Afric - In a bid to stamp out corruption and ensure accountability, a new Ethiopian legislation in its final phase will require senior government officials to have their entire assets, as well as those of their close family members, registered by a federal ethics and anti-corruption commission.

Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi said the peoples of Ethiopia are celebrating the Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Day at a time when they have begun benefiting from the fruits of the federal system of governance, which, he said, is laid on a firm ground.

Ethiopian government has closed its doors to genetically modified (GM) food aid despite life threatening food shortages that have affected about 6.2 million people. The recently passed law banning GM foods imports, however may not affect imports of the same foodstuff if processed differently.

African countries have made marginal progress of an average of 2 per cent in the core areas of governance over the last four years, says the second edition of the African Governance Report (AGR II) recently by the Economic Commission for Africa.

With Ethiopia’s national election approaching to go, some opposition groups have reportedly begun to hint boycott from the upcoming election, accusing Ethiopian government of already stepping up harassment against them.

A coalition of Ethiopian opposition parties on Saturday presented a common manifesto and said they will field joint candidates in next year's general elections.

Improvement in Ethiopia’s Human Development Index (HDI) value is a result of progress in its HDI components as a sign of steady advancement in the human development for the past 12 years (1995-2007), the 2009 Global Human Development (HDR) report said.

Ethiopia's government is aiming to achieve double-digit economic growth in 2009, President Girma Woldegiorgis told parliament Monday.

Eight major Ethiopian opposition political parties announced a new coalition to challenge the ruling party in the upcoming national election.

The House of Federation said the Ethiopian federalism system, which enables nations, nationalities and peoples of the country enjoy various benefits, makes the nation exemplary.