The paradox of Meles Zenawi

The death of Ethiopia's prime minister, Meles Zenawi, on August 20 raises immediate and grave concerns for security in an extremely complex, fragile and unpredictable part of the world. Ethiopia sits at the end of an arc of instability stretching from Kashmir to the Horn of Africa and is one of the world's most dangerous flashpoints.

Ethiopia's 85 million people, with millions more in surrounding countries, are at the frontline of rapid climate change - last year's drought in the region affected 13 million people.