ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — A bomb exploded Wednesday in a hotel in southern Ethiopia, killing three people and wounding five others, information ministry spokesman Zemedkum Tekle told AFP.

"According to some security reports, there has been an explosion in Negelle Borena today killing three people and injuring five. The government suspects a terrorist group planted a bomb in an hotel in Negelle Borena," he said.

"The government is making every effort to capture those responsible for this attack," he added.

Negelle Borena is a small town located 595 kilometres (320 miles) south of the capital Addis Ababa, in the Oromo region, where rebels have fought for years over claims of marginalisation by the government.

Sat May 24, 2008 2:08pm IST

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - More than 20 people were killed in three days of clashes over land in western Ethiopia last week, police said on Saturday.

Fighting over grazing and farm land is common in the south and west of the Horn of Africa nation.

"A long-standing dispute over land along the border between Oromia and Benishangule states in western Ethiopia erupted into violence claiming the lives of more than 20 people from both sides last week," police spokesman Demsash Hailue told Reuters.

Demsash dismissed local media reports that the fighting between the Oromo and Benishangule ethnic groups killed more than 100 people.

In April, land clashes in the southern Ethiopian town of Wondo-Genet killed 18 people.

VOA News

Humanitarian agencies are rushing emergency aid to drought-stricken central Ethiopia, where a sudden deterioration in food supplies has led to surge of child mortality. At least 23 children have died at hospitals and emergency feeding centers during the past three weeks, and authorities say countless others have died at home for lack of treatment. In this first of two reports from the hardest-hit area around the town of Shashemene 250 kilometers south of Addis Ababa, VOA's Peter Heinlein reports conditions are expected to worsen over the coming months.

 14 May 2008

 The Ethiopian dictator, Meles Zenawi is proposing a new law to restrict activities of the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the country. The law would allow a government agency to assign a police officer or an official to attend any NGO's internal meetings without a court order.

It will also authorise the seizing of property, conducting searches and removing NGO staff if their activities are believed to be unlawful.

The law excludes international and non-Ethiopian organisations from democracy, human rights, good governance, and conflict resolution activities.

VOA News

By Peter Heinlein

Addis Ababa
30 April 2008

Ethiopian officials are re-evaluating the need for emergency food aid in light of evidence that drought conditions and food shortages in parts of the country may be worse than estimated. VOA's Peter Heinlein recently visited areas of southern and eastern Ethiopia where the drought threatens to cause widespread famine.

Much of southern Ethiopia has turned a putrid yellowish brown. As far as the eye can see, the grass is dead, long ago eaten down to the nubs by famished animals. The slightest wind raises clouds of dust.

The last two rains have failed, and while there have been some showers lately, the forecast for the next few months is grim.

Borana zone, near Ethiopia's border with Kenya, is home to millions of herders who move from place to place looking for fresh pasture for their livestock. But the cattle are skin and bones. They are dying in droves.