Both the country’s president and the man who would replace him agree the election would be determined by the cost-of-living struggle
The disease is circulating in livestock, with some human cases reported.
The country has experienced violent incidents of unrest in recent weeks
Many attacks go unpunished, and those that are reported often fail to end in indictments or make it through the judicial system, rights groups say
The poor country epitomises the step-by-step realisation of democracy taking place in Africa
But the losing candidate promises to challenge the legality of the election
It’s been over three months since a mudslide in Freetown, Sierra Leone, left 6,000 persons affected. Many continue to live in temporary shelter
Sierra Leone opposition leader has seen his party office go up in flames, been arrested on several occasions and charged in court.
The army is to enforce the government’s travel ban during the Christmas period and a military presence aims to deter street celebrations.
Just a day’s drive from the epicentre of the outbreak, it’s little wonder Ebola propagates panic quicker than it spreads death in the coastal city.
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/ 25 February 2009
Sierra Leone’s war crimes court will hand down its verdict on Wednesday against three rebels accused of committing atrocities during the civil war.
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/ 24 February 2009
Sierra Leone’s war crimes tribunal will hand down a verdict on Wednesday against three rebel RUF commanders accused of carrying out a killing spree.
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/ 10 October 2008
Demolition teams this week smashed up popular beach bars as part of an improvement scheme to develop tourism in Sierra’s Leone’s capital, Freetown.
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/ 12 September 2008
Several parts of Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, were submerged in more than 1m of water on Friday after torrential rain, meteorologists said.
Police in Sierra Leone arrest foreigners and Sierra Leoneans after seizing a record 600kg of cocaine at Lungi International Airport.
Prosecutors for Sierra Leone’s war crimes court are trying to track down -million they say vanished from two United States bank accounts held by former Liberian President Charles Taylor when he was forced from power in 2003. But lawyers defending the former warlord challenged prosecutors to produce evidence that Taylor had salted away state funds for his personal use.
As Sierra Leoneans prepare to celebrate the 47th anniversary of their country’s independence on Sunday, the mood is not festive, but bitter, as people find it more difficult to put food on the table. Rising food prices have swept the West African state, and have also raised expectations on the government to act to soften the blow for consumers.
Africa will be well-placed to weather a global economic downturn if it uses high oil and commodities prices to diversify its economies, one of the continent’s most successful businessmen said in an interview. Nigerian tycoon Aliko Dangote said the world’s poorest continent could benefit while developed nations suffered an economic slowdown.
Sierra Leone’s military chiefs are working on means to downsize from its current 10 000 soldiers to 8 500, Defence Minister Palo Conteh said on Friday, according to a state radio report. ”We cannot allow a large army …We have to downsize to a lean army that can react quickly to a given situation,” he said.
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/ 23 February 2008
A United Nations-backed court on Friday upheld the convictions of three former rebel leaders who were sentenced to half-century prison terms last year for rape, murder and other war crimes committed during Sierra Leone’s decade-long conflict. The three were leaders of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council.
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/ 21 December 2007
Sierra Leone’s economy has, over the years, relied heavily on the mining sector in general and diamonds in particular. However, between 1991 and 2000 the country was comprehensively destroyed in a brutal civil war that engulfed the West African state. Seven years after the war was declared over, the country is still struggling to reactivate economic activities from yesteryear.
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/ 16 November 2007
Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma promised ”zero tolerance” on Thursday for corruption in his country after a leaked government report said rampant official graft had swallowed up donor funds. Speaking at his formal inauguration in Freetown, the 54-year-old former insurance executive called for a change of attitude in the West African state.
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/ 6 November 2007
The United Nations has bailed out Sierra Leone’s national amputees’ football team with a cash boost that paves way for their participation in the World Cup tournament kicking off at the weekend in Turkey. Team secretary Kemoh Sheriff said the donation shows that ”we are not forgotten”.
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/ 14 October 2007
Sierra Leone’s recently elected leader on Saturday released a complete list of his 20-strong government ministers, consisting mainly of technocrats and his party’s stalwarts. Three women — heading the foreign affairs, energy and social welfare portfolios — are on the list that is still subject to parliamentary approval.
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/ 25 September 2007
Sierra Leone arrested eight Guineans, including military personnel and fisheries inspectors, whom it accused of carrying out a pirate attack on two locally licensed fishing vessels, officials said on Monday. But Guinean authorities rejected the piracy charge, saying the men were on a legitimate fisheries protection patrol.
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/ 17 September 2007
Sierra Leone opposition leader Ernest Bai Koroma won the West African country’s presidential election after a tense run-off vote marred by some cases of fraud, the National Electoral Commission said on Monday. Koroma, a 53-year-old candidate of the opposition All People’s Congress, was declared the winner with 54,6% of valid votes.
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/ 14 September 2007
Sierra Leone opposition leader Ernest Bai Koroma, who looks set to win the West African country’s presidential election, says he will wage an implacable war on corruption and work to revive the war-scarred economy. With just over three-quarters of the votes counted from last week’s run-off poll, Koroma, of the All People’s Congress, has a commanding lead with 60%.
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/ 11 September 2007
Opposition leader Ernest Bai Koroma said he had won Sierra Leone’s presidential election but the ruling party accused him of trying to ”steal” the poll as more results were due on Tuesday from the tense weekend vote. Partial official results from just over a fifth of polling stations showed Koroma, of the All People’s Congress party, leading with 64%.
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/ 9 September 2007
Sierra Leone counted votes on Sunday from a tense presidential run-off which went peacefully despite fears of violence, but both sides accused the other of fraud and intimidation. Saturday’s presidential run-off vote will pick a successor to President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, who is standing down after two terms.
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/ 8 September 2007
Voting began calmly in Sierra Leone on Saturday despite a turbulent campaign for a presidential runoff vote meant to consolidate peace after a civil war. Rival groups of former combatants have clashed with guns and machetes in the former British colony since the first round on August 11 in which opposition candidate Ernest Bai Koroma of the All People’s Congress led with 44%.
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/ 5 September 2007
Sierra Leone media authorities are trying to tone down party political broadcasts alleging executions and machete attacks to try to defuse tensions ahead of a presidential run-off vote on Saturday. The poll, the culmination of the first elections since United Nations peacekeepers left, pits opposition leader Ernest Bai Koroma against Vice-President Solomon Berewa.
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/ 3 September 2007
Sierra Leone’s rival presidential contenders will lead supporters in a joint peace march to cement a pact against violence following clashes ahead of a run-off vote, their parties said on Monday. Opposition frontrunner Ernest Bai Koroma and his ruling party rival, Vice-President Solomon Berewa, agreed the deal in talks on Sunday.