EBOLA - A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER

CONFIRMATION OF THE DEADLY EBOLA VIRUS IN LIBERIA IS ALL THE MORE REASON FOR BORDERS TO BE CLOSED AS A PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE; THREAT IS A NATIONAL SECURITY MATTER NOW

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bola is now confirmed to be in Liberia according to Liberias Minister of Health Dr. Walter Gwenigale, but it seems the disease would be taking more away from adults Liberians in terms of intimate relationships. At a Press conference called by the Ministry of Information, Minister Gwenigale was clear about how far the disease can go in trampling on peoples right to associate and now it seems the most fundamental right to being together as a couple and the tie that binds (SEX) is under attack. But we have to tell you about the other thing also. I see some people smiling but I have to tell you all the facts so that you dont get yourself contaminated, said Dr. Gwenigale. For suspected people, body fluid includes semen, includes the sperm from a man; it includes vaginal fluids. If the people are suspected (to have Ebola), you have to abstain from having sexual relationships because you can get the disease that way also. So we have been talking about dont kiss, dont hold hands and so forth. Some Liberians have already expressed frustration about the news of abstaining from sex until the disease can be contained. We are gradually getting confused about these Ebola symptoms and the preventative measures. One day were not shaking hands; the next day were not having sex, said a Liberian only identifies as Kezo. It is worrisome for couples because if you say were not having sex and the message is not clear, I think we will have battle in bed with our fiancs. We think the health ministry should be clear on the issue. I dont think. Forty-Five Days without sex is kind of difficult. Keeping a close eye on the sick The government maintains that Lofa especially the Foya area is a critical place and Minister Gwenigale said that the medical group Medecin San Frontier has put a center for treatment close to the border with Guinea and Liberia. Foya area, now that MSF people have put a treatment center in Gegedou which is closer to our border, the reason that is important for us is that people who were moving from Guinea to come to Liberia for treatment will then stop, instead of crossing into Liberia for treatment because the Guinea treatment center has moved closer to our border, said Dr. Gwenigale. So now if we do not have people crossing from Guinea into Foya area its because they have now put a treatment center in Gegedou, near our border from the Guinea side.It is also that place that I understand that a lab has been put there to speedup the diagnosis for people, but you see it will still take some time for us. Now we are collecting samples from the Monrovia, Firestone area until we can setup different mechanisms we have to travel all the way up to Foya to be able to cross and give our samples to those people, so it will take time. Minister Gwenigale said the ministry would isolate people who are found with symptoms of the Ebola virus. We try to isolate that person and do a test, if the person is negative for the disease, we do not have to hold them. If they have the disease, we have to keep them, keep them separately from other people until they improve, even after if they improve they will continue to pass the virus for a time, so it is important for us make sure that we can not let the people that have been intouch with other people, we can not let them go without following them, said Dr. Gwenigale. The government disclosed that out of the seven samples of suspected persons sent to France for testing, two of those cases returned confirming that two persons were infected with the disease. Dr. Gwenigale said of the two, one person died while the other who happens to be a caretaker of the dead victim is still alive but under surveillance. The minister said this carrier of the disease who is now quarantined, may have contracted the disease after coming in contact with the disease after access to the dead relative. With respect to the lady that we have been following from Foya, the information we have, I told you that the husband pickup her from the parking lot and took her to Firestone, said Dr. Gwenigale narrating the story of the Ebola victim who traveled from Foya to Harbel after feeling symptoms of the disease. The Health Minister said that the sick woman came in contact with other people including her husband and child and that after being taken to a local clinic by her husband in the Harbel area, the woman was taken on a motorcycle and the ministry is also following the rider of the bike to find him. We are following them, I understand that the woman has three children and one of them the two year-old child was with her in Lofa and rode with her back to Monrovia, said Dr. Gwenigale. When she got home, her two other children were in school and Dr. Mabande called and told the father that because the woman had gone home with the sick lady, he should not allow the two children to come home so that they could not get contaminated with their mother and they should go to other relatives. GoL doing a lot

Dr. Gwenigale said the government through the ministry is doing a lot to fight the disease and will need the concerted effort of all to stop it from spreading to other parts of the country and that all is being done to get all those who came in contact with the woman. There are lots of things we are doing to try to prevent this virus.The driver, I told you we talked to the driver who brought the woman, so that we can know who other people followed her or were in that taxi with her, he said. It was also disclosed that the lady in question passed the night over in Chicken Soup factory at the home of the taxi driver who drove her from Foya. The minister aid the virus has a 90% fertility rate and it is not something that should be taken lightly. Minister Gwenigale is warning funeral homes not to accept remains of people that are suspected of dying from the disease. Out of every 10 people that get this disease, up to 9 will die, so it is not a play disease we are talking about, people must avoid contaminating themselves, he said. Continued Dr. Gwenigale: So we are doing all of that, the first time we met here, we talked about when people die, there are special people who know how to handle these bodies, if someone that is known like this woman now, if that person dies, we do not want the body to be taken to any funeral home, the body has to be buried immediately by trained people who will not contaminate themselves, and will wear special clothing to burry. If you touch the body of the person who has the disease, you will get the disease. Journalists beware!

Wade C. L. Williams, wade.williams@frontpageafricaonline.com

this person or that person. Please do not take pictures, unless you get a patient consent, a written and signed consent, you are not supposed to do that, the patient can sue you. No bush meat The ministry of Health with backing from the World Health Organization Liberia office is strongly discouraging Liberians from eating bush meat which forms an integral part of the Liberian local cuisine. Now bush meat, the reason we are putting this up is that in every village, people still have their single barrel gun hunting. This is one of the sources of the virus, the last time I went down to Grand Kru when I was going to Maryland, I saw dead monkeys hanging on the side of the road for sale, said Dr. Gwenigale. People are killing these animals here, so we have to be very careful, now through this medium we want to get all our county superintendents who are chairperson of health core, to work with the county health team for us to get together and organize meetings to see how they can protect the countiesIt is only local control, local involvement, local people helping to control themselves that we can prevent this disease. Border will remain opened The ministry continues to shoot down any suggestion that Liberias border with neighboring Guinea should be closed despite other countries move to do so like the recent closure of the Senegalese border with Guinea. WHO does not permit for us to close the country, the international health regulations are made by the countries, by the Ministers that meet in Geneva every year, they are the ones that put the law and say dont close the country when you have a situation like this; but we put people in a special place and prevent them from leaving from there so that they do not contaminate other people, said Dr. Gwenigale. The government will need US$1.2 Million, as confirmed by Dr. Dahn: For now it will require US$ 1.2 M for the intervention. We are looking at the different categories of intervention, education, which is the health promotion component, the case management, the surveillance. The case management includes the lab, the specimen transport and everything; surveillance includes following up patients, identifying patients, case findings and all those ones. We did a budgetand the budget was casted for over a three-month period. To date, 103 suspected and confirmed cases and 66 Ebola deaths have been reported in Guinea, eight suspected cases in Liberia including six deaths, as well as six suspected cases in Sierra Leona including five deaths. Investigations on these are under way. First discovered in DR Congo and Sudan in 1976, several outbreaks of this viral haemorrhagic fever have been reported in East and Central Africa, but not in West Africa. Guinea is one of the least developed countries, periodically hit by epidemics such as meningitis, yellow fever and especially cholera. On 22 March the Guinean Government revealed that Institut Pasteur in France had identified the Ebola filovirus in samples of cases initially associated with Lassa fever. The highly contagious, human to human transmission of Ebola occurs by simple contact with blood and body fluids. No vaccine or treatment is yet available for this pathogen, one of the world's most lethal with a case fatality rate of up to 90% depending on the strain.

