Saturday, March 31, 2007

The Week in Review

Look for the 'The Week in Review' segment below

Weekend Top Stories:
[Ethiopian reinforcement troops heading to Mogadishu] - [Somalia battles called worst in 15 years] - [Kenya, Ethiopia, US secretly detained Somalis fleeing war: HRW]

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-Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Invite Meles to Summit

-Letter from the Ethiopian community in Europe protesting PM Meles's invitation

-To speak out against Prime Minister Meles’s Invitation to the Summit, click here, find the MEP you wish to contact -- write or call

-ALDE event schedule
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The Hummingbird and the Forest Fire:
A Diaspora Morality Tale

(by Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam)

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Free the Ethiopian Captives

(by Andrew Heavens)

A pressure group to campaign for the freedom of the eight Ethiopian hostages was formed yesterday. It is called the 'Free The Ethiopian Captives Committee'.

The idea is to collect lots of signatures and members, then approach international organisations and ask them to do all they can to bring about the release. At the very least, it will aim to keep the eight in the headlines.(More...)

Ethiopian reinforcement troops heading to Mogadishu

Hundreds of additional Ethiopian forces who crossed from the border have reached near Beledweine city, the provincial capital of Hiran region in central Somalia heading to Mogadishu to reinforce their colleagues fighting the local insurgents for the third day, report said on Saturday.

Other Ethiopian reinforcement troops are reported to have reached Afgoie town, 30km south of the capital joining the war with what they called ‘the remnants of the ousted Islamists.

Meanwhile, the Ethiopian forces stationing around El-Irfid settlement in northern outskirt of the Somalia capital are reported to have deserted there heading to Afgoie town, 30km south of the city to reinforce the Ethiopian soldiers fighting the insurgents.(More...)

Also see:
-Somalia: More Ethiopian tanks en route to hostile Mogadishu
-Reinforcement Ethiopian Forces Close to the Capital
-Fresh Ethiopian troops arrive in Somalia


Heavy Fighting Continues in the Capital for Third Day

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Heavy fighting between warring sides of Ethiopian soldiers and Somali insurgents exchanging heavy weaponry fire has entered in its third day in the Somalia capital Mogadishu on Saturday.

Dozens of people have been killed since Thursday, when the government and allied Ethiopian troops launched an offensive to quash an increasingly brutal insurgency by Islamic militants. A statement from the International Committee of the Red Cross said the people of Mogadishu are caught up in the worst fighting in more than 15 years.

More than 220 people have been wounded in the past 24 hours, most them civilians with bullet, grenade and other shrapnel wounds, the ICRC said.(More...)

Also see:
-Somalia battles called worst in 15 years
-Many killed, wounded in new outburst in Somalia
-Chaos in Somalia Worst in 15 Years

Kenya, Ethiopia, US secretly detained Somalis fleeing war: HRW


(AFP) - Human Rights Watch on Saturday accused the governments of Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and the United States of secretly detaining hundreds of people fleeing the deadly conflict in Somalia.

"Each of these governments has played a shameful role in mistreating people fleeing a war zone," said Georgette Gagnon, HRW's deputy Africa director.

"Kenya has secretly expelled people, the Ethiopians have caused dozens to disappear, and US security agents have routinely interrogated people held incommunicado," he added.(More...)

The Week in Review

  • Tuesday - March 27, 2007

  • [Smugglers toss Ethiopian and Somali refugees to sharks] - [Al-Qaida urges jihadis to go to Somalia] - [Miner says struck gold in Ethiopia] - [Ethiopian army camp attacked] - [Ugandan troops say they are being used as guinea pigs]

  • Wednesday - March 28, 2007

  • [Afar Diaspora group calls for the release of Ethiopian hostages] - [Swedish Teen Released From Ethiopia] - [Archaeologists find Ethiopia's lost Islamic kingdom] - [Prominent politician murdered in Mogadishu] - [Dancing to a better future in Ethiopia]

  • Thursday - March 29, 2007

  • [Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Invite Meles to Summit] - [Seven Ethiopian troops killed in heavy fighting, bodies dragged through Mogadishu] - [Ethioapin Helicopters fire on Somali market] - [Analyst says Somalia a Handicap for Ethiopia] - [Ethiopia calls for action on Eritrea] - [Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee]

  • Friday - March 30, 2007

  • [Court Postpones decision again - Reason: Judge has 'Gunfann'] - [Fresh Ethiopian troops arrive in Somalia] - [Ethiopian Helicopter shot down in Somalia] - [Ethiopia stops plans to close Jewish camp ] - [Travel Agencies to Campaign for Release of Colleagues]






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Friday, March 30, 2007

Children and the Traumas of War

Three Stories about Iraqi Children:
On an Iraqi morning Khaled, 11 years old, went, as he used to do everyday, to the nearby school in central Baghdad. What was unusual this time was by the end of the first lesson blasts rattled the school snatching the children's innocence from their faces.

