International: US parties poised for poll battle, Former Marxist guerrilla Daniel Ortega close to a dramatic return to power, Iran ready to share missile systems with others, Female suicide bomber in Gaza and more of today's top stories
Ethiopian immigrants scuffle with a police officer during a demonstration in Jerusalem against a decision by Israeli medical authorities to dispose blood donated by members of their community, November 6, 2006. The decision was made amid concern that recent immigrants may have brought diseases with them from Africa, but Israel's Ethiopian community denounced it as racism. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM)[Breaking News] Supreme Court Judge Teshale Aberra defects
BBC
Ethiopia's most senior judge, Teshale Aberra, has left the country following threats and "continued harassment" from the government, he has told the BBC. The Supreme Court president accused the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of killing its critics but managing to avoid international blame. He also said the government was planning to appoint new, loyalist judges throughout the system. Mr Meles had been seen as being part of a new generation of African leaders.
Mr Teshale is the latest in a series of senior officials - judges, diplomats and military commanders - to flee the country.(More...)
Also see:
- Ethiopia's top judge to seek asylum in Britain: The Guardian
Ethiopian-Israelis clash with police, disrupt Jerusalem traffic over discarding of donated blood
JERUSALEM: Hundreds of Israelis of Ethiopian descent clashed with police and briefly blocked the entrance to Jerusalem on Monday in a protest of the Health Ministry's wholesale discarding of donated Ethiopian blood.Police said four officers were hurt.
Last week, Israel's Channel 2 TV reported that the ministry had revived its practice of throwing out the Ethiopian-Israelis' blood, for fear it would be contaminated with disease. A similar disclosure a decade ago sparked protests and widespread outrage in a community that feels it is a target of racial discrimination.(More...)
Call for national reconciliation
Indian Ocean Newsletter N° 1201 04/11/2006
A group of a dozen partisans of the Coalition for United and Democracy Party (CUDP) has issued a call for a government of national unity.
The Citizens’ Charter Group formed by a dozen or so members of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (CUDP, opposition) issued a call on 27 October to create a government of national unity in Ethiopia. These Individuals (the group includes Abate Kassa, Berhanu Abegaz, Elias Wondimu, Fekadu Fullas and Mammo Muchie) have drawn up a Charter for a Democratic Ethiopia based on the respect of three basic principles: representative democracy, cultural pluralism and economic deregulation. This charter calls the political parties and civil associations, whether pro-government or opposition, to put an end to sectarianism and adopt a common platform in order to prepare for a transition period before instigating a government of national unity. A variety of opposition organisations have been invited to accept the principles of this charter. The United Ethiopian Democratic Force (UEDF) and the leaders of the CUDP in North America have responded positively to this idea but without endorsing the charter. The Alliance for Freedom and Democracy (AFD) has not yet given a formal response.
Teddy Afro released after hit-and-run allegation
The young talented vocalist, songwriter and producer Tewodros Kassahun alias Teddy Afro, was released on bail yesterday, Saturday, November 4, after he was put under police custody allegedly accused of killing a person, while driving his BMW on the road near the Sheraton Hotel late in the evening of Thursday, November 2.Subsequently, Teddy appeared before the Federal First Instance Court on Friday, November 3, where he pleaded not guilty on the allegations.
"I have not run over anybody and killed no one," Teddy told the judge.
The Court adjourned the hearing for next week Friday, November 10, giving time for police to further investigate the case. After being in custody for about 24 hours, Teddy was bailed out on his friend's trade license, with a 50,000 birr capital. (More...)
Low IQs are Africa's curse, says Idiot lecturer
The London School of Economics is embroiled in a row over academic freedom after one of its lecturers published a paper alleging that African states were poor and suffered chronic ill-health because their populations were less intelligent than people in richer countries.....Dr Satoshi Kanazawa (seen here) in his paper cites Ethiopia's national IQ of 63, the world's lowest, and the fact that men and women are only expected to live until their mid-40s as an example of his finding that intelligence is the main determinant of someone's health. (More..)
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Give the University and the professor a piece of your mind
Howard Davies Director of the London School of Economics
Tel: +44 (0)20 7955 6285
Fax: +44 (0)20 7852 3630
Contact (secretary): Rachel Gibson
Email: r.m.gibson@lse.ac.uk.
Dr Satoshi Kanazawa
Email: s.kanazawa@lse.ac.uk
LSE phone number:+44(0)20 7955 7297
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EPRDF loses its land suit in Jerusalem
Indian Ocean Newsletter N° 1201 04/11/2006
A court in Jerusalem (Israel) issued its verdict at the end of September on an old dispute over the ownership of a villa in this city which the Ethiopian government had tried to claim. This affair goes back to 1999 and pits the government of Addis Ababa against the family of Emperor Haile Selassie and empress Mennen. The Ethiopian government had recently obtained an injunction preventing members of the former royal family from using this property in Jerusalem. But this decision was overturned by the Jerusalem court, which has just found that the house does indeed belong to the emperor’s descendants. The latter were represented by the lawyer Tzvi Shamir while the Ethiopian government had taken on the services of his colleague Itzhak Hennig.
The Issue behind the Issues
Diaspora Kinijit’s meltdown
(Paulos Dandego, ETP)
The divide within Diaspora Kinijit is on the fast track to competing with Paul McCartney and Heather Mill’s divorce for the nastiest split of the decade title. From money squandering to outright stealing, from sabotaging the struggle to being a double agent; the accusations have been flying back and forth leaving bystanders confused and bewildered. But what is the real issue here? What caused the sudden collapse? This article examines what really happened inside Diaspora Kinijit. Readers are advised not to interpret words or phrases found in this article out of context, but rather to construe words and phrases in the framework of the obvious intent of the article as a whole. (More...)
Today's Top Stories
-An F for the Independent Inquiry Commission report-Somali Islamists say battle erupted with northerners
-US parties poised for poll battle
-Female suicide bomber attacks Israeli troops in Gaza
-Former Marxist guerrilla Daniel Ortega close to a dramatic return to power
-Iran ready to share missile systems with others
-For 'Borat,' a glorious open
-Man ordered to wear "sex offender" T-shirt
