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☆ Black royals say Hollywood erased their existence. They're fighting to change the whitewashed narrative.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Mikhaila Friel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Black royals have existed around the world for millennia. Mainstream TV shows and movies that depict the true history of Black royal families are few and far between. And while movies about fictional Black royals exist — "The Princess and The Frog" (2009), "Black Panther" (2018), and the latest "The Little Mermaid" (2023) — Hollywood still isn't doing enough to educate viewers that Black royals exist in the real world, according to Nigeria's Princess Keisha Omilana. - Prince Asfa-Wossen AsserateMeanwhile, Asfa-Wossen said educators are too often preoccupied with using slave narratives to recount Black history. But in order to portray Black royals as equal to their white counterparts, there must be a shift in perspective, he said.

Persons: —, Queen Elizabeth, Sierra Leone's, Sarah Culberson, Nigeria's Princess Keisha, Prince Kunle Omilana, Prince Asfa, Asserate, Princess Ariana, Prince Joel, Keisha Omilana, Halle Bailey, Ariel, Disney Keisha, Prince Adekunle, Omilana, Keisha, Kunle, Ipetu, Orjinmo, Prince Kunle, haven't, George Osodi, Fernando Catala, Princess Keisha, David White, Sarah, Sarah Culberson Sarah, Ethiopia's Prince Asfa, Manfred Roth, who's, Haile Selassie, Young, Charlotte, Liam Daniel, Wossen, Ethiopia's Prince Joel, Joel, Ethiopia Antwon Maxwell, Kassa, Ian Sansom, it's, Queen of Sheba, King Soloman's, Sheba, Menelik, Axum, don't, Tell Organizations: Service, Hollywood, BI, Immigration, Board of Canada, Paramount, Getty, Netflix, SAG, Ethiopian, King, Guardian Locations: Hollywood, Windsor, American, Nigeria, Yoruba Kingdom, British, Morocco, Lesotho, Swaziland, Europe, Africa, Mende, Bumpe, Sierra Leone, West Virginia, Ethiopia, India, Germany, Los Angeles, America

Summary Heavy gunfire reported overnight in Guinea-Bissau's capitalArmed national guard soldiers free opposition ministerHead of national guard arrestedCalm appears to have been restored by late morningBISSAU, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Fighting broke out overnight between two factions of Guinea-Bissau's army in the capital and continued early on Friday after armed soldiers from the national guard freed a minister who had been detained for suspected misuse of public funds. The head of the national guard has since been arrested, a military source said. Gunshots started at around 2300 GMT on Thursday about two kilometres away from the presidential palace in the capital Bissau. A police source said the shooting on Thursday started after heavily armed members of the national guard stormed a police station to free Finance Minister Suleimane Seidi, arrested earlier that night. The national guard reports to parliament, while the military reports to the president.

Persons: Umaro Sissoco Embalo, Embalo, Suleimane Seidi, Antonio Monteiro, Sierra Leone's, Alberto Dabo, Samba, Sofia Christensen, Christina Fincher Organizations: United Nations, Change, PAIGC, Freetown, CFA, Thomson Locations: Guinea, BISSAU, Bissau, Antula, Dubai, Guinea Bissau, West African, Senegal, Portugal, West, Central Africa

☆ Sierra Leone information minister says weekend attack was a failed coup
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Umaru Fofana | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sierra Leone's Vice President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh visits the central Pademba Road prison after unidentified gunmen attacked a military barracks and the prison, following which inmates escaped, in Freetown, Sierra Leone November 27, 2023. We will try to capture them and bring them to the full force of the laws of Sierra Leone." And some were military officers, either retired or serving," army chief of defence staff Lavahun told the news conference. Sierra Leone's main opposition All People Congress of the former president, condemned the attacks in a statement. Sierra Leone, which is still recovering from a 1991-2002 civil war in which more than 50,000 were killed, has been tense since Bio was re-elected in June.