It was horrible. Windows shields smashed hitting the children's soft bodies. Khaled, like others, hide himself under desks that could not withstand the falling ceiling and its fan. Exercise books, pencils, blackboard and the pupils' dreams were all buried under the falling ceiling. All went to the sky except for Khaled and his colleague who lost an arm. The tragedy is still preoccupies this little Iraqi child, though the incident occurred sometime ago. He is not the only to suffer from similar experiences, as scores of kids his age share with him the same experience. Many are still paying, along with their families, the endless war bill. The rest of the story

There are millions of stories like Khaled's, in Iraq and other war-torn countries. Children are killed and forced to kill. They are orphaned. They are raped. They lose their homes, schools, and any sense of stability. They are hungry, sick, and frightened. And often, very traumatized. Without rehabilitation and healing, they can sometimes grow up to perpetuate the violence, because they don't know anything else.

Iraqi boys in a refugee camp in Baghdad play with toy guns.
Photograph: Namir Noor-Eldeen/Reuters

Abdul-Muhammad and his five younger brothers, aged between six and 12, should have been at school. But their mother, Sayeeda, like thousands of parents in Iraq's perilous capital city, now keeps her boys at home. Three weeks ago, armed men had intercepted their teacher's car at the school gates, then hauled him out and slit his throat. Just like in their game.

"That day they came home and they were changed because of the things they'd seen," said Sayeeda as she ladled rice into the boys' bowls. "The youngest two have been wetting their beds and having nightmares, while Abdul-Muhammad has started bullying and ordering everyone to play his fighting games. I know things are not normal with them. My fear is one day they will get hold of real guns. But in these times, where is the help?" The rest of the story


These children are paying the price of wars they did not start - some adults somewhere sitting safely in their offices, war rooms, and white houses made the decisions that cause innocent children to suffer. When you ask children, they overwhelmingly say they want peace.

Just 8 years old, Noor fell victim to an all-too-common crime in Baghdad. Kidnapped from school, she was held for ransom – beaten, blindfolded, and locked in an empty room – for four days.

Her father raced to come up with the money, fearing she would be yet another casualty in the city's plague of abductions. A driver by occupation, he sold the family's car to give his tormenters what they wanted: $8,000 for his daughter's life.

Noor and her family fled Baghdad. But three years later she was still haunted by her memories. They joined some 1 million Iraqis now living in Syria – among them an untold number of children struggling to cope with the emotional wounds of war.

For Noor, and many other Iraqi children like her, there appeared to be no place to turn until a Syrian psychiatrist, risking his job at a state institution, defied authorities and decided to help. The rest of the story


Meanwhile, even American kids are suffering because of war: As Iraq war cost climbs, 9 million U.S. kids lack medical coverage. There's enough money to ensure all Iraqi kids are dead, displaced, or scared, but apparently not enough to keep American kids healthy - really, click this link to put the cost of war into perspective - it's truly disgusting.

Court Postpones decision again - Reason: Judge has 'Gunfann'

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

Also in the news:
[Fresh Ethiopian troops arrive in Somalia] - [Ethiopian Helicopter shot down in Somalia] - [Ethiopia stops plans to close Jewish camp ] - [Travel Agencies to Campaign for Release of Colleagues]

International:
[African nations go softly, softly on Zimbabwe] - [White House has new plan for immigration] - [Heads of Arab States Prod Israel to Embrace Peace Offer] - [Halle Berry reveals suicide attempt] and more of today's top stories!


An Ethiopian military helicopter hit by insurgents is seen in the skies above Mogadishu March 30, 2007. Insurgents shot down an Ethiopian helicopter gunship in Mogadishu on Friday during a second day of fighting after Ethiopian and Somali forces launched a major attack on Islamists and clan militia. (Picture by REUTERS)



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-Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Invite Meles to Summit

-Letter from the Ethiopian community in Europe protesting PM Meles's invitation

-To speak out against Prime Minister Meles’s Invitation to the Summit, click here, find the MEP you wish to contact -- write or call

-ALDE event schedule
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Court Postpones decision again - Reason: Judge has 'Gunfann'

(by Lewit) -- The same white walls and peeling blue chairs. The same speculations and prayers. The same crowd shifting nrevously in their seats. The same delays. The same excuses.

Well, pretty much. Today, after over an hour delay, a summary of half the evidence presented by the prosecution was read. All 3 judges were there this time; one was apparently ill (though I couldn't tell which one--maybe the one that sniffled a couple of times?) and so, of course, the trial was postponed until Monday.

