INSIDER
Harvard files legal challenge over Trump's ban on foreign students. Overseas, admitted students wait
Read full article: Harvard files legal challenge over Trump's ban on foreign students. Overseas, admitted students waitHarvard University is challenging President Donald Trump’s move to block foreign students from coming to the United States to attend the Ivy League school, calling it illegal retaliation for Harvard’s rejection of White House demands.
UN researchers warn that Asian scam operations are spreading across the rest of the world
Read full article: UN researchers warn that Asian scam operations are spreading across the rest of the worldA new U.N. report warns that transnational organized crime groups in East and Southeast Asia are spreading their lucrative scam operations across the globe in response to increased crackdowns by authorities.
Nile basin nations say water-sharing accord has come into force without Egypt's backing
Read full article: Nile basin nations say water-sharing accord has come into force without Egypt's backingA regional partnership for Nile River basin countries says an agreement on the equitable use of water resources has come into force despite the notable opposition of Egypt.
Justice Department defends Boeing plea deal against criticism by 737 Max crash victims' families
Read full article: Justice Department defends Boeing plea deal against criticism by 737 Max crash victims' familiesThe Justice Department is defending a plea deal it struck with Boeing over planes that crashed and killed 346 people.
Mudslides in Ethiopia have killed at least 229. It's not clear how many people are still missing
Read full article: Mudslides in Ethiopia have killed at least 229. It's not clear how many people are still missingMudslides triggered by heavy rain in a remote part of Ethiopia have killed at least 229 people.
Former Boston and Chicago marathon winner Lawrence Cherono banned for doping and fake documents
Read full article: Former Boston and Chicago marathon winner Lawrence Cherono banned for doping and fake documentsA Kenyan runner who won the Boston and Chicago marathons has been banned for seven years for doping and trying to use fake documents to explain his failed drug test.
Boeing accepts a plea deal to avoid a criminal trial over 737 Max crashes, Justice Department says
Read full article: Boeing accepts a plea deal to avoid a criminal trial over 737 Max crashes, Justice Department saysThe Justice Department says Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge stemming from two deadly crashes of 737 Max jetliners.
Somalia announces deal with Turkey to deter Ethiopia's access to sea through a breakaway region
Read full article: Somalia announces deal with Turkey to deter Ethiopia's access to sea through a breakaway regionSomalia has announced a defense deal with Turkey that includes support for the Horn of Africa nation’s sea assets and appears aimed at deterring Ethiopia’s efforts to secure access to the sea by way of the breakaway region of Somaliland.
Ethiopia's government recaptures Amhara region towns from militia, government and residents say
Read full article: Ethiopia's government recaptures Amhara region towns from militia, government and residents sayEthiopia’s government and residents say the military has recaptured several areas in the embattled Amhara region from local militia fighters.
UN agency suspends food aid to Ethiopia's Tigray amid theft
Read full article: UN agency suspends food aid to Ethiopia's Tigray amid theftThe United Nations food relief agency has suspended aid deliveries to Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region amid an internal investigation into the theft of food meant for hungry people, according to four humanitarian workers.
UN, others cite new displacement from Ethiopia's Tigray
Read full article: UN, others cite new displacement from Ethiopia's TigrayAid workers in Ethiopia say Amhara's regional forces have displaced tens of thousands of ethnic Tigrayans from disputed territory in the north of the country in recent weeks, despite a peace deal last year.
China FM on Africa visit sidesteps call for UN council seat
Read full article: China FM on Africa visit sidesteps call for UN council seatChina’s new foreign minister has sidestepped a new call by the African Union for permanent representation on the United Nations Security Council during his visit to Ethiopia.
East Africa bloc says 50 million face acute food insecurity
Read full article: East Africa bloc says 50 million face acute food insecurityMore than 50 million people in the wider East African region are expected to face acute food insecurity this year, a regional bloc said Friday, warning that some 300,000 in Somalia and South Sudan are projected to be under full-blown famine conditions.
East and Horn of Africa prep for worst drought in decades
Read full article: East and Horn of Africa prep for worst drought in decadesAgricultural workers in the east and Horn of Africa are preparing for their most severe drought in forty years, as authorities warn that higher temperatures and less than normal rainfall was recorded by weather agencies in March and April this year.
