Ethiopia has had a long line of leaders dying in secret, hidden behind closed doors, but not a long history of funerals.

In 1913, one of Ethiopia's most renowned emperors, Menelik II, died. His death remained a secret until 1916 when officials finally announced that he had succumbed to a stroke years earlier.

Ethiopia has had a long line of leaders dying in secret, hidden behind closed doors, but not a long history of funerals.

In 1913, one of Ethiopia's most renowned emperors, Menelik II, died. His death remained a secret until 1916 when officials finally announced that he had succumbed to a stroke years earlier.

Ethiopia will hold the funeral of late prime minister Meles Zenawi on September 2, officials said Thursday, without giving further details.

"(It will be on) September 2," foreign affairs spokesman Dina Mufti told Agence France Presse. Meles died late Monday in Brussels following a long illness, after more than two decades at the helm of the Horn of Africa nation.

Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn will take over interim power following the death of leader Meles Zenawi, the government spokesman told reporters Tuesday.

"According to the Ethiopian constitution the deputy prime minister will have to go to parliament and take the oath, and the government is organizing the parliament to be summoned as soon as possible," Bereket Simon said.

A court in London on Thursday jailed an Ethiopian diplomat for trying to smuggle a large stash of cannabis through London's Heathrow Airport.

Amelework Wondemagegne, an official at the Ethiopian embassy in Washington, had tried to claim diplomatic immunity when she was caught at the airport in April with 56 kilograms (123 pounds) of cannabis.

The United States said Saturday it was "deeply concerned" by the conviction and sentencing of Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega, who was jailed for 18 years on "terrorism" charges.

"The United States remains deeply concerned about the trial, conviction, and sentencing of Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega, as well as seven political opposition figures, under the country's Anti-Terrorism Proclamation," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement.

Twenty-four Ethiopians, including a leading opposition figure and a prominent journalist, faced life in prison Wednesday after a court found them guilty on charges of terrorism.

"Guilty as charged," judge Endeshaw Adane said, referring to journalist Eskinder Nega, opposition member Andualem Arage and 22 others accused of links to U.S.-based group Ginbot 7, considered a terrorist group under Ethiopian law, and other outlawed groups.

A United Nations worker found guilty of participating in a terrorist group in Ethiopia was Friday sentenced to seven years and eight months in prison.

Abdurahman Sheikh Hassan, an Ethiopian, was found guilty of "participating in a terrorist organization" earlier this week over alleged links to the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), an outlawed secessionist rebel group.

An Ethiopian security officer with the United Nations faced up to 10 years in jail after a court in Addis Ababa found him guilty Monday of "participating in a terrorist organization."

"The defendant has not convinced us that he did not commit a crime... he's guilty," judge Mulugeta Kidane said.

Lebanese authorities should address high levels of abuse and deaths among migrant domestic workers, a group of eight concerned civil society groups said Friday.

The non-governmental organizations said the Lebanese government should also act quickly to reform restrictive visa regulations and adopt a labor law on domestic work.