This time, it was clear that everyone had had enough, and the frustrations of both family members and the defendents was more than evident.(More...)

(by EZ) -- The trial is postponed again. This time for Monday, 2 April. The court presented the summary of the Audio, Video and documentary evidence today. It said the rest of the prosecutor's evidence will be summarized and presented on Monday. The court was packed. The judges said that they wouldn't continue in the afternoon as one of the judges was sick.


Fresh Ethiopian troops arrive in Somalia

Somalia - Hundreds of Ethiopian soldiers crossed over the common border and entered Somalia overnight, according to sources in Galkayo.

The soldiers, estimated to number 500-strong with armored vehicles, were stationed in the outskirts of Galkayo, the capital of Mudug region in central Somalia.

Reliable sources in Galkayo told Garowe Online on the condition of anonymity that the Ethiopian troops were heading for the northern Somali city of Bossaso, a bustling port town that serves as Puntland’s economic hub.

There was no reason given for the arrival of fresh Ethiopian troops, even as that country’s leader, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, pledged to withdraw his remaining troops from Somalia.(More...)

Ethiopian Helicopter shot down in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia - An Ethiopian helicopter attacking insurgent positions in Somalia's capital was shot down Friday as government and allied troops battled hundreds of gunmen in the streets, witnesses said.

Government soldiers and troops from neighboring Ethiopia, who are in Somalia to protect the fragile government, were under a severe attack for a second day as they tried to quash a growing insurgency by Islamic militants.

"The helicopter looked like a ball of smoke and fire before crashing," said Ruqiya Shafi Muhyadin, who watched as the helicopter rolled over in the sky and went down in a residential area near the airport.(More...)

Also see:
-Reuters: Battles rage in Mogadishu, helicopter hit
-AP: Fighting rages for 2nd day in Mogadishu
-CBS: Insurgents Down Helicopter In Somalia
-ABC: Helicopter Shot Down in Somalia


Travel Agencies to Campaign for Release of Colleagues

In a show of solidarity with the eight Ethiopians still held captive in Eritrea, and joining the campaign for their safe release, travel agencies working in Ethiopia yesterday formed an alliance.

Owners and General Managers of three travel agencies namely Origin Ethiopia, Kibre and Ethiopian Quadrants, said they were working jointly to create awareness for the release of the captives who, they said, didn't have any political involvement.

They also criticized the international media who they said were "shouting 24 hours a day" but forgot the issue immediately after the release of the five Europeans.(More...)

Also see:
-Committee set up to lobby for the release of Ethiopian captives


Ethiopia stops plans to close Jewish camp

Ethiopia said it has canceled plans to shut a camp used as a community center for 7,000 Ethiopian Jews seeking emigration to Israel.

The government announced Friday that synagogue and food services would be allowed to continue in the camp for the Falashmura Ethiopians but school services and activities promoting immigration to Israel will be cut off, Haaretz reported Friday.

The decision follows diplomatic pressure from the The United Jewish Communities of North America, which funds the camp, and other groups on the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington.(More...)

Today's Top Stories

-African nations go softly, softly on Zimbabwe
-White House has new plan for immigration
-Gates Seeks Way To Close Guantanamo
-Iran Broadcasts New Video of Seized Britons
-Heads of Arab States Prod Israel to Embrace Peace Offer
-Putin rejects call to serve longer (Russia's upper house speaker called for changes that would allow Putin to remain in office beyond 2008 -- a proposal that was quickly rejected by the Kremlin)
-Breastfeeding alone cuts HIV risk
-French nun credits John Paul for sudden healing
-Halle Berry reveals suicide attempt



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Thursday, March 29, 2007

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Invite Meles to Summit

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

Also in the news:
[Seven Ethiopian troops killed in heavy fighting, bodies dragged through Mogadishu] - [Ethioapin Helicopters fire on Somali market] - [Analyst says Somalia a Handicap for Ethiopia] - [Ethiopia calls for action on Eritrea] - [Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee]

International:
[Rwanda to probe downing of former president's plane] - [Castro Attacks Bush on Biofuels in First Article Since Surgery] - [How Britons were conned by Iranian gunboat trick] - [Ten of the best April Fool's Day hoaxes: US museum] and more of today's top stories!


Smoke rises in the horizon above the Towfiq neighborhood in Mogadishu. Ethiopian helicopters have fired missiles on southern Mogadishu as heavy fighting across the Somali capital left 30 people dead in an offensive against insurgent fighters.(More on this below) Picture - AFP/Mustafa Abdi


Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Invite Meles to Summit

ETP -- The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), a Group within the European Parliament, has invited Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to attend its 2007 summit.

