Ethiopia: Key donors to freeze aid to government

International donors will freeze $375m (?316m) in aid to Ethiopia’s government following its recent crackdown on the main opposition party and the independent press, Western diplomats said today (December 29). The money, however, will be reallocated to the UN and aid agencies working to combat poverty among the bulk of Ethiopia’s estimated 77 million people who live on less than a dollar a day. Some of the money could also finance programs intended to strengthen democracy, the diplomats said.