Ethiopia's state of emergency lifted

Ethiopia's parliament has voted to lift the state of emergency which was imposed in February and was supposed to last for six months.

This follows a cabinet decision on Saturday to end the state of emergency.

No MP opposed the decision, but eight abstained from the vote.

The move is a further sign that the situation in Ethiopia is improving after almost three years of anti-government protests which led to hundreds of deaths and saw tens of thousands imprisoned.

Ethiopia's new Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, has made healing ethnic and political divisions his key priority, and since he came to power in April thousands of prisoners have been released.

SOURCE: BBC NEWS
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