

Meles Zenawi's ’Mission Accomplished’ in Somalia? (tcf.org, 07/26/07) "The same kind of “hit first, ask questions later” policies that has led the United States into disaster in Iraq has, often with little attention, been replicated elsewhere to similar effect—nowhere more catastrophically than in Somalia. In December 2006, the United States provided logistical, tactical, and financial support for Ethiopian forces invading Somalia to rescue the internationally recognized, but powerless, Transitional Federal Government (TFG) from the encroaching Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), an alliance of religious leaders, clan elders, warlords, and a few militant jihadists with reputed links to al Qaeda and the 1998 African embassy bombings. U.S. forces, meanwhile, carried out their own targeted attacks on suspected terrorists among the UIC ranks."

Professor Ephraim Isaac on NPR Radio, All Things Considered Program,  July 29, 2007 The professor claims that outside pressure (EU and US Congress) on Meles Zenawi's regime had no impact on Zenawi, and to the contrary the prisoners would have been released earlier had it not been for the interference. Congressman Donald Payne strongly disagrees.

Breakaway Somali Republic Arrests Three Politicians (uk.reuters.com, 07/28/07) "HARGEISA, Somalia, July 28 (Reuters) - The government of the breakaway Somali republic of Somaliland on Saturday arrested three politicians planning to form an opposition party, in a move diplomats said could hurt its bid for sovereignty. Security forces arrested the leader of the Qaran political association, Mohamed Abdi Gaboose, and his deputies Mohamed Hashi Elmi and Jamal Aideed Ibrahim, and charged them with founding an illegal organization and creating instability. A regional court ordered the three held at Mandera prison. Somaliland permits by law only three political parties, a situation which Qaran has criticised repeatedly."

Data Mining Figured In Dispute Over US National Sescurity Agency (washingtonpost.com, 07/29/07) "A fierce dispute within the Bush administration in early 2004 over a National Security Agency (NSA) warrantless surveillance program was related to concerns about the NSA's searches of huge computer databases, the New York Times reported today. The agency's data mining was also linked to a dramatic chain of events in March 2004, including threats of resignation from senior Justice Department officials and an unusual nighttime visit by White House aides to the hospital bedside of then-Attorney General John D. Ashcroft, the Times reported, citing current and former officials briefed on the program." RELATED STORY: July 29: Democrats still pursuing prosecutor for Gonzales (washingtonpost.com, 07/29/07)

Rigged Zimbabwe Polls Would Be Fatal for Country: Opposition (news.yahoo.com -afp- 07/29/07) "HARARE (AFP) - Zimbabwe's opposition chief said on Sunday that President Robert Mugabe would deliver a death blow to the country if he rigged presidential elections in his favour next year. Speaking at a rally in Kuwadzana in the capital Harare, Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai said he himself would congratulate Mugabe if he won next year's presidential elections in a free and fair environment. "If Mugabe wins in a free and fair contest, I will be the first one to congratulate him," Tsvangirai told party supporters."

Kinijit (CUDP) International Leadership Group Hands Back Delegated Political Power [Adera] to Elected Party Leaders. In an Amharic language press release six members of the group pledge to work with the released elected leaders of the party and indicated that they will soon submit a complete report on their past activities to the Kinijit leadership in Ethiopia. 

H.R. 2003 Obstructed in the US House of Representatives- How to Deal With the Lobbyist Menace:  Bill Moyers a renowned journalist Talks about Stopping the Culture of Corruption and Promoting Open Government  in Washington (commondreams.org 04/06/06)  -  In a July 25, 2007 article Harper's Magazine Ken Silverstein  exposes the role the lobby firm of  DLA Piper (paid $50,000 per month by Meles) and former House Majority Leaders Richard Armey (R Texas), Richard Gephardt (D Missouri)–are working hard to block full congressional action against the Meles Zenawi regime. Also involved is former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (D) of Maine, Chairman of the Global Board of Piper and Co-Chair of its Government Controversies Practice Group. Ethiopia news media indicated that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D California) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D Maryland) on Friday directed Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Tom Lantos not to mark-up H.R. 2003 on July 31, 2007. Barack Obama Claims He Wants to Clean Up Washington's Corruption (barackobama.com) The New York Times News Article Indicates Democrats Agree on Overhaul of Lobbying  (nytimes.com, 07/28/07)

Film Director Steven Spielberg May Quit Beijing Olympics Role Over Darfur (voanews.com, 07/28/07) "A spokesman for Steven Spielberg says the film director may quit his involvement with the 2008 Beijing Olympics unless China does more to stop the violence in Darfur. Andy Spahn told the ABC news network in an article on its web site that the director will decide in the next few weeks whether to resign from his position as artistic adviser to the games."

Gorbachev: U.S. Government Is Sowing 'Global Disarray' (usatoday.com, 07/27/07) "MOSCOW (AP) — Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on Friday laid the blame for the current low in Russia's relations with the West squarely at Washington's door, accusing the United States of making "major strategic mistakes" that had thrown the world into a period of "global disarray." Russia has fallen out with the United States on a raft of issues, clouding relations and leading some commentators to draw parallels with the Cold War."

SA Publishers Cancel 'Racist' Comic Book (news.yahoo.com -ap- 07/28/07) "JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - The South African publisher of "Tintin in the Congo" said it would not release an Afrikaans translation of the comic following complaints of racism, local media reported Saturday. Publisher Human & Rousseau said it had canceled its Afrikaans version of the book in the popular Belgian series because it portrayed Africans in an offensive way, according to SABC radio.: NOTE: A WARNING TO PARENTS OF YOUNG CHILDREN

US Government and TPLF Regime in Ethiopia Accused Over Military Weapons and Atrocities in Somalia (ft.com, 07/27/07) "Ethiopia is accused of killing civilians with white phosphorus bombs, the US navy of attacking suspected al-Qaeda operatives in Puntland, and Eritrea of delivering surface-to-air missiles to Islamist militia, in a startling new report on Somalia by UN arms monitors. Warning that the number of weapons in Somalia now exceeds that during the early 1990s, when the failed East African state was engulfed in civil war, the UN monitoring group describes persistent instability in which anti-government Islamist forces are far from a spent force, and former warlords are reasserting themselves." "...During a battle on April 13 between the Ethiopian military, which remains in the country, and the Shabaab, elite forces from the Islamic Courts Union, “Ethiopian military forces resorted to using white phosphorus bombs … approximately 15 Shabaab fighters and 35 civilians were killed.”"

A U.N. Report on Somalia Accuses the EPLF Regime in Eritrea of Adding to the Chaos (nytimes.com, 07/27/07) "NAIROBI, Kenya, July 26 — Eritrea has covertly shipped “huge quantities of arms,” possibly including suicide bomb belts and missiles that can shoot down planes, to insurgents in Somalia in an effort to torpedo Somalia’s fledgling government, a new United Nations report says. According to the report, delivered to the Security Council last Friday, United Nations monitors tracked a cargo jet that made at least 13 flights from Eritrea into Somalia to unload fighters and weapons. The Eritrean government denied all accusations and accused the arms monitors of being “misused and abused by some countries who have created quagmire in Somalia.”" RELATED STORIES: Is the Genocidal Conflict in Somalia a Proxy War Between Two Eritrean Warlords Meles Zenawi and Isaias Afeworki? (voanews.com, 07/27/07) Isaias Afeworki Denies His Regime is the Main Arms Supplier to Somali Rebels (news.yahoo.com -afp- 07/27/07)

Meles Zenawi's TPLF Regime Turns Its Critics Into Untouchables: Lessons For Naive and Opportunistic Politicians (globeandmail.com, 07/27/07) "ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA -- Dressed in a black Adidas track suit and seated amid a comfortable clutter of term papers and political science tomes in his modest office at Addis Ababa University, Prof. Merera Gudina hardly looks like a menace. But, ever since he was elected to parliament two years ago, people have been avoiding him." "...Prof. Gudina has kept his full-time job at the university. After seeing 56 members of his party killed amid post-election violence, he says there's very little he can do in parliament, where, unlike representatives for the ruling party, he has no offices, no budget and no influence. "In a year and a half, I've attended five, six sessions, that's all," Prof. Gudina said. "There's nothing there to do. When Meles makes a report, you go so at least people see you are there.""

Hearing Today for Final Two in Ethiopia Treason Trial (us.oneworld.net, 07/27/07) "Anti-poverty campaigners Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie are now the only defendants still striving to establish their innocence, out of 131 originally accused in a long-running treason trial in Ethiopia. With their advocate, the two will begin presenting their defence evidence to the Federal High Court today. They will be the only ones left on trial in this case. On Wednesday 25 July five defendants changed their pleas to guilty, and two others decided not to present any further evidence. Those convicted will be sentenced next week and it is understood they will immediately seek presidential pardons."

Blasts Kill 5 in Somali Capital (newsday.com -ap- 07/27/07) "MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Two separate explosions killed at least five civilians in the Somali capital, where the government is struggling to contain a lethal insurgency, witnesses said Friday. In one blast late Thursday, a gunman lobbed a hand grenade at a tea shop in the Hurwa district, a hotbed of support for an Islamic group that ruled much of southern Somalia for six months last year. "The bomb went off among dozens of men," said Muhiyadin Ga'amey, a witness. Three people died and five were wounded, he said." RELATED STORIES: France's Kouchner Calls for Urgent UN Force in Somalia (news.yahoo.com -afp- 07/27/07) France's Sarkozy Takes Stick for New Africa Vision (news.yahoo.com -afp- 07/27/07)

Meles Zenawi's TPLF Regime Denies Looming Humanitarian Crisis in Somali Region (irinnews.org, 07/26/07) "NAIROBI, 26 July 2007 (IRIN) - The Ethiopian government has denied blocking aid and trade to parts of its southeastern Somali region but analysts and aid agencies say humanitarian access is limited and rising prices of food are evidence of security-related restrictions. "It is a lie. It is far from the truth. There is no humanitarian operation we have banned. We are not closing any route of humanitarian operation; however, we closed the illegal trade routes crossing the border," Jama Ahmed Jama, vice-president of the Somali regional state, told IRIN." RELATED STORY: Red Cross Rejects EPRDF Cadre Accusations (mg.co.za, 07/27/07)

BBC Launches Free Internet TV Service (uk.reuters.com, 07/27/07) "LONDON (Reuters) - Billed as the biggest change in the way viewers watch television in 40 years, the BBC launched an online service on Friday that allows people to download many programmes from the last week. BBC Director General Mark Thompson says the arrival of the "on-demand" iPlayer is as important as the first colour broadcasts in the 1960s."

U.N. Confirms Isaias Afeworki Has Armed Islamic Fighters in Somalia (newsday.com -ap- 07/26/07) "NAIROBI, Kenya -- Islamic insurgents have enough surface-to-air missiles, suicide vests and explosives to sustain their war against the internationally backed Somali government, largely due to secret shipments from Eritrea, a U.N. monitoring panel said in a report. The report, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, said Eritrea has shipped a "huge quantity of arms" to the insurgents, known as the Shabab. The shipments continued despite U.N. efforts to bring peace to Somalia and the deployment of African Union peacekeepers." 

New Camp Opened for Somali Refugees in Ethiopia (irinnews.org, 07/26/07) "ADDIS ABABA, 26 July 2007 (IRIN) - The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has started relocating about 4,000 Somali refugees to a reopened refugee camp at Teferi Ber in eastern Ethiopia. The camp was closed in 2001 after its previous population of Somali refugees were repatriated. Kisut Gebre Egziabher, senior public information assistant at UNHCR, told IRIN that about 2,000 refugees had been moved from an overcrowded camp at Kebribeyah, 120km south, where they had been staying after fleeing fighting between the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) in central and southern Somalia last year." RELATED STORY: Somali Islamists Reject Reconciliation Talks (voanews.com, 07/26/07)

Press Release Issued by CUD Detainee Leaders, July 25, 2007 "As a result of the political unrest in our country, following the May 2005 election, lives have been lost, human and democratic rights of numerous citizens have been violated and valuable property has been destroyed. Furthermore, our society has sustained a psychological wound that is not likely to heal easily. The problem that our country is facing at present will not be solved easily. However, it is our ardent hope that we as a nation will recuperate gradually and strive forward in the fulfillment of our objectives."  ENGLISH VERSION (pdf) AMHARIC VERSION (pdf) RELATED STORY: Ethiopian Opposition Pledges Reconciliation, Democracy (news.yahoo.com -afp- 07/26/07)

Letter to Ethiopian Canadians by Obang Metho July 25, 2007 "We are thrilled with the release of the 38 political leaders, human rights defenders, journalists and political activists this past week, yet the crisis in Ethiopia remains serious despite this good news. Instead, it is time for increased action—rather than relaxing, thinking that others will do it all for us. We now must take advantage of this encouraging development by not losing a step in our march for freedom, peace and the rule of law in Ethiopia . To do this, we must call other Canadians to march with us, calling them to intervene wherever it is possible. Ethiopian Canadians have an important role to play as they live, work and raise their families in a great and free country, but one that continues to generously support the current ruling government of Ethiopia with huge amounts of foreign aid."

Bipartisan Duo of US Ex-Congressional Heavyweights Blocking Action Against Ethiopia (harpers.org, 07/25/07) "There have been a series of accounts out of Ethiopia recently that describe a nasty situation there, including a Human Rights Watch report earlier this month that said the Ethiopian military had “forcibly displaced thousands of civilians in the country’s eastern Somali . . . while escalating its campaign against a separatist insurgency movement.” Government troops were “destroying villages and property, confiscating livestock, and forcing civilians to relocate,” according to Peter Takirambudde, Africa director of Human Rights Watch. “Whatever the military strategy behind them, these abuses violate the laws of war.” Eyewitness accounts offered to Human Rights Watch said Ethiopian troops had been “burning homes and property, including the recent harvest and other food stocks intended for the civilian population, confiscating livestock and, in a few cases, firing upon and killing fleeing civilians.”"

