Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

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US Military to Join Ebola Offensive

Outbreak kills 4th doctor in Sierra Leone

(Newser) - The US military is set to join the battle against an enemy other than ISIS: the Ebola outbreak that has killed thousands in West Africa. President Obama is expected to outline what officials describe as a "scaled-up" response to the outbreak this week, reports the Wall Street Journal , which...

Peace Corps Evacuates Its Workers Over Ebola

2 Americans in isolation as a precaution because of contact with infected person

(Newser) - The Peace Corps is evacuating its volunteers from the three nations in West Africa hit hard by the Ebola epidemic, reports CNN . The 340 Americans will be returning to the US from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea as the outbreak worsens. In fact, two Peace Corps workers must remain behind...

25% of Liberia at Mercy of Loggers

Thanks to loophole in country's law: report

(Newser) - By exploiting a loophole in Liberian law, international logging companies have gained access to as much as one-quarter of Liberia's landmass, according to a report out today by watchdog group Global Witness. It explains that foreign companies are relying on so-called "Private Use Permits," which were designed...

Nobel Peace Prize Winner: Anti-Gay Law Is OK

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf spoke while Tony Blair squirmed

(Newser) - Nobel Peace Prize winner and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf says gay sex should remain illegal: "We like ourselves just the way we are," she told the Guardian . "We've got certain traditional values in our society that we would like to preserve." Former British Prime...

3 Women Accept Nobel Peace Prize

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee, and Tawakkol Karman honored

(Newser) - Three women who fought injustice, dictatorship, and sexual violence in Liberia and Yemen accepted the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize today, calling on repressed women worldwide to rise up against male supremacy. "My sisters, my daughters, my friends—find your voice," Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said after collecting...

Liberian, Yemeni Women Win Nobel Peace Prize

Johnson Sirleaf, Gbowee, Karman to share prize

(Newser) - This year's Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to three women the Nobel committee wants to reward for "their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work." The prize will be shared between Liberian leader Ellen Johnson...

11 Women Who Rule the World

The total number shot from 9 to 11 just last week

(Newser) - Two women—Mari Kiviniemi in Finland and Julia Gillard in Australia—became heads of state last week, bringing the total number of female world leaders to 11. Vanity Fair introduces all of them; meet a few in the gallery, or for the complete slideshow, click here .

Clinton Leaves Africa 'More Committed' Than Ever

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton ended her African tour today on a note of optimism colored by disdain, the New York Times reports. The secretary of state visited seven nations over 11 days and made her final remarks on the Cape Verde islands off the coast. “I leave Africa after this remarkable...

Liberian Prez's Plea: Don't Let Global Crisis Kill African Gains

This mess is not of Africa's making

(Newser) - Africa is in the midst of a great turnaround, with economies growing and democracy and human rights improving, Liberia’s president writes in the Washington Post. But progress is threatened by a global economic crisis it had no hand in creating. Some $50 billion in income could be lost as...

IMF Agrees to Cancel Liberia's Debt
IMF Agrees
to Cancel Liberia's Debt
Nov 13, 2007 9:20 AM CST

IMF Agrees to Cancel Liberia's Debt

Victory for country's president represents coup for new fund head

(Newser) - Liberian president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf got a huge vote of confidence yesterday when the International Monetary Fund agreed to begin eliminating Liberia's debt, the BBC reports. Donor nations have pledged $842 million to get the West African country back on track after 14 years of civil war. "Liberia has established...

Harper Lee Awarded Medal of Freedom

Civil rights pioneer Hooks also receives highest civilian honor

(Newser) - Author Harper Lee and NAACP pioneer Benjamin Hooks yesterday received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor, for their work for racial equality. Lee, 81, wrote the 1960 Pulitzer-winning classic To Kill a Mockingbird, which challenged racism and was made into a powerful movie featuring Gregory Peck. The...

African Wars Cost $300B Over 15 Years

Fighting drained as much money as aid programs contributed

(Newser) - Armed conflict in Africa over the last 15 years cost nearly $300 billion—equal to the total amount of  aid received by the continent—a report compiled by several NGOs concludes. Liberian president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, who wrote the report's preface, says that a key move to counter poverty and spur...

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