A compilation of brief news reports for Tuesday, April 24, 2007.

65 Ethiopians and 9 Chinese were killed in their sleep Tuesday in a predawn raid on an oil field in Abole, a small town in southeast Ethiopia’s Somali state. Seven Chinese were kidnapped.

The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), a separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack on the field which is run by a Chinese firm.

At a news conference, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said: “Such an outrage, the cold-blooded murder of people who were building roads and engaged in other development activities, is a measure of the level of barbarity involved.”

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Liu Jianchao, condemned the attack, which he said involved more than 200 gunmen.

Sources

• Tsegaye Tadesse and Andrew Heavens. “Rebels kill 74 in Ethiopia oil field raid” — Reuters, April 24, 2007
• “Scores die in Ethiopia oil attack” — BBC News Online, April 24, 2007
• Luan Shanglin. “China strongly condemns attack on Chinese oil company site in Ethiopia” — Xinhua, April 24, 2007

In response to weekend raids by Israel, the armed wing of Hamas, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, declared and end to a 5-month old truce and fired rockets into Israel. The rockets caused some damage, but no injuries were reported.

The Hamas-led Palestinian Authority (PA) urged calm. “The government is interested to keep the ceasefire and the calm and we are trying, through consultation and discussion with the Palestinian factions, to take a position in order to protect our people,” PA spokesperson Ghazi Hamad said.

PA President, Mahmoud Abbas who is a member of Fatah, said: “The violation of the truce is an exceptional event that will not last.”

The Defense Minister of Israel, Amir Peretz warned against further attacks, but so far Israel has not made an armed response.

Sources

• “Hamas shoots back at Israel, calls end to five-month truce” — Daily Star (Lebanon), April 24, 2007
• Nidal al-Mughrabi. “Hamas armed wing breaks truce” — Reuters, April 24, 2007

México City, the capital of the world’s second-largest Catholic country, Mexico, voted today to legalize abortion.

City lawmakers passed legislation that legalizes abortion during the first three months of pregnancy. Hitherto, abortions were only legal in cases of rape, if the woman’s life is in danger, or if there are signs of severe defects in the fetus.

The legislation passed in the face of pressure from Mexican bishops who spoke out against the law. Opinion polls indicated that Mexico City residents were fairly evenly split on the issue.

Sponsors of the bill argued that the deaths of some 1,500 women during illegal abortions over the last ten years showed the need to legalize it.

Sources

• “Mexican capital legalizes abortion, defies Church” — Reuters, April 24, 2007
• “Mexico City to vote on abortion” — BBC News Online, April 24, 2007