The summit which will be held in Dakar - Senegal from 1 to 3rd April, aims to strengthen liberal democratic values, according to ALDE.

Attendees list includes 12 African leaders, heads of state from the Pacific and Caribbean countries. The theme of the summit is Liberalism and Governance: the Social Liberal State.

(Picture - Commmissioner Louis Michel and Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia)

EU Commissioner Louis Michel will attend the summit and is expected to give one of the opening speeches along with Graham Watson, President of the ALDE Group at the European Parliament.

Meanwhile, many within the Ethiopian community in Europe and elsewhere disapprove of ALDE’s decision to invite Prime Minister Meles to this summit.

In a letter to European human rights groups, the Ethiopian community in Europe is asking liberal MEP’s to distance themselves from the invitation extended to Ethiopia’s primer. (Read letter below)

After over 15 years in power, Prime Minister Meles presides over a country that still cannot feed its own people and is very much dependent on the U.N. World Food Program. Approximately half of the Ethiopian population lives on less than one U.S dollar a day, which is not enough to buy a single meal.

Since the parliamentary elections of 2005 human rights and press freedom have suffered significantly in Ethiopia.

Amnesty international has accused the government of Meles Zenawi of torture and extrajudicial killings. Journalists, renowned human rights activists and opposition party leaders are currently detained in the country’s notorious Kality prison.

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-Letter from the Ethiopian community in Europe

-To protest Prime Minister Meles’s Invitation to the Summit, click here, find the MEP you wish to contact -- write or call

-ALDE event schedule
-Event website
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Seven Ethiopian troops killed in heavy fighting, bodies dragged through Mogadishu

MOGADISHU (AFP) - Seven Ethiopian soldiers were killed in heavy fighting on Thursday in the south of Mogadishu, and two of their bodies were dragged through the streets, an AFP correspondent witnessed.

Dozens of men and women pulled the bodies of two soldiers in the street, shouting "We will kill the Ethiopian troops", while five other bodies in Ethiopian uniforms lay on the ground in the southern district of Shirkole.

Nearby an Ethiopian military vehicle burned in the street. Loudspeakers had earlier transmitted calls for residents to come out and fight the Ethiopian troops backing Somalia's transitional government.(More...)

Ethioapin Helicopters fire on Somali market, at Least 30 dead

NewYork Times -- Any hope for a quick peace in Mogadishu, Somalia’s turbulent capital, was snuffed out today when Ethiopian troops stormed into the center of the city, setting off clashes that killed more than 30 people.

According to hospital officials in Mogadishu, most casualties were civilians caught in the crossfire between Ethiopian tanks and insurgents firing rocket-propelled grenades.

Many residents now say they were better off under the Islamist administration, which briefly controlled Mogadishu last year until Ethiopian troops invaded.(More...)

Also see:
-SomaliNet: 15 Ethiopian soldiers killed in Mogadishu violence
-Reuters: Death and carnage in Somalia
-Shabelle: Two Ethiopian tanks damaged
-USA Today: Bombs dropped in Somalia
-Washington Times: Renewed violence in Somalia
-Somalia: A chaos of clans, Islamists, foreigners


Ethiopia calls for action on Eritrea

Ethiopia accused Eritrea on Thursday of arming anti-Ethiopian rebels and urged the United Nations to take action against its long-time Horn of Africa foe.

Eritrean officials were not immediately available to comment, but always deny such allegations.

Addis Ababa and Asmara have routinely fired harsh rhetoric at each other since a 1998 to 2000 border war killed 70 000 people. But tensions have climbed higher in recent months amid conflict in neighbouring Somalia and a kidnapping near their frontier.

"The Eritrean government ... is now organising, arming and training anti-peace Ethiopian elements to carry out its proxy war and cause destruction in the country," Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told Parliament on Thursday.(More...)

Analyst says Somalia a Handicap for Ethiopia

VOA -- The al-Qaida terrorist organization has issued a call for Islamic extremists around the world to come to the aid of Somalis fighting the country's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and its chief backer in the region, Ethiopia.

As VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from VOA's East Africa Bureau in Nairobi, Ethiopia, which still has thousands of troops in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, is facing a threat it had hoped it had eliminated, when Ethiopia's military dismantled the leadership of Somalia's Islamist movement last December.

Appearing recently in an Internet video on al-Qaida's official media Web site, a prominent leader in the organization, Abu Yahya al-Libi, said it was the duty of all Muslim holy warriors to go to Somalia and help Somalis end what he called "the occupation of Abbyssinians and their apostate lackeys."
(More...)

Chicago Tribune: Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee

In this caffeine-addled corner of the world, the bean and its brew are both blessing and curse, swirled together in a single cup.