The health minister and his team has issued a stern warning to journalists not to go looking for people who they may suspect to have the disease as a means of breaking a story to avoiding the danger of contacting the disease themselves. Let me say this I beg you, dont get contaminated by trying to do investigative reporting by going near people that may be sick, we will give you the information, said Dr. Gwenigale. People that are dead, we will try to give you the information, this why we have been coming here, this is why I have been coming here, this why we have a hot line, dont expose yourself by trying to go find out who has the disease by doing your own investigation, dont kill yourself in trying to help us spread the information. Information minister Lewis Brown also emphasized the importance of the ministers warning adding: Even the risk of exposing yourself beyond the journalistic ethics, the risk of exposing yourself and widening further the contact with people, by the time you go there and risk yourself, you come to the newsroom, you risk the entire newsroom and you widen the number of people that they have to monitor and cover as well. So please this is extremely, extremely important, we need your help not as a patient. But the Chief medical officer of Liberia Dr. Bernice Dahn was clear about the legal consequences of news outlets reporting on the sick and displaying photos of suspected victims. For the press, we will like for you to help us to educate the public, please do not go to suspected patients to take pictures, we all do that we have to protect patients confidentiality, she said. Continued Dr. Dahn: If you go and take a patient picture and put it in the newspaper, the patient can sue you, so please do not go and take pictures we have started getting calls already of press people going into homes to go and take pictures, please do not do that, when we come here to give you information, we give you general information, we dont call names. We know that in the communities, you will hear

EBOLA - A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER Confirmation of the deadly Ebola virus in Liberia is all the more
THE GOVERNMENT of Senegal has taken appropriate steps to ensure that the deadly Ebola virus does enter its shores by shutting down its land border with Guinea on Saturday. We feel Liberia must follow suit and shut down its borders until the disease can be contained. THE MEASURE was announced by Senegal's Interior Ministry which disclosed that it had closed the land border with Guinea in the southern region of Kolda and the southeastern region of Kedougou. "The governors of these regions have taken all the necessary steps to implement this decision," it said in a statement published by the official APS state news agency. SENEGAL has also said that it would introduce sanitary checks on flights between Dakar and the Guinean capital Conakry, where eight cases of Ebola have been confirmed, including one death. West African foreign ministers said at a conference in Ivory Coast this week the Ebola outbreak posed a "threat to regional security". AUTHORIES IN GUINEA have declared that the deadly virus is already responsible for the deaths of 70 people in what would be the deadliest outbreak in seven years. Guinea has also deployed a mobile laboratory to the southern region of Gueckedou to speed up identification of the disease and to test samples from Sierra Leone and Liberia. IN SIERRA LEONE, another of Liberias close neighbors, five people are suspected to have died of Ebola. The six deaths reported in Liberia in recent days and acknowledgement from the Minister of Health, Dr. Walter Gwenigale that two of five tests sent to France have proved positive is stirring concern that one of the most lethal infectious diseases known to man could spread in a poor corner of West Africa, where health systems are ill-equipped to cope. DR. WALTER GWENIGALE, Minister of Health and Social Welfare confirmed to FrontPageAfrica Sunday night that two out of five tests sent to France for examination have confirmed that the deadly Ebola virus is in territorial limits of Liberia. Dr. Gwenigale explained that one of the deaths reported in Foya, Lofa County last week was confirmed from the tests from France as positive with the Ebola virus. The lady who died from Foya was a result of Ebola and the woman taking care of her is still alive. However, she left Foya to come down to Firestone to her husband. We have searched and found her and has already instructed Dr. Mabande, the Medical Administrator at the Firestone Hospital to isolate her from people. DR. GWENIGALE explained that health authorities have also found the husband of the lady and that the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, USA has been notified. The confirmation comes as Liberia struggles in dealing with the anxiety associated with the reported outbreak of the deadly Ebola Virus in Guinea and its subsequent spreading to Liberia with over eight cases reported by health authorities, which by the end of last week had vanished. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT health authorities take the issue more seriously and nothing for granted. The woman in question should not have been allowed to leave Foya to come to Monrovia. LIBERIA MUST take a cue from Guinea where the disease first started. LAST WEEK, Remy Lamah, Guineas Minister of Health said the virus appeared to have been transmitted by a man who showed symptoms of haemorrhagic fever after visiting Dinguiraye in central Guinea, far from the identified outbreaks of Ebola in the remote south-east. Four of the man's brothers, who attended his funeral in the central town of Dabola, started to show the same symptoms and were tested for Ebola on their return to Conakry. The four have been placed in an isolation ward and the dead man's family has also been quarantined, the minister said. THESE ARE the kinds of measures authorities in Liberia should emulate to prevent the disease from entering the nations capital, Monrovia as has been the case in Guinea where the spread of the disease to Conakry, a city of some two million people, marks an escalation in the Ebola outbreak in Guinea. THE CONFIRMATION by Dr. Gwenigale of the presence of the disease in Liberia contradicts statements made on March 26, 2014 by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare that there were no new suspected cases of the viral hemorrhagic fever and that the number of suspected cases remains at six with four deaths since March 24, 2016. The National Legislature has announced that some US$1.2 million dollars is required to help curb the spread of the disease. WHILE WE welcome initial efforts by the government to curb the spread of the disease, priority number one must be to shut down the borders with both Sierra Leone and Guinea until adequate measures are put in place to curb the spread of the disease. THE GOVERNMENT must also take steps in working with international aid groups like Doctors Without Borders and Plan International to launch a massive education drive as is currently
v

FrontPage COMMENTARY EDITORIAL AFRICA: EUROPE AND AFRICA v

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

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Commentary

reason for borders to be closed as a precautionary measure; threat is a national security matter now

CROCODILES WITH ONE STOMACH

Dr Damien Helly, policy officer at the European Centre for Development Policy Management

wo heads, one stomach? This is how a former minister described Africa-Europe relations last month, using the West African metaphor of anAdinkra crocodile to say both continents are dependent on one another. As the European Union-African Union summit begins in Brussels on Wednesday, the two continents are at a crossroads, raising the question: will the summit breathe a new spirit into the beast and bring it new life? Or put another way: will the crocodile swim and run faster or perhaps even fly? To achieve a coherent partnership, heads of state and government have three opportunities to seize in Brussels. First, there is an opportunity for all states of each continent to appear united in front of another global partner. In other words, the summit is an opportunity for leaders of both sides to think strategically about their collective continental interests and values. On the African side, pan-Africanism is a strong force for unity. Of course there are many forms of pan-Africanism. Pan-Africanism, no matter whether through the lenses of Nkrumah, Senghor, Mandela, Mbeki, Nasser or Gaddafi, is now anchored in a variety of strategic decisions and unprecedentedly ambitious continental initiatives in the name of the AU. Although it is still a young organisation facing challenges, the AU has one single face thanks to the strong chairperson of the AU Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. It has plans for itself with its 2063 agenda, its continental infrastructure programme (PIDA), its agriculture and food strategy (CAADP) and its regional integration schemes. However, one also has to recognise that a number of strong African leaders are keen to retain their leading role in handling international affairs and may therefore view increased African unity with suspicion. On the European side, unity is slowly consolidating four years after the Lisbon Treaty, the latest treaty ruling the EU, came into force. Yet, while Africa is quite clearly defined by its geography, the question of Europe's borders remains largely open, as demonstrated by the crisis over Ukraine. Hence the question arises: can Europe with its numerous faces - the heads of powerful states, the President of the European Commission (EC), the High Representative for Foreign Policy and the various commissioners for trade or development - be united in front of Africa? For Africa and Europe, the summit could help each continent reassert its unity as a power bloc in a world marked by a shift of power to the East. The second opportunity the summit offers is a chance to refresh and possibly upgrade each continent's international strategy. The African Union and the European Union are each now working to shape their own distinctive, consistent and sustainable continental positions internationally. They have no choice but to do it together on global

