A deadly attack by rebels on a Chinese-run oil field in Ethiopia that left more than 70 dead is the latest example of the human and political cost of China’s growing energy interests in Africa. Tuesday’s attack by rebel gunmen on the facility left 65 Ethiopians dead as well as nine workers from China, making it the deadliest in a recent spate of killings and kidnappings aimed at Chinese firms in Africa.

Ethiopia has launched a national strategy on adolescent and reproductive health that aims to tackle the problems of early marriages and pregnancies, female circumcision, abduction and rape, and poor access to healthcare for 10- to 24-year-olds. Recently launched by the health ministry in collaboration with United Nations agencies, the Adolescent and Youth Reproductive Health Strategy (AYRH) will be implemented over eight years.

The government of Ethiopia has dropped charges against its citizens accused of attempting to commit genocide, treason and other crimes during the 2005 protests against the alleged vote rigging by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. About 200 people lost their lives in the protests.

CIA and FBI agents hunting for al-Qaeda militants in the Horn of Africa have been interrogating terrorism suspects from 19 countries held at secret prisons in Ethiopia, which is notorious for torture and abuse, according to an investigation by the Associated Press (AP).

Ethiopia is looking to trademark coffees in the EU to benefit its poor farmers, in the face of opposition from Starbucks in the U.S. The Ethiopian move provides lessons for an African market that could be worth billions of dollars.

Super-fast internet connections and digital technology are changing the face of medicine. A multi-million-dollar venture between India and Ethiopia will see doctors in Addis Ababa using telecommunications to consult fellow medics in Indian hospitals. But will ‘telemedicine’ help more than a lucky few? Sisay Abebe of PANOS reports.

Kamilat Mehdi was walking home after dark with her two sisters when a man stepped out of the shadows and threw sulphuric acid in her face. The acid hit the 21-year-old's eyes, nose, mouth, forehead and chest, splashing onto the faces and backs of her sisters beside her, burning flesh wherever it touched.

Twelve-year-old Woinishet Wujura's dedication to her gardening duties would be surprising in someone her age, but the land she is tilling has been a lifeline for her and her family because the farm is run exclusively by and for women and children affected by AIDS. The farm, called 'Gordeme', is part of a successful urban gardening project that started in 2004 and now has several farms across Ethiopia, all managed and maintained by about 10,000 women or children.

The Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa, OSSREA is organizing a workshop, whose prime objective is to develop and in some instances upgrade the skills of participants in peace research so as to enhance teaching and research capacity of UPEACE Africa Programme partners in Africa. Letters of application and supporting documents should reach UPEACE Africa Programme no later than Friday, March 30 2007.

The Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO) and the African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET) organizes in cooperation with the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Union (AU) the African Civil Society Forum "Democratizing Governance at Regional and Global Level to Achieve the MDGs" to be held between 22-24 March 2007 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CONGO) and the African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), in cooperation with the African Union and the UN Economic Commission for Africa, is organizing the African Civil Society Forum “Building UN/NGOs Partnerships for Democratic Governance through the MDGs” that will take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 22 – 24 March 2007.

ZOA is an international NGO operating in more than 10 countries worldwide. ZOA supports refugees, internally displaced persons, returnees and others affected by conflict or natural disasters. Deadline for applications is Friday 9th March 2007

The Solidarity for African Women’s Right (SOAWR) Public forum in collaboration with the Inter-African Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (IAC) was held on 25 January 2007 in Conference Room 4 of the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It had the following objectives: 1) To popularise the protocol on the rights of women in Africa 2) Discuss some of the provisions of the protocol in the context of Ethiopia 3)To provide space for interaction with the participants to contribute ideas and actionable recommendations towards the struggle for Women’s Rights in Africa and Ethiopia in particular 4) Launch “Grace, Tenacity and Eloquence: The struggle for Women’s Rights in Africa". Representatives of UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, members of the public and the press attended the forum. The full report is available here.

Ethiopia is lodging an appeal to demand the death sentence for the country's former ruler Mengistu Haile Mariam and his closest aides. Mengistu and his associates were found guilty of killing thousands of people by the country's high court during the regime's 17-year rule.

The Chief of Party (COP) will be responsible for the overall management of the USAID Cooperative Agreement for the Positive Change: Children, Communities and Care Program, valued at $20 million for five years. S/he will provide strategic and operational leadership to develop and implement a multi-sectoral, integrated HIV/AIDS program that will achieve measurable outcomes in the mitigation of the impact of HIV/AIDS on families and communities in Ethiopia, and provide care and support to Orphans and Vulnerable Children and people living with HIV/AIDS.

Sex work is often cited in research as a key factor in HIV transmission. Past research has focused on men’s mobility, in particular their use of sex workers while working away from home. However, it is also important to consider the mobility of sex workers themselves as contributing to the AIDS pandemic in Ethiopia.

Amnesty International's global Urgent Action network provides an effective and rapid means of preventing some of the most life-threatening human rights violations against individuals. Tilahun Ayalew (m), Anteneh Getnet (m), Meqcha Mengistu (m), all officials of the Ethiopian Teachers' Association (ETA) are prominent members of Ethiopia's main teachers' trade union, which has been critical of the government. Tilahun Ayalew and Anteneh Getnet are reported to be in custody, and are believed to have been tortured. Amnesty International considers them prisoners of conscience, detained solely for the non-violent expression of their opinions and trade union activities.

The United Nations security council is planning to cut its peacekeeping force which monitors the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea. The UN wants the military force based on the disputed border cut from 2,300 to 1,700, Vitaly Churkin, Russia's UN envoy, said on Tuesday (16 January 2007).

Efforts to address the plight of women infected and affected by HIV/AIDS are lagging behind in Ethiopia's profoundly conservative society, while they continue to bear the brunt of the epidemic. "Women are more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia, mainly due to a lack of know-how and control over how, when and where the sex takes place, particularly in the rural areas, where culture and religion dominate the rights of women."

Assists in the logistics & supply component of the Emergency Programmes through improving the logistics system for procurement, importation, inventory control, warehousing and distribution of supplies and equipment to DPPA/B warehouses, and project sites.