JIMMA, Ethiopia -- Inside the coffee plant's corrugated metal fence, men look more like mules as they lug 100-pound sacks of coffee on their backs.

But as midday nears, a heavenly scent wafts from the corner, where Ahmed Achoumeto, 25, pounds a pile of black coffee beans in preparation for the noontime break.

"I am terribly addicted. If I don't get coffee, I can't see properly," he said, standing barefoot in the dirt, grinding the beans with a primitive 3-foot-long wooden pestle and a mortar made of a hollowed tree stump. "Almost everyone here is addicted."(More...)

Zimbabwean Opposition Leader Released

HARARE, Zimbabwe Mar 29, 2007 (AP)— The country's main opposition leader was freed after being held by police for several hours, party officials said Thursday, as southern African leaders gathered in Tanzania to discuss the crisis in Zimbabwe.

Police denied arresting Morgan Tsvangirai Wednesday as he prepared to talk to reporters about a wave of political violence that left him briefly hospitalized earlier this month.

"It doesn't matter how long he was deprived of his freedom, he was still arrested," Tsvangirai's aide, Eliphas Mukonoweshuro, told The Associated Press Thursday.(More...)

Today's Top Stories

-Mugabe defiant as condemnation grows
-Rwanda to probe downing of former president's plane(Rwanda to investigate the death of a former president killed when his plane was shot down, widely seen as the trigger for its 1994 genocide)
-Democrats turn up the heat on Bush over Iraq
-How Britons were conned by Iranian gunboat trick (The speed and cunning shown by the Revolutionary Guards suggests that their action was premeditated)
-Castro Attacks Bush on Biofuels in First Article Since Surgery
-Arabs endorse peace plan, warn of nuclear arms race
-Ten of the best April Fool's Day hoaxes: US museum




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Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Now Europe Will Never Know Why We Should Teach the Bible in School!


This Week's Time Magazine Covers:

Ah... this is giving me nostalgic memories of Newsweek last fall:




Why all the fluff on the cover of American magazines? Do they think scary covers won't sell or something?

Thanks Wonkette

Amazing Photographs from China

"Humanizing China" - from EastSouthWestNorth

From the Survival Page:

It is necessary to purchase admission tickets in order to pick garbage

A mountain resident carries his wife home. She just had her tubes tied.

Postman delivering mail on difficult rural route


From the Relationships page:

A peasant is about to transplant his kidney to his diabetic son

Chatting with an admirer on the other side of the barbed wire fence of the factory

Modern garbage


From the Desires page:

The lucky winner at an instant lottery game

Sales distributors receive news of a ban

Curbside beauty parlor

Via Neatorama

Afar Diaspora group calls for the release of Ethiopian hostages

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

Also in the news:
[Swedish Teen Released From Ethiopia] - [Archaeologists find Ethiopia's lost Islamic kingdom] - [Prominent politician murdered in Mogadishu] - [Dancing to a better future in Ethiopia]

International:
[Britain Presses Iran; Woman May Be Freed] - [Senate backs troop withdrawal from Iraq] - [Arab summit opens in Riyadh] - [World's Tallest Man Marries] and more of today's top stories!

(Photo - Rosa Verhoeve) Founded in 1996 by international choreographer R. Maldoom, "Adugna Potentials" is Ethiopia's only professional contemporary dance troupe. Leading choreographers from Europe and Africa come to teach in the company and its members have gone on to perform at international art and dance festivals (More on this below)
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A MESSAGE FROM TENSAE RADIO
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Afar Diaspora group calls for the release of Ethiopian hostages

(Stuttgart, Germany)ETP -- The Afar forum - an association of Diaspora Ethiopians from the Afar region, in a statement released today, has called for the release of Ethiopian hostages held since the beginning of March by ARDUF rebels.

The marginalization of the Afar people in terms of basic development while their resources are exploited by the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea, High-handed micro management by the Ethiopian ruling party through appointed puppets; are some of the reasons for discontent in the Afar region, the statement said.

In addition, The Afar forum called for the release of Afar politicians, intellectuals, and merchants in Eritrea who, the group claims, have been detained for more than a decade. It also called on the Ethiopian government to free all prisoners of conscience without any preconditions. [Read the press release]

Denmark tops WEF's networked readiness index, Ethiopia 4th from bottom

Ethiopia occupies 119th position in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Networked Readiness Index (NRI) 2006-2007, from 115th position in the 2005-2006 Index.

Denmark is number one for the first time in the sixth Global Information Technology Report (GITR) 2006-2007's "Networked Readiness Index", moving up 2 positions from last year and reflecting an upward trend dating back to 2003.

