In the history of modern Ethiopia the free press is certainly a relatively recent phenomenon. It is only a little over two decades since press freedom was given a constitutional guarantee and Ethiopians were able to air their views openly through written publications and/or electronic media outlets. Press freedom, along with a wide range of other civil and political rights were legally sanctioned by the Transitional Charter in 1991, issued on the heels of the demise of the military dictatorship. This ushered in a new era in the history of the press in Ethiopia and this was underlined four years later when the new Constitution was formally incorporated.

International Crisis Group has no direct knowledge about the state of health of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Crisis Group has never commented on Mr Zenawi’s health or his fate, and is not in a position to speculate about it. Crisis Group categorically denies any media claims to the contrary.

The Office of Government Communication Affairs (OGCA) dismissed news reports about the new telecom draft law dubbed ‘Telecom Fraud Offenses’ which was reported as criminalizing the use of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) as baseless. Different media houses reported that the new telecom law criminalizes the use VOIP such as Skype.

Last week, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) organized a conference for media owners, managers of radio and TV stations, journalists and others. It was the first such meeting, and among those present were journalists and officials from Kulmiye Radio, Xamar Radio, Jubba Radio, Risaala Radio, Raxanreeb Radio-a web-based radio, Codka Nabadda Radio, Danan Radio, Simba Radio, Somali Chanel Television, Horn Cable Television, Royal Television, S24 Television and Somali National Television and Radio.

A computer worm commonly known as "Teddy Afro" (Worm.Win32.AutoIt.a) is currently spreading in Ethiopia.

The African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Media Initiative (AMI) are scheduled to launch a pan-African media portal in March 2011, APA learns here on Wednesday.

Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and Technology said it is to organize a contest for Ethiopian technologists, focused on problem solving innovations.

The BBC has ‘unreservedly’ apologised for broadcasting a series of reports implying that millions of pounds in charity money raised by Live Aid to fight famine in Ethiopia was spent on weapons.

There has been good news in 2010 for the many thousands of Ethiopians across the globe who are seeking a cheap, reliable and honest way to keep in touch with their loved ones when they call Ethiopia. Stockholm based international call company Rebtel has been busy over the past twelve months ensuring that Ethiopians exiled abroad can keep in touch with their loved ones with a quality, honest call service that is easy to afford.

A senior official at ETV told Capital in anonymity last Friday that the state television program has resumed its transmission on Arabsat two days ago.