Month: November 2014

FREETOWN (Reuters) – Authorities in Sierra Leone have freed a journalist arrested 11 days ago for making supposedly disparaging comments about the country’s effort to fight Ebola. Local rights groups and British parliament had criticised the detention of David Tam-Baryoh, who was arrested under emergency measures put in place to combat the worst Ebola outbreak on record. Sierra Leone is one of the three West African nations worst hit by an Ebola outbreak that has killed at least 5,177 people in West Africa. U.N. …
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KINSHASA (Reuters) – Democratic Republic of Congo declared its three-month Ebola outbreak officially over on Saturday after 42 days without recording a new case of the disease. Congo's outbreak, which killed 49 of the 66 people infected in the remote northwestern Equateur province, is unrelated to the outbreak in West Africa, where at least 5,177 people are known to have died in the worst Ebola outbreak on record. "No new cases have been registered since Oct. 4," Health Minister Felix Kabange told reporters in Kinshasa. …

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FREETOWN (Reuters) – A Sierra Leonean doctor who caught Ebola working as a surgeon in a Freetown hospital was evacuated on a chartered flight early on Saturday morning, medical and airport sources said. Dr. Martin Salia, a 44-year-old permanent U.S. resident, was chief medical officer at the United Methodist Church's Kissy Hospital when he was confirmed on Tuesday to have contracted Ebola. Eustace Williams, head of operations at Freetown airport, said the plane that is due to take Salia to the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha left at around 0400 GMT. …

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LONDON (Reuters) – Boy band One Direction and U2 lead singer Bono joined some of the biggest names in British pop and rock music on Saturday to record a new version of the Band Aid charity song to raise money to combat Ebola in Africa. The single, "Do They Know It's Christmas?", was first recorded 30 years ago after musician and philanthropist Bob Geldof inspired a host of stars to come together under the Band Aid name to help those affected by famine in Ethiopia. …

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FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Siemens' CEO said its healthcare unit would remain within the company for the foreseeable future, dismissing speculation about a disposal, which emerged after Siemens announced the legal separation of the business this month. "The healthcare unit will be operated as an independent company within the company as we aim to strengthen the health business at Siemens and to prepare it for the future," Joe Kaeser told the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung. …

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