ASMARA, Sept 28, 2007 (AFP) - Eritrea urged the United Nations to force its arch-foe Ethiopia urgently to implement a border ruling, warning it feared Addis Ababa was preparing to resume war, in a letter published Friday.

In the letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Foreign Minister Osman Saleh said he believed that Ethiopian threats to scrap the Algiers peace deal that ended their bloody 1998-2000 border war were a precursor to an attack.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept 28, 2007 (AFP) - More than 100,000 Ethiopian Orthodox Christians took part in a procession in Addis Ababa for the first major religious festival of the country's third millennium.

Ethiopia follows a unique version of the Julian and marked a new millennium on September 12, seven years after the rest of the world.

BERLIN, Sept 28, 2007 (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Ethiopia, South Africa and Liberia early next month on her first tour of Africa, government spokesman Thomas Steg said.

She will go to Ethiopia on October 3 and then fly to South Africa the next day for a four-day visit, before travelling to Liberia for one day.

'The chancellor will hold political discussions but will also visit a number of aid projects,' Steg said.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - An Ethiopian rights group on Thursday accused government security forces of widespread human rights violations, including arbitrary detentions, torture and killings.

The Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) issued a statement alleging that 17 people had been killed and 201 others held without charge by security forces in several regions over the past four months alone.

MAPUTO, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - A group of 55 Ethiopian illegal immigrants have been detained in Mozambique after they were found living off wild animals and shrubs deep in a forest in central Zambezia province, police said Thursday.

The arrests of the group, who were aged between 20 and 35, were made after complaints by locals, said provincial police spokesman Ernesto Serrote.

'Following interrogation, we established that they are not criminals but illegal Ethiopian immigrants hiding away from the authorities,' he said.

ASMARA, Sept 26, 2007 (AFP) - Eritrea on Wednesday reacted coolly to a threat by its arch-foe Ethiopia to abandon a peace agreement that ended their 1998-2000 war and whose implementation has stalled.

Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu insisted Ethiopia must implement the peace accord by accepting a 2002 ruling that awarded the flashpoint border town of Badme to Asmara.

'The Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) is entitled and mandated to demarcate the border, but the Ethiopian regime is refusing to abide by the rule of law,' Ali told AFP.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept 25, 2007 (AFP) - Ethiopia threatened Tuesday to terminate a fragile peace accord that halted its 1998-2000 border war with Eritrea, charging its tiny neighbour with breaching the pact and supporting 'terrorism.'

In a letter to Asmara, Ethiopia's Foreign Affairs Minister Seyoum Mesfin said it would mull 'legal and peaceful options, including terminating the agreements or suspending their operation in whole or in part.'

Eritrea was not immediately reachable for comment.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept 25, 2007 (AFP) - China has loaned Ethiopia more than 200 million dollars to boost cement production and hydro-electric power generation, state-run media said Tuesday.

The 208-million-dollar (148 million euros) loan agreement was signed Monday by the president of China's Export/Import Bank, Li Ruogu, currently on a visit to Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian News Agency reported.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept 22, 2007 (AFP) - Tens of thousands of Rastafarians converged on Addis Ababa for a massive concert as part of the celebrations marking Ethiopia's new millennium.

The Horn of Africa country, which is the cradle of the Rastafari movement, follows a unique version of the Julian calendar and entered its third millennium on September 12, seven years after the rest of the world.

'More than 25 artists mainly from Ethiopia will perform for two days in Meskel Square,' said Ras Kesh Kassaye, one of the organisers, just before the concert kicked off.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept 21, 2007 (AFP) - The United States said Friday it is donating 97 million dollars (69 million euros) to Ethiopia in recognition of the Horn of Africa country's 'strategic importance.'

The money, channeled through USAID, is to fund agricultural and private sector development, health care, primary education and good governance, a statement said.

Ethiopia received US backing last year when it deployed troops to neighbouring Somalia to overthrow an Islamist movement accused of harbouring extremist elements.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept 21, 2007 (AFP) - The United States said Friday it is donating 96 million dollars (68 million euros) to Ethiopia in recognition of the Horn of Africa country's 'strategic importance.'

The money, channeled through USAID, is to fund agricultural and private sector development, health care, primary education and good governance, a statement said.

Ethiopia received US backing last year when it deployed troops to neighbouring Somalia to overthrow an Islamist movement accused of harbouring extremist elements.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) - A United Nations panel on Wednesday recommended an independent probe into alleged human rights violations in Ethiopia's Ogaden region, where the army has cracked down on rebels.

A UN fact-finding mission travelled to Ogaden in late August to probe allegations that the military had committed rights abuses in its clampdown on Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) insurgents.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept 17, 2007 (AFP) - Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Monday that Eritrea must change its stance if the protracted border dispute between the two countries is to be resolved.

Inflexible positions by the Horn of African foes, who fought a 1998-2000 war, have impeded implementation of a 2002 United Nations border ruling that granted the flashpoint town of Badme to Eritrea.