The NRI examines the preparedness of countries to use ICT effectively on three dimensions — the first is the general business, regulatory and infrastructure environment for ICT; second, the readiness of the three key stakeholders (individuals, businesses and governments) to use and benefit from ICT; and third, their actual usage of the latest information and communication technology available.

Accompanying Ethiopia; Cameroon, Paraguay, Mozambique, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Angola, Burundi and Chad are in the bottom 10 of the Index.

Archaeologists find Ethiopia's lost Islamic kingdom

PARIS -- French archaeologists said Tuesday that they had uncovered the remains of three large towns that may have been the heart of a legendary Islamic kingdom in Ethiopia.

Ancient manuscripts have long told of the kingdom of Shoa, which, between the 10th and 16th centuries straddled key trade routes between the Christian highlands and Muslim ports on the Red Sea. But Shoa's precise place on the map has never been clear.

The National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) said a team of archaeologists had laid bare the remains of three medieval towns, Asbari, Masal, and Nora, on a high escarpment of the Rift Valley.

Shoa - also written as Shewa - was an autonomous state from about the 10th century, until it was absorbed by the sultanate of Ifat at around the end of the 13th century.

The three towns "may have constituted the heart of the Shoa Muslim kingdom before it came under Ifat's political control," the researchers, led by CNRS' Francois-Xavier Fauvelle, suggest.(More...)

Swedish Teen Released From Ethiopia

A 17-year-old Swede has been released from Ethiopia where she was imprisoned for the past three months.

According to a press release from the Swedish Foreign Ministry, the girl’s release comes after intensive work on her behalf by the Foreign Ministry and embassies.

Three Swedes remain captive in Ethiopia accused of taking part in fighting. They were seized in Kenya after fleeing unrest in Somalia.(More...)

Dancing to a better future in Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (Reuters) - Music echoes through an overcrowded neighborhood in the Ethiopian capital, drawing dozens of children off the streets to get a glimpse of another world -- the world of dance.

Inside a garage transformed into a dance studio, the floor crackles at every jump and sunlight pours from huge holes in the tin roof.

For Junaid Jemal, who like millions of other children in Ethiopia sold goods on street corners hoping to make enough money for a warm meal, joining the dance troupe that rehearses in the studio was an escape from hopelessness.(More...)

-More pictures from 'Adugna'

Prominent politician murdered in Mogadishu

Mogadishu 28 -- Gunmen have shot dead the former Somali consulate to Dubai, Mr. Abdi Naasir Ahmed Aadan better known as “Serjito”.

Mr. Serjito was killed along with another man who was riding with him in his car around Tri Biano neighborhood in Mogadishu.(More...)

Also see:
-Senior politician killed in Mogadishu

Zimbabwe opposition chief arrested again

The leader of Zimbabwe's main opposition party was arrested again today, in what appeared to be the latest round of intimidation aimed at political opponents by Robert Mugabe's regime.

Morgan Tsvangirai was seized in an armed raid by the President's security forces at the headquarters of his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in Harare along with around 20 other members of staff, it has been revealed.

The forces were armed with teargas cannisters, sticks, riot helmets and AK47 rifles when they launched their assault.

Fearful for their safety, shopkeepers near the MDC's Harvest House headquarters reportedly closed as the raid took place.

Mr Tsvangirai's arrest came as Mr Mugabe was due to attend a summit called about the crisis in his country in Tanzania.(More...)

Today's Top Stories

-Acid attack on woman shocks Ethiopia
-Senate backs troop withdrawal from Iraq
-Britain Presses Iran; Woman May Be Freed(Britain Freezing Talks With Iran Until 15 Navy Crew Members Released)
-EU extends Microsoft's deadline
-Arab summit opens in Riyadh
-Buzz Grows Over Queen's Upcoming U.S. Stay
-World's Tallest Man Marries




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Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Smugglers toss Ethiopian and Somali refugees to sharks

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

Also in the news:
[Al-Qaida urges jihadis to go to Somalia] - [Miner says struck gold in Ethiopia] - [Ethiopian army camp attacked ] - [Ugandan troops say they are being used as guinea pigs]

International:
[U.S. begins large show of force in Persian Gulf] - [Sewage 'tsunami' kills four in Gaza] - [Historic deal 'a new era' for N. Ireland] - [Semi-identical twins discovered] and more of today's top stories!