Abdil Ahmed of EPRDF Declared Five Ethiopian Opposition Members Pleaded Guilty, Sought Pardon (news.yahoo.com -ap- 07/25/07) "ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopiia - Five opposition members imprisoned since 2005 pleaded guilty Wednesday to attempting to overthrow Ethiopia's government, but asked the judge for a pardon. Ethiopia pardoned and freed 38 other opposition members in the same case last week after international condemnation and strong pressure from the United States. The detainees were all arrested in connection with deadly election protests." 

Meles Zenawi Orders Red Cross to Leave Ogaden Region (voanews.com, 07/25/07) "The International Committee of the Red Cross says it is still trying to confirm media reports that the Ethiopian government has issued an order for the Red Cross to leave the restive Ogaden region in eastern Ethiopia within one week.  VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi that tensions between the Ethiopian government and international humanitarian groups that allege the Ethiopian military is blocking food aid to rebel-held areas in the Ogaden and committing war crimes there."

Isaias Afeworki Asks China to Help Break 'Border Deadlock' With Meles Zenawi (news.yahoo.com -afp- 07/25/07) "ASMARA (AFP) - Eritrean President Issaias Afeworki has asked China to boost efforts to break the tense border deadlock with arch-foe Ethiopia, an official statement said. Issaias made the request Monday during trade talks with a delegation headed by China's Assistant Minister of Commerce Chong Quan, according to a statement on Eritrea's information ministry website."

Somali Peace Talks Open to Islamists and Insurgents: An Act of Desperation (uk.reuters.com, 07/25/07) "MOGADISHU (Reuters) - The leaders of Somalia's national reconciliation conference on Wednesday opened up the talks to Islamists, members of a rival peace meeting in Asmara and even insurgents targeting the conference venue in Mogadishu. By allowing the dissident groups in, conference organisers appeared to be trying to give the meeting wider inclusiveness urged by international donors. "The Islamic Courts, the renegade legislators in Asmara and those who are behind the explosions in Mogadishu can attend the conference," deputy conference chairman Abdirahman Abdi Hussein told elders at the meeting in the Somali capital. Hussein also said "politics are on the agenda"." RELATED STORY: Mogadishu Violence Kills One, Wounds At Least Nine (voanews.com, 07/25/07)

Battles Around Peace Talks Send Somalis Fleeing Again (africa.reuters.com, 07/24/07) "ARBIS, Somalia, July 24 (Reuters) - Abdi Mahad says he misses school in Mogadishu, but is much happier sleeping outside a city where peace talks have attracted enough mortar blasts and gunshots to send 10,000 people fleeing in the past week alone. The United Nations says the violence surrounding a national reconciliation conference, billed by diplomats as the interim government's last best hope at boosting its legitimacy, has sparked yet another mass exodus from the seaside capital. Mahad, who fled from Towfiq district in north Mogadishu, is among those living near the conference venue who are caught up in an insurgency by militant Islamists vowing to derail the conference and attack the government until its Ethiopian backers leave."

Djibouti Airways Cargo Plane Crashes in East Ethiopia's Somali Region (people.com.cn, 07/24/07) "One person died and eight others sustained light and severe injuries after a cargo airplane, which is the property of the Djibouti Airways, crashed in Ethiopia's Somali region on Monday, Ethiopian police said. The official Ethiopian news agency quoted Guled Diryo, a local police officer, as saying that the accident occurred on Monday in Shinele town at around 1:00 p.m. (1000 GMT). One of the persons on board died after he was sent to a local hospital and all of the injured were admitted to the hospital for medical treatments, according to the news agency."

Somalis Flee as Attacks Escalate (news.bbc.co.uk, 07/23/07) "At least 10,000 people have fled fresh violence in Somalia's capital Mogadishu in the past week, the UN says. A report by the UN refugee agency says violence has surged since the launch of national reconciliation talks recently and has prompted the fresh exodus. On Sunday, four civilians were killed following a series of explosions at Mogadishu's main Bakara market."

What Next for Ethiopia's Freed Leaders? (news.bbc.co.uk 07/23/07) "Ethiopia's opposition leaders, freed from jail last Friday, have now had a few days to enjoy their freedom. They have been receiving the congratulations of their friends and neighbours, meeting new grandchildren for the first time, and enjoying the pleasure of sleeping in their own beds. But now they have to start thinking about the future and where they, and their organisation, go from here."

Four Killed, Several Wounded in Mogadishu Explosion (indian times.com, 07/22/07)  "MOGADISHU: Four people were killed and several wounded on Saturday in a grenade explosion and gun fire in the Somali capital, where delegates are holding peace talks, witnesses said. Insurgents hurled a grenade into an army patrol in southern Mogadishu's Bakara market, killing three people, including a soldier. Troops opened fire and killed a civilian, according to witnesses. "The explosion in the market where government forces were patrolling killed two civilians. The troops then opened fire and killed another one," said Ali Mohamed Dinyi, who saw the violence."

We Have Just Won the Battle But Not the Victory  by Obang Metho July 21, 2007 "We Ethiopians are rejoicing, wherever we are—in or outside of Ethiopia , at the release on Friday of the Opposition leaders, journalists, human rights defenders, political activists and others from Kaliti prison.  July 20, 2007 , will forever mark a great day, similar to May 15, 2005 that will go down in history books for all freedom loving Ethiopians, but please remember, as we are celebrating a beginning victory, it is only one battle in a war for justice, freedom, peace and liberty. Until tens of thousands of other Ethiopian political prisoners who continue to languish in the prisons of Afar; Amhara; Benishangul/Gumuz; Dire Dawa; Gambella; Harari; Oromiya; Ogaden ; Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's; Addis Ababa; and Tigray are free, we are not free as a people and  our victory cannot be claimed."   

Reflection on the Release of CUDP Leaders and Other Prisoners of Conscience by HG  July 21, 2007 "As we rejoice the release of the Kinijit leadership we ought not to lose sight of the circumstances that led to their incarceration, and we need comprehend the environment in which they are going to operate. Over 30,000 Ethiopians including CUDP leaders were imprisoned, over 800 were wounded and over 193 unarmed and innocent Ethiopians were shot dead, some in the head, execution style. Who will ever forget the cry of wzr Alemzuria Teshome , whose mother, wzr Etenesh Yimem , was shot dead by security forces in her yard as she pleaded for a better treatment of her husband, a CUDP and elected Addis Ababa City Council member, when the security forces dragged him out of his house. In November 2005, as she recounted her grief on VOA, wzr Alemzuria sobbed and cried, “ye Ityopia hezib yefredegn, - Let Ethiopians judge me.” "

Ban Ki-moon Calls for Efforts to Break Woyane-Shaibia Peace Process Stalemate (un.org, 07/20/07) "20 July 2007 – Pledging the support of the United Nations in efforts to resolve the stalemate between Ethiopia and Eritrea, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged the two countries to uphold their commitment signed agreements. They must “respect the ceasefire and the integrity of the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ), and refrain from any action that could undermine it or lead to an escalation of tensions between the two countries,” Mr. Ban wrote in a new report to the Security Council made public today." RELATED STORY: Report of the UN Secretary-General on Woyane and Shaibia Shenanigans (un.org, 07/18/07)

Four Journalists Convicted of Treason are Pardoned and Freed (rsf.org, 07/20/07) "Reporters Without Borders voiced relief on learning that the Ethiopian government today heeded international pleas and pardoned 38 opposition members, including four journalists, who had been given jail terms ranging from six months to life on 16 July. The four journalists to receive pardons were Ethiop editor Andualem Ayele, Abay editor Mesfin Tesfaye, Asqual editor Wonakseged Zeleke and Dawit Fassil, the deputy editor of the now defunct weekly Satenaw. Two other journalists who were given life sentences in absentia - Menilik editor Zelalem Guebre and Netsanet editor Abey Gizaw - have not so far been included in the pardon."

Open Letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations: Concerning Ethiopia  by Obang Metho, (07/18/07) ""Like our Statue of Liberty , she reminds us that the flame for freedom burns in every human heart, and that it is a light that cannot be extinguished by the brutality of terrorists or tyrants. And she reminds us that when an ideology kills tens of millions of people, and still ends up being vanquished, it is contending with a power greater than death. She reminds us that freedom is the gift of our Creator, freedom is the birthright of all humanity, and in the end, freedom will prevail. (From President George W. Bush ’s recent speech at the dedication of the memorial to victims of communism in Albania ,)"

American Sentenced for Terror Training (newsday.com -ap- 07/20/07) "HOUSTON -- A U.S. citizen convicted of receiving training at a terrorist camp alongside al-Qaida members in his efforts to help overthrow the Somali government was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison. Daniel Joseph Maldonado, 28, a Muslim convert also known as Daniel Aljughaifi and Abu Mohammed, also was fined $1,000. Maldonado admitted to traveling in December to a terrorist camp in Somalia, where he was trained to use firearms and explosives in an effort to help a group called the Islamic Courts Union topple the government and install an Islamic state. Members of al-Qaida were present at the camp."

US Exasperated by Meles Zenawi's TPLF Regime Backsliding on Democracy (sudantribune.com, 07/19/07) "Jul 18, 2007 (WASHINGTON) — Both the Bush administration and Congress are growing exasperated over Ethiopia’s backsliding from democracy but are wary of applying too much pressure against a country that has become an important anti-terror ally in East Africa. Members of the Democratic-controlled Congress are under fewer restraints than President George W. Bush’s administration, which has relied on the help of Ethiopian troops in ousting Islamic militants from power in parts of neighboring Somalia."

Brain Drain Still Hurting World's Poorest Countries - Meles Zenawi is Draining Ethiopia of Her Professionals, Academics, Entrepreneurs, Commanders, Media and Civic Leaders and High Clergy. "Dedebit" Cadres are Dragging the Country Into the Afar Sinkhole. (business.guardian.co.uk, 07/19/07) "Seeking health care in Ethiopia can be a difficult task. For every hundred thousand people, only two doctors are available as many of the country's physicians flock to the west. Many of the world's least developed countries are losing large parts of their already shallow pool of skilled professionals to western countries - hindering their ability to pull themselves out of poverty, a report by the UN said today. The UN's development arm warned that countries such as Ethiopia could see their long-term growth prospects damaged if the "brain drain" is not addressed." RELATED STORIES:  Halting the 'Brain Drain' (interacademycouncil.net, 07/19/07) Brain Drain and Africa's Development: A Reflection by Sumana Sako, African Studies journal, 2002)

Meles Zenawi's "Constitution Benevolence" Charade Has No Bounds- He Is "Leaning to Clemency" in Opposition Life Imprisonment Case (africa.reuters.net, 07/19/07) "ADDIS ABABA, July 19 (Reuters) - Ethiopia is leaning towards granting clemency to opposition members sentenced this week to life in prison, a government source said on Thursday. The United States, a major ally, has urged Ethiopia to consider clemency after 35 opposition members were given life sentences on Monday for inciting violence, treason and trying to overthrow the government. The charges related to violent protests over 2005 elections, in which the opposition won its biggest parliamentary showing but said it was robbed of victory by vote-rigging."

Meseret Defar Wins 5000M at the 9th African Games in Algiers (runnersweb.com, 07/18/07) "On the first day of the athletics competition at the 9th African Games in Algiers, Meseret Defar took the gold medal in the 5000m, crossing the finish line in 15:02.72, a Games record. Her teammate Meselech Melkamu finished second in 15:03.86, while Kenya's Silvia Kibet took the bronze in 15:06.39. "It was not very difficult today, because I didn't run alone," said Defar referring to the help she received from her compatriots who helped her control the pace. Defar was the leader at the first kilometer (2:57.95), then traded the lead with Melkamu and the third Ethiopian in the race, Ayano Workitu. Workitu fell back at 3600m, but Melkamu was still running strong, staying with Defar. The three medalists were still in contention for the win with 200m to go when Defar launched two attacks to seal her victory. The first dropped Kibet, and the second Melkamu."

Fierce Fighting in Market as Somali Talks Begin in Mogadishu (news.bbc.co.uk, 07/19/07) "At least five Somali children have been killed in a mortar shell attack, say witnesses, as a reconciliation conference finally opened in Mogadishu. "They wanted to undermine the peace process and they missed their target and killed children," said Mogadishu mayor Mohamed Dheere. At least two people died earlier, after insurgent attacks on a market." RELATED STORY: Children Killed in Attack on Somali Transitional Government Meeting (cnn.com, 07/19/07)

Four Killed in Mogadishu on Eve of Peace Talks (news.yahoo.com -afp- 07/18/07) "NAIROBI (AFP) - Four people were killed in Mogadishu Wednesday in continuing violence a day before the resumption of the troubled peace talks. Grenade explosions killed two civilians and a soldier in the volatile Bakara market, while another civilian was gunned down in southern Mogadishu's Baruha district, said witnesses. "Three grenade explosions occurred in a medicine store and two civilians were killed, one of them a young boy. Four others were wounded, two of them seriously," said market trader Ali Hirsi Aden."