Addis Ababa wants the ruling revised, saying it splits families, while Asmara has insisted that it is final and binding.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept 13, 2007 (AFP) - Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation on Thursday resumed its text messaging services, which had been banned during the political unrest that followed contested 2005 polls.

'Wish you happy Ethiopian Millennium. And now the SMS service is launched,' read a message sent to all users.

The government had banned text messaging, arguing that opposition movements were using it to coordinate their activities before and after the polls.

NAIROBI, Sept 13, 2007 (AFP) - Ethiopian rebels on Thursday urged the world to bring an end to an army crackdown in the restive Ogaden region, warning that another 'African genocide' was unfolding.

The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) said thousands of displaced civilians had fled to neighbouring Somalia without food and medicine over the past four months.

BOSASO, Somalia, Sept 13, 2007 (AFP) - Tales of rape and murder from refugees fleeing Ethiopia's Ogaden region offer a glimpse of the violence wracking the hermetic rebel zone, off limits now even to foreign aid groups.

'It's worse than hell, what is happening in Ethiopia,' said Fardosa, whose eyes seem to have frozen wide open since her own ordeal.

'A group of Ethiopians came to my house in early August and four soldiers took me into my bedroom and assaulted me,' said the thin young woman, cradling a nine-month-old baby.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) - Ethiopia entered the third millennium seven years after the rest of the world Wednesday, amid lavish celebrations, religious fervor and messages of hope from the troubled country's leaders.

As the giant countdown board in central Addis Ababa flashed the year 2000 at midnight (2100 GMT), thousands of faithful from all over Ethiopia -- which follows a unique, slightly modified Julian calendar -- gathered in churches.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) - Ethiopia's president pardoned nearly 18,000 prisoners in a gesture coinciding with the country's third millennium celebrations, the official Ethiopian news agency (ENA) reported Wednesday.

Girma Woldegiorgis pardoned 17,765 prisoners who requested clemency, ENA announced as Ethiopia -- which follows a unique version of the Julian calendar -- marked the year 2000 seven years after the rest of the world.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) - Ethiopia readied itself on Tuesday for a lavish millennium party celebrating the unique cultural heritage that produced, among other things, a calendar seven years behind the rest of the world.

The celebrations set for Tuesday night, however, come amid simmering political and economic instability in the large east African country.

Ethiopia, which was one of the first Christian kingdoms in history, follows a slightly modified version of the Julian calendar, which the Western world abandoned long ago.

ASMARA, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) - Somali opposition leaders meeting in Eritrea called Tuesday on all African nations to condemn Ethiopia's military presence in their war-shattered nation.

Some 350 delegates, including senior Islamist leaders, exiled lawmakers and diaspora representatives gathered last week in the Eritrean capital Asmara for a congress aimed at unifying opposition to 'liberate Somalia from Ethiopia'.

ASMARA, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) - Eritrea on Tuesday said it would do its utmost to avert a new conflict with its arch-foe Ethiopia over their border dispute, a week after mediation efforts broke down.

'Eritrea will do every possible thing to avoid war, although this doesn't mean we will compromise our sovereignty or territorial integrity,' Information Minister Ali Abdu told reporters.

Talks between the two neighbours brokered by a UN-appointed border panel failed to yield any progress last week, with each side blaming the other for the deadlock.

OSLO, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) - Norway will reduce its direct aid to Ethiopia by about a third after Addis Ababa expelled six Norwegian diplomats, Development Aid Minister Erik Solheim said on Tuesday, though he said it was for purely logistical reasons.

'We want to have a good relationship with Ethiopia and we have no intention whatsoever to step up this conflict,' Solheim told foreign correspondents in Oslo.

NAIROBI, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) - A press freedom watchdog on Monday asked Ethiopia to disclose the fate of two Eritrean journalist detained late 2006 during the war between Ethiopian troops and Somali Islamists.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ) said Eritrean journalists Tesfalidet Kidane Tesfazghi and Saleh Idris Gama are being held 'incommunicado' in Ethiopia since their arrest by Kenyan authorities late last year during fighting in Somalia.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) - Ethiopia on Monday criticised the work of a commission appointed by the United Nations to demarcate the disputed border with Eritrea.

In a statement received by AFP, the foreign ministry condemned the commission's announcement that the border defined last year would be final if no progress was made by November 2007.

'Ethiopia cannot accept the commission's coordinates. Demarcation requires a valid process,' the statement said.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept 9, 2007 (AFP) - The United States and the United Nations expressed concern Saturday at an Ethiopian crackdown on insurgents in its restive Ogaden region, urging the government to respect human rights.

'We are indeed very concerned by reports we have heard of what is happening there, on the effects of military operations on the humanitarian situation there,' said UN aid chief John Holmes.

NAIROBI, Sept 8, 2007 (AFP) - The United Nations' humanitarian arm Saturday expressed concern over the humanitarian situation in Ethiopia's volatile Ogaden region where the government has launched a crackdown on insurgents.

