Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba failed to collect a fourth World Cross Country title today after being run out of the medals in Poland.

The president of Djibouti, a key US ally in the Horn of Africa, is warning that Eritrea’s occupation of territory on their border overlooking critical Red Sea shipping lanes could lead to war if the dispute isn’t quickly resolved.

Addis Ababa was bustling today with last-minute sprucing-up as Ethiopia prepared to ring in the new millennium with an all-night party, nearly seven years after the rest of the world.

Artillery shells and mortars rained down on Mogadishu today after a week of fighting, despite a plea by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for an end to the violence that local groups say has claimed the lives of over 350 people.

Rebels stormed a Chinese-run oil field at dawn in eastern Ethiopia today, killing 74 workers and destroying the facility, the guerrilla group and government officials said.

Eight Ethiopians who had been captured along with a group of European tourists who were released earlier today made their way back to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa after being held for 52 days in one of the most inhospitable areas on Earth.

The Somali capital’s streets were the scene of heavy fighting on Friday between Ethiopian troops backing the government and insurgents, witnesses said, a day after similar battles left at least 12 people dead and a suicide car bomb exploded at an Ethiopian army base.

Ethiopia today accused bitter rival Eritrea of orchestrating the kidnapping of five Europeans and eight Ethiopians, describing it as an act of terrorism.

Five freed British Embassy hostages are to be reunited with family and loved ones after being kidnapped in Ethiopia and held captive for 13 days by an armed rebel group, officials said today.

The government has been in contact with the kidnappers of a European tour group, Ethiopia’s foreign minister said today.

A European tour group that went missing last week is “safe and secure” but being held by unknown kidnappers near the disputed border of Ethiopia and Eritrea, Ethiopia’s foreign minister said today.

Clan gunmen fired a rocket-propelled grenade and briefly exchanged gunfire with government troops outside the presidential residence in Mogadishu today, leaving at least six dead and 10 wounded.

SOMALI Government troops backed by Ethiopian soldiers have entered Kismayo, the last major stronghold of a militant Islamic movement, residents said yesterday.

ETHIOPIAN Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has said more than 1,000 people have been killed in fighting between his troops, backing Somali government forces, and Somalia’s Islamist movement.

Ethiopian fighter jets bombarded the Somali town of Belet Weyne today in a sharp escalation in violence that is threatening to engulf the volatile Horn of Africa.

Hundreds have been killed in clashes between Somalia's Islamic militia and the country's secular government while the United Nations issued a call for peace during a lull in fighting.

Thousands of Somalis fled their homes today as government and Ethiopians troops used artillery to defend against Islamic fighters attempting to advance on the UN-backed regime’s only stronghold.

Bodies lay in the streets and fighters pounded each other with heavy artillery and mortars for a third day today as Somalia’s Islamic leader announced the country was now at war, leaving a day-old peace initiative in tatters.

The leader of Somalia’s Islamic radicals today urged Ethiopians to revolt against their government, which he described as an oppressive regime led by an unpopular minority ethnic group.

A member of Somalia’s virtually powerless government was assassinated today as he walked out of a mosque, enraging hundreds of Somalis who rioted in the streets screaming, “We want a government that can restore law and order!”

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern met jailed Ethiopian opposition leaders today in an effort to resolve a political crisis triggered by a disputed election.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern is to hold talks with Ethiopian leaders in the country’s capital, Addis Ababa, today in a bid to help ease political tensions.

Years of campaigning is on the verge of bringing the Israelis and Palestinians into the Red Cross humanitarian movement, thanks to a pending solution in Switzerland to bridge long-standing sensitivities over Crusaders, crosses and crescents.

Seven African leaders today reviewed efforts to restore peace in Somalia and Uganda and attempts to resolve a festering border dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Irish development aid may be propping up a corrupt government regime in Ethiopia, it was claimed today.

Eritrea’s order to expel US, Canadian and European members of the UN peacekeeping mission that monitors the tense border with neighbouring Ethiopia is likely to raise concerns about whether the peacekeepers can work effectively.

Eritrea has ordered the expulsion of US, Canadian, Russian and other European staff of the UN peacekeeping mission that monitors the tense border with neighbouring Ethiopia, United Nations officials said today.

THE government of Ethiopia has appealed to international donors of food aid to assist those at risk of starvation. This has perplexed those who remember the same government's recent claim of a bumper harvest.

IT is ludicrous to argue that the problems of the developing world can be explained in terms of “an orgy of consumerism” in the developed world (Fergus Finlay, Irish Examiner, April 12).

Irish universities should set up scholarship programmes to train our athletes for major events such as the Olympics, Fine Gael said today.

A PEACE plan aimed at resolving a border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea remains stalled.

FOREIGN Minister Brian Cowen will represent the European Union today at a ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda.

A British minister warned Ethiopia and Eritrea today that the international community is running out of patience with the deadlocked peace process.

Eritrea has agreed to accept a cargo of 52,000 Australian sheep stranded in the Middle East for almost three months, the two countries said today.

The UN today appealed for €162m to assist Eritrea where more than a third of the nation’s 3.5 million people are facing food shortages.

The United Nations is close to completing the deployment of more than 4,000 peacekeepers and support staff to monitor a ceasefire between Ethiopia and Eritrea.