Dramatic floods in the eastern Somali region of Ethiopia have killed at least three people and displaced more than 50,000 since the start of the month, aid sources said Wednesday.

Dramatic floods in the eastern Somali region of Ethiopia have killed at least three people and displaced more than 50,000 since the start of the month, aid sources said Wednesday.

NAIROBI, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - Ethiopian rebels on Sunday claimed they had killed at least 140 government troops in an attack in the Ogaden region, where the army is carrying out a crackdown.

The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) said in a statement that almost 1,000 of its fighters attacked Ethiopian troops near Wardheer early Saturday, killing more than 140 of them, with 'many more wounded'.

Wardheer is about 650 kilometers (400 miles) southeast of Addis Ababa.

NAIROBI, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - Ethiopian rebels on Sunday claimed they had killed at least 140 government troops in a weekend attack in the volatile Ogaden region, where the army is carrying out a crackdown.

The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) said in a statement that its fighters killed more than 140 troops near Wardheer, 650 kilometers (400 miles) southeast of Addis Ababa early Saturday.

It was impossible to confirm the claims. Journalists and aid workers are blocked from visiting the area, where the military is battling insurgents.

ADDIS ABABA, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) - Ethiopia has unveiled its first locally-assembled saloon car -- with parts imported from China -- two years after it rolled out a plant.

The car named Abay -- Amharic for the Blue Nile -- was launched Thursday by the joint Ethiopia-Dutch firm, Holland Car Plc, an industry official said.

'We are bringing new technology to the country, offering customers to buy new cars instead of older and more expensive ones from Europe,' Tadesse Tessema, co-founder the company, told AFP.

ADDIS ABABA, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - Ethiopia has allowed UN agencies freely to conduct relief operations in the volatile Ogaden region, where the army is cracking down on insurgents, a top UN official said Thursday.

'The Ethiopian government has assured the UN humanitarian activities within the Somali region will be unrestricted,' said Fidele Sarassoro, the UN Office of the Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) representative in Ethiopia.

BAIDOA, Somalia, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - Somalia's Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi on Wednesday flew to Addis Ababa for talks as the country grappled with a power struggle pitting him and President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed.

'The prime minister has gone to Ethiopia for consultations,' a top official in Gedi's office told AFP.

Yusuf is pushing parliament to oust Gedi on accusations that he has failed in his responsibility, including ending insurgency raging in the capital Mogadishu, formulating a new constitution and installing a federal system of government.

ADDIS ABABA, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - Ethiopia exported 176,000 tons of coffee, earning 421 million dollars in the 2006/2007 fiscal year, a slight dip from the previous year, state-owned media said Sunday.

'Over 100 exporters and unions were involved to export the coffee to America, Italy, Germany and other European countries,' an agriculture ministry official told the official Ethiopian News Agency (ENA).

According to the Ethiopian Coffee Exporter's Association, 183,000 tons of coffee amounting to 427 million dollars were exported in 2005/2006.

ADDIS ABABA, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - As Ethiopia enters its third millennium, so does its Orthodox church, a venerable state-backed institution whose dominance is increasingly threatened by a myriad of evangelical faiths.

Patriarch Paulos, the current head of the 40-million-strong Ethiopian Orthodox Church, downplays any rivalry and stresses, as one of the presidents of the World Council of Churches, he has invited the leaders of other denominations on numerous occasions.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Thursday expressed concern about rising tension between Eritrea and Ethiopia, including recent shooting incidents and a buildup of military forces along their disputed border.

Ban called on the Horn of Africa's bitter archrivals 'to exercise utmost restraint, maintain their commitment to the Algiers agreement ...and facilitate the implementation of the delimitation decision of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC),' his press office said.

ADDIS ABABA, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - The UN High Commissioner for Refugees on Thursday condemned a recent deportation of 15 Ethiopian refugees by Sudanese authorities.

The 15 are part of a group of more than 30 Ethiopians arrested in June by Sudanese intelligence in Khartoum and Blue Nile state, the agency said in a statement.

'UNHCR believes that up to 20 refugees in the remaining group are still in jail and fears that they could also face deportation.'

The UNHCR said the refugees were expelled on September 27, but it only learnt of the deportation this week.

ADDIS ABABA, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - Ethiopia expects to earn 125 million dollars (86.3 million euros) from flower exports by year-end, a five-fold increase compared to the previous year, an association said Thursday.

The country has already earned 90 million dollars in the last six months from the fast-growing sector, the Ethiopian Horticulture Producers-Exporters Association said.

ADDIS ABABA, Oct 9, 2007 (AFP) - The Ethiopian parliament on Tuesday reelected President Girma Wolde-Giorgis for an new six-year-term to his largely ceremonial post.

The raising of hands took place in the lower house of parliament in the presence of all the members of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's government.

Girma, of the ruling Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front, had already won the required two-thirds majority in an upper house vote.

ASMARA, Oct 9, 2007 (AFP) - Eritrea on Tuesday accused its arch-rival Ethiopia of blocking broadcasts and web pages by its media in the latest round of accusations between the Horn of Africa foes.

'The (Ethiopian) regime is engaged in attempts not only to block the broadcasting of Eritrean media outlets but also websites,' Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu said in a statement posted on his ministry's website.

ADDIS ABABA, Oct 8, 2007 (AFP) - Ethiopia's parliament will on Tuesday elect a new president, a largely ceremonial post which has been held by Girma Woldegiorgis since 2001, official media announced.

Parliament Speaker Ambassador Teshome was quoted Monday by the official Ethiopian News Agency as saying that 'election of a new president, who would lead Ethiopia for the coming six years, would be carried out during the inaugural meeting.'

ADDIS ABABA, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) - Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on Thursday pledged 5,000 troops to a joint peacekeeping force due to be deployed in Sudan's troubled western region of Darfur.

'We have been asked to contribute to the UNAMID, we promised 5,000 troops, and we'll do so, and I can tell you they'll be fully equipped troops,' Meles said at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

ADDIS ABABA, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday urged Ethiopia to allow more democratic freedoms after the country ran into international criticism over disputed 2005 elections.

'We are in favour of further openness of the country, of the political system,' Merkel said at a joint press conference with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

Merkel was in Ethiopia on the first leg of a three-nation African tour that will also take her to South Africa and Liberia.

ADDIS ABABA, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Ethiopia overnight at the start of a tour of African countries that will also take in South Africa and Liberia.

Merkel, who travels in the company of Cooperation and Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, members of parliament and business leaders, was to be welcomed with military honours and have talks with the country's political leaders later Thursday.

BERLIN, Oct 2, 2007 (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel embarks on Wednesday on her first tour of sub-Saharan Africa on a three-nation visit that will focus on human rights, AIDS, economic cooperation and the political crisis in Zimbabwe.

Merkel's first stop will be Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia and seat of the fledgling African Union which is struggling, so far without success, to halt four years of bloodshed in neighbouring Sudan's Darfur region.

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.