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NEWS INTRO

Good Evening, I’m Tinsae Michael with the news for the hour.

The Ethiopian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release four

human rights defenders who were detained solely for their work documenting
forced evictions in an area south of Addis Ababa and drop all charges against
them, Amnesty International said today.

Daniel Tesfaye, Bizuayehu Wendimu, Bereket Daniel and Nahom Hussien,

who work for the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO), were arrested on
5 January in the Alem Bank area south of Addis Ababa while investigating
cases of forced evictions. The police accused them of not having the
necessary permission to carry out their work. “These four human rights
defenders did not commit a single recognizable criminal offence. They were
simply carrying out the important work of documenting forced evictions of
poorer residents. They should never have been detained in the first place and
should be released immediately and unconditionally. Nobody should be
criminalized for carrying out crucial human rights work,” said Tigere Chagutah,
Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa.

“By brazenly arresting these four human rights defenders, the Ethiopian
authorities are clearly trying to prevent them from exposing the cruelty of the
state’s ongoing forced evictions and to deter others from engaging in human
rights work.”

The four, Daniel Tesfaye, Bizuayehu Wendimu, Bereket Daniel and Nahom
Hussien were charged on 6 January with conducting human rights monitoring
without permission from the police, which is not a crime under Ethiopian
law. The police, who also seized their vehicle, said they were talking to victims
of forced evictions without a support letter from their own organization. They
are currently being held at Gelan Guda Police station. Following their 6
January court appearance, the police asked the court to keep the human
rights defenders in detention and denied their request to be released on bail.
The court granted police’s request to hold them in custody until 11 January
even though the police were unable to name a law that the human rights
defenders had broken to justify their continued detention.

According to the EHRCO, the police told the organization that they are not
allowed to carry out human rights investigations in the region, and that only
humanitarian assistance is permitted.

“The Ethiopian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release these

four human rights defenders and ensure that they do not face any reprisals for
their human rights work. The authorities must urgently stop the intimidation
and harassment of human rights defenders and ensure they can work in a
safe and enabling environment,” said Tigere Chagutah.

Tigrayan forces in northern Ethiopia have started handing over heavy weapons in line with
a peace deal to end a brutal civil war.
The African Union (AU) said it was "a step in the right direction" to end the two-year-
long conflict.
Hundreds of thousands of people are estimated to have died from starvation, a lack of
medical care, and fighting.
The conflict broke out following a massive fall-out between the regional and federal
governments. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed accused the Tigray People's Liberation Front
(TPLF), which controlled the region, of seizing military bases and launching an attempt
to overthrow his government.
Tigrayan forces advanced towards the federal capital, Addis Ababa, in 2021, but were
pushed back.
TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda said he hoped that the handover of weapons would
"go a long way in expediting the full implementation of the agreement".
Armoured tanks, rockets and mortars were among the weapons transferred to the
federal army on Tuesday, the Ethiopian military's Lt-Col Aleme Tadele was quoted by
local media as saying.
A team of AU monitors confirmed that weapons had been given up, suggesting that the
peace deal is sticking,
Basic services, like electricity and banking, are slowly resuming in Tigray after being cut
off during the conflict.
A major sticking point is the presence of Eritrean troops in the area, as well as forces
from Ethiopia's Amhara region.
They intervened in the conflict on the side of the federal government, and the TPLF is
demanding their withdrawal.
Also in our stories this Evening, we will take a look at

We will also look into

Yohannes Wondafrash has the details…

Stay tuned.

Short Drop

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AFRICA

. Uganda's Constitutional Court on Tuesday removed a key part of a controversial internet law which
rights groups charged was aimed at stifling free speech.

A section of the Computer Misuse Act made it an offence for anyone to "use electronic
communication to disturb or attempt to disturb the peace, quiet or right of privacy of any person with
no purpose of legitimate communication".

Justice Kenneth Kakuru, announcing the ruling of the court's five-judge panel, found the article in the
2011 law contravened the East African country's constitution and was "null and void".

"I find that the impugned section is unjustifiable as it curtails the freedom of speech in a free and
democratic society," Kakuru said, describing it as "overly vague".

Rights groups have complained about the communications law as a way for the government to curb
freedom of expression and crack down on opponents of veteran President Yoweri Museveni.

The government has yet to say if it will appeal the ruling, which was hailed by rights campaigners.

"This is not only victory for us as petitioners but to human rights defenders in general," said Andrew
Karamagi, who was one of those behind the legal challenge first filed in 2016.

"Justice has been delivered. This oppressive piece of legislation has been put in check," added
rights lawyer Eron Kiiza.

