Ongoing

  1. ElectionsHot
  2. US mid-termsHeating up
  3. AICooling
NewsbriefSouth Africa, briefly.
JoburgJHB29°16°CTCT30°17°PretoriaPTA31°17°DurbanDBN27°64%

Ethiopia suspends The Reporter newspaper indefinitely

Published

The Ethiopia Media Authority suspended the independent newspaper's licence from Monday 2 November 2026. It said The Reporter published content that contradicts national interests and distorted information about foreign investment, tourism and diplomacy.

The Ethiopia Media Authority announced the order in a statement on Facebook. It bars The Reporter from publication and broadcasting until it meets its legal and professional ethical obligations. The regulator also accused the paper of unbalanced and biased reports.

The Reporter is an independent print and online newspaper. Ethiopia revoked the licence of another independent outlet, Addis Standard, in February, and that outlet has appealed.

Reporters Without Borders ranks Ethiopia 148th out of 180 in its press freedom index. The group says five journalists are detained in the country. Four of them have been held for nearly three years and face terrorism charges that carry the death penalty.

Key facts

Who
Ethiopia Media Authority (regulator that suspended The Reporter); The Reporter (independent print and online newspaper whose licence was suspended); Addis Standard (independent outlet whose licence Ethiopia revoked in February, which has…); Reporters Without Borders (compiler of the press freedom index that ranks Ethiopia 148th of 180)
What
The Ethiopia Media Authority (EMA) ordered The Reporter, an independent print and online newspaper, to remain fully suspended from publication and broadcasting indefinitely, effective Monday 2 November 2026, until legal and professional ethical obligations are met. The EMA said the outlet repeatedly published content contradicting national interests and distorted information affecting foreign…
When
2 November 2026
Where
Ethiopia, Addis Ababa
Status
Reported

Related stories

Elections Hot

What you need to know

Voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections is under way at 23,696 stations, and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) reported a smooth start on 4 November. Stations opened at 7am and close at 9pm, and by 10am preliminary figures showed 3,523,691 voters had cast ballots.

There were problems: unused ballot papers were stolen from Mnyameni Secondary School near Durban, police opened a case, and the IEC relieved the station staff of duty. Some voters in Tshwane said they were turned away for wearing party shirts, but the IEC denied this and said only mayoral candidates' entourages were barred.

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe told members not to query the results or discredit the IEC, while the IEC said false online claims show routine procedures as fraud.

  1. IEC dismisses MK Party worry about dead people on voters' roll
  2. IEC says local election voting went largely smoothly
  3. IEC says about 12 million had voted by 5pm

See every update

US mid-terms Heating up

What you need to know

Democrats won back both the US House and Senate in the midterm elections held on 3 November, according to media projections. Exit polls showed voters were angry about high prices and the direction of the country, and rebuked President Donald Trump.

Before the vote, US forces struck targets on Qeshm Island in Iran, while Republicans struggled to defend the war against Iran on the campaign trail. Iranian officials said US voters rejected the war, and Tehran stayed on high alert for possible new US strikes.

Markets reacted, with the dollar hitting a one-month low and the rand firming to around R16.55, as analysts pointed to fears of gridlock in Washington.

  1. Iran welcomes Democratic wins in US midterm elections
  2. Democrats win US Congress in midterm vote, projections show
  3. Ramaphosa wants US trade deal after AGOA suspension

See every update

AI Cooling

What you need to know

Nvidia has told its cloud computing clients to sell at least 51% of their services to non-Chinese companies, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. Anthropic said it has committed to spend close to $900bn on AI infrastructure, and that its computing costs are rising faster than its revenues.

Elsewhere, reports from unnamed sources say OpenAI's latest funding round is falling short of expectations, and a judge let the NAACP pollution case against xAI proceed. In South Africa, the VAST AI investment scheme went offline on 30 October after withdrawals marked approved did not arrive, according to a news investigation.

  1. Accenture faces accusations over AI report with false citations
  2. CrowdStrike to buy two AI security startups
  3. Google lets schools turn off AI tools but limits Search

See every update