News

By Hassan Ibrahim Conteh

A project by the charity Concern World Wide has offered a rare opportunity for Sierra Leoneans to identify the final resting place of their loved ones who died of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

At the height of the epidemic, changes in the burial policy meant that all burials were done by specialized burial teams. The move was meant to end transmission of the deadly virus through contact with the dead.

By Kemo Cham

Sierra Leone is playing host to a delegation from the United States as part of efforts to advance the Global Health Security Agenda(GHSA), the US embassy in Freetown has announced.

The visit which, started yesterday and would continue till 29, January this year would see the US Government team hold discussions with their Sierra Leonean counters, together with international partners on how to push ahead with the initiative in line with the country’s post-Ebola recovery agenda.

The Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) faction led by Isha Johanssen has slammed as “illegal” plans to convene a rival national league by a faction of the football community which are against her leadership.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, signed by SLFA Secretary General Chris Kamara, the FA also warned the country’s premier league teams against taking part in the tournament being organized by the faction led by Unisa Alim Sesay, AKA Awoko.

The rift within the SLFA stemmed from the election of Mrs Johanssen in 2013.

By Mabinty Kamara

Religious leaders have voted unanimously against the ‘Safe Abortion Act 2015’ at the end of an interfaith summit convened to discuss the increasingly controversial piece of proposed legislation.

The summit hosted at the Saint Anthony’s Church on Syke Street in Freetown was called by the Inter Religious Council (IRC) which was leading a campaign against what it believed would set the country on the path to moral decadence.

By Mabinty Kamara

The Sierra Leone National Commission on Small Arms (SLNCSA) has announced a 90-day amnesty to allow people with unregistered guns hand them over or have them licensed.

The amnesty runs from between 1, January and 31, March 2016, said (Rtd) Colonel Saa Anthony Sinah, Deputy Commissioner, SLNCSA, adding that it covered non-military weapons allowed to be used only for gaming and security purposes.

As the Ebola outbreak keeps ebbing and flowing a giant step has been taken to prepare Sierra Leone against infectious diseases generally - including the Ebola virus.

On Friday 22 January 2016 Minister of Health, Dr Abubakarr Fofanah officially opened Sierra Leone’s first ever research laboratory for infectious diseases complete to do genome sequencing.

Former United Nations Undersecretary General and presidential candidate for the opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), says Sierra Leoneans are suffering and “things are very bad in this nation”.

Speaking to Politico, Dr Kandeh Yumkella said most of the major investments in the country had collapsed.

“The mining sector is in the doldrums, two of our big investments - one in diamonds, the other in bioenergy - all in trouble” he said, adding: “there are many things wrong here about wealth creation and jobs that he should be focusing on” instead of the “More Time”.