WHO Chief: World's worst health crisis is in Ethiopia
Read full article: WHO Chief: World's worst health crisis is in EthiopiaAs much of the world’s attention is focused on the bloodshed in Ukraine, the head of the World Health Organization saya there is ”nowhere on earth where the health of millions of people is more under threat" than Ethiopia's Tigray region.
US, Egypt tackle myriad irritants in strategic talks
Read full article: US, Egypt tackle myriad irritants in strategic talksThe United States and Egypt are putting a brave face on strains in their relationship as domestic Egyptian developments and regional crises test long-standing ties between the countries.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/KKOQ6NR7LFFRHI3CDVW4PHFIMA.jpg)
Ethiopia's Oromo protest, demand freedom for jailed leaders
Read full article: Ethiopia's Oromo protest, demand freedom for jailed leadersMembers of Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, the Oromo, are protesting against the government and have called for the release of jailed opposition figures as they gathered for their annual Thanksgiving festival of Irreecha.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/ZGAZ5HMLCVB2BNEU5RBTZYBDBU.jpg)
UN says its food aid runs out this week in Ethiopia's Tigray
Read full article: UN says its food aid runs out this week in Ethiopia's TigrayThe head of the United Nations World Food Program says the agency will “run out of food” in Ethiopia’s conflict-hit Tigray region on Friday, while hundreds of thousands of people there face the world’s worst famine crisis in a decade.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/DXSUTK2RXRGIBFRW5Q3UKX6K7A.jpg)
UN chief: World faces a `hurricane of humanitarian crises'
Read full article: UN chief: World faces a `hurricane of humanitarian crises'The United Nations chief is warning that a “hurricane of humanitarian crises” around the world has left civilians in conflict areas paying the highest price and is compounded by a relentless wave of attacks on humanitarian and medical workers.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65):fill(FFF)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/TRNV4WGZYNCEBBY2GS6VM6D2A4.jpg)
Ethiopia's ruling party wins national election in landslide
Read full article: Ethiopia's ruling party wins national election in landslideEthiopia’s ruling Prosperity Party has been declared the winner of last month’s national election in a landslide, assuring a second term for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65):fill(FFF)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/2MI6SOW5GNEZVFEPB7H2GDWBA4.jpg)
Oxfam: 11 people die of hunger each minute around the globe
Read full article: Oxfam: 11 people die of hunger each minute around the globeOxfam says that 11 people die of hunger each minute and that the number of people facing famine-like conditions around the globe has increased six times over the last year.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65):fill(FFF)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/XDB3BXINFVDT3BQM36XUGDX7EQ.jpg)
Leaders agree in Paris on helping African economies revive
Read full article: Leaders agree in Paris on helping African economies reviveMore than 20 African heads of state and top officials from European governments, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund have agreed to seek an additional $100 billion for reviving Africa’s economies crippled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/ALBJJEABSNHCTJR5JJX4J27RKU.jpg)
UN, Ethiopia sign deal for aid access to embattled Tigray
Read full article: UN, Ethiopia sign deal for aid access to embattled TigrayTigray refugees who fled the conflict in the Ethiopia's Tigray carry their furniture on the banks of the Tekeze River on the Sudan-Ethiopia border, in Hamdayet, eastern Sudan, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020. For weeks, the U.N. and others have pleaded for access amid reports of supplies running desperately low for millions of people. “We have been urging, waiting, begging for access,” another aid official, Jan Egeland with the Norwegian Refugee Council, told the AP. The ICRC, the rare organization to travel inside the Tigray region and its borderlands, has reported coming across abandoned communities and camps of displaced people. Inside Tigray, and among the majority ethnic Tigrayan refugees in Sudan, people are exhausted.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/CVKONVFRSNH2PGSGCSAJOOYLWE.jpg)