Two Killed in Latest Violence at Mogadishu Market (voanews.com, 07/18/07) "At least two people, including a Somali government soldier, have been killed in the latest violence at a Mogadishu market. Witnesses say attackers threw grenades at government troops patrolling the Bakara market Wednesday.  The troops responded by firing indiscriminately.  When calm was restored, a soldier and at least one civilian were dead. This is the third straight day of deadly clashes at the market between soldiers and anti-government insurgents." RELATED STORIES: Peace Talks Slow to Develop in Somalia (voanews.com, 07/18/07) African Union Extends Peacekeeping Mission in Somalia (news.yahoo.com -afp- 07/18/07)

Libya Cancels Death Sentences Against 6 in Alleged HIV Plot (washingtonpost.com, 07/18/07) "LONDON, July 17 -- Officials in Libya on Tuesday commuted the death sentences of six foreign health workers convicted of intentionally infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV, the latest in a series of steps aimed at closing a case that has severely strained relations between a once-pariah state and the United States and Europe. The Judicial Council, the North African nation's highest legal body, ordered that sentences be reduced to life in prison for five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor who have been on death row since their convictions in December."

Ethiopian Opposition Figures Get Life Terms in Widely Faulted Case (washingtonpost.com, 07/17/07) "KIGALI, Rwanda, July 16 -- An Ethiopian judge handed life sentences instead of the death penalty to 30 of the country's top political opposition leaders Monday in a trial the prisoners have called a sham. The defendants were among an estimated 30,000 people arrested in a widespread crackdown on opposition supporters following Ethiopia's 2005 elections, when the opposition made major gains despite accusations that the vote was flawed. While most of those arrested were released after an international outcry, the top leadership of Ethiopia's main opposition party, along with journalists, a 76-year old professor and the elected mayor of Addis Ababa, have remained locked up in a dingy prison on the outskirts of the capital. One woman, a journalist, gave birth in jail."

Human Rights in Ethiopia: Another Casualty of the "War on Terror"? (huffingtonpost.com, 07/17/07) "An Ethiopian court sentenced 35 opposition politicians and activists to life in prison on Monday, AP reports. The prosecution had asked for the death penalty against the defendants, who included Ethiopia's top opposition leaders. Those sentenced to life imprisonment include the leader of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy, Hailu Shawel; Berhanu Nega, who was elected mayor of Addis Ababa; former Harvard scholar Mesfin Woldemariam; and former U.N. special envoy and former Norfolk State University professor, Yacob Hailemariam. Human rights groups condemned the trial as an attempt to silence government critics, and opposition leaders have claimed it was politically motivated. Where is the U.S. State Department in all of this? Absent without leave."

Ethiopian Opposition Party Vows to Continue Peaceful Struggle (voanews.com, 07/17/07) "A top leader of Ethiopia’s main opposition party says the party will continue its peaceful struggle in Ethiopia. Taye Wolde-Semayat, chairman of the International Chapter of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), said, “It is our party’s commitment to keep the struggle in our country in a peaceful manner.” Taye welcomed the current negotiations for the release of the opposition leaders, who were sentenced to life in prison by Ethiopia’s high court on Monday. “We encourage positive signs of the negotiation,” he said. “Hopefully, our leaders will come out soon to breath the air of freedom.”"

Somalia Transitional Federal Government PM Unaware of Reported China Oil Deal (voanews.com, 07/17/07) "Somalia's interim prime minister says he is not aware of a reported deal that would allow China's state-run energy company to explore for oil in the country. Tuesday's edition of the London-based Financial Times newspaper says the Chinese oil company CNOOC and a smaller Chinese firm are planning to begin survey work in Somalia's Puntland province later this year."

Ethiopians in Transformation: Becoming People of Action! by Obang Metho (Part I of a report on the Ethiopian movement for peace, justice and freedom in Europe ) July 14, 2007 .  “He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.”

In Ethiopia, High Court Sentences Six Journalists to Prison, Four to Life (Committee to Protect Journalists, 07/16/07) "New York, July 16, 2007—Ethiopia’s High Court today handed down harsh criminal penalties, including life prison sentences, against six journalists and three publishers on anti-state charges in connection with critical coverage of the government during the deadly unrest in the aftermath of disputed parliamentary elections in 2005, according to local journalists."

Libya Hosts Darfur Crisis Talks (news.bbc.co.uk, 07/15/07) "The African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) are chairing talks in Libya to seek a blueprint for peace in the western Sudanese region of Darfur. The AU and the UN have laid out a three-stage "road map" which they hope will lead to peace talks between rebels and Khartoum in the next few months. The Tripoli talks come as the UN says situation in Darfur is deteriorating."

Security Raised for Somali Forum (news.bbc.co.uk, 07/15/07) "Security has been stepped up across Mogadishu ahead of a national reconciliation conference on Sunday. Hundreds of Ethiopian and government troops have been deployed to secure the Somali capital city. Mogadishu has suffered constant attacks from local militias and remnants of the Islamic Courts, driven out by Ethiopian forces at the end of last year." RELATED STOTY: Meles Zenawi  Sends More Aagazi Troops to Secure Somali Reconciliation Meeting (sudantribune.com, 07/14/07)

 Five Darfur Rebel Groups Agree to Unite (uk.reuters.com, 07/14/07) "ASMARA (Reuters) - Five Darfur rebel groups agreed on Saturday to unite ahead of possible peace talks to end a four-year conflict in the region which so far has defied resolution, in part because of fractious rebel groups. In a statement to reporters, the new group, the United Front for Liberation and Development (UFLD), called on other rebels in Sudan's western region to join them. "This announcement of the formation of the UFLD is preparation for that eventuality (the peace talks) once it takes place," said Sherif Herir, a top leader in one of two Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) factions that signed the agreement in Asmara. "The door is open for any movements to join," he added."

Opponents of Somalia's Transitional Government to Hold Conference (voanews.com, 07/13/07) "Opponents of Somalia's Western-backed transitional government have announced they will hold a conference in Eritrea in September to form a coalition whose main objective is to end Ethiopia's occupation of Somalia. VOA correspondent Alisha Ryu in our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi reports the conference is also aimed at challenging the interim government's contention that it enjoys the support of the majority of the Somali people. A prominent Somali politician, Jama Ali Jama, tells VOA that the organizers of the September 1 conference in Asmara hope to draw as many people as possible from every corner of the globe." RELATED STORIES: Somali Peace Hopes Elusive as Talks kick Off (mg.co.za, 07/13/07) Somalia, a Country Torn Apart (alertnet.org -reuters- 07/13/07)

Rwandan Former Mayor Pleads Guilty to Genocide (news.yahoo.com -afp- 07/13/07) "ARUSHA, Tanzanie (AFP) - A former Rwandan Hutu mayor pleaded guilty Friday to committing crimes against humanity as he appeared before the UN-backed International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Juvenal Rugambarara was mayor of Bicumbi commune some 30 kilometres (19 miles) east of the capital Kigali during the 1994 genocide. "I plead guilty," he told the court, adding that he had not taken measures to punish subordinates involved in the massacre of Tutsis in his commune."

Two British Council Employees Arrested in Eritrea (uk.reuters.com, 07/12/07) "ASMARA (Reuters) - Eritrea has arrested two British Council employees in Asmara, the Red Sea state said on Thursday, and also accused a British diplomat of breaking its laws. "Only one is (still) in detention. I don't want to enter into details. The law has been violated," Ambassador Petros Fessahazion, head of the European desk at Eritrea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Reuters by telephone. "If there is an infraction of the law, we can't stay without reacting just for the sake of having bilateral relations." A British Council spokesman said both its employees where Eritrean nationals, and said it would be unhelpful to speculate on the reasons behind the arrests."

Heavy Shelling in Somali Capital Mogadishu (news.bbc.co.uk, 07/12/07) "Shells have been fired overnight at the presidential palace and the venue for forthcoming peace talks in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. Shooting was also heard in the city's main Bakara market. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attacks. At least two people were killed when a mortar bomb landed on their house." RELATED STORIES: Somali Government Says Reconciliation Conference Will Begin Sunday (voanews.com, 07/12/07)  Pirate Attacks Up in Somalia, Nigeria (cnn.com, 07/12/07)

International Federation of Journalists Says the World Community Must Reject Death Penalty Demand for Ethiopian Journalists (ifj.org, 07/11/07) "The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today called on an Ethiopian court to reject the prosecutor’s demand for the death penalty for four journalists who have been convicted, along with opposition members and activists, of attempting to overthrow the government, treason and inciting violence. “We condemn this cruel and unreasonable demand by the prosecution who wants journalists sentenced to death merely for doing their job,” said Gabriel Baglo Director of the IFJ Africa office. “We call on the Court of Kaliti to reject this demand and drop all the charges against the journalists and all the other prisoners of conscience jailed in Ethiopia.”"

For Ugandan Rebel, A Question of Justice (washingtonpost.com, 07/12/07) "To some international legal experts, Joseph Kony, commander of the Lord's Resistance Army in northern Uganda, should be turned over to the International Criminal Court, which has issued arrest warrants for him and four top commanders for war crimes during his 21-year guerrilla war. But others, anxious to see an end to the conflict, say a compromise should be found, allowing Kony to go into exile rather than face charges, as the price for peace in the troubled Acholi region." "...The idea of exile for repressive African leaders is not new; several African dictators fled their countries after they were deposed, before the creation of the international court in 2002. Among them were Ethiopia's deposed president Mengistu Haile Mariam, who went to Zimbabwe, where he still lives...."

Pair Face Retrial Over July 21 Bomb Plot (guardian.co.uk, 07/11/07) "Two men accused of involvement in the July 21 London bombing plot will be retried after jurors failed to reach a verdict on their cases, prosecutors said today. The jury, at Woolwich crown court, in south-east London, was dismissed yesterday after being unable to agree on the cases of Manfo Kwaku Asiedu and Adel Yahya, both of whom deny conspiracy to murder. The two men will be tried again, the crown prosecutor, Nigel Sweeney QC, told the court today."

Ethiopia Yields Ancestral More Fossils (news.bbc.co.uk, 07/11/07) "Researchers have found fossil remains of early human ancestors in Ethiopia that date to a little known period in human evolution. The cache included several complete jaws and one partial skeleton, and was unearthed at Woranso-Mille in the country's Afar desert. The remains were recovered 30km from the site where "Lucy" - one of the most famous human ancestors - was found." RELATED STORY: 'Lucy's' Houston Visit Turns Political (chron.com, 07/11/07)

Meles Zenawi Finds Imposing Death Sentences Easier Than Carrying Them Out (voanews.com, 07/10/07) "An Ethiopian prosecutor’s seeking of the death penalty Monday for 38 opposition activists has drawn expressions of shock from Washington and outrage from human rights groups.  The defendants have until Wednesday to present evidence to reduce their sentence.  They have been jailed since November, 2005, refusing to defend themselves because they did not think they would get a fair trial.  Author and human rights attorney Michael Clough calls those charges unwarranted.  He says that Prime Minister Meles Zenawi cannot be seen allowing death sentences to be carried out in his country." Listen to Attorney Michael Clough - mp3 Calling A Spade A Spade

Irish GOAL Calls on Taoiseach to Pressure Meles Zenawi's TPLF Regime to Stop Death of 38 Opposition Leaders (belfasttelegraph.co.uk, 07/10/07) "GOAL has called on the Irish government to use its influence to prevent the execution of 38 opposition leaders and activists in Ethiopia. Prosecutors in the capital, Addis Ababa are demanding the death penalty for the men, who were convicted of 'outrages against the constitution' after what GOAL has said were rigged elections in 2005. GOAL boss John O'Shea explained that since the Ethiopian government receives around 40 million euro from the Irish government on an annual basis, the Taoiseach is ideally positioned to use his influence to have the lives of these men spared." RELATED STORY: Crushing Dissent in Ethiopia (afric-interactive.net, 07/11/07)

World Bank Researchers Release Worldwide Governance Indicators 1996-2006 (worldbank.org, 07/10/07) "WASHINGTON, July 10, 2007 — The report, Governance Matters, 2007: Worldwide Governance Indicators 1996-2006 being launched today by the World Bank Institute and the World Bank Development Economics Vice-presidency, shows that a number of countries - including in Africa - are making progress in improving governance and fighting corruption.  This is encouraging given that good governance and corruption control are fundamental for long-term growth and reducing poverty. “The hopeful news is that a considerable number of countries, including in Africa, are showing that it is possible to make significant governance progress in a relatively short period of time. Such improvements in governance are critical for aid effectiveness and for sustained long-run growth.”  says Daniel Kaufmann, co-author of the report and Director of Global Programs at the World Bank Institute “Bribery around the world is estimated at about US $1 trillion dollars, and the burden of corruption falls disproportionately on the bottom billion people living in extreme poverty,”" RELATED STORY: Worldwide Governance Indicators for 2006 (siteresources.worldbank.org)

Floods Hit Southern Ethiopia (iol.co.za, 07/11/07) "Floods caused by abnormally heavy rains have affected nearly 7 000 people in southern Ethiopia, disaster officials said on Wednesday. "Almost 7 000 people are already affected by the floods caused by heavy rains, in the south of the country for more than a week, especially in the Omo region," said Sisay Tadesse, spokesperson for the Ethiopian Agency for Disaster Prevention (DPPC). 
"The most affected areas are the Gamogofa zone with over 6 000 people affected by the floods and the Wodayita zone, especially the Humbo district, with 600 people," he told AFP by telephone."

Somali Mosque Raided After Blast (news.bbc.co.uk, 07/10/07) "Somali police have arrested an unknown number of people from a mosque in the capital, Mogadishu, while searching for insurgents following a grenade attack. A BBC correspondent in the city says the mosque raid occurred in a southern suburb during evening prayers. Mogadishu is suffering from recurring violence, blamed on Islamist insurgents and Hawiye clan fighters."

