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/ 8 May 2008

Court chases $375m from Charles Taylor’s banks

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.

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/ 24 April 2008

Rising food prices leave Sierra Leoneans bitter

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.

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/ 15 March 2008

Sierra Leone hopes to ‘downsize’ army

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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/ 21 December 2007

Sierra Leone faces different kind of battle

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

S Leone leader promises ‘zero tolerance’ on graft

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.