Ethiopian leader rejects international 'interference' in war
Read full article: Ethiopian leader rejects international 'interference' in warA Tigray refugee girl who fled the conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region, sits on aid she received from the UNHCR and WFP at Umm Rakouba refugee camp in Qadarif, eastern Sudan, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020. “We respectfully urge the international community to refrain from any unwelcome and unlawful acts of interference," it added. The international community has urgently called for communications to be restored to the Tigray region so such claims can be investigated, and for immediate humanitarian access. Misery continues for the refugees in Sudan, with little food, little medicine, little shelter, little funding and little or no contact with loved ones left behind in Tigray. “If personnel are discriminated against because of their ethnicity or any other reason, this could involve a human rights violation under international law,” the statement said.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/IYXVEVNGO5FALBHTC6MQYN3IEI.jpg)
Ethiopia warns Tigray residents that 'anything can happen'
Read full article: Ethiopia warns Tigray residents that 'anything can happen'Tigray refugees who fled a conflict in the Ethiopia's Tigray region, run at Village 8, the transit centre near the Lugdi border crossing, eastern Sudan, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020. Ethiopia's government again rejected international pleas for dialogue with the TPLF leaders, regarding them as criminals on the run. He also called for “free, safe and unhindered humanitarian access” to the Tigray region, which remains almost completely sealed off from the world with communications severed, roads blocked and airports closed. A humanitarian disaster is unfolding both inside and outside the Tigray region. Food, fuel and medical and other supplies are running desperately low in the Tigray region and the U.N. says around 2 million people there urgently need aid.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/MTWPLLQUPJGTNKKTLKL2WYQ7QU.jpg)
Official: Ethiopia's latest airstrike hits Tigray university
Read full article: Official: Ethiopia's latest airstrike hits Tigray universityNAIROBI – A university official says the latest airstrike by Ethiopia’s military has struck the school in the capital of the defiant Tigray region and caused major damage, while the United States says neither side in the conflict is heeding calls for de-escalation. The senior official described Thursday’s airstrike in an email shared with The Associated Press. There was no immediate comment from Ethiopia’s government, which has been fighting the Tigray regional forces since a Nov. 4 attack on a military base there. While Abiy's government rejects urgent international calls for dialogue, a humanitarian disaster is unfolding as food, fuel and medical supplies run desperately short in the Tigray region. Eritrea has remained largely silent while the TPLF accuses it of entering the conflict at Ethiopia's request.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/5CPCZUD5MBBJLDUEGQ6IFVUUIQ.jpg)
Ethiopia to replace Tigray region leadership as forces clash
Read full article: Ethiopia to replace Tigray region leadership as forces clashEthiopia moved Saturday to replace the leadership of the country's defiant northern Tigray region, where deadly clashes between regional and federal government forces are fueling fears the major African power is sliding into civil war. (AP Photo/Samuel Habtab)NAIROBI – Ethiopia moved Saturday to replace the leadership of the country’s defiant northern Tigray region, where deadly clashes between regional and federal government forces are fueling fears the major African power is sliding into civil war. Clashes began early Wednesday when Abiy accused the TPLF forces of attacking a military base in Tigray. A new United Nations assessment lists eight “recent military confrontations” across Tigray, most near its southern border with the Amhara region. Dino Mahtani with the International Crisis Group, in comments posted Friday, said that if the Tigray forces come under pressure they may "punch into Eritrea, which would then internationalize this conflict."
