Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
LIBERIA HAS DECLARED A state of emergency due to the deadly Ebola outbreak as US President Barack Obama said it was premature to send experimental drugs to victims in Africa.
Declaring the state of emergency overnight President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf warned that the extraordinary measures were needed “for the very survival of our state”.
The Liberian parliament will meet Thursday to ratify the move, while its Sierra Leone counterpart does the same following a state-of-emergency declaration there last week.
Speaking of “a clear and present danger” from the virus which has claimed almost 1,000 lives in West Africa, Sirleaf announced that the state of emergency should last for a minimum of 90 days.
“The scope and scale of the epidemic, the virulence and deadliness of the virus now exceed the capacity and statutory responsibility of any one government agency or ministry,” she said.
Amid growing call for international help, Obama said it was too early to dispatch experimental drugs to Ebola victims in Africa
Two Americans who worked for Christian aid agencies in Liberia were brought back to the United States for treatment in recent days.
They are being given an experimental drug known as ZMapp, which is hard to produce on a large scale and have been showing signs of improvement.
The latest official toll across west Africa hit 932 deaths since the start of the year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said, with 1,711 confirmed cases, mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Fears are growing that the disease is also taking hold in Nigeria.
The death of a nurse in Lagos, a megacity of more than 20 million, came as 45 deaths were confirmed across west Africa between Saturday and Monday, with aid agencies, including Doctors Without Borders, saying the terrifying tropical disease is out of control.
Nigeria’s Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu told reporters he was in contact with the US Center for Disease Control on the possibility of getting drugs from them.
“I said we are getting reports that this experimental drug seems to be useful. Is it also possible that we can have access for our people presently being treated and under incubation,” he said.
However Obama said affected countries should focus on building a “strong public infrastructure,” adding: “I don’t think all the information is in on whether this drug is helpful.”
Chukwu said all seven confirmed cases in his country had “primary contact” with Patrick Sawyer, a Liberian finance ministry employee who brought the virus to Lagos on July 20 and died later in hospital.
WHO emergency session
The spread of the disease comes as the WHO met in an emergency session in Geneva to decide whether to declare an international crisis.
The closed-door WHO meeting was not expected to make a decision until Friday. But the session itself underscored the severity of the threat posed by the disease, which causes severe fever and unstoppable bleeding.
In Liberia’s capital Monrovia the dead have been left unburied on the streets or abandoned in their homes.
And in Sierra Leone, which has the most confirmed infections, 800 troops including 50 military nurses were sent to guard hospitals and clinics treating Ebola patients, an army spokesman said.
The soldiers’ colleagues coming to the end of a tour with the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia were ordered Wednesday to remain in the war-torn country rather than risk returning home because of Ebola.
Also Wednesday, a Spanish air force plane left for Liberia to bring an infected Spanish missionary priest home for treatment.
The US disease control and prevention body on Wednesday issued its highest alert for an all-hands on deck response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa.
Level 1 is the highest on a 1-6 scale and signals that increased staff and resources will be devoted to the outbreak.
Possible Saudi case
Meanwhile a Saudi Arabian who had travelled to Sierra Leone and developed Ebola-like symptoms died yesterday of a heart attack, the health ministry said.
Officials did not disclose the results of the Ebola tests conducted abroad, but said he would be buried in an Islamic manner under precautions laid down by world health authorities.
The new global head of the Red Cross warned that Ebola will be contained only if the public is won over, saying “stigma and discrimination often kill as much as viruses”.
Elhadj As Sy said lessons had to be learned from the fight against AIDS and that dishing out blame does not help.
It’s very difficult in a west African cultural setting to tell people not to engage with their loved ones who are sick. But in this current situation they will have to do so.
In addition, people must shun time-honoured burial rites that require relatives to wash the body of the dead, as Ebola victims remain contagious after death.
First discovered in 1976 and named after a river in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ebola spreads through contact with bodily fluids such as blood, saliva and sweat.
It has killed around two-thirds of those it has infected over the last four decades, with two outbreaks registering fatality rates approaching 90 percent. The latest outbreak has a fatality rate of around 55 percent.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Israel is acting more like a terrorist State than Hamas. It is constantly attacking its neighbours..
@Roger Bond: Thirty rockets would contradict that.
@Roger Bond: Israel is acting like a democracy that is protecting its citizens from terrorists.
@Stephen Kearon: you stand with Ukraine but you defend Israel small bit of a contradiction dont you think
@Emmet O Riordan: not at all, both are democracies who are doing what is necessary to prevent their destruction
@Stephen Kearon: and both are murdering innocent people day in day out while stealing their land and expecting them not to fight back
@Roger Bond: spot on.
@Fiona Fitzgerald:
As you are aware, the Gaza sea, air and land border is controlled by Israel, so nothing can go in/out without their knowledge. The “rockets” are therefore home-made, inaccurate and therefore do very little damage.
How many Israelis have been killed/maimed by these “rockets”?
Very few luckily.
Israel instead has F16s provided free of charge by the US taxpayer, and drops bombs (provided by US taxpayer) which have killed and maimed thousands of Palestinians, and destroyed infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, power plants, water-treatment plants, etc.
