The Economist: And why critics think it an odd use of scarce resources

The ancient holy town of Lalibela, perched some 2,500 metres above sea-level in Ethiopia’s northern highlands, boasts some of the clearest night skies imaginable. Ethiopian stargazers dream that the mountains around Lalibela may one day host a world-class observatory to rival the big ones in Chile and Hawaii. And in time Ethiopia hopes to do more than just gaze at the stars. It would like to launch its own satellites, too.

EZ (Ethiopia Zare): The Ethiopian government dominated by the ruling party, EPRDF, has extended the State Of Emergency by four additional months, which was declared six months ago, in October 2016, and was due to end in April 2017.

Tampere University of Technology in Finland was about to appoint Ethiopia's controversial Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn an honorary doctorate in May at the university. The press release on the appointment has been removed from the website, and the president of the university said there will be no appointment - as the prime minister cannot come.

EZ: Four people including a police officer have been killed after a knifeman brought terror to the heart of London, reported UK media. An attacker stabbed a policeman and was shot by police just outside Britain's parliament building Westminster on Wednesday. The police described it as a "terrorist incident."

By Deanne Stein (NEWS 9)

WEATHERFORD, Oklahoma - A community has wrapped its arms around a young boy from Ethiopia.

He was adopted by a family in Weatherford and shortly after diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy. Now, a group of high school students wants to help him fund a life-changing surgery.

EZ: Ethiopian father, Khalid Adem, 41, who in 2006 became both the first person prosecuted and first person to be convicted of female genital cutting in the United States, was deported to Ethiopia on Monday. He served 10 years in prison, reported the New York Times.

By Felix Horne (HRW, Senior Researcher, Horn of Africa)

Time to End Mass Arbitrary Detentions

Ethiopia announced this week that some of the restrictions around its five-month-old state of emergency have been lifted. The government announced that the command post, charged with enforcing the country’s state of emergency in the wake of unprecedented mass protests against government policies, would no longer be able to arbitrarily arrest people or conduct property searches without warrants. Further, curfews and some restrictions on media reporting will end.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- The death toll from a collapse at a landfill outside Ethiopia’s capital has risen sharply to 113, an Addis Ababa city official said Wednesday, as the country began three days of mourning for victims who were mostly women and children.