African Press Agency) — A big bridge which collapsed in northern Ethiopia, about 600 kilometers from Addis Ababa, disconnected land transport with the capital, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded. The Ethiopian Transport ministry said on Friday evening that the bridge collapsed due to heavy rain in the area.
THE HORN of Africa is in the grip of a devastating food crisis that has left up to 15 million people across the region in need of emergency food aid. A deadly combination of deepening drought and soaring food prices has led to huge rises in malnourished children in Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, and parts of Uganda and Kenya.
But nowhere is the situation as severe as in war-torn Somalia, a country without a functioning central government since 1991 which aid workers warn is on the brink of a “hidden famine”. An ongoing conflict, pitting Ethiopian and Somali government
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In the words of the Independent on Sunday, the vultures of the cabinet were circling Gordon Brown even as he was meeting Barack Obama.
The Sunday Times says Labour would be well advised to heed Senator Obama’s own slogan – “It’s time for change.”
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July 26 (Bloomberg) — Democrat Barack Obama, pivoting to the U.S. economy after a nine-day trip abroad, said he is convening a meeting on the economy July 28 that will include former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker and billionaire investor Warren Buffett. More on Obama Taps Buffett, Rubin, Summers for Economy `Fine Tuning’
July 25, 2008
Ethiopia’s food crisis
When imagining a drought affected area, stretches of arid, dusty land is what comes to mind.
Yet much of West Arsi zone in Southern Ethiopia is deceptively green. Here people call it ‘green hunger’ – a period of food shortage following the failure of the first harvest, when the second harvest is months away. More on Ethiopia’s food crisis
OTTAWA — Stymied for months in their attempts to gain access to imprisoned Canadian Bashir Makhtal, diplomats were forced to rely on information from “a trusted intermediary,” newly obtained documents show. More on Ottawa wanders trail of frustration in Ethiopian detainee case: internal notes
July 24, 2008
Obama Speaks to Germany on European Ties
BERLIN — Senator Barack Obama stood before a sea of people here Thursday evening and issued a call for cooperation, imploring America and Europe to bridge differences and rekindle old alliances in an effort to restore global stability and better confront existing and unforeseen threats.
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Berlin’s Victory Column in Tiergarten Park
Berlin, Germany
Thank you to the citizens of Berlin and to the people of Germany. Let me thank Chancellor Merkel and Foreign Minister Steinmeier for welcoming me earlier today. Thank you Mayor Wowereit, the Berlin Senate, the police, and most of all thank you for this welcome. More on A World that Stands as One
The main pathway cutting across Eastleigh’s First Avenue is congested. It has not rained for several weeks and the ankle deep potholes are flowing with raw sewerage.
The place is packed with human traffic and moving across requires one to jump here, shove there and push.
People carrying loads jostle for space as they hop and jump over the muddy pools of sewerage.
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The Union of Islamic Courts created a state of relative stability that led to the return of Somali businesses. It also united conflicting tribes and ended piracy off Somalia’s perilous shores, says Frankie Martin.
Washington, DC – While the world looks elsewhere, Somalia is in flames. The nation just topped a list of the world’s most unstable countries by Foreign Policy magazine, and the United Nations has declared the humanitarian situation there “worse than Darfur.” More on Somalia: Time to Pay Attention
