News in Brief

Date: 15 March 2015 - 21:22

News ID: ۱۲۰۹۴

FREETOWN (Press TV) – Sierra Leone’s vice president has applied for asylum at the US embassy in the capital city of Freetown and is waiting for a decision on his case, a source says.
Vice President Samuel Sam-Sumana requested asylum from the US ambassador on Saturday after soldiers disarmed his security team during an encounter at his residence in Freetown.
Witnesses said heavily armed soldiers rushed into Sumana’s residence but he was nowhere to be found. The soldiers, however, left with stacks of documents.
Sam-Sumana "is now in hiding at a secure location awaiting a reply to a request he has made by telephone to the American embassy for asylum for himself and his wife,” a source close to him said.
Meanwhile, Sierra Leone’s ruling All People’s Congress (APC) party has denied reports that the vice president’s life is in danger.
The APC confirmed it "has been informed by the American embassy in Freetown that Vice President Samuel Sam-Sumana has requested to seek asylum... alleging that his life is under threat and that his residence has been looted.”
On March 6, the APC party expelled the 52-year-old Sam-Sumana from what it described as "his anti-party activities, including fomenting violence.”
He is accused of instigating "frequent unrest” in his eastern home district of Kono, while plotting to set up a breakaway political party.

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SYDNEY  (Reuters) - The first aid teams to reach Vanuatu reported widespread devastation on Sunday as authorities declared a state of emergency after a "monster” cyclone tore through the Pacific island nation.
With winds of more than 300 kph (185 mph), Cyclone Pam razed homes, smashed boats and washed away roads and bridges as it struck late on Friday and into Saturday. Aid workers described the situation as catastrophic.
The count of confirmed deaths was at eight with 30 people injured. But those numbers were almost certain to rise as rescuers reached the low-lying archipelago’s outlying islands.
Aid workers were particularly worried about the southern island of Tanna. An official with the Australian Red Cross told Reuters an aircraft had managed to land there and aid workers confirmed there was "widespread destruction”.
"Virtually every building that is not concrete has been flattened,” said the official, adding two deaths had been confirmed on the island which has a population of about 29,000 and is about 200 km (125 miles) south of the capital, Port Vila.

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CAIRO (Press TV) – Egyptian security officials say a bomb explosion in the capital, Cairo, has claimed the life of at least one person.
According to the officials, an improvised explosive device (IED) went off Saturday evening in the working class district of el-Matariya. The victim died after arriving at hospital.
The attack took place amid heightened security during a three-day conference on investment in the North African country which started on March 13. The gathering at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, located some 400 kilometers southeast of the capital, has attracted world leaders and businessmen.
Prior to the conference, analysts had warned of militant attempts to sabotage the investment summit, which comes after four years of economic stagnation in the country following the ouster of long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
The el-Matariya district came under numerous bombing attacks targeting mobile phone shops, last week.
Over the past few months, el-Matariya has also been the scene of clashes between security forces and protesters, mostly supporters or members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Some militants have recently launched a campaign of attacks against local and foreign business interests, including banks, mobile phone service providers and fast food restaurants.