The Unity Party (UP) in Liberia has expelled outgoing President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf from party membership, following allegations during the 2017 election cycle that she worked against Joseph Boakai, her own party’s candidate and vice president. Johnson Sirleaf was one of four people removed from party membership, according to a…
Former football star George Weah has become Liberia’s new president, while challenger Joseph Boakai has appealed for peace in public remarks that followed his concession phone call to the winner. Boakai declared that not a drop of blood should be spilled in his name, and said he loved Liberia more…
Election officials in Liberia say voting in Tuesday’s presidential runoff was for the most part a smooth process, although there will be a delay waiting for a final tally. The vote will determine whether former football star George Weah, the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) presidential candidate, or ruling Unity…
Liberia’s National Election Commission (NEC) will set a date for the delayed presidential runoff election, following the Supreme Court decision Thursday to allow the election to move forward. The runoff election between former football star George Weah, the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) presidential candidate, and ruling Unity Party candidate…
The presidential runoff election planned for Tuesday in Liberia is postponed until further notice, following a Supreme Court decision that directs the National Election Commission to investigate complaints originally filed by Liberty Party candidate Charles Brumskine. The court’s decision at the eleventh hour follows accusations made in the wake of…
As if the Ebola crisis in West Africa wasn’t tragic enough, investigators at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) now say at least USD$6 million was lost to fraud and corruption during an emergency that lasted from 2014 through 2016. As much as $2.1 million…
Friday marked the solemn anniversary of the deaths of five American nuns killed during Liberia’s first civil war, all of them as missionaries with the Sisters of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ in 1992. It’s been 25 years since Sister Mary Joel Kolmer and Sister Barbara Ann Muttra…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
After much confusion, Liberian election officials have confirmed a November 7 date for the runoff election between presidential candidates George Weah and Joseph Boakai. That’s according to the National Elections Commission (NEC), following the release of final vote tallies ahead of a deadline for next Wednesday. Weah, a former football…
Journalists and party officials in Liberia converged on the National Elections Commission (NEC) headquarters in Monrovia on Thursday, waiting to hear any official results from Tuesday’s presidential and legislative elections. Plenty of rumors were making the rounds, including reports that former football star and Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) presidential…
For many people, the news that student teams from The Gambia and Afghanistan were denied visas to attend a robotics competition in the United States was the first they’d heard about it. But the story didn’t end there, and there were plenty of inaugural FIRST Global Challenge winners celebrating as…
Turkey will host the foreign minister of The Gambia this week in the latest round of bilateral meetings and engagements with African countries. Ouasainou Darboe is expected to be in Turkey through June 17, according to the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The visit comes as Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Turkey’s foreign minister,…
The Liberian government has partnered with an environmental group to launch a new effort at curbing illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing – and so far, they’ve made arrests on three poaching vehicles. The Sea Shepherd organization has been patrolling the West African waters off Liberia for almost four weeks,…
The United Nations Day of Zero Tolerance drew attention to the ongoing fight against female genital mutilation (FGM) by highlighting both its consequences and some success stories on Monday. The 2017 theme for this International Day is: “Building a solid and interactive bridge between Africa and the world to accelerate…
Protests over economic conditions in Liberia entered their second day on Wednesday as sign-waving marchers again converged on the capitol building in Monrovia. The protests are part of a three-day action led by the Patriotic Entrepreneurs of Liberia (PATEL), who want to call attention to the plight of business owners who…
As the world recovers from post-election America and adjusts to president-elect Donald J. Trump, analysts have turned to what a Trump presidency means in the future of African nations. Yet there is a lot less conversation about how Americans might need the wisdom of Africans in their future too. How the…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times