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/NI4FAXHSNNFDVFHPREWK5Z3MO4.jpg)
Ethiopian PM announces airstrikes in country's Tigray region
Read full article: Ethiopian PM announces airstrikes in country's Tigray regionEthiopia's prime minister says airstrikes have been carried out against the forces of the country's Tigray region, asserting that the strikes in multiple locations "completely destroyed rockets and other heavy weapons." (AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene)NAIROBI – Ethiopia's prime minister on Friday said his government has carried out airstrikes against the forces of the country's well-armed Tigray region, asserting that strikes in multiple locations “completely destroyed rockets and other heavy weapons" and made a retaliatory attack impossible. The prime minister, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for his sweeping political reforms, now faces his greatest test. The northern Tigray region is now increasingly cut off. The Tigray government and Eritrea don't get along, and the TPLF this week accused Eritrea of teaming up with Ethiopia's federal government to target it.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/FLCJNQFDQZAQ3MUG2D7M7P74NA.jpg)
Ethiopia near civil war as PM sends army into defiant region
Read full article: Ethiopia near civil war as PM sends army into defiant regionFILE - In this Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020, file photo, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, center, arrives for the opening session of the 33rd African Union (AU) Summit at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. “We have to guard against ‘just another tribal African war,’” former U.S. diplomat Payton Knopf told The Associated Press. The prime minister announced “several martyrs” in the overnight attack in Mekele, the northern Tigray region’s capital, and Dansha town. The region is Ethiopia’s most sensitive, neighboring Eritrea, which fought a long border war before the two countries made peace in 2018. The TPLF dominated Ethiopia’s military and governing coalition before Abiy took office in 2018 and announced sweeping political reforms that won him the Nobel last year.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/IXIALL5WZVBZZF54EKV6RXKYRM.jpg)
The Latest: Boris Johnson to urge global unity against virus
Read full article: The Latest: Boris Johnson to urge global unity against virus___5:50 p.m.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will tell the U.N. General Assembly that the coronavirus pandemic has frayed the bonds between nations and will urge world leaders to unite against the “common foe” of COVID-19. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi also used his U.N. speech this week to describe the dam, Africa’s largest, as an existential threat. Khan has frequently criticized the decision by the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August 2019 to strip Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood, scrap its separate constitution and remove inherited protections on land and jobs. The United Kingdom is a founding nation of the United Nations and a member of the Security Council, and the country has been a global diplomatic juggernaut for centuries. Michel’s ire was raised when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would contemplate breaking an agreement he signed with the EU.
That time when an Olympic marathoner won a gold medal running barefoot. Yes, barefoot.
Read full article: That time when an Olympic marathoner won a gold medal running barefoot. Yes, barefoot.Abebe Bikila was the only marathoner in history to win an Olympic gold medal running barefoot, but that fact hides the more significant question: Someone actually won an Olympic gold medal in the marathon running BAREFOOT?
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/QOCGTTXBZBGSRIHD2M2IXMHP4U.jpg)
Ethiopia's leader hails 1st filling of massive, disputed dam
Read full article: Ethiopia's leader hails 1st filling of massive, disputed damADDIS ABABA Ethiopias prime minister on Wednesday hailed the first filling of a massive dam that has led to tensions with Egypt, saying two turbines will begin generating power next year. "We have successfully completed the first dam filling without bothering and hurting anyone else. Ethiopia has said it would begin filling the reservoir this month even without a deal as the rainy season floods the Blue Nile. There are other sticking points, but if we agree on this basic principle, the other points will automatically be solved, he said. Years of talks with a variety of mediators, including the Trump administration, have failed to produce a solution.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/JXGTH5WLNZF6HI52CFOW4ODBFY.jpg)
Ethiopia denies reports government has started filling dam
Read full article: Ethiopia denies reports government has started filling damADDIS ABABA Ethiopias water minister denied reports Wednesday that the government had begun filling a massive hydroelectric dam that has caused severe tensions with Egypt and led some to fear military conflict. Media outlets reported the government had begun filling after Minister Sileshi Bekele confirmed to the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation that satellite images from recent days showed the dams reservoir swelling. The minister told The Associated Press, however, that the images reflected heavy rains, saying that inflow was greater than the outflow. Ethiopia has said it would begin filling the dam's reservoir this month even without a deal as the rainy season floods the Blue Nile. Ethiopia says the colossal dam offers a critical opportunity to pull millions of its nearly 110 million citizens out of poverty and become a major power exporter.
:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-gmg.s3.amazonaws.com/public/RC2GKICMG5DAJB5I4PWH3IK2PM.jpg)
UN food agency chief: World on brink of `a hunger pandemic'
Read full article: UN food agency chief: World on brink of `a hunger pandemic'TANZANIA – The head of the U.N. food agency warned Tuesday that, as the world is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, it is also “on the brink of a hunger pandemic” that could lead to “multiple famines of biblical proportions” within a few months if immediate action isn’t taken. According to WFP, the 10 countries with the worst food crises in 2019 were Yemen, Congo, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Syria, Sudan, Nigeria and Haiti. Beasley said in many countries the food crisis is the result of conflict. “The truth is, we do not have time on our side, so let’s act wisely — and let’s act fast," Beasley said. “I do believe that with our expertise and partnerships, we can bring together the teams and the programs necessary to make certain the COVID-19 pandemic does not become a humanitarian and food crisis catastrophe."