22 Arrested for Killing Anti-Ebola Campaigners in Guinea

Conakry (Xinhua/NAN) – Guinea’s Justice Minister Cheick Sacko said 22 suspects had been arrested in connection with last week’s killing of eight government  officials.

The eight officials were involved in sensitization of the public against Ebola Virus Disease in the southeast region of Wome.

“The suspected perpetrators of the assassinations will be charged before a special sitting of the Conakry Court of Appeal,” the minister said on Wednesday in Conakry.

He said that those arrested included Labile Haba, a 30-year-old hawker, who was believed to be the head of the operation.

Sacko said other suspects include two residents of Wome who had tried to flee to Cote d’Ivoire, as well as their two colleagues arrested in the town of Gueckedou in Guinea’s southern region.

The justice minister said the suspects, who were arrested a day after the killing of the eight officials, had been questioned by investigators.

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Ebola: NAFDAC to Prosecute Professor who Claimed Ewedu is a Cure

In the midst of the Ebola outbreak, several individuals have claimed to have the panacea for the disease.  Kolanut, salt, Ewedu, and other food items have been rumoured to cure Ebola.



The National  Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has vowed to crack down on people who make such erroneous claims, beginning with the professor who claimed Ewedu can cure Ebola.

Director General of NAFDAC, Paul Orhii made the announcement yesterday,Vanguard reports.

Orhii reportedly stated that NAFDAC would arrest and prosecute a Nigerian Professor of Ophthalmology at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, (LUTH) who made the false claims about Ewedu.

“One consequence of these unsupported and possibly fraudulent claims is that people may be misled into a false sense of invincibility on account of eating Ewedu or bitter kola and drop their guards. This is a national embarrassment and the Agency will not take such uncorroborated claims by supposedly learned people lightly… NAFDAC will immediately arrest and prosecute any Nigerian making such unverified claims as that could mislead the public,” he said.

In its efforts to crack down on individuals exploiting the Ebola situation, NAFDAC has also arrested three Nigerian business men who imported fake Ebola kits and expired hand sanitizers into the country.

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Malaysia Reports Suspected Ebola Case

 

Kuala Lumpur (Xinhua/NAN) A 24-year-old Zimbabwean student is currently under observation for Ebola in eastern Malaysian state of Sarawak, on Monday a local official in Health department said.

The student fell ill on Saturday and had been transferred to Sarawak General Hospital isolation ward from a private hospital.

Sarawak Public Health Assistant Minister, Jerip Susil, said that the student had no related signs to Ebola except for symptoms of high fever.

“We will know for sure if this is Ebola, once the test results is out within a week,’’ he added.

According to the report, the student never left the state, but came into contact with other foreign students who recently returned from their home country.

However, the Malaysian Health Ministry confirmed that there were no confirmed Ebola cases in the country.

 

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Ebola: FIFA Pledges Financial Support to West African Countries Affected

Lagos (NAN) President of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA), Sepp Blatter, on Saturday said the organization would give full support to three West African countries heavily hit by the Ebola Virus Disease.

According to “Inside Games,” an online news provider, Blatter made the pledge at FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.

The publication stated that the world football’s governing body said that the issue would be discussed and agreed upon at its next Finance Committee meeting which would hold in France on Sept. 25.

It said that FIFA had decided to dip into its solidarity fund to help Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, all impoverished countries in West Africa, whose citizens had been afflicted by the Ebola disease.

“FIFA said that the additional financial support would be spent in solidarity with United Nations (UN) initiative on the fight against the epidemic.

This announcement, the publication said, came as it emerged that the Antoinette Tubman Stadium in Monrovia, the Liberian capital, was to serve as the site for two large-scale Ebola treatment units.

It stated that the stadium had been identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the safest and most effective location for the units.

It also said that FIFA would cover the costs of any damage to the Monrovia pitch that might be caused by the treatment units.

The publication also quoted Wilfried Lemke, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General of the UN on Sport for Development and Peace as acknowledging that the Ebola outbreak also had tremendous impact on the sports community.

“National authorities, the UN and the world of sport need to work closely together in order to halt the spread of the disease,” Lemke said.

FIFA recalled that Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Liberia withdrew from the recent Youth Olympic Games in China because of the Ebola crisis.

 

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