matters such as economic growth, trade and climate change. In the last decades, the strategies driving relations between the two continents have become much more sophisticated. In the field of peace and security, both sides have worked jointly to make the African peace and security architecture (APSA) a reality. Today, the African peace support operation in Somalia (AMISOM) and international efforts to consolidate peace in Somalia are clear examples of sharpened African and European strategies to address common threats. In the Sahel, the EU and the AU have designed tailored regional strategies in coordination with the United Nations, ECOWAS and other international organisations dealing with security and development. Recent stock tacking exercises have demonstrated that both sides are acting more strategically with one another in a number of other areas too, such as research, space and satellite and cultural cooperation. This does not mean that there are no disagreements, but at least each side is becoming clearer about what it wants and what it does not want. They also are both committed, at least on paper, to strengthen their own continental normative frameworks to pursue their fundamental values and principles through a number of treaties (Lisbon Treaty), charters (the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights) and constitutive acts (the AU constitutive act). Both sides need to get back to what unites them internally and see if it matches the other continent's interests. All the contentious issues currently being discussed on the eve of the summit - homosexual rights, Economic Partnership Agreements, declarations on migration, agriculture, implementing structure and a document on the way forward - will undermine internal integration efforts on both continents if they are not addressed with the unity imperative in mind, and in a strategic and long-term perspective. The third opportunity the Brussels summit offers to heads of state and government is to seek agreement on principles that bring both sides closer: faith in trust-building, peace and security, alignment with existing African and European growth strategies, available funding, and, above all, commitment to deeper dialogue and concrete action with earmarked funding on sensitive issues. The implementation of technicalities and day-to-day relations won't be in the gift of heads of state and government, but they are the ones who can set the tone and the mood of the relations for the next decade. Also, as a high-level official recently said, summits are not an end in themselves, and it would be a mistake to try to address all irritants simultaneously. This is not the way diplomacy works, and it would surely make the crocodile sick. Dr Damien Helly is a policy officer at the European Centre for Development Policy Management. recorded in 1976 in what is now Democratic Republic of Congo, but this is the first fatal outbreak in West Africa. MAKE NO MISTAKE, Ebola is not only a health issue but a security issue as well. Fears and apprehensions about the disease are already causing many to panic and fear has gripped parts of the country where the signs of the disease are visible. THESE IS WHY authorities must begin to consider temporarily shutting down borders with Guinea, Sierra Leone and other neighboring nations where the disease is gaining traction. This is the only way we can be sure that the government is serious about curbing the spread and the threat of the killer virus.

being done in Guinea about how the disease is spread, and work to identify and isolate anyone who may have been exposed. THIS IS NECESSARY because there is no cure for the disease and the virus strain in Guinea has a fatality rate of up to 90 percent. Some 111 people have fallen ill already and authorities in neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone are also investigating suspected cases. The Ebola virus causes severe hemorrhagic fever in patients, in some cases leading to grisly deaths as patients bleed both internally and externally. Its initial symptoms high fever, headache and weakness can mimic malaria. EBOLA HAS KILLED more than 1,500 people since it was first

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WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT OUR STORIES ON THE WORLDWIDE WEB

Send your letters and comments to: editor@frontpageafricaonline.com

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Tuesday, April 1, 2014

COMMENTS FROM FPA ONLINE

FINANCE MINISTER TAKES RESPONSIBILITY FOR BUDGET SHORTFALL

NOT IN MY CHARACTERS:
The Editor

YOU WRITE; WE PUBLISH; THEY READ!

SELTUE R KARWEAYE SR. UPPSALA UNIVERSITY This Dude since taking over at the Ministry of Finance keep accepting responsibilities for budget shortfalls. This is called inefficiency! One would have expected that the over-hyped One Year Performance Contract signed between President Sirleaf and her Ministers would lead to the weeding out of non performing Ministers, or the Directors General of Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDA) that fall short on performance and implementation, but in spite of the dismal 2012/13 figures, they have all mostly retained their positions. So I am not surprised at the new budget short fall in the tune of US 47 Million in the 2013/2014 budget. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is Insanity."Albert Albert Einstein JAY WION WORKS AT NPRC "Foh me par, my mouth full ya Liberian people." Like his boss, Ma Ellen, they both "GRADUATED?" from Havard University. One admitted to failing economics and the other got an IT certificate, and you put all of that together and you get VOODOO economics, or what I call "Ellenomics." So wipe your tears and say your prayers for the 12 nightmare years aren't over yet; and then the Old Ma will hand the Throne over to him come 2017 or to another flunkie crook. Jerry Wehtee Wion, Washington DC USA MICHAEL PAYE GONQUOI MANAGER AT SELFEMPLOYED There will always be budget shortfall, and the reason is known. This is the third consecutive repetition in budget shortfall with long explanation, and the long explanation has not yet solved the problem in three consecutive fiscal years. JOHNSON WAH ST. FRANCIS HIGH SCHOOL, MARYLAND COUNTY, LIBERIA I think the minister was wrong politically, to say he takes the blame for budget short fall, given the explanation he puts forward as being reason for the shortfall. But If he admits that he made a mistake for making a major financial projection that caused the economy of a whole Nation to hit "red", then the honorable thing to do is to resign, as a public official. GEORGE RAMBO BUDGET ASSISTANT AT UNITED NATIONS MISSION IN LIBERIA (UNMIL) There is a need to increase revenue collection especially on luxury goods. Also, the collection of real estate tax should be enforced across the country. MASSA MAGNIFICENT CRAYTON COUNTRY REPRESENTATIVE AT OSIWA Apply the income tax law across the board for ALL income; cash (US$ and L$) and kind, as stipulated n that will also help in the revenue collection.

LFA PRESIDENT MUSA BILITY SLAMS UNETHICAL MARTEH

LIBERIA LEGISLATURE APPROVES KUWAITI PETROLEUM DEAL

MOSES HARRIS TOP COMMENTER WORKS AT RETIRED I pray that there are additional funds for this project because, with all that is mentioned to be undertaken with the US$14 million, I say, this amount is inadequate. NPA, just the cost of the purchase of the marine equipment and the removal of the shipwreck will consume most, if not all, of the loan amount. Please make all efforts to make this port fully operational in order to repay this loan at it's maturity as most lenders will, in the future, will think of waving our loans; after all the bad publicity (corruption) we are receiving nationally as well as internationally.
The comments expressed here are those of our online readers and bloggers and do no represent the views of FrontPageAfrica

or once I'm constrained to respond to a story about my person which is replete with lies and unethical journalism promulgated by a rather ruthless and half educated journalist whose sole intent here is to avenge the miserable trashing of his mentor and bread winner in the just ended LFA elections. I'm referring to Mr. Danesius Marteh of FrontPageAfrica news outfits. Unfortunately, Mr. Marteh has been given a rather credible outpost for his unprofessional and criminal onslaught on the hard earned characters of people in the football community. It is my fervent hope that FrontPageAfrica will put a check on Mr. Marteh in order to protect it's hard earned reputation among our many news outlets in Liberia. Contrary to what Mr. Marteh reported in his stinging attack on my characters regarding tax fraud as he calls it, I was never convicted of any crime be it tax or otherwise. For the benefit of this medium, let me say that My companies pay almost $500,000 every quarter in tax and charges to the government of Liberia and LPRC respectively for the last 10 years. This figure has only increased up to present. May be it is hard for people like Mr. Marteh to appreciate that some of us do work hard and make such money. I'm proud to be one of few Liberians that can Boast of such business. The truth of this matter is that My company had a disagreement with authorities of the Ministry of Finance over a specific tax bill of $380,000 which we received regarding my tax obligation. And to the point that I was not willing to be bullied by any one, I politely informed the Ministry that their figures were wrong and the amount we owe was only $180,000 and we went on to produce a set of official receipts substantiating our claims.