Persons: Sierra, Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, Umaru, Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma, Chernor Bah, General Patrick Lavahun, Koroma, Bah, Lavahun, Umaru Fofana, Cooper Inveen, Nellie Peyton, Bate Felix, Alison Williams, Christina Fincher, Tomasz Janowski, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Sierra Leone's, REUTERS, U.S . State Department, European Union, Thomson Locations: Freetown, Sierra Leone, FREETOWN, Sierra, West, United States

☆ Twenty killed in Sierra Leone attack and nearly 2,000 prisoners escape
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Umaru Fofana | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

FREETOWN, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Twenty people were killed and nearly 2,000 inmates escaped during Sunday's attack on a military barracks, a prison and other locations in Sierra Leone, officials said on Monday. The West African country was thrown into panic in the early hours when the assailants sent gunfire ringing across the capital Freetown. Some 1,890 inmates escaped from the Pademba Road central prison after the attackers broke in, according to a situation report that prison officials shared with Reuters on Monday. [1/2]Sierra Leone's Vice President Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh visits the central Pademba Road prison after unidentified gunmen attacked a military barracks and the prison, following which inmates escaped, in Freetown, Sierra Leone November 27, 2023. In August 2022, at least 21 civilians and six police officers were killed in anti-government protests.

Persons: Julius Maada Bio, Issa Bangura, Shek Sulaiman Massaquoi, Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, Umaru, Umaru Fofana, Anait Miridzhanian, Bate Felix, Edward McAllister, Alison Williams, Mark Potter Organizations: Reuters, Sierra Leone Correctional Service, Sierra Leone's, REUTERS, European Union, Thomson Locations: FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, Freetown, United States

☆ Sierra Leone aviation authority urge airlines to reschedule flights
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

FREETOWN, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Sierra Leone's civil aviation authority on Sunday urged airlines reschedule flights after a nationwide curfew imposed by the government in response to an attack on a military barracks by unidentified gunmen. The aviation authority said in a statement that passengers should be placed on the next available flights after the curfew is lifted. It added that the country's airspace remains open. Reporting by Umaru Fofana Writing by Bate Felix Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Umaru, Bate Felix, David Goodman Organizations: Sunday, Thomson Locations: FREETOWN, Sierra

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Climate change is “relentlessly eating away” at Africa’s economic progress and it’s time to have a global conversation about a carbon tax on polluters, Kenya’s president declared Tuesday as the first Africa Climate Summit got underway. He and other leaders urged reforms to the global financial structures that have left African nations paying about five times more to borrow money than others, worsening the debt crisis for many. Africa has more than 30 of the world’s most indebted countries, Kenya’s Cabinet secretary for the environment, Soipan Tuya, said. Africa’s GDP should be revalued for its assets, which include the world's second-largest rainforest and biodiversity, African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina said. “It is an African story, and I daresay it’s a global story, too.”___Follow AP’s coverage of the climate at https://apnews.com/climate-and-environment and of Africa at https://apnews.com/hub/africa

Persons: William Ruto, Tuya, John Kerry, Kerry, Joe Biden, ” Ruto, ”, Ruto, “ It’s, Sahle, Zewde, Akinwumi Adesina, Adesina, Martha Lusweti, Antonio Guterres, Ursula Von der Leyen, lullabies, Sierra, Julius Maada Organizations: Africa Climate Summit, European Union, Kenyan, United, United Arab Emirates, Development Bank, ”, International Monetary Fund Locations: NAIROBI, Kenya, Africa, China, United States, U.S, United Arab, United Nations, Europe, U.N, Africa's, Nigeria's Niger Delta, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Congo, africa

☆ Factbox: Military interventions by West African ECOWAS bloc
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The main regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has imposed sanctions and said it could authorise the use of force as a last resort if soldiers do not restore ousted president Mohammed Bazoum to power. Below are previous ECOWAS military interventions:LIBERIAIn 1990, West African leaders sent a neutral military force to Liberia to intervene in the civil war between the forces of President Samuel Doe and two rebel factions. West African forces were deployed again at the tail end of the brutal 14-year conflict, which finished in 2003. GUINEA-BISSAUIn 1999, ECOWAS sent around 600 ECOMOG troops to preserve a peace deal in coup-prone Guinea-Bissau. In 2004, they were integrated into a U.N. peacekeeping force.