Violent Crime Wave Sweeping Across Kenya (cnn.com, 07/11/07) "NAIROBI, Kenya (Reuters) -- Crime and violence are at crisis levels in Kenya in the build-up to elections, as gangs terrorize the population and "trigger happy" police respond with impunity, human rights groups said on Wednesday. The Kenya Human Rights Network said 300 criminals, police officers, victims of land clashes and suspected members of a banned sect were killed in the last six months alone."

Explosions Kill 2 in Somalia's Violent Capital (cnn.com -reuters- 07/10/07) "MOGADISHU, Somalia (Reuters) -- Several explosions ripped through Mogadishu's sprawling Bakara Market on Tuesday, killing two people in a fifth straight day of violence in the area. Somalia's interim government says Bakara, one of the world's biggest open-air arms markets, is a stronghold of Islamist insurgents it blames for almost daily guerrilla attacks on its forces and their Ethiopian military allies. Since Friday, assailants have thrown grenades at soldiers patrolling Bakara's narrow alleys and civilians have been killed as the troops returned fire. In the first attack on Tuesday, witnesses said a landmine was detonated outside a bank." RELATED STORIES: UN Warns Piracy Threatens Somalia Lifeline (news.yahoo.com -afp- 07/10/07)  U.N. Urges Action in Fighting Pirates (newsday.com -ap- 07/10/07) 'Hundreds Died' Off Yemen Coast (news.bbc.co.uk, 07/10/07)

Jury Deadlocks in UK Transit Bomb Case (newsday.com -ap- 07/10/07) "LONDON -- A jury that convicted four men of plotting to bomb London's public transport system on July 21, 2005, was dismissed Tuesday after failing to reach a verdict against two other defendants. Judge Adrian Fulford told the jury of nine women and three men on Monday that he would accept 10-2 majority verdicts on Manfo Kwaku Asiedu, 34, and Adel Yahya, 24. He dismissed the jury after less than two hours of deliberations on Tuesday." "...Unlike three of the four July 7 bombers, who were British-born, those in the July 21 plot had come to Britain as young men from places like Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. Some had become British citizens, while others had refugee status."

Dr. Yacob Haile Mariam

Former Norfolk State University Professor Dr. Yacob Haile Mariam Still Jailed in Ethiopia and Faces Death Penalty (wavy.com, 07/09/07) "A retired Norfolk State professor awaits his fate in Ethiopia.  Dr. Yacob Hailemariam left NSU and returned to his native country to run for office.  Even though he won he was still jailed by the ruling regime. That was a year ago.  Now an international effort is going down to the wire to save his life.  The court process has gone on now for months however the former professor could know his fate as early as tomorrow. It has been an agonizing year not only for Hailemariam, but for his family. "It's very much up and down," said Hailemariam's daughter Seyenie Yacob.  "You hear things that might be a little bit hopeful here and there, so you get excited and then it doesn't come through."" Watch Video Report Former NSU Professor Still Jailed in Ethiopia

The TPLF Regime Orders Re-Examination of 2 Million Drivers, a Bid to Squeeze Billions Into Zenawi's Coffers (afriquenligne.fr, 07/09/07) "APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) About 2 million drivers in Ethiopia will have to re-sit their driving tests in a bid to minimize the ever increasing traffic accidents in the country, APA learnt here on Monday. The ministry of transport said it has issued the order to rid the roads of incompetent drivers who got their license through corruption. “The ministry is obliged to take this action to control the increasing traffic accidents in the country in which over 2,000 people are killed annually. We are going to give a modern driving license exam for all who have been issued a driving license in the past years,” said Ginedin Sado, the minister of transport.

Sudanese Lament Loss of Homes as Flood Waters from the Blue Nile River Rise (uk.reuters.com, 07/09/07) "SENNAR, Sudan, July 9 (Reuters) - Asad Ali Fadla was sitting down to dinner with his family when a wall of water swept down his street and smashed into his compound in Sennar town on the banks of the Blue Nile in southeastern Sudan. Minutes after he had rushed out to check the damage, the flash flood started tearing away at the bricks of the outer wall. Just over an hour later, more than half his home had been reduced to a mass of surging mud and rubble. "If we hadn't got out in time, we could have died when the roof collapsed," said Asad, who has spent the last week filling the biggest holes in his wall."

Somalia Road Accident Involving a Truck Packed With People Fleeing Violence in Mogadishu Kills 16, Dozens Injured (africa.reuters.com, 07/08/07) "MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A road accident in northern Somalia killed at least 16 people and injured dozens more, including 20 children, officials said on Sunday. A truck packed with people fleeing violence in Mogadishu overturned in the remote village of Mataban in the northern Hiraan region late on Saturday, Hiraan regional Governor Hussein Mohamed Malin said. "The latest death toll is 16," Malin told Reuters, speaking from Baladwayne, 350 km (217 miles) north of the capital. "Some died on the spot and others in hospital. Dozens were wounded, including 20 young children." Somali radio stations reported that over 60 people were injured, but that figure could not be independently verified."

Journalist Paulos Kidane Dies Trying to Flee From Brutal Dictatorship in Eritrea: Media Watchdog (iht.com, 07/07/07) " An Eritrean journalist working for state media died last month after trying to flee on foot across the border into Sudan, a media advocacy group said. Paulos Kidane, who worked for the Amharic-language service of state-owned Eri-TV, fell sick after walking for six days along with seven other Eritreans, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said. He told the others to go on without him. There was no word of his fate until the Information Ministry informed his family and state media staff at the end of June about his "accidental death," Reporters Without Borders said Friday." RELATED STORY: Journalist, One of Nine Arrested Last November, Dies in Attempt to Flee to Sudan (rsf.org, 07/06/07)

Grenades Thrown at Somali Troops Wound Five (uk.reuters.com, 07/07/07) "MOGADISHU, July 7 (Reuters) - Attackers hurled two grenades at Somali troops patrolling Mogadishu's busy Bakara market on Saturday, wounding five people in the latest strike against government forces. The first grenade thrown by the unidentified assailants hit close to where troops were standing and burned a vehicle parked outside Dahabshil bank, Somalia's biggest. The other was lobbed 10 minutes later at troops patrolling nearby. "I saw a vehicle burning," shopkeeper Kulmiye Adan, who witnessed the first attack, told Reuters. "A wounded policeman and one civilian with missing legs bleeding profusely and writhing in pain were lying down. There must be fatalities.""

You're Worth it - If White. L'Oréal Guilty of Racism (guardian.co.uk, 07/07/07) "Part of the cosmetics giant L'Oréal was yesterday found guilty of racial discrimination after it sought to exclude non-white women from promoting its shampoo. In a landmark case, the Garnier division of the beauty empire, along with a recruitment agency it employed, were fined €30,000 (£20,300) each after they recruited women on the basis of race. The historic ruling - the first time a major company has been found guilty of systematic race discrimination in France - saw a senior figure at the agency given a three-month suspended prison sentence."

Somali Children Die in Mine Blast in Mogadishu (news,bbc,co,uk, 07/06/07) "Five children who were playing with a landmine in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, were killed when the device exploded, witnesses say. The children between the ages of six and 12 were playing football before they found it. One of them picked it up and threw it against a wall. One of the children's mothers said they were on their way to mosque for Friday prayers when they had stopped to play."

Rights Activists Condemn Somali Executions: Weyane Justice at Work in Mogadishu (voanews.com, 07/06/07) "International human rights activists and lawyers are condemning reports that Somalia's interim government has carried out its first formal executions since the government body was formed with international backing in 2004. Two Somali men were put to death by a firing squad Thursday, just days after they were arrested and found guilty in a military court. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu has details from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi. But the researcher, Martin Hill, says based on what is known, he believes the men did not receive a fair trial before they were sentenced to death. "It is very regrettable that one of the first well-known incidents of trial has resulted in swift executions without legal safeguards," said Hill. "If there had been a proper court constituted, with defense lawyers who had been given time to consult their clients and present a defense, if there had been proper proceedings, if they had the right of appeal, to petition for clemency at the end, these are the safeguards, which any judicial system should incorporate and clearly, that is quite impossible in such a short period of time."" RELATED STORY: Two Somali 'Spy-Killers' Executed (news.bbc.co.uk, 07/05/07)

Bereket Simon Says Jailed Opposition Leaders' Fate Rests With Judicial Process (voanews.com, 07/05/07) "In the past weeks there has been conflicting information about the fate of 38 Ethiopian opposition leaders jailed since that country’s 2005 election. They were convicted last month on charges of high treason and are scheduled to be sentenced sometime this month. One report said the opposition leaders agreed to sign a document accepting responsibility for the violence that followed the 2005 election in exchange for their release.  Another said some of them signed the document while others refused to."

Political Divisions Again Endanger Somali Peace Talks: Woyane Cadres Beg Reconciliation During the Day But Kill, Rape and Robe Somali Citizens After Sunset (voanews.com, 07/05/07) "In another blow to Somali government plans to hold a long-delayed peace conference to end the country's 16-year-old civil war, elders of the most dominant clan in Mogadishu, the Hawiye, have failed to resume talks to unite the clan politically. The talks were suspended three days ago because of various disputes among competing sub-clans. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu has more from our East African Bureau in Nairobi. A Hawiye clan elder, belonging to the Abgal sub-clan, acknowledged that efforts to reach a consensus among one of the largest and fractious tribes in Somalia is proving to be nearly impossible."

Somali Transitional Government Executes Two as Blasts Strike (uk.reuters.com, 07/05/07) "MOGADISHU, July 5 (Reuters) - The Somali government on Thursday carried out its first formal executions, killing two suspected Islamist insurgents convicted of murdering a government official just three days earlier. But even as the administration meted out capital punishment for the first time since its formation in late 2004, rebels kept up a campaign targeting government officials with a trio of blasts. A Mogadishu court convicted the two men and ordered their executions for the murder of Osman Ali, the deputy district commissioner of Mogadishu's Horuwa district who was gunned down on Monday, officials said."

Eastern Sudan Farmers Get Back Disputed Lands From Ethiopia (sudantribune.com, 07/03/07) "July 3, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — A joint Sudanese-Ethiopian committee would start today to hand over agricultural lands to residents of more than 17 Sudanese villages located in eastern Atbara River along the Ethiopia-Sudan border. The agricultural lands remained a source of dispute for more than 100 years. Governor of Al-Gadarif State, in eastern Sudan, Abdelrahman al-Khidir told Akhir Lahzah that this step came as an implementation of 1971 agreement which stated re-demarcation of the border between the two countries. He added that technical arrangements have been finished and a committee of seven experts from each side would give the Sudanese farmers their lands, pointing out that his government is ready to append these farmers with the current agricultural season."

EPLF-TPLF Border War Victim Refugees to Go to U.S. (africa.reuters.com, 07/04/07) "ADDIS ABABA, July 4 (Reuters) - The first of 700 refugees from the Kunama ethnic group displaced by Ethiopia and Eritrea's 1998-2000 border war are being sent to the United States for resettlement, the U.N. refugee agency said on Wednesday. The Kunama are an ethnic group of about 100,000 who reside on the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea, a disputed frontier. The 700 Kunama refugees crossed into Ethiopia from Eritrea after the war in which 70,000 people were killed, complaining of persecution and harassment by the Eritrean government, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said."

Meles Zenawi's Constitutional Order Ruled That Tamrat Layne and Seye Abreha are Guilty of Corruption (allafrica.com, 07/03/07) "After six years of trials, Tamrat Layne, the former prime minister, and Seye Abreha, ex-defence minister, along with his younger brother Miherete'ab, were found guilty by the Federal Supreme Court on corruption charges on Friday, June 29, 2007. The third brother, Assefa Abreha, who was also a part of the inner circle of the ruling party, had been charged under the same file, but managed to escape scotch-free. In July 2002, the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission brought forward four cases against Tamrat and two cases against Seye. Each was found guilty on one count."

The World Bank Pouring Another $130 Million Into Meles Zenawi's Bank Account  (web.worldbank.org, 07/03/07) "The World Bank Board of Executive Directors today approved an International Development Association (IDA) credit* of US$130 million to help expand electricity access to rural populations in Ethiopia. The Second Electricity Access Rural Expansion project aims to bring grid, mini-grid and off-grid electricity access to 295 towns and villages and provide such services as lighting for schools and clinics, benefiting a total population of about 1.8 million."

Meles Zenawi's Adulteration of Ethiopia Continues Unabated: The TPLF Imports South African Breeds to Destroy Sheep and Goat Stocks Husbanded for Centuries  (africa-iInteractive.com  07/03/07) "3 July 2007 - PANA. In a bid to improve the quality and productivity of its herds, Ethiopia has imported Dorper sheep and Boer goat breeds from South Africa to cross-breed with the local stock in six regions under its livestock development programme, an official source said here Tuesday. The arrival of the new breeds was part of the Ethiopia Sheep and Goat Productivity Improvement Programme that began in late 2005 at the cost of US$5.5 million, according to the source."

African Union Summit Ends Without Agreement on Government Timetable (news.yahoo.com -afp- 07/03/07) "ACCRA (AFP) - An African Union summit devoted to integration ended Tuesday without agreement on a firm timetable on the establishment of a government for the continent, according to the final declaration. The leaders instead commissioned four studies which will be presented to a committee of heads of state "who will make appropriate recommendations to the next ordinary session of our assembly," Ghana's President John Kufuor said at a closing ceremony after the three-day summit in Accra."

Africa: The Key To A Successful African Union (allafrica.com, 07/03/07) "There is perhaps no continent or no people that need unity than Africa and Africans. It is true that much of our plight in Africa is a result of the colonial legacy. But much of Africa's problems can only be explained by the abject failures of its children, particularly its rulers. There is no place in Africa, than in Ethiopia that colonialism has left its least foot prints. Perhaps a closer look at Ethiopia can give us a glimpse of what we don't need to perennially complain on the colonial past. Even by standards of most of Sub-Sahara Africa, Ethiopia remains to be the poorest country cyclically ravaged by multimillion killer famine and diseases. There is no reason for this to happen."

