Ethiopia Ousts State Firm From Nile Dam Project

Ethiopia has ousted state-run Metals and Engineering Corporation (METEC) from a $4 billion dam project on the River Nile due to numerous delays in completing the project. The Grand Renaissance Dam is the centerpiece of Ethiopia’s bid to become Africa’s biggest power exporter. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said at the weekend that the government had …

Congo Trial Over Killings of UN Experts Resumes After Long Suspension

The trial of more than two dozen people, including a former intelligence agency informant, suspected in the killings of two U.N. sanctions monitors last year in central Congo resumed on Monday after a 10-month suspension, defense lawyers said. Zaida Catalan, a Swede, and Michael Sharp, an American, were killed in March 2017 while investigating an …

Macron says Brexit Cannot Divide EU, Criticizes Trump’s Isolationism

President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said preserving European Union unity was more important than forging a close relationship with post-Brexit Britain, and hit out at what he called U.S. President Donald Trump’s “aggressive” isolationism. Macron, who met Prime Minister Theresa May for talks on Britain’s departure from the EU during the summer holiday, said he …

Letter: Vatican Knew About Disgraced Archbishop’s Behavior

The Vatican’s retired ambassador to the United States accused senior Vatican officials of knowing as early as 2000 that the disgraced former archbishop of Washington, Theodore McCarrick, regularly invited seminarians into his bed but was made a cardinal regardless. The letter, an extraordinary allegation from a one-time Holy See diplomat, also accuses Pope Francis of …

Mass Shooting Reported at Video Game Tournament in Florida

The Jacksonville Florida Sheriff’s Office says there has been a mass shooting at the Jacksonville Landing on the St. John’s River. Preliminary news reports say 11 people have been shot and witnesses say there are four dead. The local reports say police say it is still an active shooting scene. The shooting took place during …

Thousands Rally Against Moldovan Government

Thousands of people rallied on August 26 in Moldova’s capital to protest against the government. The event was the latest in a series of protests against the ruling Democratic Party, which is headed by controversial billionaire Vladimir Plahotniuc. …

Neil Simon, Broadway’s Master of Comedy, Dies at 91

Playwright Neil Simon, a master of comedy whose laugh-filled hits such as “The Odd Couple,” “Barefoot in the Park” and his “Brighton Beach” trilogy dominated Broadway for decades, has died. He was 91. Simon died early Sunday of complications from pneumonia in New York, said Bill Evans, his longtime friend and the Shubert Organization director …

Moldovan Expats Protest Against Government In Chisinau

Dozens of expatriate Moldovans have protested in Brussels against Moldovan government policies. The August 26 rally outside the headquarters of the European Commission slammed Moldova’s recent changes in its electoral system and the annulment of the mayoral election in the country’s capital, Chisinau. The protesters signed a joint statement that they are planning to send …

Ethiopia’s Somali Region Hopes New Leader Will Bring Peace

Earlier this month, Mustafa Omer lived in exile. Now, he’s the acting president of Ethiopia’s Somali region and one of the country’s most powerful people. The dramatic turnaround comes less than three weeks after federal forces stormed the regional capital, Jijiga, and forced the previous regional president, Abdi Mohamoud Omar, also known as Abdi Illey, …

Russian Artist Builds Cameras out of Wood

A Russian artist is going back to the roots of photography, rejecting the digital trappings and the assembly-line convenience of the modern age, by designing and creating wooden cameras the way they were built a hundred years ago. Combining craftsmanship with the principles of old school photography, some consider his creations art forms in themselves. …

WWII Shipwreck Found off Alaska, Sunk After Only Battle on US Soil

Scientists have used multibeam sonar and a remotely operated craft to locate the remains of the USS Abner Read, which was sunk nearly 75 years ago after hitting a Japanese mine off Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. The ship had been sent to look for Japanese submarines following the only World War II battle to be fought …