Edward Snowden seeks refuge in Ecuador, just as the Andean country has passed a media law protested by the Committee to Protect Journalists as imposing arbitrary censorship.
Some 200 disaffected soldiers with two tanks surrounded Eritrea’s Ministry of Information, forcing the broadcast of a statement calling for the release of political prisoners.
Ethiopia's Meles Zenawi died without having to answer for his war crimes—he remained in the good graces of the West to the end, getting a free ride from the world media.
Following peace talks hosted by Eritrea, the government of Ethiopia announced a peace deal with the Oromo Liberation Front rebels. The deal guarantees rebel leaders the right to participate in Ethiopia's political process in exchange for laying down arms. The OLF has long been backed by Eritrea, and the pact comes one month after a formal end was declared to the two-decade state of war between Ethiopia and Eritrea, with Ethiopia ceding its claim to the contested border town of Badme. This points to a softening of positions under Ethiopia's new prime minister, Abiy Ahmed. The Badme deal was also said to have been quietly brokered by the United Arab Emirates, which has emerged as politically isolated Eritrea's most significant foreign patron, part of an apparent design to encircle Yemen. (Photo: Yassin Juma)