Isaias Afeworki Warns TFG of Somalia Over Cooperation With Meles Zenawi (sudantribune.com, 07/03/07) "July 2, 2007 (MOGADISHU) — The government of Eritrea has warned the Somali Transitional Federal Government to be vigilant about the Ethiopian army intervention in Somalia, although Somali government considers this intervention as military cooperation. The Eritrean government said that the Somali government actually does not know how it is going to perform its duties in the future, after it had been involved in fighting its rivals by cooperating with the Ethiopian forces."

Child Refugees in Kenya Suffer Malnutrition - U.N. (uk.reuters.com, 07/03/07) "GENEVA, July 3 (Reuters) - Child malnutrition rates are at crisis levels in refugee camps in Kenya, where desperate parents are selling food supplies to get firewood and soap, three United Nations agencies said on Tuesday. 
In a joint appeal, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF asked donors for $32 million to help improve care for children at the Dadaab and Kakuma camps, which house 237,000 refugees, mainly from Somalia and Sudan. Aid shortfalls have meant those living in the camps have received less than 15 percent of the firewood and less than half the amount of soap they need, the agencies said. Many have also faced water shortages."

Janjaweed Using Rape as 'Integral' Weapon in Darfur, Aid Group Says (washingtonpost.com, 07/03/07) "A new report on the crisis in the Darfur region of western Sudan has identified rape as a systematic weapon of ethnic cleansing being used by government-backed Janjaweed militiamen, and said Sudanese laws discriminate against female victims, who face harassment and intimidation at local police stations if they try to report the crime. The report, "Laws Without Justice: An Assessment of Sudanese Laws Affecting Survivors of Rape," by the humanitarian group Refugees International, said rape was "an integral part of the pattern of violence that the government of Sudan is inflicting upon the targeted ethnic groups in Darfur.""

George W. Bush Refuses to Rule Out Libby Pardon for Lewis "Scooter" Libby (washingtonpost.com, 07/03/07) "President Bush today refused to rule out a pardon for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, one day after he spared the former White House aide prison time by commuting the 30-month sentence imposed after Libby's perjury conviction in the CIA leak case. "As to the future, I rule nothing in and nothing out," the president told reporters after visiting wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. A full pardon would wipe clean Libby's criminal record. The commuted prison sentence leaves Libby's conviction in place, along with a $250,000 fine and two years probation."

US President George W. Bush Commutes Libby's Sentence (washingtonpost.com, 07/02/07) "President Bush today commuted the prison sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, sparing him the 30-month term to which he was sentenced last month for lying to federal investigators about his role in the White House leak of a CIA officer's identity. Bush took the action just hours after a federal appeals court ruled that Libby was not entitled to remain free while he was appealing his conviction on four felonies."

African Leaders in Fierce Debate on Unity (cnn.com, 07/02/07) "ACCRA, Ghana (Reuters) -- Supporters of the immediate creation of a federal state stretching from Cape Town to Cairo waged a fierce debate at an African summit on Monday with leaders who want much slower integration. The African Union summit, on its second day, got down to heavyweight discussions on its only agenda item -- the creation of a United States of Afrrica. While almost all the 53 member nations agree with the goal of African integration and eventual unity, most of the summit leaders, led by South Africa's Thabo Mbeki, believe this must be a gradual process." RELATED STORIES: African Leaders Thrash Out Plans for Closer Unity at Regional Summit (news.yahoo.com -afp- 07/02/07) Leaders Debate Unified African State at AU Summit (voanews.com, 07/02/07)

Somali Elders Search for Peace (guardian.co.uk, 07/02/07) "NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Almost every day, Somalia's government comes under attack - suicide bombings, roadside explosions, ambushes. Security forces have tried mass arrests and curfews, but to no avail. The key is solving religious and clan differences - and the challenge of bringing one of the nation's largest clans into the process shows why stability and prosperity remain a distant dream." "...He [Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed] went on to reject the reconciliation conference as ``not reflecting Somali interests. Moreover, it is not aimed at ending or solving the existing Somali problems; it serves the interests of the enemy that invaded the country.'' These demands, which are often echoed by Hawiye warlords, essentially ask the government to commit suicide. With no outside military support and an open agenda, the government will cease to exist and a new one would have to be formed from scratch."

Isaias Afeworki Scorns Meles Zenawi's Invasion Accusation (uk.reuters.com, 07/01/07) "NAIROBI, July 1 (Reuters) - Eritrea scoffed on Sunday at comments by Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi that his neighbour and arch-foe might be considering an invasion, saying such talk was a smokescreen to cover "domestic chaos". 
A short but withering editorial from Asmara also criticised Meles' "boot-licking" foreign policy in Somalia where he has sent troops to back the government against Islamists. At odds since a devastating 1998-2000 border war, Ethiopia and Eritrea's unremitting enmity is seen as a major destabilising factor across the Horn of Africa, one of the world's poorest and most conflict-ridden zones."

Family Ends 9,300-Mile Bike Ride in Guilford: Funds Raised to be Donated to Orphanage in Ethiopia (newsday.com -ap- 06/30/07) "GUILFORD, Conn. -- Watching cartoons on a recent Thursday morning, 9-year-old twins Davy and Daryl Vogel don't want to get up off the couch. They say they are tired. They should be. They just finished a 9,300-mile bike ride." "...They attracted much publicity along the way; the Vogels estimate they were interviewed for at least 30 newspaper articles. As they realized the amount of attention they were receiving, they took up a cause for which they could help raise money, asking supporters to give to an orphanage for youths with AIDS or HIV in Ethiopia, called AHOPE for Children."

Sudan's al-Bashir Condemns U.S. Over Sanctions: Sudan TV (news .yahoo.com -reuters- 06/30/07) "LONDON (Reuters) - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Saturday condemned the United States for pursuing sanctions against his country over Darfur, the BBC quoted Sudan TV as reporting. "We are amazed why USA is continuing with sanctions after a time when we agreed with the U.N. on the heavy support package," he said. Sudan agreed on June 12 to a combined United Nations and African Union peacekeeping force of more than 20,000 troops and police, but many diplomats doubt Khartoum will keep its word."

Oromo Rebels Reportedly Killed 30 Aagazi Soldiers in Eastern Ethiopia (sudantribune.com, 06/29/07) "June 28, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA) — The rebel Oromo Liberation Army OLA), armed wing of Oromo Liberation Front, killed over 30 soldiers and captured nine others in an attack the Ethiopian troops in eastern zone, a rebel radio reported. The eastern zonal commander has said that on 19 June 2007 the OLA took a punitive strike against Ethiopian troops at a place called Fulale in the district of Boku, East Hararge Zone, killing over 20 soldiers and wounding 10 others. Besides killing and wounding Ethiopian soldiers in the attack on their base, the OLA captured nine soldiers. In the attack, the OLA captured over 10 AK-47 assault rifles, six F1 grenades, over 350 firearm rounds as well as other materiel and turned them into an asset for Oromo liberation Army, reported the rebel radio Voice of Oromo Liberation."

Somali PM Wants UN Peacekeepers: Security Council Told Him Not Before You Agree to a National Reconciliation Conference. His boss Meles Zenawi of course is encouraging him to 'crush his opponents' as does Condoleezza Rice. (news.bbc.co.uk, 06/29/07) "The prime minister of war-torn Somalia has asked for UN peacekeepers to take over from the African Union mission. "Failure to act at this critical period will be very costly in the future," Ali Mohamed Ghedi told the UN Security Council, AP news agency reports. But diplomats say council members were cautious about the proposal, wanting first to see progress through the reconciliation summit due next month." RELATED STORIES: Piracy Feared as South Korean Ship Missing Off Somalia (cnn.com, 06/29/07) Aid Needs Grow in Somalia But Access Gets Harder (uk.reuters.com, 06/29/07) Locusts Hit Parts of Somalia (voanews.com, 06/29/07)

Somali Officials Escape Assassination Bids (uk.reuters.com, 06/27/07) "MOGADISHU, June 27 (Reuters) - Somalia's trade minister and former defence minister escaped assassination attempts, which killed two other people, in the latest Iraq-style guerrilla attacks on government targets, witnesses said on Wednesday. A roadside bomb hit Trade Minister Abdullahi Ahmed Afrah's convoy late on Tuesday in a busy north Mogadishu street. A female passer-by was killed and eight people including four of the minister's bodyguards were injured, locals said. 
"The minister escaped death narrowly," resident Omar Rage told Reuters. "It was a remote-controlled roadside bomb. It exploded as soon as his vehicle passed."" RELATED STORIES: Thousands Flee Mogadishu Amid Renewed Violence, UN Reports (un.org, 06/28/07) Somalia Violence Kills 2 Soldiers, 2 Aid Workers (voanews.com, 06/28/07)

Sudanese Official Killed in Car Crash (newsday.com -ap- 06/27/07) "KHARTOUM, Sudan -- A top Sudanese presidential adviser who played a key role in Darfur peace negotiations died early Wednesday in a car accident, a government official said. Majzoub al-Khalifa was driving a road from his home village to the capital with his brother when their car flipped over in a road accident at dawn, Sudan's presidential spokesman Majzoub Faidul told The Associated Press. The two brothers died of their injuries near the northern Sudan town of Shendi, some 112 miles north of Khartoum, the capital, he said." RELATED STORY: U.N. Concerned as Violence Escalates in Darfur (uk.reuters.com, 06/27/07)

CIA Plot to Kill Castro Detailed (newsday.com -ap- 06/27/07) "HAVANA -- The CIA recruited a former FBI agent to approach two of America's most-wanted mobsters and gave them poison pills meant for Fidel Castro during his first year in power, according to newly declassified papers released Tuesday. Contained amid hundreds of pages of CIA internal reports collectively known as "the family jewels," the official confirmation of the 1960 plot against Castro was certain to be welcomed by communist authorities as more proof of their longstanding claims that the United States wants Castro dead."

Republican Senators Attack Bush Over Iraq Troop Surge (guardian.co.uk, 06/27/07) "One of America's most influential Republicans rounded on George Bush over Iraq yesterday, saying the "surge" begun in February had little chance of success. Richard Lugar, senior Republican on the Senate's foreign relations committee, said the war put vital US interests in the Middle East at risk and could end in disaster unless a coherent withdrawal plan for US forces was agreed "very soon". Mr Lugar had previously been a supporter of the action. In a sign of spreading rebellion another Republican senator, George Voinovich, backed him last night. "We must not abandon our mission, but we must begin a transition where the Iraqi government and its neighbours play a larger role," he said."

Mogadishu Attacks Kill Five as US Reprimands Transitional Government (news.yahoo.com -afp- 06/26/07) "MOGADISHU (AFP) - Five people were killed in bomb and grenade attacks in the Somali capital on Tuesday, a day after US officials expressed concern that the government was hampering national dialogue. The bomb explosion in the heart of Mogadishu's Bakara market killed four women who worked there as cleaners and wounded at least another 10 people, some of them seriously, witnesses and medical sources said." "...In a separate incident in northern Mogadishu, an unidentified attacker hurled a grenade at Somali Trade Minister Abdullahi Afrah's convoy, killing one of the official's bodyguards, police said. "The minister escaped, but one of his security men was killed and two others seriously injured," police officer Mohamed Yusuf Ali told AFP." RELATED STORY: Somali PM in US to Seek Aid, Peacekeepers (voanews.com, 06/26/07)

Africa United in Rejecting US Request for Military HQ (guaardian.co.uk, 06/26/07) "The Pentagon's plan to create a US military command based in Africa have hit a wall of hostility from governments in the region reluctant to associate themselves with the Bush administration's "war on terror" and fearful of American intervention. A US delegation led by Ryan Henry, principal deputy under-secretary of defence for policy, returned to Washington last week with little to show for consultations with defence and foreign ministry officials in Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Egypt, Djibouti and with the African Union (AU). An earlier round of consultations with sub-Saharan countries on providing secure facilities and local back-up for the new command, to be known as Africom and due to be operational by September next year, was similarly inconclusive."

"Youths carrying stones in their hands charge up the road to Addis Ababa city hall during the third day of unrest on the streets of Ethiopia's capital. Minutes later, the crowd dispersed as federal riot police and special forces drive into the area in the central Piazza area of the capital. Gun shots and large explosions were heard throughout the area before heavy rain drove everyone off the streets. Addis Ababa 08 June 2005. The clashes erupted out of student protests over alleged irregularities in Ethiopia's May 15 national elections. Photo by Andrew Heavens."

Ethiopia: US Power Moves in Ethiopia’s Conflict (africapath.com, 06/25/07) "Rumors are all over about the imminent release of the leaders of Ethiopia 's pro-democracy party, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD). Whether the prisoners are released at all and under what terms is entirely dependent upon secret deals being struck between the United States and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia . A campaign to divide and conquer the prisoners also appears to be underway. RELATED STORY: Jailed Ethiopians 'To Be Freed' (news.bbc.co.uk, 06/25/07) "A group of 38 Ethiopian opposition leaders found guilty of links to violent election protests is to be freed, they have told their families. They say they have signed a document to secure their release but it is not clear what this is. Their friends and relatives went on Monday morning to the town of Kaliti where they are being held but were disappointed when they were not freed."

Ethiopia Rebels Say TPLF Government Killed 40 in Air Raids (mg.co.za, 06/25/07) "Rebels in Ethiopia's remote eastern Somali region accused the government on Monday of using war planes to bomb three villages, killing about 40 people, in an escalating offensive against the insurgents. The government said it had the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) "on the run", but denied using planes during fighting in the poor and arid region on the border of Ethiopia and Somalia in the Horn of Africa. An ONLF spokesperson said as well as the victims of air raids, 57 more civilians had died in the past 10 days or so of battles."