What of the Ethiopian hostages?: State-run Eritrean ERITV channel shows a senior Afar elder who negotiated the release of five European hostages.(AFP) There are still eight Ethiopian hostages missing. Attention of the world media and that of the Ethiopian government has significantly dwindled after the release of the European hostages. Negotiations have ceased; search parties have been called off

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(Picture - Ethiopian Television Network)
International Ethiopian Women’s Organisation Radio Interview with Artist Telela Kebede
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A MESSAGE FROM TENSAE RADIO
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Smugglers toss Ethiopian and Somali refugees to sharks

Knife-wielding smugglers forced 450 Somalis and Ethiopians overboard into stormy seas along a remote stretch of Yemen coastline at Ras-Alkalb in the Gulf of Aden last Thursday.

The smugglers forced their passengers overboard so they could make a speedy departure after being spotted by Yemeni security forces, UNHCR spokeswoman Astrid van Genderen Stort said.

Survivors also reported that several Ethiopian women and at least one Somali were raped and abused by the smugglers during the voyage from Bosaso in Somalia's Puntland region.

Since January 2006 at least 30,000 people have fled violence and hardship in Somalia and Ethiopia for Yemen, according to UNHCR. About 500 people have died and at least 300 are missing and believed dead.(More...)

Al-Qaida urges jihadis to go to Somalia

WASHINGTON(UPI) -- Al-Qaida has urged Islamic extremists around the world, especially in the information sphere to aid Islamic militias in Somalia.

In a new video released at the weekend by the group's official media arm, the as-Sahab Institute, Abu Yahya al-Libi, a prominent al-Qaida leader called on "my Muslim brothers to stand with their brothers (in Somalia) and go forth to fight at their side."

"All the things which make jihad an individual duty are present in their battle against the Abyssinian occupiers and their apostate lackeys," he said about the situation in Somalia, a reference to the Ethiopian military that in December ousted the Islamic Courts Union, the Islamic militia coalition that had controlled most of the country.(More...)

Ugandan troops say they are being used as guinea pigs

The Ugandan government is reviewing its involvement in Somalia as its troops await the arrival of peacekeepers from other African countries.

“We are assessing the situation on the ground and the magnitude of the assignment before the government decides on the way forward,” Isaac Musumba, the State Minister for Regional Co-operation, said.

He added that he had not received any communication from the African Union regarding when the peacekeepers promised by other African countries would join the Ugandan troops.

Meanwhile, a Ugandan captain in Somalia, who asked not to be identified, said the countries that had promised to send troops were not ready to take the lead. “True, many have pledged to join us, but they are waiting for us to test the waters first,” he said, adding that the situation was complicated by the presence of terrorists and the warfare tactics adopted by the Islamists.(More...)

Miner says struck gold in Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - A mining company said on Monday it had found an estimated 10,000 tonnes of gold in southern Ethiopia that could be worth more than $1 billion.

Privately-owned National Mining Corporation (NMC) said the discovery was made at Dawa Dagiti in southern Oromia region.

"When production starts the country could earn up to $1 billion from gold exports that would help its development," NMC administrator Melaku Beza told a news conference in Addis Ababa.

He gave no more details. Gold is one of Ethiopia's top hard currency earners, along with coffee, hides and skin.(More...)

-Learn more about the National Mining Corporation Plc.

Ethiopian army camp attacked

Mogadishu - Ethiopian troops opened fire after a major explosion occurred at their camp on the outskirts of the Somali capital on Monday, and one person was killed, said a witness.

It was not clear what had caused the explosion or who the troops may have been firing at, and officials were not immediately available for comment.

The explosion was heard in parts of Mogadishu and Mohamed Nur Warsame, a minibus driver, said he saw the Ethiopian troops firing indiscriminately as he drove in the area.(More...)

A mysterious aerial device falls in Somalia

Mogadishu -- A mysterious device which some say could be a surveillance satellite has fallen near buulo burde town in south Somalia.

Villagers report that the device fell five days ago in area which lies forty kilo meters north of Buulo burde town.

The device occupies an area of one hundred Meters Square as villagers who spotted this device confirmed.

“In the evening of last Wednesday, a large device flew over our head and moments later, we heard a large sound, BAM” said Ilyas Ali, a villager who lives nearby where this large device has fallen.(More...)

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SEW - poem by Asradew
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Today's Top Stories

-Putting bucks in Starbucks
-Senate to look at improper FBI spying
-U.S. begins large show of force in Persian Gulf
-Iran Says Detained Brit Troops Are Healthy
-Sewage 'tsunami' kills four in Gaza (At least four Palestinians drowned in a tsunami of raw sewage on Tuesday when a water treatment reservoir burst)
-U.S. offers nearly $60 mln to prepare Abbas's forces
-Historic deal 'a new era' for N. Ireland (Long-time foes reach agreement to share office beginning)
-Semi-identical twins discovered(Scientists have revealed details of the world's only known case of "semi-identical" twins)






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Monday, March 26, 2007

Somalia & Oil

ZNet Commentary
Somalia: An Oily Cliché© March 25, 2007
By David Barouski
Today, it is a reflexive cliché to claim the United States (U.S.) is off on another oil-acquisition conquest anytime they invade an Arabic nation.