Gazans are lucky if they get 3 hours of electricity per day, they have no access to clean water.
While just across the border Gazans can see immigrants from all over the world (provided of course they have the right God) enjoying their former land to build ugly (illegal) settlements with plenty of electricity and water for their lawns and swimming pools.
The Israeli government provides financial incentives, the protection of the Israeli army, electricity, clean water for thir lawns and swimming pools to the illegal settlers/colonials, which contravenes the 4th Geneva Convention.
It’s amazing that some people are amazed that the Palestinians react to the occupation of their homeland, just as we did many years ago!
@Fiona Fitzgerald:
As you are aware, the Gaza sea, air and land border is controlled by Israel, so nothing can go in/out without their knowledge. The “rockets” are therefore home-made, inaccurate and therefore do very little damage.
How many Israelis have been killed/maimed by these “rockets”?
Very few luckily.
Israel instead has F16s provided free of charge by the US taxpayer, and drops bombs (provided by US taxpayer) which have killed and maimed thousands of Palestinians, and destroyed infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, power plants, water-treatment plants, etc.
Gazans are lucky if they get 3 hours of electricity per day, they have no access to clean water.
While just across the border Gazans can see immigrants from all over the world (provided of course they have the right God) enjoying their former land to build ugly (illegal) settlements with plenty of electricity and water for their lawns and swimming pools.
The Israeli government provides financial incentives, the protection of the Israeli army, electricity, clean water for thir lawns and swimming pools to the illegal settlers/colonials, which contravenes the 4th Geneva Convention.
It’s amazing that some people are amazed that the Palestinians react to the occupation of their homeland, just as we did many years ago!
@Stephen Kearon: I worry if you think what they do is self defence. Their modus operandi is a copy and paste of Britain’s tactics in Ireland. North and South. 1800,1900 and early 00s . Imagine applauding Bloody Sunday as self defence? You could argue more that hamas is protecting its own citizens from ever expanding Israeli borders? Israel are in no way the “good guys”. I wonder did people who support Israel cry when the 3 little pigs killed the wolf?
Another 15 year old unarmed child shot dead by israeli forces today. Thats big heavily armed men shooting children.
Check out Defence for Children International
ggg
Its also worth remembering that any Palestinians in The Lebanon are refugees from Palestine including The West Bank.
While 700,000 illegal settlers are allowed live in the illegally occupied West Bank.. the ethnic population are not allowed return
@Thom Thumb: Yet you’re silent about the innocent British 15 year girl murdered alongside her sister and mother by Palestinian terrorists on Friday?
The 15 year old Palestinian, Muhammad Fayez Bilhan, was amongst a group of terrorists who opened fire on soldiers who then responded to protect themselves. Utterly shameful Hamas and PA brainwash children to hate.
@Stephen Kearon:
So, a fifteen year old child is labelled a “terrorist” by the Israelis, and that entitles them to shoot him not once, or twice, but three times.
How young would that child need to be before you would have a problem with them killing him?
@Nestor: there is such a thing as a 15yr old terrorist, in some countries they’re younger, ISIS have 10yr old shooting innocent people in the head, ur on about a part of the world where life means nothing, they’re schooled at a young age how and why to kill, Iran sends money and weapons to Hamas to do their dirty work, the Iranians are to busy killing their own for daring to speak against the regime, that’s life in that part of the world unfortunately.
@Slim Browne: that schooling you’re talking about works both ways, unfortunately. The one shot, 2 kills t shirts were proof enough of that.
@Stephen Kearon:
The 15 year old Israel/British girl who was murdered may be considered innocent as she was a minor, but not her mother who, together with her husband, CHOSE to leave a safe country, the UK, to live in an illegal settlement on land stolen from the native population. They profited from incentives from the Israeli government to do so, and would have witnessed the segregation, humiliation and attacks to which the native population was subjected, but continued to enjoy their subsidised lifestyle at the expense of Palestinians. .
Her elder sister also cannot be considered innocent as she served/had served (not clear) in the Israeli Defence Forces, which kill, maim and torture the native population on a daily basis.
What a mess. Israel continues to blockade the Palestinian ports and strip them of their lands. Then wonder why Palestine has the gall to retaliate. Tit for tat atrocities, year in year out.
Time we boycott more strongly all things Israeli. This is a terrorist state that has gone too far.
@Toon Army: Nope. I’ll stand with Israel in their confrontation with the lunatics of Hamas/hezbollah/PIJ/assorted jihadis all day, every day. I make a point of buying Israeli goods too.
@honey badger: If you stand with terrorists who murder innocent children then that’s a sorry state of affairs. Any impartial observer will see Israelis are on the wrong side of history on this. The sooner Netanyahu is held to account for his war crimes the better.
@honey badger: I do too. I like their well made products & produce.
Not true, Israel is entitled to defend itself against terrorist attacks from hamas.
@ggg: self defense my arm. Israel is the aggressor, always has been.
Confused,????who are the aggressors here. ISREAL
@Toon Army: you believe that, despite all it’s neighbouring countries vowing to destroy Israel and scatter or kill it’s population like in ancient times!
