NTERVIEW-Ethiopian opposition leader takes fight abroad ,(Alternet)

"Most of the institutions that are necessary for democratic order don't seem to be operating right now," he said, adding that Ethiopia's judiciary, security forces, and election boards were all under control of Zenawi....more

Ethiopia: Horn of Dilemma, (Times)

War is not certain, of course. Despite Meles' saber-rattling speech to parliament in June, in an interview with Time he described times in the past when his party forced him to adopt a more aggressive line with Eritrea than he would have preferred. "There were a number of times when I found myself in a minority and implementing decisions I was uncomfortable with."...more

Somali opposition to discuss anti-Ethiopia military strategy, (MEtimes)

"There will be discussions about this issue [fighting Ethiopia]," said conference spokesman Zakariya Mahamud Abdi in response to reporters' questions.

"People who are specialists in the area of military operations will handle this issue - it will not be for Tom, Dick, and Harry." ...more

High attrition cripples Ethiopia's health sector, (Afrol)

Ethiopia is described as the worst African country affected by brain drain. In fact, the study revealed that currently there are more working Ethiopian doctors in the United States than in Ethiopia. Many Ethiopian doctors also left for Botswana, South Africa and the Middle East in search of good pay....more

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1659389,00.html

Secretary general of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (Kinijit), Ato Muluneh Eyoel, gave a press conference to Ethiopian Review, Ethiopian Media Forum, Addis Dimts Radio and Netsenet LeEthiopia Radio yesterday. During the 1-hour press conference, Ato Muluneh discussed the scheduled working visits by Kinijit high-level delegations to the United States and other countries....more

From Ethiopia, with love, (Peacearchnews)

The Streifels describe their new daughter as a bright, cheerful and outgoing little fashion diva who changes her clothes five times a day (apparently she hasn’t realized the clothes in her closet are hers for keeps, so she’ll often try to wear them all at once)....more

UN team returns from Ethiopia's troubled Ogaden (Reuters)

The mission primarily assessed the food, water and health needs in the remote area, said Paul Hebert, head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Ethiopia.

"Considering this was not an investigative mission, we gathered enough information to enable us to draw preliminary conclusions on the humanitarian situation in the region and on protection issues," Hebert told Reuters.

"The government facilitation was good," he said, adding that the mission would brief the Ethiopian authorities next week before reporting to donors and non-governmental organisations....more

Kinijit leaders arrive in Washington, DC on Sunday (Ethiomedia)

Kinijit Chairman Ato Hailu Shawul is not expected to arrive with the delegation. He has not received an entry visa from the U.S. Embassy as of the date of this press release. The Committee is informed and believes that even if Ato Hailu were to receive his visa at the present time, he will be unable to join the Delegation on a U.S. tour due to ongoing health care needs. The U.S.-bound Delegation fully supports Ato Hailu in his decision to attend to his immediate medical needs. The Delegation is hopeful that Ato Hailu will regain his health speedily and join them on the tour.....more

Somali opposition leaders unite against Ethiopia, (MEtimes)

The Islamist movement's other top leader, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, urged Ethiopia to pull its troops out of Somalia, and criticized its US ally in his opening speech.

"We hold this conference to establish a political organization that liberates the country, and ends the violence and chaotic situation," he said. ...more

Why Ethiopia's Millennium is seven years late, (BBC)

Ahmed Zakaria, professor of history at Addis Ababa University says the reason is that the Roman Church amended their calculation in 500 AD - adjusting it by seven or eight years...more

Ethiopia detains 107 people over the past 2 monthsv (USAtoday)

Bulcha told The Associated Press he suspected the detainees have been held on suspicion of belonging to the Oromo Liberation Front, which has been fighting for greater autonomy in southern Ethiopia. One of the detainees, he said, was a 63-year-old man.

The Oromo make up a third of Ethiopia's 77 million people, and have been the center of dissent against the ruling Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front....more

Humanitarian crisis hits Ethiopia (Guardian)

Aid workers also reported seeing soldiers chasing women and children away from wells where they were drawing water. Mr De Filippi said the government had refused even to allow MSF a window of 24 hours to take drugs to an area called Fiq, which has not received medical supplies for six months....more

Ethiopia: Millennium for Whom? (Sudan Tribune)