Persons: Abdourahmane Tiani, Balima, Mohammed Bazoum, Samuel Doe, Charles Taylor, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, Yahya Jammeh, Adama Barrow, Anait Miridzhanian, Alessandra Prentice, Kevin Liffey Organizations: REUTERS, Economic, West African States, ECOWAS, West, ECOWAS Monitoring, Human Rights Watch, Bissau . Rebels, Islamic, Restore, Thomson Locations: Niger, Niamey, LIBERIA, Liberia, SIERRA LEONE, Nigerian, Sierra, Freetown, GUINEA, BISSAU, Guinea, Bissau, IVORY, Ivory Coast, MALI, Mali, al Qaeda, Central, Northern Mali, Islamic State, Burkina Faso, GAMBIA, Gambia, Senegal

☆ Sierra Leone's main opposition party demands rerun of general election
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Umaru Fofana | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FREETOWN, July 1 (Reuters) - Sierra Leone's main opposition party said it had decided to formally reject the results of the national election won by President Julius Maada Bio, citing "glaring irregularities", and called for a rerun of the June 24 poll. Bio was re-elected for a second term with 56% of the vote, narrowly avoiding a run-off against main rival Samura Kamara of the opposition All People's Congress (APC). But Kamara has questioned the official tally, while European election observers noted statistical inconsistencies. In its first official statement on the full results, the APC said on Friday it rejected the outcome "given the glaring irregularities and violations of established electoral procedures." "A rerun after an official declaration of results and a swearing-in ceremony is unconstitutional," he said by phone to Reuters.

Persons: Julius Maada, Samura Kamara, Kamara, Mohamed Rahman Swaray, Swaray, Alessandra Prentice, David Holmes Organizations: People's Congress, Reuters, EU, Thomson Locations: FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, United States, Britain, Ireland, Germany, France

☆ Sierra Leone main opposition party rejects partial presidential poll results
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

FREETOWN, June 27 (Reuters) - Sierra Leone's main opposition party has rejected the partial results of a tense presidential election that showed President Julius Maada Bio leading the poll, alleging irregularities in the tallying process. The All People's Congress (APC) party's main candidate Samura Kamara, 72, is the incumbent's main rival. A provisional results sheet on Monday showed Kamara trailing behind Bio with just under 800,000 votes, compared to over 1 million for the president. [1/2]Supporters of Sierra Leone's opposition leader and presidential candidate for the All People's Congress (APC) party, Dr. Samura Kamara, wipe rain drops from his campaign poster in Freetown, Sierra Leone June 23, 2023. Bio addressed the nation after the publication of provisional results on Monday evening and called on citizens to remain peaceful.

Persons: Julius Maada, Samura Kamara, Kamara, Sierra, Cooper, Sierra Leone, Umaru, Sofia Christensen, Christina Fincher Organizations: Congress, party's, All, REUTERS, World Bank, Thomson Locations: FREETOWN, Freetown, Sierra Leone, Sierra

CNN —Sierra Leone’s President Maada Bio has been reelected for a second term in office, the country’s electoral commission announced Tuesday. Bio’s Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) won nearly 1.6 million votes – 56.1% of the total ballots – to defeat his closest opponent, Samura Kamara of the opposition All People’s Congress (APC) party, who won a 41% share of the vote. Bio took an early lead on Monday, according to provisional results released by the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL). But the tallying of votes was fraught with controversies with international observers expressing concern about the integrity of the process. The APC party has yet to react to the final declared results.

Persons: Maada, Bio’s Sierra, Samura Kamara, “, ” Organizations: CNN, Sierra, Bio’s Sierra Leone People’s Party, People’s Congress, Electoral, Sierra Leone, “ Carter Center, APC

☆ Sierra Leone election marred by transparency fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Reuters Editorial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PoliticsSierra Leone election marred by transparency fearsPostedSierra Leone's electoral commission says incumbent president Julius Maada Bio is leading the vote count in a presidential election that has been marred by claims of a lack of transparency and violence. David Doyle has more.