@Thomas Sheridan:
This is one of the many Israeli tropes to get more and more money and arms from the US. Poor little Israel, defending itself from stronger neighbours!
Name one of the neighbouring countries which is in a position to destroy Israel? There are none, while Israel is the fourth biggest military power in the world, a nuclear power (although it won’t admit it and has not joined the Nuclear Proliferation Pact, which would entail inspections).
It is Israel which is destroying its neighbours, look at Lebanon and Syria, which it bombs every second day. Israel also got the US to do its dirty work in eliminating Saddam Hussein and Ghaddaffi, who supported the Palestinians. Anyone who supports Palestinian rights wil GOOOOOOOO!
Next you’ll be telling us that Palestine was a land without people for a people without a land, that Israel made the desert bloom, and other classic Zionist propaganda!
@ggg: I worry if you think what they do is self defence. Their modus operandi is a copy and paste of Britain’s tactics in Ireland. North and South. 1800,1900 and early 00s . Imagine applauding Bloody Sunday as self defence? You could argue more that hamas is protecting its own citizens from ever expanding Israeli borders? Israel are in no way the “good guys”. I wonder did people who support Israel cry when the 3 little pigs killed the wolf?
Can’t argue with people, who see no wrong, with what is going on in Isreal. When the aggressor is backed by the big powers.
@Colette Byrne: what about the people who can see the wrong on both sides?
@Tipper Irie: but there isnt really wrong on both sides. The Palestinians have a right to defend their homes and homeland from the israeli invaders. Remember there was no israel until after WWII. Now it’s a bunch of kids fighting one of the best equipped terrorist armies in the world backed up by the West.
@Ruairi Colton: palestine became a state in 1988
@Stephen Kearon Do you support the Russian settlers in eastern Ukraine as well as the Zionist settlers in Palestine?
@Liam Hayes: What Russian settlers would those be? Would those be the Russian speakers whose families lived there for centuries? Or people who moved during the Soviet Union, ie whitin the same country? These things are incompatible. I understand you mean well, and I also abhor Istael’s actions, but talk about Russian settlers is just misguided.
You can’t trust a word Netanyahu says, he should be in jail!
Nothing but a deflection.
I knew Nethanyahu would try provoke someone in the hope of retaliation, so that Israelis can unite behind a common enemy, thus taking the look off him and the protests against him.
In the past week, he’s launched rockets into Gaza, police raids into the West Bank, Rockets into Syria, Lebanon, basically poking everyone around Israel in the hope one of them will bite.
The guy is a filthy scourge and the sooner Israelis rise up and oust him the better.
He knows full when that when Israelis are fighting someone else, they won’t be fighting with each other.
Good. Hamas are genuine lunatics. I would like to see Netanyahus coalition gone tomorrow but he is correct here.
It is good to see the way Netanyahu is behaving now, so that everyone can see that
his coalition government is odious.
@Nestor:
ALL Israeli governments since 1948 have been odious for the Palestinians.
israel have some history in Lebanon.
They stood back and watched as the local milita backed by them literally slaughtered between 2000 and 3,5000 innocent women,children and elderly unarmed people. Mostly Palestinian refugees and Lebanese citizens.
Sabra and Shatila happened between 16 and 18 September 82. That’s more that the total amount killed in the N.ireland troubles. The film
WALTZ WITH BASHIR deals with an israeli veteran Ari Folman’s account of what happened and his subsequent journey of reopening the nightmare visions he had witnessed and the war he had taken part in.
Not only does it deal with the horrific slaughter but it also deals with his own nightmares and the war he and others were ordered into by his israeli overlords
@Thom Thumb: correction thats 3,500
Slim Browne: what sort of nonsensical dribble is that? Palestinians are fully entitled to resist barbaric occupation and slaughter from a psychotic settler state!
@I9AQcjXs: did I not say fight Israel if u must ? So where did I say that the Palestinians are not entitled resist occupation? What I said is that they have no right to drag Lebanon into it, why shud Lebanon once again be flattened and their people killed because of outside interference, its not Lebanons fight
Liam Hayes: the people of the Donbass have been ethnically Russian for centuries you need to educate yourself properly!
I see the Irish Palestinian solidarity crowd are out in force, still trying to defend the indefensible actions of the followers of the ‘religion of peace, while surely knowing that those same followers have nothing but contempt for our way of life, and would slice them from ear to ear, in the name of Al.
@Ed Brennan: good man Ed … for your little bit of religious racism. You’re very original
Everyone has their opinion on Israel and its usually not good and in some cases the opinions are spot on, Hamas are no angels, they’re terrorists and are capable of anything even if it’s against their own, they’re not to fussed when they put rocket launchers beside schools and Hospitals and built up areas, they don’t care who dies its propaganda for them, they don’t care about the innocent Lebanese if they start firing rockets from there, the Israelis will invade Lebanon again, how many times has Lebanon to rebuild, fight Israel if u must but leave Lebanon out of it.
Yvon Queguiner: like the men and women that created this republic? Michael Collins Countess Markievicz etc!!
And he would be right. Ireland like hamas, it remind them of their favorite IRA members.
have your say