Nigerian Times

Journalists working for Al Jazeera English have uncovered corruption in the office of Sierra Leone’s Vice-President Samuel Sumana. The detailed undercover investigation features in the documentary Timber!, broadcast at 22h30 GMT on Wednesday 23 November 2011 as part of Al Jazeera’s Africa Investigates series. Illegal timber export is big business in Sierra Leone A 2006 European Union report identified logging as the leading cause of environmental degradation in Sierra Leone. According to the Sierra Leone Forestry Ministry, unless immediate action is taken against logging, all of the country’s forests – as well as the many endangered animal and plant species they support – could disappear by 2018. The President, His Excellency Ernest Bai Koroma, has made no secret of his concern about logging and his desire that it should cease. The government of Sierra Leone has officially outlawed the practice several times. Emmy award-winning Sierra Leonean journalist Sorious Samura discovered il...

One of the destroyed buildings. Photo Credit: Nairaland . Bloody Eid al-Adha in Nigeria with over 150 Killed in Terrorist Attacks It is the bloodiest Eid al-Adha for Nigerian Muslims as the Islamic terrorist sect Boko Haram launched devastating attacks from Friday night to Saturday and killed over 150 people in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe state. The attacks heralded the Eid al-Adha, the Muslims feast of sacrifice. The terrorist sect blew up a housing estate, a bank, three police stations and five churches, including the St Mary's Catholic Church. The Boko Haram swore that "more attacks are on the way". "We will continue attacking federal government formations until security forces stop their excesses on our members and vulnerable civilians," said Abul-Qaqa, the spokesman of the terrorists. The gory sight of the dead bodies of those killed in the attacks. Photo Credit: Nairaland . "It is difficult to verify these reports especially since this is a very rem...

5 Jul 2011 19:34 Africa/Lagos Focus-Libya - Frattini on Libyan negotiations and political directions ROME, July 5, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Focus-Libya - Frattini on Libyan negotiations and political directions “The Libyans should be the ones to define negotiations and the political directions of the new Libya, we cannot negotiate in place of the Libyans”, Minister Frattini stated, underscoring that “this flurry of denials and counter-denials gives the idea of an unclear situation”. Frattini explained that “one thing only is clear: that Gaddafi must step down and that there is an international mandate for his arrest; Italy must work toward a political solution without the Colonel, but no one has ever thought of targeting or killing him”. “Italy's position is well known and extremely clear”, foreign ministry spokesman Maurizio Massari stated in an interview with Al Jazeera, “we recognize the NTC as the only legitimate representative of the Libyan people, and believe...

Dorothy Parvaz 6 May 2011 14:00 Africa/Lagos UNITY Calls for Release of Al Jazeera Journalist Dorothy Parvaz PR Newswire MCLEAN, Va., May 6, 2011 MCLEAN, Va., May 6, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- UNITY: Journalists of Color is calling on the government of Syria to release Al Jazeera reporter Dorothy Parvaz and allow her to continue her important work in the country. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110506/DC97026 ) (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110310/DC62460LOGO ) Parvaz, a former reporter for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and a 2009 Nieman Fellow at Harvard, was apparently detained shortly after arriving in Damascus on Friday to cover anti-government protests in the country. Al Jazeera has been told by Syrian officials that they're holding Parvaz. She is a citizen of the United States, Canada and Iran. She joined Al Jazeera in 2010. UNITY joins the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University and other m...