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Also in the news:[Eritrea gets 122 million-Euro EU grant] - [Aid workers feared kidnapped in Somalia] - [2 Civilians Die In Attack Targeting Somali Government Official] - [Ethiopia to ask UN to intervene in Eritrea]
International:
[Prime Minister Tony Blair Announces His Resignation] - [Cameroon plane probe focuses on pilot] - [France's Sarkozy cheered in Paris as protest brews] - [Mayweather - De La Hoya fight rings up pay-per-view records ] and more of today's top stories!
Is There a Human Rights Double Standard? U.S. Policy Toward Equatorial Guinea and Ethiopia
Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight
Bill Delahunt (D-MA), Chairman
Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health
Donald M. Payne (D-NJ), Chairman
OPEN hearing to be held in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building
Thursday, May 10, 2007 (TODAY)
2:00 PM EST.
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More Ethiopian troops en route to Somalia
5,000 Ethiopian troops to deploy to central Somalia
MOGADISHU, Somalia - An ongoing series of meetings between the Ethiopian military and a group of Somali clan elders and politicians have concluded, officials and the elders said.
The meetings where the two parties discussed general security issues were being held in Shilabo, a town in the Somali-inhabited region of Ethiopia.
Independent sources at the meeting said that the Ethiopian military informed the clan elders from Galgaduud region in central Somalia to peacefully transfer weapons and prepare for the arrival of an Ethiopian contingent.(More...)
Eritrea gets 122 million-Euro EU grant
(Eritrean President Issaias Afeworki (L) listens to EU Development Commissioner Louis Michel during a meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels, 04 May 2007 - AFP/Gerard Cerles)Brussels, Belgium 05/10 - The European Union (EU) has granted Eritrea 122 million Euros under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) scheme (2008-2013), the EU said in a statement here Wednesday.
The EDF is a financial instrument under the Cotonou (Benin) Accord binding the EU with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Grants under the scheme support administrative capacity building, infrastructure and food aid, among others.
The statement said the EU requires the Asmara government to adopt a constructive approach at settling regional conflicts, and to improve on human rights and press freedom.(More...)
Also see:
-The Commissioner's New best Friend
Ethiopia to ask UN to intervene in Eritrea
Parliament voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to ask the United Nations to take "necessary measures" against Ethiopia's neighbour and long-time adversary, Eritrea.
The vote, which did not specify what actions it wanted the UN to take, was the latest in a string of Ethiopian condemnations of Eritrea, which fought a border war with Ethiopia that ended in 2000.
The measure, which passed 300 to 83, also included calls for international condemnation of an attack on a Chinese oil exploration field in northeastern Ethiopia two weeks ago in which 74 Chinese and Ethiopian workers were shot dead. The measure called for those responsible for the attack to be brought to justice.(More...)
Aid workers feared kidnapped in Somalia
MOGADISHU, Somalia (Reuters) -- Two aid workers, one British and one Kenyan, are missing feared kidnapped in northern Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region, their organization said on Thursday.
CARE International said the Briton, who is from Northern Ireland, and his colleague had been missing in the Horn of Africa nation since at least Wednesday. A diplomatic source said the incident did not appear to be terrorist-related.
CARE spokeswoman Beatrice Spadacini said it was thought the abductions might be connected with a local issue and that tribal elders were working towards securing a release.(More...)
AU's Mess
Ugandan has not received money promised to it by the AU since deployment: Burundi ready to deploy, but there is no money to send them to Somalia
The African Union (AU) has defended its method of funding peacekeeping forces following complaints from the Ugandan peacekeeping mission in Somalia. The Ugandan army, which arrived in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, in March, says it has not received money promised to it by the AU since its deployment.
An AU spokesman told the BBC that peace troops had to sustain themselves, after which the AU would reimburse them. Assnae Ba said the AU so far had pledges of $35m to fund the mission. But some $200m was needed to fund a six month deployment of 8,000 troops to Somalia.
So far however, only some 1,700 Ugandan troops are in Mogadishu as the advance party. Burundi, which is expected to provide 1,700 troops, says they are ready to leave, but there is no money to send them.(More...)
Also see:
-Africa parliament says Ethiopia to fail in Somalia
-Peacekeeping money running dry
Attack kills 2 in Somali capital
MOGADISHU, Somalia - A land mine attack on a convoy of Somali government officials ended in the deaths of two civilians in the restive capital Thursday, an official and witnesses said. Elsewhere, two aid workers were reportedly kidnapped.
The car in the convoy carrying the commander of prisons, Abdullahi Ma'alim, ran over a land mine that was apparently set off by remote control, said Mohamed Osman Dagahtur, the capital's deputy mayor for security affairs.(More...)
Also see:
-2 Civilians Die In Attack Targeting Somali Government Official
-Two blasts hit Mogadishu in less then 24 hours
-Three killed in Mogadishu landmine blast
CPJ: In Puntland, radio contributor shot during army raid
New York, May 9, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists mourns the death on Saturday of Mohammed Abdullahi Khalif, a contributor to the private radio station Voice of Peace in Somalia’s northeastern, semi-autonomous region of Puntland. Khalif was killed by crossfire while covering an army raid on an illegal gun market in the city of Galkayo.
Khalif died from a bullet to the chest as soldiers were raiding the dealership to recover an assault rifle allegedly stolen from the army, according to the National Union of Somali Journalists and local journalists. One other person died and several others were wounded in the raid.(More...)
Today's Top International Stories
-Cameroon plane probe focuses on pilot-China Appoints Special Representative to Focus on Darfur Crisis
-Prime Minister Tony Blair Announces His Resignation
-France's Sarkozy cheered in Paris as protest brews
-Olmert: My Army "let itself down" in Lebanon
-Hamas "Mickey Mouse" Pulled From TV
-Floyd Mayweather Jr.- Oscar De La Hoya fight rings up pay-per-view records
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