DISCLAIMER

Rodney D. Sieh, Managing Editor, 0886-738-666; 077-936-138, editor@FrontPageAfricaonline.com; rodney.sieh@FrontPageAfricaonline.com Wade C. L. Williams, News Desk Chief, wade. williams@frontpageafricaonline.com; 0880664793 Francis F.B. Mulbah, Layout Editor; 0886639382 REPORTERS Sports Editor, Danesius Marteh, danesius.marteh@ frontpageafricaonline.com, 0886236528 Henry Karmo, henry.karmo@frontpageafricaonline. com Al-varney Rogers al.rogers@frontpageafricaonline. com, 0886-304498

EDITORIAL TEAM

Bent on enforcing their version of this claim, the ministry insisted that I pay $380,000 instead. I refused and we ended up in court. I went to court insisting that i did not owe the amount they wanted me pay and provided the court with a set of CBL deposit receipts which authenticity the Ministry questioned in opened court. The court ruled that CBL must come to court to ascertain whether or not the Government's claim was indeed correct. CBL appeared in opened court and testified that indeed my payment receipts were legitimate and that those receipts represented payments that had been made by my company into the account of the government. And so the court ruled in my favor and ordered that i only pay the amount that I had earlier insisted on paying. Therefore, I won the case against the government. That was widely reported in many media outlets in Liberia. The issue had never been about me been "found guilty of tax fraud", it's always been about me and the Ministry of Finance not agreeing on the terms and condition of settlement. I'm very sure by now that many of you are surprised by this revelation. But this is what happens when we resign our fate to sleazy, lazy, and half educated people who masquerade as journalists to write trash about people simply because they have been given the platform built on the hard work of other people. The ruling by Judge Mappy is a public document. I challenge Mr, Marteh to bring anything to the contrary. I refer you all to the Heritage news paper which extensively reported on this case from start to finish. This paper and three other papers including the new down reported that I won the government in this case. This is the fact, and nothing but the fact. As for Mr. Marteh, I'm very much aware of his mission to discredit the LFA. But I promise him failure. I came to LFA on a mission with a vision. I have no plan to abandon this to the whims and caprices of people who have no appreciation for where we have brought football thus far. I'm very much aware that we have much more to do, but I challenge anyone to show that any Administration before us has done better. Our mission is to change the course of the decline in our game and build institutions that will last beyond our tenure at LFA. For this there is no turning back. And if anyone thinks that they can stand in our way, after we received a mandate from our stakeholders, we will move you from our way. Undoing what we have proudly achieved is simply not to be considered. For the Game. For the World.

Sports Reporter, A. Macaulay Sombai,macaulay.sombai@ FrontpageAfricaonline.com, 077217428 COUNTY NEWS TEAM Grand Bassa, Alpha Daffae Senkpeni, 0777432042 Bong County, Selma Lomax, selma.lomax@ frontpageafricaonline.com, 0886-484666 Sinoe County, Leroy N.S Kanmoh, leroy.kanmoh@ frontpageafricaonline.com 0886257528 BUSINESS/ADVERTISING Kadi Coleman Porte, 0886-304-178/ 0777832753, advertise@ frontpageafricaonline.com

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

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EBOLA BORDER THREATS

T
Monrovia he decision by Senegal to shut down its borders with Guinea on Saturday in a bid to try to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus is raising concerns in other West African nations that the crisis could push others to follow suit. Although Guinea has taken exception to the move by Senegal, some health experts are not ruling out the move as a key step to curtailing the spread of the disease. A spokesman for the Guinean government said it had not received any official notification of Senegal's decision and that the extent of the epidemic is being exaggerated and only 19 cases of Ebola have officially been confirmed by laboratory tests. We've taken strict measures to stop this epidemic and there is no reason to panic," Damantang Albert Camara told Reuters. Guinean authorities say the disease is suspected of killing 70 people in what would be the deadliest outbreak in seven years. The discovery of 11 people suspected to have died of Ebola in Sierra Leone and Liberia in recent days has stirred concern that one of the most lethal infectious diseases known to man could spread in a poor corner of West Africa, where health systems are ill-equipped to cope. Liberia has confirmed two patients have tested positive for the deadly Ebola virus, which is already believed to have killed at least 70 people in neighboring Guinea. The decision by Senegal was followed by confirmation from Liberia Sunday that two tests sent to France for examination have confirmed the existence of the virus in Liberia. Dr. Walter Gwenigale, Minister of Health confirmed to FrontPageAfrica Sunday that one patient was married to a Guinean man and had returned ill from a recent trip there. She died in Lofa County. The second patient is the sister of the dead woman. Gwenigale said the woman is alive and has been isolated in a medical centre outside of Monrovia, declining to give further details "because we don't want to cause panic". Last week, health authorities in Guinea confirmed that dozens of victims of hemorrhagic fever in the country's southern region had tested positive for Ebola. Cases have also been confirmed in the capital, Conakry. Senegal's Interior Ministry said it had closed the land border with Guinea in the southern region of Kolda and the southeastern region of Kedougou. "The governors of these regions have taken all the necessary steps to implement this decision," it said in a statement published by the official APS state news agency. A spokesman for Guinea's government said it had not received any official notification

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EBOLA

Senegal Takes the Lead in Shutting Down Border, will others follow?

of Senegal's decision. The extent of the epidemic is being exaggerated and only 19 cases of Ebola have officially been confirmed by laboratory tests, he added. "We've taken strict measures to stop this epidemic and there is no reason to panic," Damantang Albert Camara told Reuters. Senegal announced on Friday it would introduce sanitary checks on flights between Dakar and the Guinean capital Conakry, where eight cases of Ebola have been confirmed, including one death. West African foreign ministers said at a conference in Ivory Coast this week the Ebola outbreak posed a "threat to regional security". If the 70 deaths to date are all confirmed as Ebola, it would be the most deadly epidemic since 187 people died in Luebo, in Congo's Kasai Orientale province, in 2007. "STRICT HYGIENE MEASURES" The vast majority of the cases in Guinea have been detected in the country's remote southeast, near the border with Sierra Leone and Liberia. It took authorities nearly six weeks to identify it as Ebola, allowing the virus to spread. The arrival of the disease this week in the capital Conakry, where hundreds of thousands of people live tightly packed in rambling shanties, marked a sharp increase in the population at risk compared with the sparsely populated villages of the forested interior. Sakoba Keita, head of the prevention division of Guinea's Health Ministry, said there was no cause for alarm in Conakry

as the spread of Ebola could be tackled by simple sanitary steps such as regular hand washing and the quarantine of victims. "There have been delays in applying certain measures in our health system," Keita told a news conference, noting six medical staff were among those killed by the disease. "From today, strict hygiene measures will be observed in our hospitals." There is no vaccine and no known cure for Ebola, which initially induces fever, headaches, muscle pain and weakness. In its more acute phase, Ebola causes vomiting; diarrhoea and external bleeding that carry the virus outside victims' bodies and threaten to infect anyone who touches them. Ebola has killed more than 1,500 people since it was first recorded in 1976 in what is now Democratic Republic of Congo, but this is the first fatal outbreak in West Africa. Guinea is deploying a mobile laboratory to the southern region of Gueckedou to speed up identification of the disease and to test samples from Sierra Leone and Liberia. No treatment or vaccine is available for Ebola, a highly infectious and virulent disease which can cause uncontrollable bleeding. The Zaire strain detected in Guinea, first recorded 38 years ago in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, has a 90 percent death rate. It can be transmitted to humans from wild animals, and between humans through direct contact with blood, bodily fluids or the unprotected handling of contaminated corpses.

EB OLA IN LIBERIA
Summary statistics No Summary of cases Total Number 1 New suspect cases today 1 2 New deaths 0 3 Cumulative cases (Suspected cases) 7 4 Cumulative deaths (probable) 4 5 Total number of cases on admission 0 6 Cummulative cases discharged 2 7 Runaways from isolation 0 8 Number of contacts listed 0 9 Total contacts that completed 21 day follow-up 0 10 Contacts under follow-up 27 11 Total number of contacts followed up today 27 12 Current admissions of Health Care Workers 0 13 Cummulative cases of Health Care Workers 0 14 Cummulative deaths of Health Care Workers 0 15 Specimens collected today 1 16 Total specimens collected 5 17 Cummulative cases with lab. confirmation (acute) Cummulative cases with lab. confirmation (convalescent) 0 0 18 Date of admission of last of confirmed case 0 19 Cummulative confirmed cases that have died 0 **Erratum: Two of the cases (one death and one on admission) reported from Zorzor Curran Hospital, Zorzor district, Lofa County, does not conform to the case definition following clinical verification. Therefore the total suspected cases was 6 not 8. 1. Situation in the field One new suspected case reported from Ganta Methodist Hospital, Nimba County. Case Fatality is zero percent. To date a cumulative total of 7 suspected cases with 4 deaths have been reported (Case fatality rate 43%). One

