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From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Mon Jul 11 2011 - 08:45:19 EDT
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18454426
Ethiopia says 4.5 million people need food aid
The Associated Press
Posted: 07/11/2011 04:50:33 AM PDT
Updated: 07/11/2011 04:59:56 AM PDT
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia—A government official says an estimated 4.5 million
Ethiopians are in need of food assistance, an increase of 40 percent.
Ethiopia's state minister of agriculture, Mitiku Kassa, said Monday that
nearly $400 million is needed to fill the country's food gap. He says
Ethiopia needs to distribute 380 metric tons of food.
A drought centered in the triangle where Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia meet
has sent tens of thousands of people pouring into refugee camps in search of
food.
Jason Frasier, the director of the U.S. government aid mission in Ethiopia,
said U.S. officials are concerned that the severity of the drought is being
underestimated.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-14/ethiopia-to-buy-tanks-from-ukraine-government-official-says.html
Ethiopia to Buy Tanks From Ukraine, Government Official Says
By William Davison - Jun 14, 2011 12:08 PM ET
Ethiopia <http://topics.bloomberg.com/ethiopia/> plans to purchase tanks
from Ukraine, a government spokesman said, without providing details.
The vehicles are necessary to protect the country from hostile forces such
as its Horn of Africa neighbor Eritrea, Shimeles Kemal said in a phone
interview today. Eritrea and Ethiopia fought a 1998-2000 border war that
killed 70,000 people, according to Brussels-based International Crisis
Group<http://topics.bloomberg.com/international-crisis-group/>.
“Ethiopia is doing its level best to achieve rapid development in all
aspects,” Shimeles said from Debre Zeit, Ethiopia. “This is among other
things, building the national defense system and ensuring the safety of its
people and preserving its territorial integrity.”
Ukrainian-based news agency Kommersant reported on June 10 that the deal
included 200 tanks for about $100 million.
Ethiopia plans to increase its national budget for the fiscal year beginning
July 8, Shimeles said. Defense spending has only seen a “slight increase,”
he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: William Davison in Addis
Ababa<http://topics.bloomberg.com/addis-ababa/>via Johannesburg at
pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at
asguazzin@bloomberg.net
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