"It is Time to Return to the Motherland" Southern Sudanese Refugees in Gambella Ethiopia Are Preparing for Repatriation Back to Sudan (alertnet.org -reuters- 06/25/07) "BONGA, 22 June 2007 (IRIN) - For many years, Waskan Munya has followed the same Saturday afternoon routine - chatting with his fellow refugees while one of his two wives prepared dinner. "I did not expect the camp to be my home for 14 years," he said. "I am happy that finally it is time to return to my motherland, Sudan." Munya is one of thousands of Southern Sudanese refugees who have been living in camps in Gambella regional state, Ethiopia, but are now preparing for repatriation back home."

There's More Than a Border in Ethiopia, Eritrea Conflict (allafrica.com, 06/24/07) "Have Ethiopia and Eritrea moved closer to a resolution of their "border" conflict, seven years after the end of a bitter two-year war costing more than 70,000 lives? Maybe. The two countries agreed to binding arbitration about the location of their border in Algiers in 2000. The small town of Badme was awarded to Eritrea. Until then, Ethiopia refused to allow the demarcation because Eritrea invaded Badme to spark the war in 1998. Why? Because for the preceding year, a series of incidents provoked the Eritrean government into thinking that Ethiopia soldiers were trying to take over Badme by stealth."

Seven Killed in Fighting Among Somali Soldiers (washingtonpost.com, 06/23/07) "NAIROBI, June 22 -- In another sign of trouble for Somalia's transitional government, fighting erupted Friday among hundreds of government soldiers belonging to two rival sub-clans. Seven people were killed in the brief but heavy battle near the southern coastal city of Kismaayo, home to a lucrative port and fertile farmland that the Majerteen, the sub-clan of Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf, and the Marehan, their historical enemies, would both like to control."

20 Killed in Nairobi Night of Violence (guardian.co.uk, 06/23/07) "In a night of bloodshed in the Kenyan capital Nairobi at least 20 people were killed, including two who had been beheaded, police said yesterday. Some of the deaths could be linked to a banned sect that has been terrorising the capital, they said. Three people, including the two who were beheaded, were found dead in Banana Hill on the outskirts of Nairobi, where police have been cracking down on the banned Mungiki sect, which is accused of a series of beheadings."

Civilians Still Being Brutalized in War Zones - UN (uk.reuters.com, 06/23/07) "UNITED NATIONS, June 22 (Reuters) - Despite campaigns to protect civilians in war zones, progress is gradual and failure too obvious in many places in the world, the U.N. emergency relief coordinator said on Friday. John Holmes told the U.N. Security Council that in many areas, such as Sudan's Darfur region, Somalia or Afghanistan, "We are still failing to make a real and timely difference for the victims on the ground." "Lip service is easy. Effective action is much harder," Holmes told the council, which devotes a full session twice a year to the issue of protecting civilians."

At Least 15 Die in Overnight Violence in Kenyan Capital (voanews.com, 06/22/07) "At least 15 people have been killed in a surge of violence overnight in and around Kenya's capital, Nairobi. At least three people were killed - and at least one beheaded - in the Banana district, where police have been cracking down on the outlawed Mungiki sect. At least four people were killed when gunmen sprayed a bar in Kariobangi district with bullets." RELATED STORY: At Least 20 Killed in New Kenyan Violence (washingtonpost.com, 06/22/07)

Africa Faces Better Food Year But Crises Remain in East Africa Because of Violence and Chaos (uk.reuters.com, 06/22/07) "LONDON, June 22 (Reuters) - Most of Africa has seen better rains and better harvests than in recent years, aid workers say, but they fear a looming crisis in Somalia while drought and HIV are slashing crop output in parts of southern Africa. Last year saw a serious drought in East Africa, while 2005 saw a food crisis in Niger that grabbed worldwide headlines. Experts say 2007 looks easier but four countries -- Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Lesotho and Somalia -- are cause for concern." ""...There are forecasts that make quite grim reading," WFP's Smerden said. "There may be a crop failure in central and southern Somalia.""

The TPLF Regime  Receives US$2.62 million Grant From the World Bank to Eliminate Obsolete Pesticide as Part of the Africa Stockpiles Program (huliq.com, 06/21/07) "The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved on June 19 a grant to assist the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to eliminate obsolete pesticide stockpiles owned by the government, and associated waste, and to implement measures to reduce future risks. The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved on June 19 a grant to assist the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to eliminate obsolete pesticide stockpiles owned by the government, and associated waste, and to implement measures to reduce future risks.

Negotiations in Progress to Free Jailed Ethiopian Opposition Leaders (voanews.com, 06/21/07) "Negotiations are in progress to free a group of 38 Ethiopian opposition leaders who were jailed following post-election violence in 2005. The Washington Post newspaper reports Thursday that the opposition leaders have signed a document accepting partial responsibility for the violence in exchange for their release. However, a source close to the negotiations tells VOA Horn of Africa service that the talks are still in progress and that no deal has been finalized." RELATED STORY: Ethiopian Prisoners Sign Paper in Bid for Release (washingtonpost.com, 06/21/07)

Curfew Announced in Mogadishu as Attacks Escalate in Somalia (news.yahoo.com -afp- 06/21/07) "MOGADISHU (AFP) - Somali authorities on Thursday imposed a a nightime curfew in Mogadishu as five more people were killed in escalating violence in the volatile capital. Somali National Security Agency chief Mohamed Warsame Darwish said the curfew would take effect on Friday. "No one should be seen moving from 7:00 pm (1600 GMT) to 5:00 am (0200 GMT)," Darwish told a press conference. "We need our forces to tackle the violence in the evenings and secure the city in order to prevent explosions. That is why we are imposing the curfew."" RELATED STORY: Curfew After Somali Grenade Blast (news.bbc.co.uk, 06/21/07)

Police Stations Raided in Somalia (news.bbc.co.uk, 06/20/07) "At least two people have been killed overnight in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, during gun battles between suspected insurgents and the police. Two police stations, one in the north and the other in the south of the city, were targeted in surprise raids. The attacks come a day after Islamist fighters and their ousted leaders were granted an amnesty by the government. Recurrent violence in Mogadishu has twice delayed a national reconciliation conference now set for next month."

Starbucks, TPLF Regime Settle Licensing Dispute (reuters.com, 06/20/07) "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Starbucks Corp. (SBUX.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and the Ethiopian government reached an agreement that settles a dispute over the country's bid to trademark its coffee beans, according a joint statement released on Wednesday. The U.S. coffee chain had been accused by Ethiopia and aid agency Oxfam of attempting to block Ethiopia from obtaining trademarks for its best-known beans -- Sidamo and Harrar."

Eritreans Pay Tribute to Thousands Killed in War Against Ethiopia (eitb24.com, 06/20/07) "Some holding orange flowers, Eritreans bowed their heads in silence to celebrate an estimated 90,000 people killed in a 30-year independence struggle and a 1998-2000 border war. Thousands of Eritreans marched through the streets on Wednesday to a cemetery atop a hill overlooking the capital to honour tens of thousands of people killed in two wars against their former Ethiopian masters."

Tigrean International Solidarity for Justice and Democracy Denounces Senhat Nega (Letter of condemnation of Interview Sebhat gave in Tigrigna, Issued in Amharic transcription and translation, June 2007 pdf)

Mounting Worries on World Refugee Day (alertnet.org -reuters- 06/19/07) "In the dying days of Sri Lanka's ceasefire in April last year, I interviewed Dennis McNamara, head of internal displacement for the U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. With refugees and displaced people making their way home around the world after a series of devastating wars in Angola, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia and elsewhere, he made a powerful case for funding returning populations."

Ethiopians Demonstrate in Front of Embassy in Washington DC Denouncing the Incarceration and Ruling Against CUDP Leaders and Others (ETN 06/18/07) WATCH VIDEO REPORT

Alliance For Freedom and Democracy Statement: 'Manipulation of the Legal System and Totalitarianism in Ethiopia' (mathaba.net  06/17/07) "Over the last 16 years the Ethiopian people have suffered under the tyranical rule of EPRDF. The gross violations of human rights, the absolute disregard for the rule of law, and the general abscence of basic democratic practices, like the independence of the judiciary system from direct interference by the executive, has been well documented by various human rights organizations." RELATED STORIES Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (Kinijit) Call for Action (Press Release 06/16/07) Anuak Justice Council Statement: Stand Up Ethiopians (Press Statement 06/18/07)

Blast Kills 2 Children in Somali Capital (cnn.com, 06/18/07) "MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- A roadside bomb hidden in a pile of gaarbage exploded Monday in Somalia's capital, killing two children and wounding three people just minutes after security officials drove by, police said. Five people were arrested. The bomb went off in northern Mogadishu, where Somali troops and their Ethiopian allies were conducting a search for hidden weapons. The target was the security convoy, police said. "Two children were killed when a roadside bomb exploded," Mohamed Muhyadin, a spokesman for Mogadishu's mayor, told The Associated Press. "It was a cowardly attack, a terrorist act."" RELATED STORIES: Explosion Rocks Somali Capital (voanews.com, 06/18/07) Somalia in the Eye of the Storm (news.bbc.co.uk, 06/18/07)

African Nations Cup Jigsaw Takes Shape (news.yahoo.com -afp- 06/18/07) "CAIRO (AFP) - Angola, Cameroon, Morocco, Nigeria, Sudan and Tunisia were celebrating qualification for the 2008 African Nations Cup Monday. The Black Antelopes of Angola, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon and the Atlas Lions of Morocco ensured their places at the biennial African football showcase by taking unassailable group leads. And whatever the final round qualifying results during September and October, Nigeria, Sudan and Tunisia will also be in Ghana next January for the 16-nation tournament."

U.N. Envoys Say Sudan in Agreement on Darfur Force (uk.reuters.com, 06/17/07) "KHARTOUM, June 17 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council will recommend that the world body fund a joint African Union-U.N. peacekeeping mission for Darfur, after receiving assurances it would be controlled by the U.N, envoys said on Sunday. After months of talks, threats and negotiations, Khartoum agreed to at least 20,000 troops and police for Darfur, but had said that most soldiers should come from Africa and command and control would be under the AU. 
The United Nations was however reluctant to fund a mission where it did not have overall control." RELATED STORY: Security Council to Back Funding for Darfur Mission (uk.reuters.com, 06/17/07)

Press Release by the Ethiopian National United Front (ENUF) on the TPLF Kangaroo Court Ruling Against CUDP Leaders and Others  ENUF Condemns the unlawful incarceration of the elected members of Ethiopian parliament and demands their immediate and unconditional release.  Listen to Woyane god-father Sehat Nega's Insane and Abrasive Interview on Aiga Woyane Forum  (Click on links below)              PART 1              PART 2              PART 3             PART 4

Kenyan Forces Cross Into Somalia to Search for Officers’ Killers (sudantribune.com, 06/16/07) "June 16, 2007 (NAIROBI) — Kenyan security forces have crossed into Somalia to search for suspects in the killing of two Kenyan policemen, a senior police officer said Saturday. The Kenyan contingent will receive help from Somali and Ethiopian security forces, Northeastern Province police chief Antony Kibuchi said. "There is a very big operation going on there," said Kibuchi, who declined to give the number of Kenyan forces in Somalia."

Convictions in Ethiopia Trials Condemned by Amnesty International USA (amnestyusa.com, 06/15/07) "(New York) -- Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) condemns the recent convictions in Ethiopia of 38 opposition party members, journalists and a human rights defender on charges that could carry life in prison or the death penalty. "We are deeply concerned about the fairness of political trials in Ethiopia and call on the government to immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners of conscience," said Lynn Fredriksson, advocacy director for Africa for AIUSA. The defendants were convicted on June 11 after a 14 month trial by the Federal High Court of Ethiopia. The group included Professor Mesfin Woldemariam, founder and first president of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council, who has been a "special focus" case for AIUSA."

Somalia Insurgents Show Missile in Video (newsday.com -ap- 06/15/07) "NAIROBI, Kenya -- A video circulating in Somalia's capital shows a masked man firing a surface-to-air missile -- a graphic but unsubstantiated claim that Islamic insurgents in the country are capable of shooting down planes. The video, available on the streets of Mogadishu and obtained by The Associated Press on Friday, is one of several released recently by the insurgents, echoing the propaganda tactics of radical groups in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East. They may serve less to communicate with the world than to rally supporters at a time when the movement has been driven underground by Somalia's government and its Ethiopian military backers."

Isaias Afeworki Rejects Cousin Meles Zenawi's 'Acceptance' of UN Border Decision - Shabia/Woyane Drama (sudantribune.com, 06/15/07) "June 15, 2007 (UNITED NATIONS) — Eritrea rejected Ethiopia’s "unconditional" acceptance of a U.N. boundary commission ruling that it return a disputed town to Eritrea, arguing Friday that its agreement contained stipulations that undermined the spirit of the ruling. In a letter last week to the U.N. Security Council, the Ethiopian government agreed to the commission’s decision, announced five years ago, that it return the key town of Badme to Eritrea. The status of the town was part of a tense, nine-year-long, border dispute. But in its own letter to the council on Friday, Eritrea blamed the Security Council for failing to force Ethiopia to turn over Badme and "encouraging Ethiopia to flout the rule of law.""

