If anyone had been on site with a camera during the event, the formation of a giant crack in the north of Ethiopia in 2005 could have been a scene for the upcoming apocalypse movie 2012.

A United Nations fact-finding mission to the troubled Ethiopian region of Ogaden has called for an independent inquiry into alleged human rights abuses in the area.

Reports British embassy staff kidnapped in Ethiopia are safe but in the hands of Afar separatist rebels are being investigated, the Foreign Office says.