‘Economy Has Much to Achieve’
Finance Minister Amara Konneh has said the present state of the country’s economy has the propensity to achieve several developmental objectives.Minister Konneh made the disclosure Tuesday, March 25, at a press conference held at the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism (MICAT) in Monrovia. He gave an update on the state of the Liberian economy and outlined developments made as well as challenges facing the government in improving the economy.Min. Konneh said that Liberia’s real gross domestic product (GDP) recorded 8.1 percent estimated growth for fiscal year 2013; attributing it largely to increased activities in the mining sector.According to him, the growth in Liberia’s GDP is expected to continue in the medium-term, especially with the export of iron ore by China Union and the increase of production by ArcelorMittal.He noted that the increase of export in the extractive sector is a result of Liberia’s stable macro-economy, which attracts foreign direct investment that generates foreign exchange and creates jobs.Minister Konneh said the government has projected a boost in tax revenue collection by about US$400 million per annum through an increase in the mining sector, which it has achieved by removing infrastructural and bureaucratic processes that hindered concessionaires from rolling out their operations.This, according to Minister Konneh, would help increase employment opportunity for Liberians within the next seven to 10 years.However, the Finance Minister said that the economy of Liberia partly experienced some difficulties in the second quarter of the fiscal year, as the Liberian dollar continues to depreciate against the US dollar. The GOL’s fiscal year begins July 1 and ends June 30th.This, he said, was quickly brought to a halt by the Government through the effort of the Central Bank of Liberia (CBL).He said this decline in the value of the country’s currency is a testament to the need to increase the country’s exports and diversify the economy in a way that would enable the country to attract more foreign exchange. He added: “If this is not done, we will remain dependent on large aid and security-related inflows, which are likely to fall over time and be subject to global demand and prices.”Minister Konneh has meanwhile disclosed that the service sector, which is another driving force of economic growth, is expected to be hit as the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) draws down its presence in Liberia, and as NGO activities start reaching lower levels.According to him, this would cause a slowdown in domestic demand for services such as food, entertainment and domestic aid amongst others.Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
As the Preliminary Inquiry into the murder of Rubis Gas Station Accountant Jason Cort continues, Magistrate Judy Latchman on Tuesday accepted statements given by one of the accused, as evidence provided by the Prosecution.Stancey Rodney, 27, a mason, of Lot 24 Guyhoc Park; Linton Eastman, 30, a miner; and Clifton Gibson, 30, of Perry Street, Tucville, Georgetown, are all charged with the murder of Jason Cort.The defence team argued that the statements given by Gibson should not be accepted as it was signed by the accused forcefully.However, Latchman in making her decision stated that the statements were given freely and voluntarily. The charge alleged that on June 17, 2015, at Meadowbrook Garden, Georgetown, they murdered Cort during the course of a robbery.On the day in question at around 22:30h, Cort was shot to the chest when gunmen invaded his home and shot him before making off with his licensed firearm, mobile phone and Nintendo game.He had just returned home from an outing with his girlfriend. She was also at home at the time of the incident but was unhurt.One person from the community had indicated that after hearing the loud explosion and looking outside, they observed persons scaling the fence of Cort’s home and making good their escape up the road.Cort was rushed to the Dr Balwant Singh Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.Following the shooting, the three men were arrested and charged with the offence. The Preliminary Inquiry is schedule to continue on July 11.
An alleged paedophile who reportedly raped a six-year-old found himself arraigned before Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs on Monday.Thirty-year-old Val Smith of the North-West District in Region One faces a charge which details that on July 28, 2012, in the North-West District, he engaged in sexual activities with a child under the age of 16.The child is now 12 years old.Smith was placed on $200,000 bail, and is expected to return to court on March 5, 2018, when the matter will continue.