In an eerie twist of irony, in just over a week, on the same day when USA commemorates the 9-11 victims, Ethiopia will celebrate a Julian millennium. This celebration comes about seven years after the rest of the world celebrated Y2K. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s government has already invested more cash on this single event than the Derg, annually celebrating its own rise to power, or Haile Sellasie celebrating his infamous birthdays while the people starved to death, literally. In this country, there is fondness to self-celebration without backing it with success of any sort. There is also a short memory to history; those who condemned the lavish birthday parties of Haile Sellasie and used this impropriety to rise to power later started more lavishly celebrating their own rise to power. And those who condemned the Derg for celebrating its murderous rise to power are now doing their own celebrations with even more glamour and cost. 16 giant LED screens have arrived from China and I also read that artist Beyonce will lead the New Year’s concert with pop-star Janet Jackson and rapper 50 Cent. Lavish indeed for a country that ranks 170 out of 177 in the United Nation’s Human Development Index. However, whether or not this millennium is a travesty or worthy event, whether or not this indeed is a good investment of the poor taxpayer’s money should generate an interesting debate which I am sure will be instructive. For now, let us focus more on the use of the calendar....more

Ethiopia rights group says government has detained activists (Google)

The Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) said three members of its branch in Nekemte, 220 kilometres (135 miles) west of Addis Ababa, were detained on August 23 after police came to search their homes....more

Ethiopians unwanted in Ethiopia; hard to believe but true (Ethiomedia)

In the name of all those affected by the embarrassing discriminatory action taken by the Ethiopian government against its own professionals and educated citizens, I hereby pose my request to the Ethiopian government and his minister for capacity building, Tefera Walwa:

"Why did you make this shameful secret agreement to exclude Ethiopians and German citizens of Ethiopian origin living in Germany from participating in their country?s development? How long are you going to depend on foreign aid whereas your educated people are longing for the opportunity to work in and for their country? What is the reason that made you neglect your own people?...more

GOSSIP (fortune)

Those around the Sheikh have gathered the usual suspects in the roster of their local performers: there is Aster Aweke and Amelmal Abate as Ephrem Tamru and Tsehaye Yohannes are included. If there is any new blood there, it is latest sensations such as Gossaye Tesfaye and Abinet Agonafir. Interestingly, there will be an exceptional presence of Teodros Tadesse, whose photograph is missing from the poster organizers published, who has been absent from the home turf for over a decade now.

And there is a giant missing from the group of local performers. Mahmoud Ahmed will not be entertaining his fans at home, travelling overseas for the Ethiopian millennium bash. Does this reveal any strained relationship between the singer and the Sheikh and those around him? The latter might have felt that Mahmoud became an international figure following recognition and his receiving of prestigious award from the BBC, according to gossip.

The number of people anticipated to dance the last day of the millennium is also subject of discussion at the gossip corridors. Only less than 10 days away from the New Year, the much talked about influx of Diaspora is disappointingly low. Judging from a mini-party held at the Sheraton on Friday night, it is rather limited number of people from the Diaspora that are making their presence felt; and majority of them are from European countries.....more

Ethiopia: Rate of Ethiopia Brain-Drain Alarming - Study (Allafrica)

In the case of Ethiopia where it said effects of brain drain have reached to an unaffordable stage, the study commended government efforts to attract and facilitate Diaspora engagement, but said more needed to be done.

The study found however poor provisions of accurate and timely information, weak efforts to improve Government-Diaspora relation and difficult bureaucratic procedures as major weakness.

"My question now is where do we go from here. We need to work strategically and coordinate our activities," said Temesgen Hailu, President of the Association for Higher Education and Development (AHEAD) "Africa has to take the lead. We need to identify, develop and implement projects that facilitate Diaspora engagement" he urged participants....more

Somali opposition figures to unite in Eritrea (Reuter)

"We need a common agenda, platform and vision. This conference will not solve all the problems of Somalia. We should create a consensus approach including those who disapprove of this conference," he told Reuters by telephone.

"The failure of the last conference (in Mogadishu) was that it ignored key political leaders and positions and the venue was not correct," he added.

Tussles over leadership posts in a new opposition umbrella group may surface in Asmara, analysts say. Organisers insist the new grouping will not be dominated by Islamists, whom Ethiopia and the United States have accused of having ties to al Qaeda.

"The policy and strategy of the new organisation will be decided by the new leadership and not by the Islamic Courts," Abdirahman Warsame, representative of Somalia's diaspora community, told reporters in Asmara...more

Ethiopia soldiers to stop delegates from attending opposition conference (Garoweonline)

The group that includes delegates plans to participate at a "reconciliation conference" organized by opponents of the Ethiopia-backed interim government in Mogadishu.

Fearing Ethiopian arrests, the group postponed their secretive trip to Eritrea, the sources said. Ethiopian military officers met with clan elders and local government officials in Dhusamareb to discuss security arrangements....more

MSF denied access to Somali region of Ethiopia (alertnet)

"Last week, we asked the authorities to grant us access at least for 24 to 48 hours so we could provide medications and material to Fiq health centre. We know that the health centre and the wider district are suffering from a serious shortage of drugs as the last supplies arrived six months ago" , said Loris De Filippi, operational coordinator for MSF Belgium in Ethiopia. "But once again, the authorities refused to let our team move from the capital city Jijiga to Fiq by road or even by plane"....more