Local News

By Joseph Momoh, Daily Scope Reporter The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Dr. Henry Musa Kpaka says West Africa will not achieve rice self-sufficiency by expanding farmland alone, warning that weak processing and logistics remain the sector’s biggest bottlenecks. Addressing a ministerial panel at the ECOWAS Rice Investment Roundtable in Accra, Dr. Kpaka argued…

By Saidu Jalloh, Daily Scope Reporter The United States Embassy in Freetown has dismissed reports that it is set to close, assuring the public that operations continue as normal despite a broader Trump administration plan to reduce the number of US missions in Africa authorized to process visas. In an official statement, the Embassy said…

By Joseph Momoh, Daily Scope Reporter FREETOWN Sierra Leone’s capacity to detect and contain disease outbreaks has received a boost, with the Ministry of Health and the National Public Health Agency, NPHA, taking delivery of 16 Honda motorbikes from the World Health Organization, WHO. Funded through the Pandemic Fund, the donation is designed to close…

A Freetown High Court judge has sentenced Zainab Bintu Samura to 45 years in prison for attempting to smuggle drugs to her husband inside Pademba Road Magistrate Court No. 1 during his criminal trial. Justice Mark Ngegba delivered the judgment on Monday, May 25, 2026, after convicting Samura on six counts of unlawful possession and…

By: Joseph Momoh, Daily Scope Reporter BRUSSELS, Belgium, June 1 Professor Dr. Charles Jalloh has opened his European diplomatic drive in Brussels, courting key UN member missions ahead of the November 2026 election for the International Court of Justice. The Sierra Leonean jurist, accompanied by Ambassador Philip Bob Jusu, met Monday with the Chinese Ambassador…

By Kadijatu Bangura, Daily Scope Reporter FREETOWN Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs, Dr. Isata Mahoi, has issued a call for urgent action to reduce preventable newborn deaths, warning that neonatal mortality continues to weigh heavily on child survival rates. Speaking Monday at the 2nd Annual Conference of the Paediatric Association of Sierra Leone, PASL,…

By Kadijatu Bangura reporter D.S Sierra Leone’s €352 million European Union development package faces suspension after the Netherlands formally asked Brussels to freeze the funding over Freetown’s failure to extradite convicted Dutch drug trafficker Jos Leijdekkers, alias “Bolle Jos”. Dutch Justice Minister David van Weel announced the diplomatic push on Sunday during television programme Buitenhof,…

By: Joseph Momoh, Daily Scope Reporter Sierra Leone’s Government Printing Department turned a new page Friday as it was officially relaunched at its New England Ville headquarters, ending years of decline at the 232-year-old institution. Founded in 1794 and operating as the Royal Gazette from 1801, the department was British West Africa’s first government press…

By: Kadijatu Bangura, Daily Scope Reporter The Maternal healthcare in York Village, Western Rural District, received a major lift on 28 May as the Orange Sierra Leone Foundation partnered with UBA Foundation and Mama-Pikin Foundation to commission a fully refurbished labour ward and post-natal clinic. The upgrade transforms a facility previously hampered by infrastructure gaps….

By: Joseph Momoh, Daily Scope Reporter Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Health has received 18,000 ampoules of Lassa fever medication donated by the Chinese Embassy, a move health officials say will strengthen the country’s readiness for potential outbreaks. The consignment is expected to close treatment gaps and improve protection for frontline workers and communities most at…