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               European Media: Ethiopian PM in Critical Condition

   by VOA News

   European media are reporting that Ethiopia's longtime Prime Minister
   Meles Zenawi is hospitalized in critical condition, contrary to
   statements by the government.
   News reports say the prime minister is hospitalized at Saint Luc
   Hospital in Brussels.  The hospital on Wednesday declined to say if
   Meles is there.
   In interviews with VOA, government officials and a former ruling party
   leader confirmed the prime minister is sick.  But they denied reports
   that the 57-year-old leader is gravely ill.
   The officials did not indicate the nature of Meles' illness.
   An official with the Ethiopian Embassy in Kenya, Shawel Eseha, said
   Meles is "a little bit sick" and "exhausted," but added that he will be
   back at work soon.
   Meles' friend and former ruling party leader, Sibhat Nega, told VOA's
   Horn of Africa service that the prime minister will be back in Ethiopia
   within a week.
   He has not been seen in public for at least two weeks.
   The government had scheduled a news conference Wednesday afternoon, but
   it was cancelled without explanation.
   Nega said the government has been functioning normally during the prime
   minister's absence.
   The parliament passed the prime minister's budget on Monday.
   Nega said if anything happens to the prime minister, the parliament
   will choose a new leader after the ruling party presents its candidate.
   All but one of the members of Ethiopia's parliament are part of the
   ruling party TPLF.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/european-media-ethiopian-prime-minist
   er-in-critial-condition/1418963.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/european-media-ethiopian-prime-minister-in-critial-condition/1418963.html