News

In a late night nationwide address President Ernest Bai Koroma announced the isolation of three districts - Port Loko, Bombali and Moyamba - in a bid to stem the spread of Ebola. This, three days after a three-day nationwide lockdown.

The measure which comes into immediate effect is indefinite.

The president said "Corridors for travel to and from non-quarantined districts are hereby established, but vehicles and travellers must not alight within the quarantined districts, and must only travel along the corridors between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm".

Differences have emerged between the Ministry of Sport and the Football Association over the appointment of a new technical team for Leone Stars, following the shock dismissal of Irish coach, Johnny McKinstry.

The Sierra Leone Football Association has written to the Ministry of Sport requesting them to rescind the appointment of former Sierra Leone international, John Sama as assistant head coach and replace him with FC Johnasen coach, John Keister.

By Mohamed T. Massaquoi.

The authorities in the southern district of Pujehun have described the town of Zimmi and the outlying village of Dumagbe as "a serious security threat in the fight against Ebola" and called for the intervention of the military and  the police to stabilise the situation.

The Pujehun District Medical Officer, Dr. David Bome said Dumagbe village with a population of 590 people and three houses in Zimmi town with 32 residents have been quarantined.

By Allieu Sahid Tunkara

Crime officer at the East End Police Division in Freetown says crime rate in that that part of the city “has relatively reduced due to the Ebola outbreak in the country”.

Assistant Superintendent Thaimu Balie Sesay said he took up operation in March of this year at a time when “the crime rate was a bit on the high side.”

He said even though crime rates were “usually very high in the rainy season” and “low in the dry season,” the Ebola outbreak had helped reduce the rate at which crimes were occurring.

By Septimus Senessie in Kono

Residents of Tankoro chiefdom in Koidu, Kono district have challenged OCTEA Koidu Limited over “the dumping of ball stones and heavy boulders about 25 metres away from dwelling houses” at Bayoh Street.

They vowed not to leave their homes at the next blasting exercise and warned that if the company did not stop depositing their “mining waste materials” they were likely to be “exposed to danger”.

By Crispina Cummings

Chairman of the sub-committee on finance in parliament has warned that they “will go after any and everybody who uses Ebola funds for other selfish purposes”.

Hassan Sheriff of Constituency 53 in Port Loko district was addressing the House just after the ratification of a US $28 million grant for government’s Ebola emergency response project by the International Development Association.

Western fighters in war-stricken country claim Ibrahim Kamara, also known as Khalil al-Britani, died in US air strike on Aleppo

A 19-year-old Sierra Leonean boy from Brighton in the UK is believed to be the latest British jihadi to be killed in Syria, having died in the past 48 hours.

Militants in the war-torn country say Khalil al-Britani, whose real name is Ibrahim Kamara, died after a US air strike on Aleppo this week.