Page 6 | Frontpage

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

CELLCOM DEMONSTRATES LEADERSHIP AND COMMITMENT, AS COMPANY FULFILLS TRIP TO NEW YORK CAMPAIGN

he Roberts International Airport was a scene of jubilation and celebration on March 27th as twelve lucky winners of Cellcoms Trip to New York Campaign boarded a Royal Air Maroc flight headed to Casablanca and New York. The twelve individuals won the trip from Cellcom earlier this year, after they purchased a $15 Dual Sim phone, which automatically entered them into the raffle for a chance to win a round trip ticket to New York along with free hotel accommodations at a world class hotel and US$1,000 for a shopping spree. Prior to the departure, executives from Cellcom and Royal Air Maroc held a joint press conference at the Royal Grand Hotel in Sinkor where they presented air tickets to each of the winners. Cellcoms Corporate Communications Strategist Dr. Kimmie Weeks revealed that he was proud to be associated with a company which set a goal to empower Liberians and was able to fulfill those goals. Today is a proud day for me as I stand here. I am proud because Cellcom has not only afforded twelve Liberians the chance to go to the United States for the first time, but unlike other companies Cellcom has stood by its words. He went on to outline that the winners from the Oh la la trip to Paris were processing visas for their travel and would be departing shortly. For those of you out there who did not win the trip to New York or Paris, you know have the chance to enter the raffle for the trip to the Holy Land simply by purchasing a $15 Dual Sim phone from Cellcom, Weeks said. The winners of the New York trip were accompanied by senior officials from Cellcom and Royal Air Maroc including CEO Mr. John Vasikaran who accompanied the winners to the airport at midnight and stayed with them until their departure at 5 AM. We are as excited as you are said Mr. Vasikaran as he spoke to the winners in the VIP room of the Roberts International Airport. He continued: there were many who thought this would not happen and that we would not actually send anybody out of Liberia, but today is proof that when Cellcom says something, we do it. Thats why we remain number one in the hearts and minds of Liberians. Vasikaran and his high level team accompanied the winners through immigration, onto the runway and did a final farewell at the door of the waiting Royal Air Maroc flight. The twelve winners are: Cooper Melvin Gotteh, Beyan Tarnue, Mulbah Z. Forkpa, Morris Kanneh, Oussini Morris Seydou, Tarley Dweh, George Jallah, Lassana A. Sanoe, Alphonso Gray, Cathrine Dolo, Varney Bah and Otis Sawah. In another development Cellcom and Royal Air Morac had play a very pivotal role in ensuring that rest of the winners who was unable to obtained a Visa from the US embassy go to Morocco instead. Cellcom had to ensure that one of its representative travel to Guinea by road just to make sure that a Visa was obtained for the rest of the winners who are currently in Morocco. During the departure the CEO noted that this wasnt easy but in the end I am very happy cause

our winners are all traveling today. Royal Air Maroc Country Manager Mr. Nabil Daoud had put tremendous efforts in ensuring that the Visa from the Moroccan embassy in Conakry were obtained.

CEO, VP and winners pose for photograph

Royal Air Marocs Country Manager Mr. Nabil Daoud noted that his company had partnered with Cellcom on the Trip to New York campaign because they could not imagine a better company to work with. Cellcom had already been engaged in multiple campaigns like this and we could not think about a better partner to work with on this and other trips abroad. He noted: When you think about the lowest tariffs for communications in Liberia, Cellcom comes to mind. When you are looking for the airline with the lowest costs to the United States Air Maroc comes to mind because our tickets are as low

as $900, which cannot be beaten by anybody. He also unveiled that Royal Air Marocs new website where customers can now make reservations, book tickets and pay for them online. We have sought to make travel easy and affordable. Customers wanting to book flights now simply have to go to: http://www.royalairmaroc.com/ lr-en to do so, Mr. Nabil Daoud noted. The trip to New York winners are expected to spend one week abroad before returning to Liberia where they will again be welcomed in grand style. Winners of Cellcoms trip to Paris campaign are expected to depart Liberia in the next several weeks via Ivory Cost while Cellcom plans to begin selecting winners for the trip to the Holy Land shortly. In related developments during the

same week, Cellcom held a press conference where it presented a 1 million dollar check to the winner of its Millionaire campaign. Dr. Weeks noted that there are still million dollar scratch cards on the market and more subscribers stood a chance to win. I know that people thought that all the million dollar winners had already been selected, but todays surprise win by Mr. Amadou Toure shows that there are still winning cards out there and there could be more winners. Cellcoms ongoing raffle will enable winners to travel to Holy Land and visit some of the most historic religious sites and enjoy spectacular tours of the country. Over the years, Cellcom has given away millions of dollars in prizes and giveaways to its subscribers.

6a | Frontpage Page 12

Suakoko, Bong County hey are the scum of the earth, the rejects of the society. They are lepers and former leprosy sufferers, now condemned to a life of misery and loneliness in place located far away from the society. But even where they are, these lepers and ex-leprosy sufferers still have no cause for cheer. Today, the leprosy colony in Suakoko, Bong County is in bad condition. The inmates lack access to basic healthcare, good accommodation, food, clothing and general welfare, FrontPageAfrica can confirm. The area, FrontPageAfrica has gathered, was built by missionaries during the colonial era. However, since the missionaries left, most of them have been abandoned and the structures are left to rot away. The Suakoko Leprosy Center is in a pitiable state. This center, which is tucked away between Harris town and Sergeant Kollie towns, paints a picture of abandonment and total neglect. Apart from the signpost, directing people to the Suakoko Leprosy School, erected by children of affected parents FrontPageAfrica gathered, the only signboard, which tells you that you are approaching the leprosy center in Harris farm, is not prominent enough. A narrow and dilapidated road leads you to a quiet and solitary environment where leprosy patients, presently undergoing treatment are accommodated. On entering the place, a picture of undeniable isolation and quietness welcomes you. You see the utter negligence and lack of concern from relevant authorities. Although the center, like many others, occupies a large expanse of land but the level of neglect of infrastructure and patients, inhabiting the environment is pitiable. Except for the neatness of immediate environment reception area, most parts of the large expanse of land have been taken over by bush. Obviously due to the massive nature of the center, maintenance has proved a difficult task as many of the structures are old, rusty and have become uninhabitable. The tuberculosis center is dilapidated, not functional and lacks facilities and drugs. Apart from the presence of an untrained nurse at the reception, the center looks desolate. As one approaches the ward, pity and despair are visibly seen on the faces of the patients, who are suffering from different degrees of physical disability. Loneliness has also become a permanent feature of the inmates as most of them are from poor homes and have obviously been abandoned there. FrontPageAfrica gathered that many of them had been rejected by their family members and communities. Those of them, who are a little lucky, have few relatives, coming to visit them once in a while. Stigmatization is the primary problem of both the ex-patients and those living at the center. People do not want to associate with them for fear of contacting the ailment. This applies to even their immediate family members. Many inmates spoken with, including staff of the center, lamented neglect by people and government. They lack basic infrastructure and also complain of inadequate water supply and electricity, among other basic necessities. They said the only primary and secondary schools being attended by children of the patients lacked government attention. The only hand pump that once provided water for the inmates has also packed up but once in a while. However, since the only hope for survival for this rejected group lies in the hands of their maker, they take solace in prayers. Every Sunday, the ex-patients troop in their numbers to different churches. According to FrontPageAfrica findings, love still finds its way even among the ex-patients. Marriages are contracted among the inmates with reproduction occurring at various times and because the disease is not hereditary, their offspring are normal, healthy children. A couple who pleaded anonymity told this reporter that they met at the center and have six children. The woman, who was admitted into the center in 1998, had been previously married with two kids before she contacted the disease and got married to her present husband, an ex-patient. As for their means of livelihood and sustainability, many of the ex-patients told FrontPageAfrica that because of their various degrees of physical disability, they were not able to do much beyond some gardening. Many of the children are able to get some jobs in the town.

