The Law Society will be launching a black and minority ethnic (BME) forum in July 2008 to address inequalities of pay for BME solicitors. The forum will provide the Law Society and BME groups with the opportunity to look at the issue more closely and present suggestions as to how to tackle them. The Society of Asian Lawyers has pledged to work with the Law Society and employers to investigate the real causes of the problem and to implement practical solutions to redress the balance.

For more information e-mail Jerry Garvey at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The Third Ethiopian Diaspora Business Forum, organized by The Ethiopian American (an online Diaspora magazine) and Precise Consult International (a consulting firm specializing in trade promotion, business management, and private sector development in Ethiopia), was held at George Washington University on Saturday, July 12, 2008.  The event, which aims to attract Diaspora investors by making a business case for investing in Ethiopia, was closed to the public and attendance was by invitation only.

The legal profession took a big step forward on the road to transformation with the release of an empowerment charter last year to boost its base of black lawyers.  The objectives of the charter will enforce the Constitution, the Promotion of Access to Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, and the Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment Act.  In the charter, the legal profession and the government make a number of undertakings to achieve its objectives.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela will be removed from U.S. terrorism watch lists under a bill President Bush.  Mandela and other members of the African National Congress have been on the list because of their fight against South Africa's apartheid regime, which gave way to majority rule in South Africa in 1994.

A group of Ethiopian expatriates is pushing U.S. Congress to pass a bill that would impose sanctions on the Ethiopian government, if it fails to improve its human rights record. However, their effort has stalled in the U.S. Senate in the face opposition from the Bush administration, which has credited Ethiopia with aiding its anti-terrorism efforts.

The rise of Barack Obama to the forefront of the race for the U.S. Democratic presidential nomination is holding a mirror to France as its citizens prepare to vote next month in 36,781 municipal elections. While France has Europe's biggest population of sub-Saharan and North African immigrants and their descendants, it doesn't have any black or Arab mayors currently in office.