It’s gameweek 25 and we’re well into the second half of the season now…There were some shocks in the defences of many Fantasy Premier League teams during the midweek fixtures just passed, as the likes of John Stones, Per Mertesacker and more importantly Aleksander Kolarov all didn’t feature for their respective sides.If you have one of these three defenders you may be unsure whether to replace them or not. You may also be scouring the market to see if there are more reliable alternatives available.Well all the answers you need are available here – as well as plenty of extra advice to help other areas of your team this week.Check out the Fantasy Premier League transfers you might need to make this week by clicking the right arrow above… 12 Out: Romelu Lukaku (Everton) – £8.9m – Click the right arrow for more advice – Lukaku has now gone five without a goal and, like John Stones, has got a blank gameweek on the horizon in two gameweeks time. Out: Aleksandar Kolarov (Man City): £6.1m – Click the right arrow for more advice – Manchester City have kept three clean sheets in their last four matches, however, Aleksander Kolarov has picked up none of the points! Citys Serbian left back suffered a minor injury a month ago and has since been in and out of the team rotating with Gael Clichy. 12 12 12 12 12 In: Nacho Monreal (Arsenal) – £5.9m – Click the right arrow for more advice – And you dont have to look far to find Mertesackers ideal replacement either. Nacho Monreal has played 90 minutes in all but one of Arsenals matches so far this season! Out: Yaya Toure (Man City) – £8.6m – Click the right arrow for more advice – After he scored three goals in four games back in late December/early January, a fair few people decided to invest in Yaya Toure. It hasnt proved to be a smart move, as since then the Ivory Coast midfielder has not done nearly as much scoring as he has whinging about not winning Africas Player of the Year award. In: Eric Dier (Tottenham) – £5.3m – Click the right arrow for more advice – One solid replacement for John Stones is Spurs Eric Dier. Priced at only £5.3m with fixtures at home to Watford and Swansea coming up, Dier should prove to be more than worth his relatively small fee. In: Jamie Vardy (Leicester) – £7.3m – Click the right arrow for more advice – After going seven without a goal, Jamie Vardy is back and has scored three in his last two. Doubters may say the striker has tough fixtures coming up away at City and Arsenal in the next two weeks however we all know what happens if you chat s*** about Jamie Vardy
Out: Per Mertesacker (Arsenal) – £5.3m – Click the right arrow for more advice – Mertesacker was dropped for Arsenals game against Southampton on Tuesday despite having already served the suspension he earned against Chelsea. He is another defender whose long term starting place is now under threat as Gabriel licks his lips at the prospect of filling in. 12 12 12 In: Christian Eriksen (Tottenham) – £8.4m – Click the right arrow for more advice – A far more productive midfielder at the moment is Spurs Christian Eriksen. With two goals and three assists in his last three games, Eriksen has been raking in the points and should be on your fantasy radar without a doubt. In: Nicolas Otamendi/Bacary Sagna (Man City) – £6.5m/£5.8m – Click the right arrow for more advice – If you are looking for a more assured choice in the City defence then Nicolas Otamendi has started every game since November and Bacary Sagna has played 90 minutes in all but one match since October. Although both of their places may be under threat when Kompany and Zabaleta return from injury! 12 Out: John Stones (Everton) – £5.5m – Click the right arrow for more advice – John Stones will miss two of the next three gameweeks as an injury will keep him out of Saturdays game at Stoke, while Liverpool reaching the League Cup final means the Merseyside derby scheduled for 28 February must now be played at a later date. Out: Olivier Giroud (Arsenal) – £9.1m – Click the right arrow for more advice – On some days he looks like a world beater, on other days he looks like a lamp post. Right now hes looking like the latter and is way too inconsistent to have in your teams. 12 12 In: Harry Kane (Tottenham) – £10.1m – Click the right arrow for more advice – Olivier Giroud has no goals in his last three games, but Harry Kane has four goals in his last three games. I believe, if you can afford to stump up the extra £1m, that transfer is known as a no-brainer!
The conviction of murder for Graham Dwyer has brought a nightmare to an end for his one-time Co Donegal partner.Murderer Graham Dwyer stalked and terrorised Donegal woman Eimer O’Shea for years.Emer O’Shea, from Ballyshannon, suffered more than a decade of terror at the hands of the man who brutally killed Elaine O’Hara.Today’s Sunday Independent reveals how the posh killer also stalked and terrorised Ms O’Shea for years. Ms McShea told gardai in Ballyshannon, she was terrified of Dwyer – the father of her son Sennan – around the same time he was secretly involved in an S&M relationship with Elaine O’Hara.Dwyer bombarded Ms McShea with abusive and threatening text messages.On one occasion, Ms McShea and her son were forced to flee the new home she was building with her future husband after Dwyer’s mother warned her to get out of the house because he was on his way to Donegal to “commit suicide”.In 2007, Dwyer, who split up with Ms McShea in 1996, began turning up in Ballyshannon again. She spotted him cycling past their home and, on another occasion, saw Dwyer sitting in his car watching the new house. He sent her texts commenting about the design of her new house to let her know he was watching. Eventually, the abusive texts became so bad she contacted the gardai.In November 2007 he also turned up at Sennan’s 15th birthday and flew into a rage when he saw his son smoking. “Emer and Sennan were terrified of him – she locked him out of the house and called the guards,” a source said.Dwyer was approached by gardai at the time and warned about his behaviour, but there was not enough evidence to press charges against him for harassment and threats.The latest revelations are just some of the new previously unpublished details that have emerged in a Sunday Independent investigation that sheds a revealing new insight into the mind of the man who has become Ireland’s most notorious killer.According to sources, Dwyer turned Ms McShea’s life into a “living hell”, which only ended when the jury in the Central Criminal Court found him guilty of Ms O’Hara’s murder on Friday evening. Ms McShea has declined to speak publicly about her traumatic ordeal.However, a source said: “She [Ms McShea] lived in absolute terror of Dwyer and no one could know how afraid she and Sennan were that he might be acquitted. To say that she was relieved on Friday evening would be an understatement.