The importance of reuniting children separated from their families by the Ethiopian-Eritrean border war has been underlined by the UN special representative for children and armed conflict, Olara Otunnu.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has recommended a six-month extension of the UN peacekeeping mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE).

Reporters Sans Frontieres [RSF] announced Thursday that Ethiopia has no journalist in prison for the first time in since 1993 after a newspaper director was released on bail this month.

Not less than 30 journalists from the African continent on Monday commenced a one-week training programme on Information, Technology and Communication (ICT) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The training programme put together by the Economic Community of Africa, (ECA), United Nations Education and Scientific and Cultural Organisation, (UNESCO) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as well as the Association for Progressive Communication (APC), is to acquaint journalists in the continent with the latest information on the internet and general ICT needs.

The devastating impact of HIV/AIDS in Africa is all too evident. Millions have died, their children orphaned and entire communities destroyed. But it is the crippling effect of AIDS on African economies that is now starting to ring alarm bells.

Millions of people in Ethiopia are still at risk from a meningitis epidemic which broke out last September, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) warned this week.

It was a small step towards a lasting peace. But as members of the UN Security Council team walked for the first time across the symbolic Mereb River Bridge linking Ethiopia to Eritrea, they realised the enormous gulf that still exists.

The head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church said on Friday that the bloody war with Eritrea which cost thousands of lives could easily have been avoided.

The collapse of coffee prices has severely dented Ethiopia’s precious foreign exchange reserves, the National Bank of Ethiopia said on Tuesday. Although the country has seen a massive rise in the reserves since the end of the war with Eritrea, economically it is still being hard hit.

Hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians celebrated the return of a sacred artefact on Saturday which was looted by British troops 134 years ago. Thousands lined the streets as the 400 year-old tabot – a representation of the Ark of the Covenant – was taken to Addis Ababa’s Trinity Church where the relic will be stored. It is one of the few items returned by the British after the Battle of Maqdala in 1868 – treasure which is now said to be worth US $4.2 billion. In 1868 British troops stormed and pillaged the-then capital of Abyssinia during a mission to secure the release of two British envoys being held captive by Emperor Tewodros. The emperor shot himself rather than face defeat.

Ethiopia can never defeat AIDS alone and needs the help of the international community, the deputy speaker of the country’s House of Representatives admitted on Wednesday.

Ethiopia and Egypt have pledged to fully develop the potential of the Nile River to bolster greater relations between the two countries, Ethiopian government sources told IRIN on Friday.

Two hundred and fifty thousand children under the age of five are living with the HIV/AIDS virus in Ethiopia, according to the ministry of health.

In the decade since the collapse of the totalitarian regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam have the lives of ordinary Ethiopians improved? As the population rises, external debt spirals upwards and aid continues to decrease, can the country meet 2015 international development targets?

Two hundred and fifty thousand children under the age of five are living with the HIV/AIDS virus in Ethiopia, according to the ministry of health.

Britain has pledged more than US $40 million to Ethiopia over the next three years in the first aid agreement since the end of the war with Eritrea.

The Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation (ETC) has announced the launching of a telemedicine project, with assistance from ITU. This short news item has details.

RSF has called on members of the Eritrean parliament to ask for the immediate release of all journalists languishing in jail in Eritrea. "Parliamentarians today have an opportunity to show goodwill and their commitment to press freedom. They must take a firm approach vis-à-vis the executive and call for their release," stated RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard. "We recall that Eritrea has become the only country in the entire African continent without a single independent publication," he added.

A 12 year-old girl has become the new face of a campaign to improve the lives of children in Ethiopia. Leah Abebe, who is in grade five at her primary school, told a conference in Addis Ababa last week that children are the future of the country.

Twenty-six African women from 16 English-speaking African countries graduated from the Cisco Internet Networking Academy today after 280 hours of training at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.