After Sacrificing 100,000 Ethiopian Lives, Meles Zenawi Agrees to Give Badme to Isaias Afeworki (sudantribune.com, 06/15/07) "June 15, 2007 (UNITED NATIONS) — After years of conflict and a tense border dispute, Ethiopia has accepted a U.N. commission’s ruling to turn over a disputed town to Eritrea. The Ethiopian government gave its unconditional acceptance of the commission’s decision, announced five years ago, that it return the key town of Badme to Eritrea, in a letter last week to the U.N. Security Council. "I believe it’s good news ... that was one of the bottlenecks in the situation," U.N. associate spokesman Yves Sorokobi said Thursday. "If they do agree, it should move the process forward a bit more quickly."" RELATED STORY: Zenawi Agrees to Give Town to Eritrea (news.yahoo.com -ap 06/15/07)

Somalia: Security Council Stresses Need for Contingency Planning for UN Mission (un.org, 06/14/07) "14 June 2007 – The Security Council today signalled the need for contingency planning for a new United Nations mission in Somalia, which has been wracked by violent clashes and massive displacement in recent months but where observers also see hope for reconciliation. The Council, in a Presidential Statement read out by Johan Verbeke of Belgium, which holds the rotating presidency, looked forward to a report from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the issue “by mid-June.” The statement also emphasized “the urgent need for appropriate."

Somalis Skeptical of Peace 'Under Occupation' (news.bbc.co.uk, 06/14/07) "One day after Somalia's interim government postponed a national reconciliation conference for the third time in three months, some residents of Mogadishu are expressing doubt the conference can be held while Ethiopian troops are in the country. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu in Mogadishu reports that a late-night gun battle Wednesday between Ethiopian troops and insurgents in south Mogadishu has caused more people to flee their homes."

IFJ Condemns Conviction of Journalists, Publishing Houses in Ethiopia (mediaforfreedom.com, 06/13/07) "The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the conviction of four journalists and three publishing houses in Ethiopia on charges they attempted to “dismantle the constitutional system” after they published articles about the anti-government riots in November 2005 that came after elections in the country six months earlier.“We are shocked by this case and the fact that two of our colleagues now face life imprisonment or the death penalty simply for their reporting on public demonstrations,” said Gabriel Baglo, Director of the IFJ Africa office. “We call on the judges to drop all the charges against the journalists and the publishing houses and to release unconditionally these journalists and all the others who are still in jail.”"

Somali Conference Postponed Again (news.bbc.co.uk, 06/13/07) "Twice-delayed Somali reconciliation talks set for 14 June have again been postponed, the organisers say.  The chairman of the organising committee, Ali Mahdi Mohamed, says the talks were postponed "due to unforeseen circumstances". The conference is meant to initiate dialogue between rival clans and factions in the war-torn country. The decision comes a day after Islamists and the prominent Hawiye clan said they would not attend the talks." RELATED STORIES: Somalia Postpones Peace Conference for Second Time (uk.reuters.com, 06/13/07) Analyst Says Postponement of Somali Reconciliation Conference No Surprise (voanews.com, 06/13/07)

Search for Missing Cops at Kenya-Ethiopia Border Underway (kbc.co.ke, 06/13/07) "A search is underway for three armed police officers who disappeared on Sunday as they patrolled the Kenya-Ethiopia border. North Eastern Provincial Police Officer, Anthony Kibuchi said everything was being done to locate the officers. He said the incident was being treated as a disappearance but kidnapping could not be ruled out. By Tuesday evening, the officers had not been traced despite the PPO traveling to Mandera and meeting security teams from neighbouring Ethiopia and Somalia."

U.S. Concerned About Political Dissidents Being Sentenced on Treason Charges in Ethiopia (video.state.gov, 06/12/07) "Department Spokesman Sean McCormack (June 12): "We're quite surprised, first of all, by the action that was taken by the government and very, very concerned. It would appear that this is a preemptory action that was taken by the court that surprised not only us, but the defendants as they were working to mount a defense against these charges. So we are examining it very closely." U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing by Department Spokesman Sean McCormack on Woyane Verdict 

SUDAN-ETHIOPIA: Bid to Defuse Tensions Between Nuer Border Communities (alertnet.org -reuters- 06/12/07) "JUBA, 12 June 2007 (IRIN) - Authorities in Akobo, Southern Sudan, and Tiergol in the Gambella region of Ethiopia are planning talks to defuse tensions between communities living in the border region, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Ethiopia reported. The tension around Akobo is between two subgroups of the Nuer ethnic group – who predominantly live in Sudan but also have significant numbers in Gambella - the Lou Nuer and the Jikany Nuer."

US Preparing Air-Strikes Against Al-Qaeda in Somalia: Official (news.yahoo.com -afp- 06/12/07) "MOGADISHU (AFP) - US warplanes are overflying the northern Somali region of Puntland in preparation for air-strikes against suspected Al-Qaeda fugitives, more than a week after US warships shelled the area, officials said Tuesday. The semi-autonomous regional government had authorised the overflights to pursue Al-Qaeda members believed to be hiding in the moutainous area, Puntland's security minister Ibrahim Artan Ismail told reporters.

Somali Talks 'Will be Boycotted'- Sheikh Ahmed Says Somalia's Problems Were Political, Not Clan-Based (news.bbc.co.uk, 06/12/07) "One of the leaders of the main clan in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, says he will not be taking part in the forthcoming reconciliation conference. The Hawiye clan has been opposed to the presence in Somalia of Ethiopian troops who helped government forces oust an Islamist group in December last year. Meanwhile, a leader of the ousted Islamists says no conference can take place until Ethiopian troops withdraw."

Sudan Accepts Revised Plan for Joint Darfur Force (cnn.com, 06/12/07) "ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) -- Sudan on Tuesday accepted a revised plan for a joint African Union and United Nations peacekeeping force of between 17,000 to 19,000 troops in Darfur, a senior African Union official said. African Union, United Nations and Sudanese officials held a two-day meeting to discuss a force whose deployment would mark the final phase of a three-stage U.N. plan to bolster a poorly equipped and underfunded force of 7,000 AU peacekeepers, which has been unable to end four years of death and destruction in Darfur."

Somali Police Intercept Car Filled with Explosives (voanews.com, 06/12/07) "Police in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, have intercepted a car loaded with explosives they say was going to be used against the interim government.  VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu in Mogadishu was given an exclusive, first-hand look and files this report. Police found the car Monday at an intersection in the southern Hodan District of the capital"

INTERVIEW-Ethiopia Rebels Say Meles Zenawi's TPLF Troop Crackdown in the Ogaden Targets Civilians (uk.reuters.com, 06/11/07) "LONDON, June 11 (Reuters) - Ethiopian rebels accused government troops on Monday of raping women and destroying villages in the southeastern Ogaden region to suppress a separatist insurgency. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi announced a crackdown at the weekend against the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), whose fighters raided a Chinese-run oil exploration field in April, killing 74 people. 
It was one of the bloodiest attacks in a sporadic but long-running conflict between government forces and the ONLF, which seeks more autonomy for its under-developed region bordering Somalia."

The Ethiopian National United Front (ENUF) Issues a Press Release in Response to Shaibiat-Woyane's Fabricated Charges of "Attempts to Overthrow the Constitutional Order by Use of Arms." VAO Amharic Program Report On Shaibiat-Woyane Fabricated Charges Against the Ethiopian National United Front (ENUF) (by Meleskachew Amha)   June 6, 2007 Report  June 7, 2007 Broadcast

Ethiopian Capital's Home Wreckers (news.bbc.co.uk, 06/11/07) "Shack dwellers in Addis Ababa are being forced out of their homes as massive development takes place in the Ethiopian capital, writes the BBC's Amber Henshaw as part of a special report on cities in Focus on Africa magazine. Twenty-four-year-old Osman Redwan woke up one morning to find his shack in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, sliced in two."

Circumcision in Eritrea: Custom Trumps Law - Isaias Afworki is Still in the Business Genital Mutilation (cnn.com, 06/11/07) "HAGAZ, Eritrea (Reuters) -- For 3-year-old Amira, a law banning female genital mutilation in Eritrea came too late. Wrapped in an orange traditional dress, Amira's mother, who gives her name only as Gerejet, says she circumcised the child to please her future husband. "It was the culture that we have taken from our grandmothers, but we also do it for the pleasure of the men," the 30-year-old told Reuters in a small village 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of the Eritrean capital, Asmara."

US Enlists Sudanese Spies in "War on Terror" (guardian.co.uk, 06/11/07) "The CIA is recruiting Arab-speaking Sudanese citizens to infiltrate Middle Eastern radical groups in spite of US sanctions against the country over Darfur, it emerged today. Faced with the impossibility of placing white Americans into such groups, the CIA has made such deals in the past, arguing that intelligence creates strange bedfellows. The Sudanese recruits have been handing over information about individuals passing through Sudan to Somalia and elsewhere in the Horn of Africa and to the Middle East, in particular, Iraq."

Francois Lonseny Fall, U.N. Secretary General’s Special Representative to Somalia Says Meles Zenawi is Determined to Pull His US Trained and Armed Aagazi Troops from Somalia (sudantribune.com, 06/11/07) "June 10, 2007 (CAIRO) — The United Nations envoy to Somalia said Sunday that Ethiopia is determined to withdraw all of its troops deployed in the neighboring country to help the Somali government oust a radical Islamist militia, Egypt’s state-run news agency reported. Francois Lonseny Fall, U.N. Secretary General’s special representative to Somalia, held talks in Cairo with Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit on the security and humanitarian situation in Somalia."

Former US Secretary Of State General Colin Powell Calls for Closing Guantanamo Bay (guardian.co.uk, 06/10/07) "WASHINGTON (AP) - Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday he favors immediately closing the Guantanamo Bay military prison and moving its detainees to U.S. facilities. The prison, which now holds about 380 suspected terrorists, has tarnished the world's perception of the United States, Powell said. ``If it was up to me, I would close Guantanamo. Not tomorrow, but this afternoon. I'd close it,'' he said."

The Tigrean People's Liberation Front's Chief Meles Zenawi Announced the 'Launch of Crackdown' on the Ogaden National Liberation Front Fighters in Ethiopia (news.yahoo.com -afp- 06/09/07) "ADDIS ABABA (AFP) - Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Saturday his government had launched a crackdown on a rebel group blamed for several attacks in the country's eastern Ogaden region. "We have launched a political and military operation to try to contain the activities of the ONLF (Ogaden National Liberation Front) in the region," Meles told a news conference. "As for the military plans, over the past few days they have started to be implemented," he added."

Islamic Courts Want Meles Zenawi's Mercenary Troops Out of Somalia (somalinet.com, 06/08/07) "Fri. June 08, 2007 07:18 pm.- By Bonny Apunyu. - (SomaliNet) Former head of foreign relations for Somalia's Islamic Courts Union Ibrahim Adaw, has accused Ethiopian troops of being an occupying force and demanded their withdrawal. "When the occupier is killing people and forcing them to flee their homes, then the Somali people have no choice but to resist the Ethiopian occupational forces," he said. "Our solution would be an immediate Ethiopian withdrawal, so that Somalis can go to the negotiation table for a genuine reconciliation," he told Al Jazeera on Thursday."

South African Man Detained in Ethiopia (news24.com, 06/08/07) "Johannesburg - Efforts were continuing to secure the release of a South African man being held in Addis Ababa Ethiopia, his family said on Friday. Abdul Hamid Moosa, 41, was studying in Damascus, Syria, since September 2005 but remained in contact with his family in Robertsham, south of Johannesburg. "We used to talk on the phone all the time, we communicated by computer," said Zakir Ally, Moosa's brother. In December 2006, the family heard from Moosa for the last time."

US General 'Sacrificed' to Clear Decks on Iraq (guardian.co.uk, 06/09/07) "The Bush administration yesterday attempted to wipe the slate clean on the Iraq war and chart a new way forward with the surprise announcement that it was replacing General Peter Pace as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. The defence chief, Robert Gates, said he had reluctantly decided on the reshuffle - despite his initial support for Gen Pace - to avoid a "divisive ordeal" at the Senate which would have had to approve an extension of the general's term."

Visiting Somalia, UN’s Top Political Official Urges Reconciliation (un.org, 06/08/07) "June 2007 – During an unannounced visit to Mogadishu today, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs expressed solidarity with the people of Somalia while encouraging the leaders of the Transitional Federal Government to reach out to their opponents for the sake of peace and reconciliation in the war-torn Horn of Africa country. “The international community is willing to help Somalia in all areas as long as there is progress on the ground,” Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe told reporters at Mogadishu airport."

Jerusalem: Endorsing the Right of Conquest (fpip.org, 06/08/07) "In a flagrant attack on the longstanding international legal principle that it is illegitimate for any country to expand its territory by military means, the U.S. House of Representatives, by an overwhelming bipartisan majority, passed House Concurrent Resolution 152 congratulating Israel for its forcible “reunification of Jerusalem” and its victory in the June 1967 war. The resolution, passed by a voice vote on June 5 – the 40th anniversary of the Israeli conquest of East Jerusalem and other Arab territories – states that U.S. policy should recognize that Jerusalem is “the undivided capital of Israel.” There is no mention that Jerusalem – which has the largest Palestinian population of any city and which for centuries served as the commercial, cultural, education and religious center for Palestinian life – should also be recognized as the capital of a future Palestinian state."

The Spoilers Who Threaten Somalia's Peace Hopes Must be Barred From Peace Talks - Lord Triesman: 1960s Failed British Diplomacy Revisited (guardian.co.uk, 06/08/07) "Hopes of replacing violence with dialogue in Somalia are focusing on a much-delayed national reconciliation congress now expected in Mogadishu next week. But the nascent peace process could be stillborn if what Lord Triesman, Britain's minister for Africa, describes as "wreckers and spoilers" inside and outside the country prevail." "...Ethiopia maintains "the vast majority" of its troops have withdrawn. Those remaining in Mogadishu were engaged in tracking down "mujahideen and al-Shabaab extremists", disarming clan militias and police training, it said in a statement. "Generally, the rest of Somalia is enjoying the fruits of peace." But that assessment was belied by this week's attempted assassination of Ali Mohammad Gedi, prime minister of the western-backed transitional federal government (TFG); and by the latest UN figures indicating that 300,000 people from Mogadishu have yet to return home and 850,000 nationwide remain dependent on international food aid."