“The minute the guards turned up to interview Emer about Dwyer on the day of his arrest for the O’Hara murder she was not at all surprised at what she heard.”Ms McShea first met Dwyer in September 1991, shortly after the pair began their third level education in Dublin. She was studying environmental health in DIT’s Cathal Brugha Street, while Dwyer registered at Bolton Street, where he was studying architecture. REVEALED: MURDERER DWYER STALKED AND TERRORISED DONEGAL MUM FOR YEARS was last modified: March 30th, 2015 by StephenShare this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Tags:BallyshannoncourtdonegalElaine O’HaraEmer O’Sheamurder
COMPETITION: Arena7 Entertainment Complex in Letterkenny have been giving away top prizes all week in conjunction with Donegal Daily.The complex based on the Ramelton Road Letterkenny is a hive of activity over the Easter Holidays with families and you can join them. Advertisement To win a fabulous four-course dinner for two from their Love Fridays menu and a glass of wine or a cocktail just answer the following question:From what country does the band ABBA originate?If you know the answer then write it underneath the comment thread on this story on Donegal Daily’s Facebook page.Yesterday’s winner was Tina McGroarty. Advertisement WIN A FABULOUS FOUR-COURSE DINNER FOR TWO AT ARENA 7 was last modified: March 25th, 2016 by Mark ForkerShare this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Tags:Arena 7EntertainmentFeaturesnews
Each faces eight counts of arson. Each charge is punishable by five to 20 years in prison.160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set! VAIL, Colo. – Four alleged environmental extremists have been indicted in a 1998 firebombing at the Vail ski resort that caused $12 million in damage – one of the most devastating ecoterrorism attacks in U.S. history. All four defendants had been named in an earlier indictment in Oregon charging them with conspiracy in a series of similar sabotage attacks in Oregon, California and Wyoming. Two are in custody in Oregon, and the other two were still at large. The Vail blaze “really is a subset of the larger conspiracy,” U.S. Attorney William Leone said. The blaze left a mountain lodge, two restaurants and a few other buildings and ski lifts in smoldering ruins. A shadowy underground group calling itself the Earth Liberation Front claimed responsibility and said it had targeted Vail because it was expanding into potential habitat of the lynx, an endangered cat. AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MOREBasketball roundup: Sierra Canyon, Birmingham set to face off in tournament quarterfinalsIn a message sent to a radio station, it warned: “We will be back if this greedy corporation continues to trespass into wild and unroaded areas.” Leone would not say whether the four indicted in Colorado were members of the ELF. The Oregon indictment, brought against 13 people and one unindicted co-conspirator, said the defendants considered themselves members of ELF or the Animal Liberation Front. Authorities say the ELF has caused tens of millions of dollars in damage across the country through sabotage. The FBI describes the group as one of the nation’s leading domestic terrorist organizations. Named in the indictment are Chelsea Gerlach, 29, of Portland, Ore; Stanislas Meyerhoff, 28, of Charlottesville, Va.; Josephine Sunshine Overaker, 31; and Rebecca J. Rubin, 33. Gerlach and Meyerhoff are in custody in Oregon. Authorities said the whereabouts of the others were unknown. 
In singles, Wood defeated South Dakota State’s Marco Paulo Castro, 7-5, 6-4 to advance to the round of 64 with Gillespie and MacGeoch received first-round byes. Southern Illinois’ Michal Kianicka topped Stride 6-4, 6-4 in the round of 128. Story Links Singles Top Half Draw STILLWATER, Okla. – The Drake University men’s tennis team began competition at the ITA Central Region Championships on Thursday at the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center. Singles Bottom Half Draw 
Doubles Draw The Bulldogs’ juniors Ben Stride and Ben Wood started the day off with an 8-4 win over St. Louis’ John Nogalski and Charlei Parry in the round of 64. Stride and Wood then fell to Oklahoma State’s Lucas Gerch and Jurence Mendoza, 8-5 in the round of 32. Vinny Gillespie and Calum MacGeoch received a bye in the round of 64 and advanced to the round of 16 with an 8-5 victory over Branch Terrell and Johan den Toom from Arkansas. The Bulldogs will continue action at the ITA Central Region Championships on Friday, starting at 9 a.m.Print Friendly Version
Red Bluff >> Avenging a loss from a previous season is typically what coaches say during preseason camp. Mercy High football coach Brian Medeiros was fired up Monday afternoon at the idea of opening the 2017 season at home Aug. 26 against Butte Valley, of Dorris. “They knocked us out of the playoffs (last year),” Medeiros said, following day one of training camp at Sacred Heart Parish School. Medeiros said this year’s group, though young, will be a lot faster around the narrower corners and …
Click here if you’re having trouble viewing this video on a mobile device.For 47 years, the Golden State Warriors called Oracle Arena home. Now, they’re saying goodbye.On Thursday night, win or lose, the team will play its final game in the historic stadium. This is the place, this hulk of a building just off Interstate 880 in Oakland, that wrapped its arms around this storied team and nurtured its epic rise.This is the place where fans were so loyal and so loud — even during the …