Persons: Julius Maada, David Doyle Organizations: Sierra Locations: Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone's

☆ Sierra Leone's President Bio leads presidential election
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FREETOWN, June 26 (Reuters) - Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio is leading the presidential election count, the West African country's electoral commission said on Monday after 60% of votes have been counted. His biggest rival is All People's Congress' (APC) candidate Samura Kamara, who narrowly lost to Bio in the last election in 2018. A provisional results sheet showed Bio had received over 1 million votes so far, compared with just under 800,000 for Kamara. The election commission on Sunday outlined several instances where officials were beaten or intimidated. Bio addressed the nation after the publication of provisional results on Monday evening and called on citizens to keep the peace.

Persons: Julius Maada, Samura Kamara, Kamara, Sierra, Augustine Sorie, hasn't, Marrah, Cooper Inveen, Anait Miridzhanian, Estelle Shirbon, Bate Felix, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Sierra, African, APC, Electoral Commission Sierra, Reuters, Thomson Locations: FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, Electoral Commission Sierra Leone

☆ Woman unresponsive after gunshots heard at Sierra Leone opposition HQ
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Cooper Inveen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The window of the room she was found in had a shattered hole the size of a fist, the reporter said. It is not immediately clear what happened outside the press conference or how the woman was wounded. Two witnesses caught inside the building, who were later released by security forces, told Reuters they heard gunfire and saw tear gas. The police and security forces did not respond to a request for comment. Bio and Kamara reported small-scale attacks on their supporters before the election, while the APC's recent questioning of the independence of election officials raised tensions.

Persons: Samura Kamara, Julius Maada, Sidi Yaya Tunis, Bio's, Kamara, Cooper Inveen, Edward McAllister, Philippa Fletcher, Chris Reese, Diane Craft Organizations: Reuters, Congress, APC, Thomson Locations: FREETOWN

☆ Sierra Leone opposition leader decries lack of access ahead of Saturday's vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Supporters of Sierra Leone's opposition leader and presidential candidate for the All People's Congress (APC) party, Dr. Samura Kamara, wipe rain drops from his campaign poster in Freetown, Sierra Leone June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Cooper InveenFREETOWN, June 23 (Reuters) - Sierra Leone's main opposition candidate said on Friday the lack of election campaign access to some strongholds of the ruling party and unsupervised distribution of ballots could open the door to rigging. "Our biggest concern going into this election is the lack of access of the opposition party to the southeastern part of the country, and we're talking about seven districts," Kamara said in an interview on Friday. "So that makes a worrying situation where you're opening a door, you're opening a window, even if you're not doing so, you're opening a window for great suspicions of rigging," Kamara said. Asked if he'll accept the outcome of Saturday's vote, Kamara said, "It's not me.

Persons: Sierra, Samura Kamara, Cooper Inveen, Julius Maada, Kamara, he'll, Bate Felix, Richard Chang Organizations: All, Congress, REUTERS, People's Congress, Thomson Locations: Freetown, Sierra Leone, Cooper Inveen FREETOWN, West

☆ Sierra Leone opposition calls for election chief to resign
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Samura Kamara, head of the All People's Congress (APC) party, said he wanted the chief electoral commissioner and all regional commissioners of the national election body to be replaced by "an independent internationally accredited team". "The Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) is gravely concerned about the deliberate attempts by the All People's Congress to disrupt the peaceful elections and reverse the democratic gains Sierra Leone has made," it said in a statement on Thursday. Sierra Leone's chief electoral commissioner Mohamed Kenewui Konneh also rejected Kamara's accusations and said none of his team would resign. Kamara said that if the officials did not resign within 72 hours, the APC party would meet and "decide the next steps". On Tuesday, dozens of young people were arrested following opposition protests in several cities calling for the electoral commissioner to resign, local media reported.

Persons: Leone's, Samura Kamara, Kamara, Julius Maada, Bio's, Sierra, Mohamed Kenewui Konneh, Umaru Fofana, Cooper Inveen, Nellie Peyton, Alex Richardson Organizations: Congress, Reuters, Sierra Leone People's Party, All, Sierra, Sierra Leone's, Thomson Locations: FREETOWN, Sierra

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