UN assesses needs, abuse claims in Ethiopia region (Reuter)

Unite the people from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean (Sudane Tribune)

The people of the region must enter into an overriding project to unite and reject colonial boundaries. It is a scandal that in 1998-2000 nearly 100, 000 people died to defend borders drawn by others for their own reasons against the interest of the grassroots population by the elites that chose to split Eritrea from Ethiopia and bring both regions to the brink. This is indeed a historic wrong that continues to amaze all justice and humane people throughout the world. Not only has a war being fought, but to this day a no war and no peace state prevails affecting negatively the people who live on both sides of the Mereb River.

The elites have created refugees from each side and it looks the refugees have turned into a breeding ground to destabilise each regime. In recent weeks a new rhetoric has been launched by both the rulers in Ethiopia and those in Eritrea. Isias has given an interview in a glossy magazine in three languages about his undying and unchanging commitment to a ‘one Ethiopia—andit or hanti Ethiopia’!!! He declared in the front cover: “It’s our persistent stance to strive for a united Ethiopia.” Isias utters such a statement, according to the Ethiopian ambassador in Stockholm, whilst hosting forces that have an explicit agenda to break away and create splinter states from Ethiopia in Asmara!....Prof. Mammo Muchie

Say good bye to 'Hod Fiker Radio'(Ethiopian Review)

OPDO Delegates Chased Away by Oromo Youth in Minnesota (oromoindex)

Defar spearheads Ethiopia's medal sweep bid (ioL)

Norwegian envoys to leave Ethiopia (BBC)

UN to examine needs, violence in Ethiopia's Ogaden,(Reuter)

Mr. Obang Metho Addresses Ogadenis in Minnesota:

The first step is for all Ethiopians to get to know each other as unique people and as fellow human beings, then to acknowledge whatever pain and suffering we have might have caused to each other and then reconcile. In the case of the Anuak and the Ogedenis, we have few, if any, conflicts or hard feelings between us since we were so unaware of the others’ existence!...Mr. Obang Metho

Thousands of homeless being moved out of Ethiopian capital in time for millennium celebrations,(pr-insid)

Ethiopia: A Simple Life?(Emorywheel)

But national news is far from uplifting. Although the rains have been good this year, the specter of famine still haunts Ethiopia. The country occupies a disadvantageous position in the global trade system, and the absence of democracy and freedom of expression at home make parts of Ethiopia vulnerable to famine even when there are bumper crops elsewhere. Since national elections were held in Ethiopia in 2005, half a dozen newspapers have been shut down for criticizing the government.

Last month, the Africa correspondent for The New York Times, Jeffrey Gettleman, was expelled from Ethiopia for interviewing members of the Ogaden National Liberation Front, a militia group fighting for the independence of the ethnically Somali part of Ethiopia. (Gettleman did not respond to an e-mail for this article.) The Ethiopian army is also fighting a protracted war in neighboring Somalia, which it invaded with American support at the end of 2006....more..

Ethiopia expels Norwegian envoys (BBC)

Human Rights Group Seeks Accounting of Ethiopian Food Aid,( VOA News)

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

Abdukadir Sulub Abdi is the international coordinator for the Ogaden Human Rights Committee. He says more than two million people are suffering from malnutrition because of the military clampdown.

"There is not independent agents or international NGOs who can be trusted for the distribution of the aid. So it is easy to divert and everyone knows that they divert aid," said Abdi. "Many children have starved to death because of this military blockade and there is also a breakout of cholera and other diseases which are related to malnutrition."...Abdukadir Sulub Abdi...

Imperious Bekele powers to 10,000m treble,(Reuter)

Kenyan who campaigned to free brother from secret Ethiopian jail disappears,(Iht

Dibaba’s dramatic defence,(IAAF)

When four Ethiopians assumed the lead after two kilometres, it looked as if we were going to get a scenario like in the men’s race in Paris 2003. But just after 6000m, the 21-year-old Dibaba and colleague Mestawet Tufa were involved in a fall, which left Dibaba winded, adrift and rubbing her stomach, while Tufa had to stop and put a shoe back on. Tufa eventually dropped out, but Dibaba didn’t panic, and it took over a kilometre to get back in touch with the large group, before challenging for the lead again...read more..

Kenya, US and Ethiopia share golden spoils at Athletics Championships,(AFP)

Famous Ethiopian Fossil Shrouded in U.S. Controversy,(Ncmonline)

The underside of the Eritrean Issue,(Ethiopian Media)

...Even when Eritrea became independent, the cooperation could not continue. Economic and political rivalries poisoned the relationship of the two former partners. Conflicts multiplied leading to an atrocious war that resulted in the defeat of Eritrea and the signing of a peace treaty based on further misunderstandings. While some influential members of the TPLF advocated the removal of Isayas by marching on Asmara, the clique of Meles, to the great dismay of Ethiopians, dismissed the idea. We now know why: it was less to protect Eritrean interests or ruling elite than to counter any situation that might resurrect the issue of reunification. Once Ethiopians control Asmara, who knows to what development such a control can lead?

To understand why today the TPLF leaders give interviews defending the Eritrean independence, we have to keep in mind the aftermaths of the Ethiopian election, which brought about the political and ideological bankruptcy of the present government. The TPLF leaders know that only the use of repressive methods can prolong their hegemony. They also recognize that they cannot sustain their repressive forces if another war starts with Eritrea. Now that they are bogged down in Somalia in addition to being massively contested inside the country, they need to subvert the Eritrean ruling faction by encouraging the internal opposition. Oh, they would like to resolve the conflict by accepting The Hague ruling in favor of Eritrea, but they realize that any territorial concession would anger Tigreans. What else is then left but to invent a situation of threat to Eritrean independence in the hope of presenting themselves as the only defender of that independence? The message to Eritreans is thus clear enough: if something happens to us, then your independence is in jeopardy, for we are your only friends, the only guarantor of the status quo. Professor Messay Kebede

ETN interview with Andargachew Tsige,(Ethiopian Review)

Important Video Clips(Ethiopian Media)