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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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. The ensuing war claimed over 100,000 lives and displaced 1.5 million people before a peace accord was brokered by the United States. It is feared that this new flare-up of hostility may be related in part to al-Qaeda coming in looking for a new stronghold. Recently six al-Qaeda members were arrested by Ethiopian forces in the area.

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East Africa: Horn of Africa Stories - 'One Life Saved, the Other Lost'

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) tells the stories of two journalists, Befekadu Moreda from Ethiopia and Paulos Kidane from Eritrea. Both faced persecution in Ethiopia. Moreda successfully made it to america and is now working in Houston, albiet as a hospital maintainance worker. Kidane attempted to cross into Sudan on foot in June of this year, but did not survive the journey.


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51 Ethiopians Arrested
Fifty-one Ethiopians were arrested in Zimbabwe this week. They were traveling without passports, were on their way to South Africa and are believed to have come from a refugee camp in Harare.

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Ethiopia: NGO Says Policies Ignore 10-14 Year Olds

ENGENDERHEALTH Ethiopia, an international NGO working with children in Ethiopia said that most health programs currently working in Ethiopia do not address the needs of 10-14 year old children. These children are often pushed into adult roles prematurely: quitting school, working long hours, and gettiong married too young. The NGO feels that programs need to be implemented to better assist this portion of the population.