Here are some news highlights from Ethiopia this week. I've included a summary of each piece. You can click on the title of each story to go read the full story. As always, links are only good for a few weeks, unless you subscribe to the news service.

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Ethiopia: Malnutrition Still Alarming

The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa) 5 November 2007

New research conducted by Save the Children found that between one-third and two-thirds of children under age five in Ethiopia suffer from chronic malnutrition. Feeding a... more

There has been a lot of speculation about how adoption laws might change once the courts in Ethiopia open again after the Ethiopian New Year. There have been rumors about single women not being allowed, about families with more than 5 kids not being allowed, about requiring a two year difference in age between existing and adopted children, and about requiring no more than 43 years age difference between parent and child.

Reports are now starting to filter through the adoption e-groups about the first court cases. It seems that so far the proposed rule changes are still just proposals. Even the most likely... more

According to a recent story in the New York Times, relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea are deteriorating. In 1993 Eritrea won its independence from Ethiopia after a bloody conflict. However, the two sides are recently accused each other of trying to start another war. Tens of thousands of troops are massed both in Ethiopia and in Eritrea, poised for conflict.

The treaty that ended the war included a new border drawn by the United Nations. In November the new border will go into effect. Ethiopia... more

Here are some news highlights from Ethiopia this week. I've included a summary of each piece. You can click on the title of each story to go read the full story. As always, links are only good for a few weeks, unless you subscribe to the news service.

~~~~~~~ Eritrea: Border Row Threatens Terrorism War

A border conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia is escalating again. The two countries went to war in May 1998, when Eritrea attempted to occupy the contested border town of Badme, a move that Ethiopia interpreted as aggression.... more

Since this is a blog about adopting from Ethiopia, I rarely mention the adoption situations in other countries. However, right now there is something happening in Guatemala that makes me feel sad and that I believe anyone involved in adoption should care about. For awhile I have heard that adoption from Guatemala has slowed due in part to questions about the ethics of some adoptions. I have heard of many families who have opted to adopt from Ethiopia instead of Guatemala just because of these types of questions.

Currently UNICEF is putting pressure on Guatemala (via financial incentives) to implement the Hague... more

I have been telling you about some of the noteworthy Ethiopians who are doing interesting things with their lives. In the news today there was a story about Ethiopian distance runner Haile Gebrselassie. Today he ran in the Berlin Marathon. Not only did he win, he shattered the world marathon record by running the race in two hours four minutes 26 seconds. This was 29 seconds faster than a record set by Paul Tergat from Kenya on the same course in 2003.

Tergat and Gebrselassie are long-time... more

Here are some news highlights from Ethiopia this week. I've included a summary of each piece. You can click on the title of each story to go read the full story. As always, links are only good for a few weeks, unless you subscribe to the news service.

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Improved Relationship with Corporate Giant Starbucks

A report from Washington D.C. states that an agreement has been reached between Ethiopian coffee growers and Starbucks. Ethiopian coffee growers have already seen their export price rise from $1.30 a pound to... more

Lots of adoptive families are waiting eagerly for the courts to reopen. It is expected that cases will be again moving through court beginning most likely by the second week in October. Along with wondering when exactly the first cases will be heard, there is also much speculation about new rules that supposedly will be implemented.

There are rumors that Ethiopia may become more strict about the age difference between the child to be adopted and children already present in the adoptive family. The Ethiopian government has talked about insisting that there be a three year age gap between the child to be adopted and any other children in the family. Some adoption agencies are certain... more

I wrote awhile back about the Ethiopia distance runner Meseret Defar. She won medal at the Olympics in 2004, and continues to have much success in her athletic career.

This year she set a world record for two miles at the Adidas Track Classic in Carson, California. Days later in Oslo, Norway, she broke the 5,000 meter world record that she herself set in the U.S. in 2006. She is now training for the World Athletics Championships in Osaka, Japan at the end of August.

Meseret recently moved into a mansion... more

Here are some news highlights from Ethiopia this week. I've included a summary of each piece. You can click on the title of each story to go read the full story. As always, links are only good for a few weeks, unless you subscribe to the news service.

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Ethiopia releases protest leaders

The biggest news out of Ethiopia this week is the report from the BBC that 30 protest leaders have been released. Just days after being given life sentences over the June 2005 election protests, the group has now reportedly confessed... more