The amount was 12 per cent less than the nearly €180 million given to countries including Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Timor Leste and Vietnam in 2011.
A group of Irish business people, including chef Kevin Thornton and hotel expert Francis Brennan, will go on a week-long mission to Lalibela in Ethiopia.
The Minister of State for Trade and Development is in Ethiopia today to offer his condolences to the late Prime Minister who had been in power for nearly two decades before he died last month.
Zenawi was an ally of the US in its counter-terrorism fight but his leadership raised many human rights concerns. He won his last election two years ago with 99 per cent of the vote.
Irish development agency Vita has launched a Potato Centre of Excellence in Africa with an aim to provide sustainable access to food for two million people.
The two photojournalists admit to illegally entering the country with an ethnic Somali rebel group in order to gather news – but deny any charges of supporting terrorism.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has announced a further €1 million in support for famine victims, while Bono has joined a group of celebrities calling for more action.
The 2011 World Athletics Championships begin this Saturday in Daegu, South Korea. Get to know the athletes who’ll likely be providing the week’s most compelling storylines.
Charity GOAL’s chief executive John O’Shea says that while agencies are trying to help refugees flooding out of Somalia, some four million people are trapped inside and facing death.
A photo-essay from Oxfam in Ethiopia and a first-hand account from a Concern worker in Somalia paint a stark picture of the worst drought in the Horn of Africa in 60 years.
FRANCE HAS BECOME the 14th country to legalise same-sex marriage after President Francois Hollande signed the measure into law today following months of bitter political debate.
In Ireland last month, 79 per cent of delegates at the Constitutional Convention voted in favour of same-sex marriage but the Government will hold off on a referendum until next year despite the overwhelming support.
It comes two years after the legalisation of Civil Partnership.
Is another year too long for a referendum on gay marriage? Or, are you opposed to the idea entirely?
So today, we want to know what do you think. Would you welcome the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Ireland today, similar to France?