Addis Standard

Today’s Top Stories from Addis Standard https://youtu.be/-_4qosit0rs?is=u02_WKjZI-MD6U9j

News: Gov't effort to ‘centralize authority’ strained #Ethiopia’s democratic institutions, human rights in 2025: #EU  The Ethiopian government’s efforts to centralize authority amid “ethnic tensions” and armed insurgencies “further strained democratic institutions and compromised the respect for human rights” in 2025, according to the #European_Union’s 2025 Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World. The report said Ethiopia’s human rights and democracy situation remained heavily shaped by armed conflicts, instability and unresolved consequences of the two-year devastating war in #Tigray, #Amhara and #Afar regions, with extensive fighting continuing in Afar and Amhara regions and insecurity persisting in #Oromia and other parts of the country. https://addisstandard.com/?p=58881

Analysis | Forced conscription reports resurface across Oromia Reports of forced conscription are resurfacing in several parts of Oromia, including areas around Sheger City and Addis Abeba. Families in East Hararghe and East Bale told Addis Standard that relatives were allegedly taken against their will. In one case, a family says it received a demand for 500,000 birr for a relative’s release. The latest accounts could not be independently verified, and it remains unclear which armed structure, if any, those reportedly taken may have been recruited into. The reports come amid wider security tensions across Ethiopia and against a backdrop of previous findings by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission concerning forced conscription, arbitrary detention and extortion in parts of Oromia. Watch the full analysis by Addis Standard. #Ethiopia #Oromia #AddisStandard #EastHararghe #EastBale #ForcedConscription

New: #Tigray Supreme Court defends #Zewdu_Haftu case acquittal, says appeal remains an option   The Tigray Regional State Supreme Court has defended the acquittal of two men previously convicted of brutally murdering Zewdu Haftu, saying the #Mekelle City High Court reached its latest verdict after re-examining the case in line with instructions from the Supreme Court’s Cassation Bench.   The acquittal has intensified concerns previously raised over alleged conflicts of interest and the treatment of witnesses. Public discussion has focused on reports that Yared is the son of Tigray Police Deputy Commissioner Colonel Gebreselassie Belay. A surviving eyewitness, Semhal, was also previously reported to have been removed from hospital care and detained for eight months without charge.   “Based on an independent and impartial re-investigation, the court rendered the verdict it deemed just,” the Supreme Court said.   https://addisstandard.com/?p=58885

650,000 refugees in #South_Sudan could lose food aid within weeks due to funding squeeze, say #UN agencies More than 650,000 refugees ‌and asylum seekers in South Sudan risk losing food aid access within weeks due to a severe funding shortfall, potentially forcing some to return to war-torn Sudan in search of help, the U.N. warned on Friday. South Sudan faces one of the ​world's worst hunger crises, the World Food Programme (#WFP) and the U.N. refugee agency said. More than ​7.8 million people, over half the country's population, are experiencing acute food insecurity, while ⁠2.2 million children are acutely malnourished. It is also receiving about 3,000 refugees and returnees a week ​from neighbouring Sudan, where a conflict that erupted in 2023 has triggered one of the world's largest displacement ​crises following mass killings, rape and deliberate starvation, according..... https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/650000-refugees-south-sudan-could-lose-food-aid-within-weeks-due-funding-squeeze-2026-08-14/

News: #Scottish university-led research supports #Ethiopia’s efforts to eliminate hepatitis C A four-year Scottish-led research project has provided new evidence and recommendations to support Ethiopia’s efforts to eliminate #hepatitis_C, according to The Herald Scotland. The DESTINE project, led by researchers at the University of #Dundee in collaboration with Ethiopian and Bristol-based institutions, focused on improving hepatitis C testing, diagnosis, care and treatment across Ethiopia. The £2.2 million project was supported by the #UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Research (#NIHR). The project conducted Ethiopia’s first national hepatitis C survey and found that prevalence of the virus was significantly lower than previously estimated—around one-tenth of earlier estimates. Researchers, however, identified higher infection rates among people with a history of ....... https://www.facebook.com/AddisstandardEng/posts/pfbid045WBvFrWAekv5H9hBdCDcXHYXQum8Z6cHcKByZXrvo1QK57fxvE8VQ7dwJRj8f4Nl

#Opinion: Media Warfare, National Consequences: How #Ethiopia’s propaganda war threatens fragile peace A coordinated campaign of hostile media narratives between Ethiopia’s ruling Prosperity Party (#PP) and the #TPLF threatens the country’s fragile stability, writes Gebremichael Negash. He argues that by replacing responsible journalism with mutual demonization, this media war is deepening polarization while critical issues—including humanitarian recovery and the full implementation of the #Pretoria Agreement—remain dangerously unresolved. Gebremichael emphasizes that "Ethiopia does not need another war—military, political, or media-driven." https://addisstandard.com/?p=58865

#Tigray drought deepens as #UN urges political leaders to prevent escalation The Tigray region is facing a severe drought, with 148 kebeles reportedly yet to receive rainfall, according to stakeholders cited by the United Nations. The humanitarian crisis is unfolding amid renewed political tensions, raising fears of further conflict and its impact on livelihoods, food security and economic activity. The UN is calling on political leaders to listen to the people of Tigray, de-escalate tensions and resolve outstanding issues through dialogue. “The people of Tigray do not want war. They want to see tension de-escalated.” Watch the full statement. #Ethiopia #Tigray #Drought #HumanitarianCrisis #UN #FoodSecurity #AddisStandard

News: Five detained #Ethiopian journalists pressured to admit terrorism involvement in exchange for release, CPJ says The Committee to Protect Journalists (#CPJ) has called on Ethiopian authorities to release five journalists who have been detained for about three years while awaiting trial, alleging that they are being pressured to admit involvement in an armed insurgency and apologize in exchange for their freedom. The journalists—Gobeze Sisay, Meskerem Abera, Genet Asmamaw, Dawit Begashaw and Abay Zewdu—were detained in 2023 on terrorism-related charges linked to their reporting on unrest in the #Amhara region. According to CPJ, their lawyer, Solomon Gezahagn, said the five have refused to sign or write apology letters that they consider self-incriminating.  https://addisstandard.com/?p=58871

#Saudi_Arabia opposed #Egypt’s inclusion in #Mecca defense pact: MEE Saudi Arabia opposed Egypt’s inclusion in the newly signed Mecca Joint Defence Agreement between Saudi Arabia, #Türkiye and #Pakistan, according to three Saudi sources familiar with the discussions who spoke anonymously to Middle East Eye (MEE). The sources said Riyadh had grown increasingly frustrated with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s government, questioning Egypt’s strategic value and its reliability on key regional security issues. The agreement was signed on 7 August in Mecca by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. It commits the three countries to regard an armed attack against any one of them as an attack against all three, although the pact leaves unclear how the commitment would be activated and what military assistance would entail. https://www.facebook.com/share/1AhdfyyGuH/?mibextid=wwXIfr