Op-Ed By Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General What was once the biggest United Nations peace operation in the world winds down this month, and the most extraordinary part of this historic development is that the last UN police officers are not the only ones departing the country – nationals from the once war- ravaged nation are donning blue helmets as they deploy to serve with the UN in other troubled parts of the world. Sierra Leone used to be synonymous with brutality. The savage, (...)

Last Sunday, 16th February, a team of approximately 100 London Mining employees volunteered their time and energy towards the refurbishment of the Kulafai Rashiddeen Islamic Primary School, which is a 425 pupil school located in the Maforki Village of the Marampa Chiefdom. The volunteers tackled carpentry, masonry, metal works, painting and polishing; as well as fed 100 children from the village. “London Mining encourages its employees to engage in community initiatives; which is (...)

By Our Correspondent US-based Human Rights Watch, one of the foremost global human rights organizations, has come out a few days ago with a damning report on the activities of African Minerals Limited, Sierra Leone’s biggest mining company whose head is the highly controversial Frank Timis. AML operates in the Tonkolili district, one of the least developed districts in the north of the country despite having natural resources like gold, iron ore and vast stretches of arable land. It (...)

Mansour Ourasanah, from Togo in West Africa is one of three winners of the 2014 Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise in the Arts, this year focusing on design. The prizes, according to a press release from the African Press Organization (APO) are awarded annually to young immigrants who have had a significant impact on the American arts early in their career, and include a $35,000 prize. “We are delighted to recognize such a forward-thinking designer as Mansour,” said Marica (...)

By Our Correspondent The people of Brama village and its environs in the Koya Rural District are now in perpetual fear as police from neigbouring Masiaka town frequently raid the village harassing them in the guise of investigating a matter for which some of the villagers were previously arrested indiscriminately and charges proffered against them for acts which had nothing to do with most of them. The villagers have complained that the Masiaka police are now in the habit of (...)