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COUNTY NEWS

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

THE REJECTED ONES

By Selma Lomax, selma.lomax@frontpageafricaonline.com

TEARS AND TALES OF LEPERS IN BONG COUNTY

Children of Lepers at the Suakoko Leprosy School

The Suakoko Leprosy School only has one teacher catering to a more than 100 pupils

A partial view of Suakoko Leprosy Center

The families appealed to the Government of Liberia to come to their aid in training their children, saying establishment of skill acquisition centers in the home would benefit them most. The center is in a very poor sanitary condition. The wards, especially the male wards, are dirty and lack the basic needs that would help patients recover. The same outlook of neglect also hangs in the female wards where patients suffer various degrees of physical disability. Top on the priority list of many of the inmates are clutches, especially the males. The bathrooms and toilets are simply in horrid sanitary condition. Some of the aged inmates, who have completed their treatment but still live in the center, complained of insensitivity of people that mattered. This abandoned lot can only depend on small handouts from some good-spirited Liberians and non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that come from time to time to provide them with clothing, blankets, antiseptics and foodstuffs. The oldest male patient at the Suakoko Leprosy Center, who has spent well over 10 years, is also chairman of the male ward. Another male patient, who has also lived there for about six years, told FrontPageAfrica that even though he wasnt cured of leprosy, he had benefited from his period of stay at the center. He revealed that his daughter, a graduate of graduate of Cuttington University, was offered a job at the Phebe hospital. That, he said, gladdened his heart. According to FrontPageAfrica investigations, if only the relevant authorities and stakeholders would provide a little more care and live up to their responsibilities, the former leprosy sufferers, living at the center, would have a better life. Those at Harris town as well as those who have taken up permanent residence by the wayside will seek a better way of earning a living. One of the ex-sufferers confided in FrontPageAfrica: If government had taken care of us after we have been cured and leave the wards, we wouldnt come onto the major roads, begging for money to feed. Many of us have been here for as long as eight to 10 years after our treatment but because there is no rehabilitation project or anything put in place to help us begin life again, we all live here without help from anybody, not even our immediate families or our communities. Of course, you know, people do not want to associate with us. So, we cannot go anywhere again. The investigation shows that many of the ex-leprosy sufferers, who besiege Suakoko market every Friday, come from the center. They would struggle to the roads in their hundreds, begging for handouts from road travellers. We have to do that since nobody caters for us. We cant just sit down, fold our hands and die of hunger, another inmate told the reporter.

REGULATOR STILL IN LACC DRAGNET

Commission on Higher Education Director General long Corruption tale

V
Monrovia

KWAME CLEMENT UPBEAT ON NEW LAW FIRM IN LIBERIA

EXCITING VENTURE

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

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NEWS EXTRA

Frontpage

Page 13 6b

eteran Liberian US-based lawyer and journalist, Cllr. Kwame Clement is back in his homeland and upbeat about his new venture, the official launch of a law firm in his native Liberia, he described Monday as an exciting process. Cllr. Clement admitted that while he is enjoying his new career in law, he has always love broadcasting but through the practice of law, he has come to the realization that law plays a vital role in society. According to him, as a refugee from Liberia, law provided him a source of living in the United States of America. When I went to the US as a refugee, it allowed me to make a living to work and to put money in my pocket but practicing law also thought me the vital role law plays in society. You know our dreams, you dream to know what are the facts, and then you must identify the issues that need to be resolved and then you must apply the law to the facts to resolve the issues and set forth your rationale for the conclusion of the issues, the lawyer stated. In legal practice, he disclosed that some cases are complicated and as such lawyers must identify the issues before moving to resolve them, noting that it makes law a special profession. Pro bono lawyer -Ready to Help Liberians With a judiciary system in Liberia that has been persistently criticized for corruption and violation of human rights, Clement said he is ready to begin helping poor Liberians. We want to start up doing serious pro bono work, we understand the number of people in jail, some been there for three to four years for the simplest of crimes and pre trial detention last very long and we think we can make some contributions in that regard, he assured. He praised the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia for contributing to his legal sojourn, indicating that through the rigorous program in Liberia he was able to sit the US state of New York Bar test making a successful pass. Generally, he said Liberia is a great country and the people should be proud of their country although it has been through turbulent times but Liberians should still appreciate their country. We are at a historical crossroad, we can choose a path to continue financial progress, stagnation, anything retrogression but I think we also have the opportunity to also choose a path of broadly shared prosperity and security, we can do so by committing ourselves not to one political party or one person but we can do so by committing ourselves to a set of ideas, a set of principles, a set of vision that can transform our country for the better, the lawyer said. Cllr. Eugene Bull from the United States, who was also at the opening, said he was on the hiring committee back in the US when Clement applied and his resume was quite impressive. Clement, Clr. Bull said had gone to law school in the US, after all of the events in Liberia, and

During an interview on his popular television show, "The African World,"Kwame Clement, J.D. '98 (right), shakes hands with the President of Botswana, H.E. Seretse Khama Ian Khama.
He later applied for a J.D. at GW. Clement later joined the prestigious Arnold & Porter lawfirm After graduating from GW, Mr. Clement won a clerkship with Carlos Lucero, J.D. '64, a federal judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Colorado. Mr. Clement returned to Arnold & Porter after clerking for the judge, and worked in antitrust and securities law until 2006. In 2006, Clement launched a television program called "The African World," which, he says, responds to the often unflattering coverage Africa receives in American media. The same year, Clement was part of the Arnold and Potter team commercial litigation team which earned a major victory on behalf of Keystone Holdings Partners, LP and its principal investor, Robert M. Bass, when the US Court of Federal Claims awarded Keystone's former subsidiary Bank US$401.5 American Savings million in restitution and damages in a breach of contract action against the United States. Arnold & Porter's commercial litigation group is currently at the forefront of litigation involving a wide variety of complex commercial and financial issues, and has developed significant experience in the development and presentation of complex damages claims. In 2007, Clement was invited by former President Bill Clinton to moderate a panel at the Clinton Global Initiative in 2007. He has also moderated panels at the Global Health Councils annual conferences.

BIRTHDAY GREETINGS

finished as one of the top of his class, because he came the 3rd or 4th in a class of 500 students, and I tell you that is not an easy accomplishment, Bull said. In no time, he was accepted and everybody was excited to have him on board. On many occasions I have been able to talk to Kwame and he has a passion for Liberia. And I am happy that he is now in Liberia and getting his foot print on the ground. He has always been an inspiration to a generation of Liberians and to some of us in the US said Cllr. Bull. He further said even though he and Kwame argued many times because they have not always been on the same side of issues but said

they have always been on the same side of the principle. Clement is a founding member of a political party in Liberia, the Alternative National Congress (ANC) and many believe he could use the law firm through pro bono work to sell the new political party. Clement fled Liberia along with his wife in July 1990 and received political asylum in the United States. The former University of Liberia Student Leaders received an economics degree from the University of Liberia. In the U.S., he applied and gained entry to a paralegal program at George Washington. He graduated at the head of his class in 1992.

Prudence Fatta Trawally aka Royal P

Birthday wishes for my Princess Prudence Fatta Trawally, aka Royal P of the J.J. Roberts Methodist School, who celebrates her natal day today, April 1, 2014. We cant let this day passed without wishing you the best of love. From your Daddy Sidiki Trawally, Mother Adeline N. Sonpon, and Brothers - Sidiki Trawally Jr, Alieu Trawally (USA) and Winston Gibson; your sisters Aisha Trawally (USA) and Evelyn Wede Cardio

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Frontpage

Page 7

CELLCOM DEMONSTRATES LEADERSHIP AND COMMITMENT, AS COMPANY FULFILLS TRIP TO NEW YORK CAMPAIGN

Cellcom CEO Post for Picture with Winner as VP looks on

CEO Accompany winners on Shuttle Bus

CEO of Cellcom Congratulate winners as they board the Plane for New York

CEO, VP and winners pose for photograp

Winners present their passports and tickets at counter

Winners Pose for Picture with Cellcom executives

Winners arriving at Roberts Internatinal Airport for New York

Winners at Roberts Internatinal Airport for New York

Page 8 | Frontpage

hile Acknowledging the existence of a U.S. Government funded report on governance labeled Sensitive But Unclassified(SBU) which was recently obtained by FrontPageAfrica and used as the backdrop for a number of publications this week, to highlight several governance lapses in the Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf-led government, the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia says FrontPageAfrica

