FINAL HOUSE ACTION ON H.R. 2003 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2007
CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION IN SUPPORT OF H.R.2003
The Coalition for H.R. 2003 is pleased to announce that HR 2003 (“Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007”), introduced by Chairman Donald Payne of the Subcommittee on Africa on April 20, 2007, has been scheduled for final action by the House of Representatives on October 2, 2007. Consideration of items on the suspension calendar will begin at 10:00 a.m. [See, Here]
There are 14 bills scheduled for floor debate on October 2. H.R. 2003 is listed as #5 on the calendar.
H.R. 2003 was referred to the floor on a special House procedure known as “suspension of the rules”. This procedure is used generally to act swiftly on relatively non-controversial legislation. The procedure is set forth in clause 1 of House Rule XV. When a bill or some other matter is considered “under suspension,” floor debate is limited, all floor amendments are prohibited, and a two-thirds vote is required for final passage. The equivalent calendar in the Senate is called the consent calendar.
Also see:
-EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT H.R. 2003, BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK!
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A special congratulations to Ethiopia's own, athlete Haile Gebrselassie, who has shattered the world marathon record with an official time of 2hr 4min 26sec to win the 34th Berlin Marathon
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The Coalition for H.R. 2003 is pleased to announce that HR 2003 (“Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007”), introduced by Chairman Donald Payne of the Subcommittee on Africa on April 20, 2007, has been scheduled for final action by the House of Representatives on October 2, 2007. Consideration of items on the suspension calendar will begin at 10:00 a.m. [See, Here]There are 14 bills scheduled for floor debate on October 2. H.R. 2003 is listed as #5 on the calendar.H.R. 2003 was referred to the floor on a special House procedure known as “suspension of the rules”. This procedure is used generally to act swiftly on relatively non-controversial legislation. The procedure is set forth in clause 1 of House Rule XV. When a bill or some other matter is considered “under suspension,” floor debate is limited, all floor amendments are prohibited, and a two-thirds vote is required for final passage. The equivalent calendar in the Senate is called the consent calendar.
Also see:
-EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT H.R. 2003, BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK!
______________________________
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation is next month due to award over $5m to the former African head of state adjudged to have demonstrated exemplary leadership. The presidential prize is aimed at encouraging best practice. The lucky recipient of what the organisers call "the world's biggest prize" will be named on 22 October.
The political row between Yusuf and Gedi first surfaced earlier this year when the two leaders supported opposite deals with foreign firms intending to explore for potential oil in Somalia. Some insiders suggested that Gedi's recent meetings with opposition figures represents a separate policy the Prime Minister is pursuing, especially with regard to securing Mogadishu, which is dominated by members of Gedi's Hawiye clan.
The military leaders of Myanmar, the former Burma, are expected to meet this week, to decide how to react to growing protests against their rule. Thousands of Buddhist monks and nuns have staged daily demonstrations on the streets. The generals face a dilemma; stamp out the dissidents and risk an explosion of popular anger, or allow the monks to continue and see the protests become unstoppable.
Members of the CUD delegation also plan to travel to various U.S. cities in an effort to continue to organize Ethiopian Americans and to thank them for providing financial and political support during their incarceration.
(Independent analysis by PINR) 
In July this year, the Ethiopian government pardoned and released from prison 38 of the country’s top opposition leaders. They had been arrested and charged with treason in a government crackdown following the 2005 parliamentary elections. Now a five-man delegation of the opposition CUD is in the United States.
The former Archbishop of Cape Town, Desmond Tutu, has called for tougher action to end the crisis in Zimbabwe. He told a British television station that South Africa's "softly-softly" diplomatic approach had failed and more forthright measures were needed.
Villagers in southern Peru were struck by a mysterious illness after a meteorite made a fiery crash to Earth in their area. Around midday Saturday, villagers were startled by an explosion and a fireball that many were convinced was an airplane crashing near their remote village.
Opposition leader Ernest Bai Koroma has won Sierra Leone's presidential election run-off. He won 54.6% of the vote while his rival Vice-President Solomon Berewa of the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) obtained 45.4%.
Somali opposition figures on Friday named a senior Islamist as chairman of a "liberation" alliance vowing war on Ethiopian troops. They chose 43-year-old Sheikh Sharif Ahmed -- one of the two highest-ranking leaders of Somalia's Islamic Courts movement -- to steer the new opposition grouping.
Areas that researchers have declared the most polluted in the world are typically little known even in their own countries. Yet, the kinds of pollution in these areas not only lead to cancers, birth defects, mental retardation and life expectancies approaching medieval levels, but are also often found all around the globe.
October 8, 2007. To many, that day holds no particular meaning or significance. On that day, many people will go on with their daily lives. They will go to work and spend time with family and friends. Some may celebrate a special event, such as a birthday or an anniversary. 
Most of the world's 1.2 billion Muslims celebrated the start of Ramadan on Thursday. The beginning of Ramadan, the holiest month of the Muslim calendar, is traditionally determined by the sighting of a new crescent moon. During the month Muslims have to abstain from food, drink, smoking and sex from dawn until dusk.
Thirty years after freedom fighter Steve Biko was beaten to death by police, his image is still instantly recognisable across South Africa. He is one of the most important figures in recent South African history and some are concerned about the commercialisation of his image. But it is undeniably one of the ways in which his legacy is kept alive.
Jendayi Frazer, assistant secretary of state for African affairs, made the comment on Saturday following a trip to the region, where government forces are fighting rebels who this year stepped up a violent campaign for self-determination.
(L to R - Dr Berhanu Nega, Brook Kebede, Gizachew Shiferraw, Bertukan Mideksa, Dr Hailu Araya)
A second team of prominent members of the party’s leadership has also arrived in London yesterday for a tour of the E.U. 
"We are supposed to have burned villages. I can tell you, not a single village, and as far as I know not a single hut has been burned. We have been accused of dislocating thousands of people from their villages and keeping them in camps. Nobody has come up with a shred of evidence. Nobody."
Sudan's government and rebel groups will start talks on October 27 in Libya to push for peace in violence-torn Darfur before 26,000 peacekeepers deploy there, the United Nations and Khartoum announced on Thursday. The choice of Libya as a venue came as a surprise as Tanzania had been seen as most likely to host the talks.
