News

Sierra Leonean actor, Desmond Finney has been crowned Best Foreign Actor at this year’s Special Movie Awards in The Gambia. 

The maiden awards ceremony was organised by Affrinity Production at the Coco Hotel Resort in Banjul on 30 September, and celebrated filmmakers across the continent were in attendance. It attracted guests from South Africa, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Britain.

Two other Sierra Leoneans were also awarded: Mamud Jalloh of AYV TV won Best Editor and Collins Archie Pierce won Best Foreign Movie for Ibu in Sierra Leone. 

By Septimus Senessie in Kono

Three members of a family of six have perished, after lightening struck their home on Saturday in Kono district, eastern Sierra Leone.

The incident occurred at 39 Gbetuwa Street in the headquarter town of Koidu, killing a woman, her son and her adopted daughter.

The remaining three members of the family, all of them children, were unharmed.

By Tanu Jalloh

Sierra Leone on Monday introduced tough new measures including massive cuts in a bid to tackle the current economic crisis in the country. 

The announcement, which followed an emergency cabinet meeting, also proposed stern measures that will force “all business outfits to pay outstanding arrears of taxes within 30 days”.

By Tanu Jalloh

Country economist at the World Bank office in Sierra Leone says the Ebola epidemic in 2014/2015 did not directly affect the iron ore sector in the country, citing drop in prices of commodities as a major reason.  

Yusuf Bob Foday recently told journalists at their Howe Street offices in Freetown that before the Ebola outbreak in 2014 iron ore sector players, African Minerals and London Mining, could not produce much and the price per tonne of iron ore had dropped from US$103 in 2012 to below US$40 in 2014.

At least nine Sierra Leoneans, among them four women, have been left stranded for six days now in Vietnam and later Thailand after their Kenya Airways plane suffered “an engine problem”.

Speaking to Politico on the line from Bangkok, the passengers who were among over 200 other passengers said they were all government officials on their way from a seminar in China. 

By Isaac Massaquoi 

The controversial Mamamah Airport in Sierra Leone will go ahead as "all obstacles are now cleared", according to the outgoing Chinese ambassador to the country. 

Speaking today at a conferment ceremony awarding him an honorary doctorate degree by the University of Sierra Leone, Ambassador Zhao Yanbo said President Ernest Bai Koroma was scheduled to pay a state visit to China before the end of the year. 

By Kemo Cham

Sierra Leone has announced a major shift in its approach to immunisation campaigns ahead of the forthcoming mass vaccination against polio.

The new approach which aims at widening coverage of the targeted population means that henceforth the ministry of health will be engaging community stakeholders, including parents, rather than mere sensitisation, an official says. 

Sierra Leone is set to embark on the third round of mass polio immunisation from 30 September 3to 3 October.