LIBERIA GOVERNANCE STAKEHOLDER SURVEY THE REPORT LIBERIAS STAKEHOLDERS DID NOT WANT YOU TO SEE

quoted selectively from the document and took many things out of context. The US Embassy statement reads: Recent articles in Front Page Africa (FPA) quote a U.S. Government funded report on governance. This was a report intended for internal use to assist us in project development. The U.S. Government conducts such assessments in countries where it works to better understand the

LIBERIA

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

impact of our programming and assistance. Unfortunately, the newspaper quoted selectively from the document, taking many things out of context. We urge all members of the media to remain objective in their reporting. Beginning today, we will begin publishing verbatim in both online and print, the entire 124-page LEAKED document and let our readers judge the report and its context for themselves.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

LIBERIA GOVERNANCE STAKEHOLDER SURVEY THE REPORT LIBERIAS STAKEHOLDERS DID NOT WANT YOU TO SEE

LIBERIA

Frontpage

Page 9

Page 10 | Frontpage U.S. AMBASSADOR TO INDIA RESIGNS AFTER DIPLOMATIC ROW

IN BRIEF

NEW DELHI (Reuters) he U.S. ambassador to India has resigned and will return to the United States after less than two years, the embassy said in a statement on Monday, following a diplomatic row that strained relations between the world's biggest democracies. The statement did not give a reason why Ambassador Nancy Powell had resigned, saying only that she was retiring from the foreign service after 37 years, "as planned for some time". Powell is a career diplomat who has held several postings in South Asia and became the ambassador to India in 2012.

ITALIAN PM RENZI: IF SENATE REFORM IS BLOCKED, I'LL QUIT

ROME (Reuters) talian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi tied his political future on Monday to a reform package aimed at creating more stable government by stripping the upper house of parliament of key functions and concentrating power in the lower chamber. In the latest step of his ambitious reform drive, cabinet signed off on a bill to transform the Senate into a non-elected regional chamber without the power to approve budgets or hold votes of noconfidence in a government. The constitutional reforms will have no direct impact on Italy's stricken economy, still struggling to overcome its worst postwar recession and straining under a 2 trillion euro ($2.8 trillion) public debt.

JOHANNESBURG (AP) scandal surrounding more than $20 million in state spending on the South African president's private home has ignited a debate about moral leadership and alleged corruption ahead of May elections, even prompting satirical songs based on smash hits such as "Gangnam Style." The uproar comes at a pivotal time for President Jacob Zuma and his ruling African National Congress party, the former anti-apartheid movement that has dominated South African politics since the end of white racist rule two decades ago. Opposition parties hope to make inroads against the electoral front runner by driving a wedge between ANC supporters and the president, whose tenure has been hit by allegations of state graft. President Jacob Zuma said government security officials controlled the project at his home and that efforts by the political opposition to bring criminal charges against him for alleged misuse of state money will fail, South Africa media reported Monday. "There is no case," The New Age newspaper quoted Zuma as saying at a campaign stop near opposition-held Cape Town. "They can look for me even under the trees. They are never going to find me because I never did anything wrong." On March 19, South Africa's state watchdog agency released a report concluding that Zuma inappropriately benefited from state funding and should pay back some money for the alleged security upgrades at the president's rural Nkandla residence. Some construction had nothing to do with security, including an amphitheater, a visitors' center, a chicken run and an area for cattle, according to the report. Many South Africans are incensed by the building of a swimming pool at Nkandla that was described by project officials as a "fire pool," or a reservoir to be used to douse

PAGE RONT

WORLD NEWS

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Many South Africans are incensed by the building of a swimming pool at Nkandla that was described by project officials as a "fire pool," or a reservoir to be used to douse any blaze
any blaze. They are delighted, in turn, by a YouTube parody of the catchy "Gangnam Style" song by South Korea's Psy. "Nkandla Style" doesn't feature any trademark dance, just a revolving view of a pile of coins and cartoons of a pulsating transistor radio. The lyrics include, "If you're number one, you get to drive the gravy train," and "Yes I'm swimming in your money but I don't know, I don't know, skinny dipping with all my honeys, cool in the pool, my fire pool." Another spoof came from South African DJ Gareth Cliff, who riffs off American rapper Jay Z's "Empire State of Mind" with a chorus that goes, "Secret jungle where dreams are made of/There's nothing you can't do/ Now you're in Nkandla." The scandal follows the suspension last year of some security officials after a chartered plane carrying 200 guests from India to a lavish family wedding was allowed to land at a South African air force base. Critics said it was an example of inappropriate links between big business and top government ranks. The executive committee of the ruling party, which includes Zuma, said Monday that it was committed to accountability and it had noted the watchdog report on the president's home. There are "processes that need to be given a chance," including a report from Zuma as well as a separate state probe, it said. Some prominent figures in the African National Congress, however, have lamented the Nkandla spending in a country with a deep divide between rich and poor. Last week, Business Day newspaper published a column by Pallo Jordan, a former Cabinet minister who criticized ministers in charge of the project and said Zuma bore "moral responsibility." Jordan wrote: "Even though it has many commendable achievements in healthcare, education and social security, the record of his administration is littered with scandal."

US$20M SCANDAL HANGS OVER ZUMA

MALAYSIA CHANGES VERSION OF LAST WORDS FROM MISSING FLIGHT'S COCKPIT

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) he last words spoken by one of the pilots of the missing Malaysian Airlines airliner to the control tower were "Good night Malaysian three seven zero", Malaysia's civil aviation authority said, changing the previous account of the last message as a more casual "All right, good night." The correction of the official account of the last words was made as Malaysian authorities face heavy criticism for their handling of the disappearance, particularly from families of the Chinese passengers on board Flight MH370 who have accused Malaysia of mismanaging the search and holding back information.

THE HAGUE (Reuters) he International Criminal Court set a new date for the opening of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta's trial on Monday, saying the October 7 start would give the Kenyan government more time to provide evidence in the case. Prosecutors allege their witnesses against Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto, on trial on similar charges, have been bribed or threatened into withdrawing their testimony. They say Kenyatta's government has not done all it can to turn over incriminating evidence against him and want access to his phone and banking records, which they believe could shore up a case

HAGUE COURT SETS NEW TRIAL DATE FOR KENYAN PRESIDENT

weakened by the loss of that testimony. Prosecutors accuse Kenyatta of orchestrating the wave of deadly violence that swept Kenya after the country's

2007 elections, claiming 1,200 lives, but their case has been weakened by the loss of several key witnesses. "The purpose of the adjournment is to provide

the government of Kenya with a further, time-limited opportunity to provide certain records, which the prosecution had previously requested," the court said in a statement.

The Kenyatta case has driven a wedge between the court's backers in Europe and Africa, where many accuse the 11-yearold institution of singling out Africans for prosecution. Many western countries are torn between the desire to support the court and their desire to keep East Africa's economic powerhouse on side in the struggle against Islamic militancy in neighboring Somalia. Kenyatta, elected president last year after a campaign in which the ICC charges he faced played a central role, has cooperated with the court even as he has led a diplomatic push to have the case against him postponed or dropped entirely.

he UEFA Champions League quarterfinals feature three categories of matchups: the impossible, the improbable and the coin flips. Luckily, the Champions League is all about witnessing the impossible, overcoming the improbable and holding one's breath while the coin turns through the air with uncertainty. The Impossible: Bayern Munich vs. Manchester United Leg 1: April 1, 2014 (Old Trafford) Leg 2: April 9, 2014 (Allianz Arena) Eight teams remain at this elite stage in the competition, and only one of those ties provides a platform for the impossible. Bayern Munich, the defending champion of Europe, is the bookmakers' favorite to win the competition. The Bavarians won every meaningful piece of silverware available to them last season, and their transition to former new boss Pep Guardiola, who was previously a Barcelona player, captain and manager, has already secured the Bundesliga title with two months remaining in this season. Added to that, the Germans have leisurely strolled through Europe to arrive at the final eight. No team could defeat Bayern a season ago, and one could make a convincing argument that this Bayern side is better than the one chaperoned by legendary manager Jupp Heynckes last year. However, that argument will lack a sturdy base until and unless Bayern wins the Champions League this season. With its most pitiful squad in decades, Manchester United does not look like the side worthy of pulling the upset on the German giants. United stunningly pulled out a miraculous performance to tumble into the quarterfinals. To be honest, Robin van Persie pulled the miraculous performance with his handsome hat trick in the second leg against Greek champion Olympiacos. Unfortunately, Van Persie injured his knee during that match and has not played since. He does not expect to be available for either leg of the quarterfinals, and midfield maverick Juan Mata is cup-tied, i.e. not available. Considering Bayern's brawn and United's shredded paper defense, even a fiery performance from goalkeeper David De Gea does not promise United a fighting chance to advance. Still, Bayern losing to this United simply does not seem possible. The Improbable: Real Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund Leg 1: April 2, 2014 (Santiago Bernabeu) Leg 2: April 8, 2014 (SignalIduna Park) When considering the improbable, the Champions League offers Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund in a repeat of the 2013 semifinal. On that

