First of two parts.

In the 1990s, I frequently worked in Côte d’Ivoire, primarily in Abidjan, the third largest French speaking city in the world. Abidjan was known as the “Paris of Africa” and the “Manhattan of Africa.” The central business district was filled with tall buildings and luxury shops.

MIAMI – When his native Haiti was devastated by an earthquake in 2010, Joseph Veve Max II’s interest in becoming a civil engineer grew stronger. He came to Miami not long after, where he enrolled at Miami Dade College, North Campus to delve into what has always fascinated him – standing structures such as houses, buildings and skyscrapers.

HOT SPRINGS, S.D. (AP) – Veterans Affairs officials have once again removed two Confederate flags from a display at a VA hospital in the southwestern South Dakota city of Hot Springs.