Committee to Protect Journalists Condemns Meles Zenawi's Somalia Media Closure (newsday.com -ap- 06/07/07) "MOGADISHU, Somalia -- A press freedom group condemned the Somali government's closure of three independent broadcasters accused of supporting terrorists, saying the allegations were unproven. The Mogadishu-based radio stations -- Shabelle, HornAfrik and Radio of the Holy Quran -- remained closed Thursday, the day afteer the shutdown. "The authorities have silenced important, independent voices on the basis of unsubstantiated accusations," said Joel Simon, executive director of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. "We call on the Somali transitional government to allow these broadcasters back on the air immediately." RELATED STORIES: 'Al-Qaeda' Suspect Arrest in East Africa (news.bbc.co.uk, 06/07/07) CIA Ran Secret Prisons for Detainees in Europe, Says Inquiry (guardian.co.uk, 06/07/07) European Report Addresses CIA Sites (washingtonpost.com, 06/07/07)

EU Decry Ethiopia Rights Abuse (blackstarnews.com, 06/07/07) "A Committee of the European Parliament has strongly criticized what it called "massive human rights violations" going on in Ethiopia since 2005. 
"The human rights situation has been deteriorating in Ethiopia since 2005, with opposition members put in jail, while rights activists are awaiting trial," the Committee’s chair, Josep Borrel, said at a parliamentary debate. 
The Ethiopian ambassador to Belgium, Ato Berhane Gebré-Christos, had been invited to the EU parliamentary debate, but he was said to have turned down the invitation."

Security Council Urged to Ensure Darfur War Crime Suspects Face Justice (news.yahoo.com -afp- 06/07/07) "UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - International Criminal Court prosecutor (ICC) Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Thursday urged the UN Security Council to ensure that a Sudanese minister and a Khartoum-backed Janjaweed militia leader accused of war crimes in Darfur face justice. A week before a Security Council team is to visit Sudan for crunch talks on joint African Union-UN peacekeeping in Darfur, the prosecutor said, referring to the case of the two war crime suspects: "I ask the council to address this unacceptable situation during their mission to Khartoum.""

Reports: Saudi Prince Got More Than $2 Billion Cash for Arms (news.yahoo.com -ap- 06/07/07) "LONDON - A British company allegedly paid a Saudi prince more than $2 billion as part of an $85 billion arms deal between Saudi Arabia and Britain in 1985, a newspaper reported Thursday."

Meles Zenawi's TPLF Regime Charges 55 Opposition Members With Rebellion (voanews.com, 06/06/07) "The Ethiopian government has charged 55 opposition members with trying to launch an armed rebellion. The state-run Ethiopian News Agency reports the defendants were charged this week with "instigating armed violence" against the government following the 1997 national elections. All of the defendants are said to be associated with the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy. The report says the proceedings have been adjourned until Thursday."

TPLF/EPRDF Prime Minister Meles Zenawi Makes Another Promise to Withdraw His Aagazi Mercinaries From Somalia- Aagazi Morale Sagging (news.bbc.co.uk, 06/06/07) "Ethiopia's prime minister has pledged to withdraw his troops from Somalia once peace takes hold in the capital. Meles Zenawi, who made a surprise visit to Mogadishu, also held talks with influential clan elders whose militia are opposed to Ethiopian troops there. The presence of thousands of Ethiopian troops in Somalia is unpopular with many Mogadishu residents." RELATED STORIES: Aagazi Mercenary Troops Search Somali Capital for Weapons (sudantribune.com, 06/06/07)  George W, Bush's Envoy Jendayi Frazer Says Somali Transitional Government Jeopardized Peace Talks (sudantribune.com, 06/06/07) 

Online Freedoms Under Threat, Says Amnesty (guardian.co.uk, 06/06/07) "Internet repression is eroding freedom of expression online as more governments block sites and arrest bloggers, a human rights group warned today. Amnesty International said the internet could change beyond all recognition unless action is taken and it called on governments and companies to respect people's right to freedom of expression online. "The virus of internet repression is spreading. The 'Chinese model' - of an internet that allows economic growth but not free speech or privacy - is growing in popularity, from a handful of countries five years ago to dozens of governments today who block sites and arrest bloggers," said Tim Hancock, UK campaigns director of Amnesty International."

George W. Bush and Meles Zenawi Close Three Mogadishu Broadcasters (uk.reuters.com, 06/06/07) "MOGADISHU, June 6 (Reuters) - The Somali government on Wednesday again shut down three Mogadishu broadcasters, accusing them of supporting terrorism amid a virulent insurgency. Under orders from Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi's office, Information Minister Madobe Nuunow Mohamed directed security agents to close down TV broadcasters HornAfrik and Shabelle media and the IQK Koranic radio and question their owners. "HornAfrik, Shabelle and IQK are famous for creating tension, supporting terrorism, violating the freedom of the press and opposing the government," the letter ordering the closures said." RELATED STORIES: Somali Radio Stations Silenced After TPLF/EPRDF PM's Visit (voanews.com, 06/06/07) U.S. Ship Fires at Pirates (news.yahoo.com -ap- 06/06/07)

Bush-Bashing Dominates Republican Debate (guardian.co.uk, 06/06/07) "Republican candidates in the 2008 presidential race today sharply criticised George Bush for being a vote-loser, during a live televised debate. During the two-hour debate in Manchester, New Hampshire, the third since the campaign began, the candidates were asked what job they would give Mr Bush.  "I would certainly not send him to the United Nations" to represent the US, Tommy Thompson, one of the candidates, said. The president also faced criticism over his handling of the Iraq war and illegal immigration, the hottest issue in the US after Iraq."

The George W. Bush Administration Loses Out in Dramatic Guantanamo Rulings (news.yahoo.com -afp- 06/05/07) "GUANTANAMO BAY US NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AFP) - The US government disagreed Tuesday with military judges who threw out charges against two Guantanamo Bay detainees in a stunning reversal on the legal front of its "war on terror." Monday's surprise rulings on Toronto native Omar Ahmed Khadr, 20, and Osama bin Laden's ex-driver Salim Ahmed Hamdan threatened to torpedo the government's pursuit of Guantanamo Bay terror suspects through new-look military tribunals." RELATED STORIES: Guantanamo War Crimes Trials Halt (uk.reuters.com, 06/05/07) White House Criticizes Guantanamo Trial Ruling (washingtonpost.com, 06/05/07)

Britain Says Mugabe Near Category of 'Crimes Against Humanity' (voanews.com, 06/05/07) "A British Foreign Office minister says Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is following a path that could lead to "crimes against humanity." Britain's chief Africa minister, David Triesman, told reporters Monday that if Mugabe continues in the same economic and political direction, he could fall into the same category as former Liberian President Charles Taylor."

U.S. Ambassador to Asmara, Scott Delisi Says "The Government of the United States Remains Hopeful That one Day [post Isaias Afeworki] the Eritrean People Will Enjoy the Rewards of Their Heroic Struggle for Independence,"  (sudantribune.com, 06/05/07) "June 4, 2007 (ASMARA) — The outgoing U.S. ambassador for Eritrea has lashed out at Asmara over human rights abuses in a sign of deteriorating relations between Washington and the Red Sea state. Ties between the United States and Eritrea have become increasingly frayed as Washington accuses Asmara of aiding rebel groups trying to destabilise Ethiopia, the main U.S. counterterrorism ally in the region. Washington has also accused Eritrea of backing insurgents fighting Ethiopian and government troops in Somalia. U.S. Ambassador Scott Delisi criticised Asmara for "increasing government violations of human rights, civil liberties, economic freedom, and democratic principles.""

Briton 'Killed in US Missile Attack in Somalia' (guardian.co.uk, 06/04/07) "The Foreign Office today said it was investigating reports that a Briton was killed in a US missile attack on suspected Islamist militants in Somalia. The Somali authorities say up to a dozen people were killed when a US warship fired cruise missiles at targets in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, in northern Somalia, on Friday. One of the dead reportedly had papers indicating he was British, a Somali official said. "We are aware of the reports that a British national was killed," a Foreign Office spokeswoman said. "Our consular staff in Nairobi (Kenya) are looking into this and are in touch with the local authorities.""

Meles Zenawi Mercenary Troops Kill Would-Be Bomber (guardian.co.uk, 06/04/07) "MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - Ethiopian troops fired Monday at a would-be suicide bomber speeding toward their base, blowing up the car and killing the bomber and a civilian standing nearby, officials said. ``This was a terrorist act,'' Deputy Defense Minister Salad Ali Jelle said. The attack came one day after a suicide car bomber drove through a roadblock guarding the prime minister's home and rammed the vehicle into a wall, killing seven people. The prime minister was unharmed." RELATED STORIES: Islamists Claim Suicide Attack on Somali Premier (uk.reuters.com, 06/04/07) Radical Somali Youth Group Claims Suicide Attack  (voanews.com, 06/04/07)

Bomber Strikes Near Somali Leader's Home (washingtonpost.com, 06/03/07) "MOGADISHU, Somalia -- A suicide car bomber drove through a roadblock guarding the home of the Somali prime minister on Sunday and rammed the vehicle into a wall. Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi was whisked to safety, officials said, but at least five people were killed in the explosion. A top government official blamed the assassination attempt _ the third against Gedi since he returned to Somalia in May 2005 _ on "terrorists linked to al-Qaida." "They planned to kill the prime minister," Salad Ali Jelle told The Associated Press. "He is alive. And now he is in safe place."   Map shows semiautonomous republic of Puntland, Somalia, where U.S. warships bombarded a remote Somalia militants' base

Meles Zenawi's Somali Invasion Troops  to Stay in Somalia for Weeks (today.reuters.com, 01/02/07) "MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Ethiopian troops will stay in Somalia for another few weeks to help the victorious government pacify the Horn of Africa nation after a two-week war to oust militant Islamists, Addis Ababa said on Tuesday. Tightening the net on defeated Somali Islamic Courts Council (SICC) fighters fleeing south, neighboring Kenya said it had sealed its long and porous northeastern border."  RELATED STORIES: Somali Interim Government Says Meles Zenawi's Occupation Forces Will Stay (news.bbc.co.uk, 01/02/07) Somalia's Islamist Fighters Flee Last Urban Base as Pro-government Alliance Closes In (guardian.co.uk, 01/02/07) Somali Islamic Fighters Flee Toward Kenya (washingtonpost.com, 01/02/07) Somalia's PM: Major Fighting Likely Over (news.yahoo.com -ap- 01/02/07) 

EDITORIAL NOTE: Meles Zenawi says "We have accomplished our mission. After this our area of focus will be withdrawing of our defense forces and continuing the ongoing anti-poverty struggle (in Ethiopia)," Translation - I have performed as a superb mercenary, and now I expect that Condi will without delay effectuate a wire transfer of the contractual dues to my account in Geneva. But do not be surprised if I display my pauper's bag on TPLF TV. Regrettably, Bereket  advised and our party (MLLT) forced me to do that. Otherwise I would have done anything that a friend like G.W. Bush asked, let alone capture these terrorists who would have marched to Addis Abeba and taken over all of East Africa, just like I told you before. (fettan.com, 01/02/07)         

Melese Zenawi threatening the opposition with genocide    photo by Reuters

Arkebe Oqbay and  Mohammed Al Amoudi strategizing at stadium

Girma, Meles & wife, deprecating Ethiopian history through buffoonery

EDITORIAL COMMENT: An Advice and a Request to Prime Minister Tony Blair to Cage His Attack Dog: Woyane Ethnic Supremacist Policy, Ethnic Cleansing, and Election Politics

Melese Zenawi's Anti-Ethiopia Speech in 1994 on First Anniversary Celebration of Eritrean Independence (Posted 2/17/05) If as an Ethiopian you have not yet accepted the widely held conviction that Melese Zenawi is a Yemeni-Eritrean mercenary bent on imposing neo-fascist and neo-imperialist objectives on Ethiopia, here is one more factual information you ought to consider. Listen to the Amharic and Tigrigna versions of his speech at the celebration of Eritrean independence in 1994 and you be the judge. He is really a malignant narcissist who talks from both sides of his mouth to hide his thirst for blood. If his bluff to intimidate the world community into "mediating the stage managed conflict with Isayas" (the drama is actually for consumption by the gullible who believe he is an Ethiopian patriot and must be "re-elected"), he may actually be fantasizing about attacking his beloved "motherland" to scratch her bleeding wounds and set her free "once and forever". Thanks to our brother Abraham Yayeh who provided the audio and translations. Those who do not speak Tigrigna, may read the Amharic translation of the Tigrigna speech. (below).

MLs AsMr BAmro yDRGw nggr (dmi TQdt YTSrXw Bv]by rdy)  Bi'f YTZgJw BAbrhm yYh  Melese Zenawi's Speech (text) in Amharic Celebrating Eritrean Independence in 1994 (audio broadcast by EPLF radio, transcribed and typeset by Abraham Yayeh (Amharic pdf). Click here to listen to the audio (Copyright © 2005 by Fettan.com)

MLs AsMr Btgro yDRGw nggr YAmro trgm (dmi TQdt YTSrXw Bv]by rdy)  Bi'f YTZgJw BAbrhm yYh  Melese Zenawi's Speech in