• George Weah sworn in as president, Source: Al Jazeera
• Supreme Court Declares Younquoi Winner in Nimba District #8, Source: Daily OBSERVER
• Cuba Grateful for Liberia’s Role in Advocacy to Lift Blockade, Source: Daily OBSERVER
• New Defense for Children International Strategy to Combat Child Trafficking, Source: Daily OBSERVER

Supreme Court Declares Younquoi Winner in Nimba District #8, Source: Daily OBSERVER

Representative candidate in the October 10 election in Nimba County Electoral District #8, Saye Miannah, has suffered defeat to his closest rival, Larry Younquoi, at the Supreme Court. Mr. Miannah took exception to the ruling by the Board of Commissioners of the National Elections Commission (NEC) in favor of his rival and appealed to the court to uphold his lead of 19 votes at the 10 October 2017 elections so he can become the next representative of the district.

The High Court, however, on Friday upheld the NEC Board’s decision, which legitimized Mr. Younquoi’s victory as a result of a recount conducted by NEC. The recount, which took place in Saclepea on Saturday, 4 November 2017, gave Younquoi 6,191 votes, leading Miannah, who obtained 6,174 votes – a difference of 17 votes. Read more

Cuba Grateful for Liberia’s Role in Advocacy to Lift Blockade, Source: Daily OBSERVER

Cuban chargé d'affaires in Liberia, Yordenis Despaigne Vera, says though Cuba still feels the consequences of the economic blockade imposed on his country by the United States in 1958, he could not withhold expressing his gratitude to Liberia for being one of the 191 bilateral partners that voted at the United Nations to lift the blockade.

In his statement on the occasion marking the celebration of the 59th Anniversary of Triumph of the Cuban Revolution, Vera said: “This is a clear sign of the almost unanimous rejection by the international community of the blockade imposed by the United States against my country.” According to the Cuban chargé d'affaires, the United States blockade remains the main obstacle to the development of Cuba and a flagrant violation of the human rights of the Cuban people. Read more

New Defense for Children International Strategy to Combat Child Trafficking, Source: Daily OBSERVER

Despite efforts by the outgoing government and its international partners to combat child trafficking in Liberia and the Mano River Union (MRU), reports nonetheless suggest it is indeed on the rise. Following a series of reports of child trafficking in the MRU region in 2017 by the US State Department and other organizations, the executive director of the Defense for Children International (DCI), Foday Kawah, recently disclosed his institution’s strategy to reinforce the combat of children trafficking in the region.

Mr. Kawah told the Daily Observer that DCI is currently in close consultation with other CSOs from the four MRU countries – Liberia, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, and Sierra Leone – to help deter child trafficking in the region. According to the DCI executive director, the decision to advance the strategies came in the wake of increasing reports of trafficking in the region. Read more

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ON LIBERIA

George Weah sworn in as president, Source: Al Jazeera

Former international football star George Weah has been sworn in as president of Liberia, the first peaceful democratic transfer of power in the West African country in more than seven decades. Weah won 61.5 percent of the votes in December's election run-off, beating outgoing vice president Joseph Boakai who garnered 38.5 percent of the ballot. Voter turnout was 55.8 percent, or just over 1.2 million people, according to the election commission. The former world footballer of the year succeeded Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first elected female president. Weah entered politics after retiring from football in 2002 and run for the presidency in 2005 losing to Sirleaf. Read more