"Human rights and freedom of expression can never be wished away by mere legislation and by any
government," he told AFP.
Leading Ugandan rights groups and lawyers last year also filed a legal challenge to an amendment
to the Computer Misuse Act that introduced more stringent measures regulating online behaviour
and harsher punishment for offenders.

Amnesty International has criticised the amendment, which was signed into law by Museveni in
October, as "draconian".

People convicted under the law are barred from holding public office for 10 years, which Amnesty
warned was a way of reinforcing state control over online freedom of expression, including by
political opposition groups.

Offenders also face fines of up to 15 million Ugandan shillings (about $3,900) and prison terms of up
to seven years.

Uganda has seen a series of crackdowns on those opposed to Museveni's rule, particularly around
the 2021 election, with journalists attacked, lawyers jailed, vote monitors prosecuted, the internet
shut down and opposition leaders violently muzzled.

Uganda has declared an end to an Ebola outbreak that killed more than 50 people.

The announcement follows a 42-day period without any new confirmed cases.

"We have successfully controlled the Ebola outbreak in Uganda," Health Minister Jane
Ruth Aceng said at a ceremony on Wednesday in Mubende.

The outbreak, which began last September, caused particular concern as it was caused
by the Sudan strain of Ebola, for which there is no vaccine.

Cases were initially concentrated in the central region districts of Mubende and
Kassanda, where the outbreak began.

But the epidemic seemed to be getting out of control when positive cases were
recorded in at least seven other districts, including the capital Kampala.

Rwanda's government has walked back on President Paul Kagame's stand that the
country will no longer offer refuge to people fleeing conflict in the Democratic Republic
of Congo.

Mr Kagame's had said refugees fleeing across the border into Rwanda were "not
Rwanda's problem".

"I am refusing that Rwanda should carry this burden," the president said.

But in a statement on Tuesday night, government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said

Rwanda had no intention to expel or ban refugees.

She accused the media of misrepresenting President Kagame's remarks.

"What the President addressed was the blatant hypocrisy in criticising Rwanda which
simultaneously gets the blame for state failure in the DRC [DR Congo], and is then
expected to accommodate those who seek refuge from the consequences of that
failure," she tweeted.

International

Business

TIP

The study found that eating fast food is associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver
disease, a potentially life-threatening condition in which fat builds up in the liver.
Researchers discovered that people with obesity or diabetes who consume 20% or
more of their daily calories from fast food have severely elevated levels of fat in their
liver compared to those who consume less or no fast food. And the general population
has moderate increases of liver fat when one-fifth or more of their diet is fast food.
“Healthy livers contain a small amount of fat, usually less than 5%, and even a
moderate increase in fat can lead to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease,” said Ani
Kardashian, a hepatologist with Keck Medicine and lead author of the study. “The
severe rise in liver fat in those with obesity or diabetes is especially striking, and
probably due to the fact that these conditions cause a greater susceptibility for fat to
build up in the liver.” While previous research has shown a link between fast food and
obesity and diabetes, this is one of the first studies to demonstrate the negative impact
of fast food on liver health, according to Kardashian.
The findings also reveal that a relatively modest amount of fast food, which is high in
carbohydrates and fat, can hurt the liver. “If people eat one meal a day at a fast-food
restaurant, they may think they aren’t doing harm,” said Kardashian. “However, if that
one meal equals at least one-fifth of their daily calories, they are putting their livers at
risk.”
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, also known as liver steatosis, can lead to cirrhosis, or
scarring of the liver, which can cause liver cancer or failure. Liver steatosis affects
over 30% of the U.S. population.
Kardashian and colleagues analyzed the most recent data from the nation’s largest
annual nutritional survey, the 2017-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey, to determine the impact of fast-food consumption on liver steatosis. The study
characterized fast food as meals, including pizza, from either a drive-through
restaurant or one without wait staff.
The researchers evaluated the fatty liver measurement of approximately 4,000 adults
whose fatty liver measurements were included in the survey and compared these
measurements to their fast-food consumption.
Of those surveyed, 52% consumed some fast food. Of these, 29% consumed one-fifth
or more daily calories from fast food. Only this 29% of survey subjects experienced a
rise in liver fat levels.
The association between liver steatosis and a 20% diet of fast food held steady for
both the general population and those with obesity or diabetes even after data was
adjusted for multiple other factors such as age, sex, race, ethnicity, alcohol use and
physical activity.

Bridge

I’m Tinsae Michael with our technician Bereket W/hana with the evening news for
the 11th of January, 2023.

You can reach us through our SMS line 0944 33 52 52.

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and once again Merry Xmas.
OUTRO