'We are indeed very concerned by reports we have heard of what is happening there, on the effects of military operations on the humanitarian situation there,' said UN aid chief John Holmes.

ASMARA, Sept 8, 2007 (AFP) - Eritrea on Saturday blamed arch-foe Ethiopia for the failure of the latest talks aimed at solving their long-running bitter border dispute, an official statement said Saturday.

Officials from the two African foes met face-to-face Thursday with a UN-appointed border panel in The Hague in a last-ditch attempt to break the frontier deadlock following their bloody 1998-2000 border war.

ASMARA, Sept 8, 2007 (AFP) - Rebellious Somali leaders on Saturday warned of a full-scale war in the conflict-torn Horn of Africa nation to push out Ethiopian troops deployed to back the feeble transitional government.

The warning came as 350 Somali rebel delegates, gathered in the Eritrean capital Asmara, continued with talks to map out a strategy against Ethiopian troops in Somalia.

NAIROBI, Sept 7, 2007 (AFP) - An animal rights group on Friday offered to help Ethiopia develop full-scale animal shelters after it threatened to kill tens of thousands of stray dogs ahead of next week's millenium celebrations.

The Virginia-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) urged Addis Ababa mayor Ato Berhanu Deressa to cancel plans to poison the dogs before the country enters the third millenium, according to its unique calendar.

ASMARA, Sept 7, 2007 (AFP) - Somali rebel leaders gathered in Asmara for an opposition congress where they will discuss a military strategy to adopt against Ethiopian troops in Somalia, a conference spokesman said Friday.

Some 350 delegates, including senior Islamist leaders, exiled lawmakers and diaspora representatives have gathered in the Eritrean capital for the meeting, aimed at unifying opposition to 'liberate Somalia from Ethiopia'.

BOSASSO, Somalia, Sept 7, 2007 (AFP) - Tales of rape and murder from Ogaden refugees fleeing across Somalia offer a glimpse of the violence wracking the hermetic rebel Ethiopian region.

Fardosa's eyes seem to have frozen wide open since her ordeal.

'A group of Ethiopians came to my house in early August and four soldiers took me into my bedroom and assaulted me,' says the thin young woman, cradling a nine-month-old baby.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) - A human rights organisation in Ethiopia said Wednesday that the government has been holding three of its members without charge for more than two weeks in the west of the country.

The Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) said three members of its branch in Nekemte, 220 kilometres (135 miles) west of Addis Ababa, were detained on August 23 after police came to search their homes.

'Three of our members in Nekemte have been detained without an arrest warrant for 16 days,' Tesfaye Desalegn, the group's public relations officer, told AFP.

NAIROBI, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) - Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned Tuesday a major humanitarian crisis could be developing in Ethiopia's rebel Ogaden region, where the organisation was repeatedly denied access in recent weeks.

'I think we are missing a big thing that is happening under our eyes,' said Loris de Filippi, operational coordinator for MSF Belgium in Ethiopia.

ADDIS ABABA, Sept 3, 2007 (AFP) - As they prepare to mark the year 2000 seven years after the rest of the world, Ethiopians are torn between pride in a unique culture and uneasiness at the extravaganza planned to mark the occasion.

Concerts by world-renowned pop stars, exhibitions and other events spanning a year and costing millions of dollars are expected to shine an unsually positive light on a country mired in poverty and conflict.

NAIROBI, Sept 2, 2007 (AFP) - Ethiopian rebels declared a ceasefire Sunday to allow a United Nations mission to tour the eastern Ogaden region and assess alleged rights violations and a worsening humanitarian situation.

Three days after the 14-man mission arrived in the area bordering lawless Somalia, the rebels said the truce was designed to assure the team's security during the week-long assignment.

ASMARA, Sept 1, 2007 (AFP) - Eritrean President Issaias Afeworki has said arch-enemy Ethiopia must implement a border ruling or risk sparking a 'new crisis', state-media reported Saturday.

Issaias' comments come as a UN-appointed border commission, due to close in two months, attempts to broker a last-ditch deal between the two sides, still at odds following their bloody 1998-2000 border war.

HOUSTON, Texas, Sept 1, 2007 (AFP) - Lucy, the world's most famous fossil, took on a new role as international tourist when she went on public display this week for the first time outside Ethiopia since her discovery in 1974.

Lucy is no longer the oldest-known member of the human family tree, but dating back 3.2 million years and with 40 percent of her skeleton recovered, she is the oldest, most complete specimen of an early human species.

ADDIS ABABA, Aug 30, 2007 (AFP) - A United Nations fact-finding mission on Thursday left for Ethiopia's eastern Ogaden region where the government is battling insurgents amid reports of human rights abuses, an official said.

The UN Development Programme director for Ethiopia Sam Barnes said the UN inter-agency mission will 'undertake assessments' in the region for one week.

'It will be looking at the potential humanitarian impacts the region may have faced as a result of the violence,' Barnes told AFP in Addis Ababa.