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Tuesday, April 1, 2014

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Bayern Munich and Real Madrid have a relatively easy path past the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

MOURINHO: IT'S CLEAR CHELSEA NEEDS A STRIKER

SPORT BRIEF

helsea manager Jose Mourinho says it is "clear" that his side will be looking to sign a striker this summer. The Blues' Premier League title hopes were dented Saturday following their 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace, which left the club two points behind first-place Liverpool after that club's Sunday win over Tottenham. Samuel Eto'o, Fernando Torres and Demba Ba have scored just 15 league goals this season, and Mourinho believes that some members in his current squad need to improve in order to win the title.

DANI ALVES MOCKS BARCELONA CRITICISM

occasion, the two teams appeared rather evenly matched, but Dortmund won 4-3 on aggregate. For Madrid, quality has improved with impressive additions including Gareth Bale moving to the Spanish capital. For Dortmund, injuries have spoiled the season and completely decimated the defense. With the class of Madrid's attack, Dortmund advancing to the semifinals is an improbability. Even with Madrid losing its grip on the Spanish league after suffering successive defeats to Barcelona and away to Sevilla, the Spaniards would have to seriously soil their underpants to not advance past depleted Dortmund. Madrid's 5-0 drumming of Rayo Vallecano on Saturday suggested the attack had sipped some water to rid the team of its hiccups. When discussing Real Madrid, one needs to point out that Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese pretty boy whose talent and footballing ability actually outmatch his good looks, has scored 13 European goals this campaign. One more goal - Ronaldo not scoring at some point over the two quarterfinal legs seems impossible - and he will tieLionel Messi's record of 14 goals in a single Champions League season. With Ronaldo firing, this tie could quickly move to the impossible category, but since Dortmund took down Madrid a season ago, one should not completely count out the Germans. Not helping their chances, Dortmund's all-time leading scorer in the competition, Robert Lewandowski, is suspension for the first leg. If the Germans can survive a European night in Madrid without their best striker, the return leg in Dortmund should be filled with drama. The Coin Flip: Heads - Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid Leg 1: April 1, 2014 (Camp Nou) Leg 2: April 9, 2014 (Vicente Calderon) Entering the quarterfinals, Barcelona and

Atletico Madrid are the top two teams in Spain, and only one point separates the two in the domestic league. Atletico Madrid, not Barcelona, is top of Spain, and these sides are extremely familiar with one another. In three meetings this season, the pair has failed to produce a winner or a loser. Over 270 minutes, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have an aggregate score of 1-1. Based on recent history, picking a winner in this tie is a near impossibility. Atletico Madrid is one of the two unbeaten sides in the Champions League with seven wins and one draw - Real Madrid is the other. For Atletico Madrid, Diego Costa provides the attacking spark and has five goals in his last five appearances. As complete of a forward as Costa has been this season, he has yet to score against Barcelona. With Barcelona's first-choice goalkeeper, Victor Valdes, out for the remainder of the season, the Catalan club may be vulnerable. When looking for the finest margins, however, the safe bet is always picking an in-form Messi, and recently the Argentine has shifted to a higher gear in the scoring department. Currently, he is unstoppable. Messi has been on target in five straight matches and has nine goals over that spell. His hat trick against Real Madrid served to turn the Spanish league title race on its head and remind critics to never count the Argentine out. Messi is magic. The Coin Flip: Tails - Chelsea vs. Paris SaintGermain Leg 1: April 2, 2014 (Parc des Princes) Leg 2: April 8, 2014 (Stamford Bridge) The name of Jose Mourinho, a two-time Champions League winner, carries extra weight in Europe, and his return to Chelsea raises expectations for the club across the board, especially in the Champions League. With Chelsea stumbling in the domestic title race, Europe may be the distraction

Mourinho needs to refocus his team. Eden Hazard has been the player to watch for Chelsea this season, and the Belgian international appears to be playing with greater confidence and freedom under Mourinho. He leads his team in goals (14) and assists (7) in the domestic league. For the London club to advance and make a serious run at the Champions League trophy, Hazard must elevate his game to the levels associated with Messi, Ronaldo and, most recently, Franck Ribery. For the quarterfinals, the Londoners drew Paris Saint-Germain. Celebrated for his words and actions off the pitch as much his amazing talents in the field play, the magnificent and oft-eccentric Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovicstars for PSG. Ignoring Ibrahimovic's personality, which is admittedly impossible to do, the player is having one of his best seasons ever. Considering he has nearly every trophy in his cabinet, that compliment carries meaning. Were it not for Ronaldo's record nine goals in the group stages, Ibrahimovic would be tied for the best scoring record in the history of the group stages. Entering the quarterfinals, the Swede has 10 goals in Europe this season - two more than Messi. In terms of motivation, Ibra has never won the Champions League, and that illusive trophy continues to be the primary criticism leveled on the towering talented Swede. A season ago, PSG reached the quarterfinals and tied Barcelona 3-3 on aggregate over two legs. However, the away goals broke Parisian hearts. A year on, Paris improved and enters the quarterfinals with a massive lead in the French domestic league. With Chelsea engaged in a tight domestic title fight, PSG holds the advantage of resting players for weekend league matches. However, Mourinho is a difficult person to count out in any competition, particularly in the Champions League.

WEBB REGRETS 2010 WORLD CUP FINAL ERRORS

ani Alves has mocked how Barcelona is stuck in a lose-lose spiral at the moment, in his opinion, claiming when the club wins the referees are blamed and when the team loses it is perceived as the end of its cycle of dominance. The Catalans stumbled somewhat last month, sparking suggestions that their Liga season was over, before recovering with a win at Real Madrid and in the local derby with Espanyol. However, both of those victories were sullied somewhat by criticism of refereeing decisions after the match and the Brazilian fullback suggested there was simply no way of winning outright for Gerardo Martino's men at the moment.

nglish referee Howard Webb has admitted that there are "one or two" decisions he wishes he had made differently in the World Cup 2010 final. Spain beat Netherlands 1-0 after extra-time, with Andres Iniesta's effort late on the only goal of the game which was dominated by high-profile officiating decisions as 14 yellow cards were dished out over the 120 minutes. John Heitinga was red carded not long before the Spaniards took the lead and Nigel de Jong's karate kick on Xabi Alonso's chest was perceived by many to be a definite sending off, but the Dutchman got away with just a booking.

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WHAT A DIFFERENCE FOUR DECADES MAKE President Tolberts 73 Gift to former U.S. President Richard Nixon
would not be a welcomed sight for a visiting head of state today
By KATELYN FOSSETT

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Spot News

D
Trafficking.

uring a 1973 visit to the White House, former Liberian President William R. Tolbert presented a pair of carved elephant

tusks to then President Richard Nixon. The US political magazine, Politico reminded its readers, recently, more than four decades after Tolberts visit to the White House that such a gift would be ill-advised by a visiting president to the U.S. today because the Obama administration recently cracked down on ivory sales in the United States in an effort to reverse the global boom in wildlife trafficking. The Obama administration announced the decision on February 11, 2014, under the banner of the National Strategy for Combating Wildlife One of the many aspects of the National Strategy is to ban the commercial trade of elephant ivory inside the United States. The Administration plans on banning the domestic sale of legally owned ivory in an upcoming rule.