Donors are to withhold direct budgetary support worth about $375m (€317m £218m) from Ethiopia following the government's brutal crackdown on opposition supporters last month, western development officials said yesterday.

Until the situation improves, the donors - which include the World Bank, the European Union and the UK - will look to disburse the funds in other ways to continue tackling the country's massive poverty challenges, Ishac Diwan, the World Bank's country director, said.