In the case of Somalia, the cliché may neverless be true.

Read the whole thing

Interesting:
The Somali Government has been reinstalled in Mogadishu and though violence is constant in the city, the government has moved forward. Many of the cabinet members are dual citizens, with the majority coming from Canada. Others are former warlords.

The Deputy Prime Minister is Hussein Farah Aideed, the son of the late warlord Mohammed Farah Aideed. In contrast to his father, Hussein is actually a naturalized American citizen and a former U.S. Marine who served in the Gulf War. He even served as a U.S. emissary during Operation Restore Hope, where he met with his father several times.

Related:
Somalia - Another Resource War Dressed up as a "Clash of Civilizations" and Darfur as a Resource War

If You Prepare for War, That's What You are Likely to Get

Anthony Arnove:
Eugene Debs wrote in a letter to the New York Sun in 1915, "If... the United States were to prove in good faith that it is opposed to the barbarism and butchery of war by issuing a proclamation of peace, and itself setting the example of disarmament to the nations of the world, its preparedness would be, not only in accordance with its vaunted ideals, but a thousandfold greater guarantee to the respect of its neighbors and to its own security and peace than if it were loaded down with all the implements of death and destruction on earth."

Howard Zinn:
Debs was talking about "preparedness" because the war in Europe had begun and, although the United States was not yet in the war, people were beginning to talk about preparedness for war. The American military is building up, and Debs sees this coming. He argues that the best thing we can do is to declare our belief in peace and to stop preparedness for war. You prepare for war, and then the momentum is created for going to war. We have seen that repeatedly.

Quoted from Terrorism and War, and interview with Howard Zinn.

Also see Sunk Costs, a concept in Behavioural Economics. In Sum: If you pay for it, you wanna know it isn't going to waste, even if what you use it for is irrational and doesn't benefit you.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Aalto Alvar (3.2.1898, Kuortane - 11.5.1976,Helsinki). Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto established an architectural office in Jyväskylä in 1923. The office moved to Turku in 1927 and to Helsinki in 1933. In 1955 he was granted membership in the Finnish Academy and held its presidency in 1963 – 1968. From 1946 to 1948 he was visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was awarded a considerable amount of honours and prizes around the world. Aalto made numerous journeys to Europe and beyond. His best loved destination was Italy. He had a remarkable contribution in the design of modern pieces of furniture, light fixtures and interiors, channeled through the Artek company established in 1935. The entire career of Alvar Aalto reflects his zeal to perform each task with an open mind, always creating something new. Aalto gained growing international fame with his functionalist designs, and he moved to Helsinki with his family in 1933. Aalto designed remarkable private houses – his own home in Helsinki (1936) and te Villa Mairea in Noormarkku (1939). These buildings reveal his desire to break the strict rules of modernist architecture and realise his own vision of harmony between man, nature and architecture. Alvar Aalto's architecture has been characterized as both Finnish and international. His large production can be seen to reflect inspiration from domestic nature and tradition but also from the long history of architecture. What this great creative talent did was combine these into a highly original synthesis.

- schlafsofa

- armchairs

- armchairs

- lounge chair

- armchairs

- stool

- chairs

- glass table
Aalto Alvar (3.2.1898, Kuortane - 11.5.1976,Helsinki). Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto established an architectural office in Jyväskylä in 1923. The office moved to Turku in 1927 and to Helsinki in 1933. In 1955 he was granted membership in the Finnish Academy and held its presidency in 1963 – 1968. From 1946 to 1948 he was visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was awarded a considerable amount of honours and prizes around the world. Aalto made numerous journeys to Europe and beyond. His best loved destination was Italy. He had a remarkable contribution in the design of modern pieces of furniture, light fixtures and interiors, channeled through the Artek company established in 1935. The entire career of Alvar Aalto reflects his zeal to perform each task with an open mind, always creating something new. Aalto gained growing international fame with his functionalist designs, and he moved to Helsinki with his family in 1933. Aalto designed remarkable private houses – his own home in Helsinki (1936) and te Villa Mairea in Noormarkku (1939). These buildings reveal his desire to break the strict rules of modernist architecture and realise his own vision of harmony between man, nature and architecture. Alvar Aalto's architecture has been characterized as both Finnish and international. His large production can be seen to reflect inspiration from domestic nature and tradition but also from the long history of architecture. What this great creative talent did was combine these into a highly original synthesis.

- schlafsofa

- armchairs

- armchairs

- lounge chair

- armchairs

- stool

- chairs

- glass table