Egypt Controls Most of Nile's Water
east africa is in the midst of a devastating drought--in Ethiopia, the dry spell has left close to 14 million people dependent on food aid. When assigning blame, aid workers and politicians finger the usual suspects: lack of rain, climate change, and an underdeveloped agricultural sector. But they're forgetting one: Egypt. Thanks to a 1929 agreement between ­Britain--­acting on behalf of its East African ­colonies--and a newly independent Egypt, Cairo holds the rights to two thirds of the Nile's water, as well as veto power over upstream projects. The disparity is stark: Ethiopia is the source of 60 to 80 percent of the Nile's flow, but uses less than 1 percent of it because Egypt says no to large-scale irrigation projects. And though Ethiopians might be tempted to circumvent the anachronistic arrangement, they can't. Egyptian officials work "behind closed doors" to block funding for upstream projects, according to David Shinn, a former U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia. The Nile states want to re-negotiate the ancient treaty, but Egyptian officials have stalled for years. And there's no sign they'll slake their neighbors' thirst any time soon.

Comment: This is State sponsored Terrorism against the people of Ethiopia!

Video: Somali crowds vow allegiance to bin Laden
The video showed the Shabab militia in training, leaping over piles of sandbags, crawling on the ground and shooting at targets. White-skinned bearded trainers could be seen moving among the Somalis. The video also showed crowds chanting: "At your service Osama!"

Inside the insular and secretive Eritrea(FT)
The 22-year-old said she “sneaked out” of national service after Sawa, a move that would get a man thrown in jail. When I asked her if she would go to the front line if war broke out again with Ethiopia, she said: “No. I’d run away. Seriously, what’s the point? You’re gonna die.”

Comment: Aybelnan'do

Interview with Eritrea’s Isaias Afewerki
FT: Let’s talk about Eritrea’s international relations. You don’t have a lot of allies in the rest of the world. You’re often described as an isolated state, even as a pariah state. Can you give me your take on how the country has got to this point?

Isaias Afewerki: Who said that?

Eritrea: World's Biggest Prison for Journalists Eight Years After September 2001 Round-Ups
Eritrea now has at least 30 journalists and two media workers behind bars, which means that, exactly eight years after the round-ups of 18 September 2001 that put an end to free expression, it has achieved parity with China and Iran in terms of the number of journalists detained.

EU calls on Eritrea to free political prisoners
In a statement earlier this week marking the 8-year anniversary of a clamp-down by the Eritrean government, Reporters Without Borders labelled Eritrea the "world's biggest prison for journalists", saying at least 30 had been jailed

Suspect Killed In Somalia Tied To Minneapolis Youths
At a Minnesota market, tales of a hidden Ethiopian war(You lie, Mr. Mcgill!)
Analysis: Al-Qaida death a blow to terror group