Approximately 250,000 Ethiopian children under five years of age are HIV positive, the Ethiopian health ministry announced Tuesday. A UNICEF official working with AIDS prevention efforts in Addis Ababa confirmed the total but added that the figure is an "estimate."

Police investigating high-profile corruption cases have been ordered to finalise their investigations within the next two weeks, the pro-Ethiopian government Walta Information Centre web site said on 22 September.

At the beginning of September 2001, the Ethiopian government suspended the
Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association(EWLA) and froze its bank accounts. EWLA was established in 1995 and has been active in defending the rights of women by providing legal services to battered, raped, abducted women and those suffering from all form's of violence. It has also done a commendable job at the level of advocacy by having revision of gender-insensitive articles in the law and by having an entirely new law such as the family law passed by the parliament. EWLA is totally non political and in fact has worked a great deal in cooperation with government agencies.

A three-day symposium on "Promoting Community Radios in the Horn of Africa" will take place in Addis Ababa from December 11 - 13, 2001. It aims at introducing and discussing the concepts and practices of community radios and their relevance to the Horn of Africa. The intent is to build on what is happening in areas of social development in the Horn and to reflect on the relevance of community radios in advancing social development initiatives. This will be accompanied by relevant experiences elsewhere in Africa that could provide learning opportunities to the Horn.

In the resource-poor environment of rural Ethiopia parents act strategically when they marry off their sons and daughters. What assets are brought to marriage? How does society endow new couples with the assets (livestock, utensils, grain, clothing and jewellery) needed to set up a farm and family? How do husbands and wives subsequently bargain in their competition to control productive assets?

The UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) has said it has established a board of inquiry to investigate and report on allegations of misconduct by members of the mission. The establishment of the board follows allegations appearing in Italian media that a former UNMEE peacekeeper was being investigated by the Italian military prosecutor's office over accusations of having allegedly had sex with underage girls while serving in the mission area.

The Tigray State (northern Ethiopia) police commission has released rape statistics for the region for this year, the pro-government Walta Information Centre reported on Wednesday. According to the statistics, 130 girls had been raped so far this year, said Walta.

The Ethiopian Federal Supreme Court has once again adjourned the trial of former senior government officials, including former Defence Minister Siye Abraha, on charges of corruption, the pro-government Walta Information Centre reported on 16 August.

The Federal High Court has ruled to block the personal and business accounts of a number of former government officials and private businessmen accused of corruption, local press reports said Wednesday.

Afework Tekle and Tebebe Yemane Brehan, received the most prestigious awards at St. John's College Cambridge University from the President of the American Biographical Institute (ABI) and from the Director General of International Biographical Center (IBC) at the 28th International Congress on Arts and communications, England held from 15th - 22nd July 2001.

Ethiopian authorities have suspended four senior politicians in the latest round of a campaign against corruption among leaders of the Horn of Africa country, officials said on Monday.

A serious shortfall in the food aid pipeline to Ethiopia may develop within six weeks if donors do not respond soon to an appeal for more resources, Wagdi Othman, information officer for the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Addis Ababa told IRIN on Thursday.

Steps will be taken against 14 NGOs said to be operating illegally in East Shewa Zone of the Oromiya Regional State, the official Walta Information Centre reported on Thursday. The NGOs, which are engaged in reproductive health care, kindergarten and other social development activities without formal agreements with the government, include a number of international and local church-based organisations.

The Ethiopian Federal Supreme Court has adjourned to consider a request from police investigators for more time to gather evidence against former Defence Minister Siye Abraha and other former government officials and businessmen charged with corruption, local newspapers reported on Tuesday.

As part of a major crackdown on corruption, the Ethiopian government has launched a nationwide survey to canvass people's views on the subject.

Amidst the breathtaking scenery of mountains and forests surrounding the town of Robit, 200 km north-east of Addis Ababa, there is something much more sinister. Hidden from the main road, behind the dense bush and scrub land, lies Shoa Robit Detention Camp, where for more than three months, thousands have been imprisoned without charges.

The Ethiopian government has released 22 opposition Democratic Party (DP) members arrested in April for allegedly instigating students riots, AFP reported on Thursday.

Ethiopia has rejected a UN map of the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) at the disputed border, which was designed to separate the Ethiopian and Eritrean forces and facilitate the UN peacekeeping mission.

Why do some villages, families or individuals have a higher risk of malaria than others? What environmental factors increase susceptibility? How can structural improvements to housing protect families from infection? Researchers from the Tigray Health Bureau, Ethiopia and the UK University of Nottingham investigated malaria risk factors in the Ethiopian highlands.

Salary : £22, 161 pa
Location : Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Closing Date : 11 Jul 2001
Job posted on : 6 Jun 2001