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.

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.