Latest news with #SierraLeonean
Qatar Tribune
15-07-2025
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
Labour minister reviews ties with Sierra Leone's president, minister
QNA Freetown President of Sierra Leone Julius Maada Bio met Minister of Labour HE Dr Ali bin Smaikh Al Marri in the Sierra Leonean capital, Freetown, on Tuesday. Discussions during the meeting dealt with bilateral cooperation between Qatar and Sierra Leone in the labour sector and means to support and enhance them. The Minister of Labour also met with Minister of Employment, Labour and Social Security of Sierra Leone Mohamed Rahman Swaray. During the meeting, they discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in the labour sector and identified opportunities to further support and develop partnership ties between the two countries.
Qatar Tribune
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
Al Sadd players Camara and Salem suffer injuries
Tribune News Network Doha Qatar Stars League and Qatar Cup champions Al Sadd will be sans two key players for the start of their pre-season training as Malian midfielder Mohamed Camara sustained a pelvic injury and will travel to France for specialized medical assessment and treatment while Mahdi Salem has suffered a hamstring injury and is expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks. The news comes just as the team prepares to depart for their overseas training camp in Spain, scheduled from July 16 to August 4, where they will lay the groundwork to defend their domestic double. Qatar Stars League clubs are intensifying their preparations for the 2025-2026 season, with a flurry of activity announced Tuesday encompassing key transfers, significant injury setbacks, and the commencement of European training camps. Al Shamal sign Abdulrahman Rashid Meanwhile, Al Shamal SC continued its ambitious summer recruitment drive, announcing the signing of defender Abdulrahman Rashid from Al Wakrah SC on a one-season loan. The club, which finished 6th last season, hopes Rashid will be a valuable addition to a squad already bolstered by the high-profile signings of Egypt's Akram Tawfik and Spanish midfielder Alex Collado. The moves signal a clear intent from Al Shamal to challenge for higher positions in the upcoming season. Elsewhere, Al Shahania SC has secured its core foreign talent by renewing the contracts of Sierra Leonean attacker Alhassan Koroma and Belgian playmaker Francesco Antonucci. Al Sailiya and Al Arabi teams leave for Europe Al Sailiya and Al Arabi teams have left for Europe where they hold pre-season camps. Al Sailiya departed for their training camp in Slovenia, while Al Arabi left for Valencia, Spain.
Time Out
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
I went on a food tour of Copenhagen inspired by ‘The Bear' – these are the best things I ate
'Ah don lan na di airport. Usay you dey?' The sound of my Sierra Leonean parents' mother tongue, Krio, was not on the bingo list of things I expected to hear in Copenhagen – a city with an estimated 3 percent African population – but there it was. It came from a perturbed middle-aged woman and translated to 'I'm at the airport, where are you?'. What felt like a quirky coincidence became a defining theme of my trip: pockets of diversity making their presence known in the most unapologetic and endearing way. I'm in Denmark's capital for one thing: to eat. Over the next few days, I'll be retracing the steps of Carmy and Marcus in The Bear, the hit show about a scrappy group of chefs getting a Chicago restaurant off the ground, now back on Disney+ for its fourth season. While the show is primarily set in the States, the Danish capital and its world-renowned fine dining culture are heavily influential in The Bear. Three-Michelin-star New Nordic restaurant Noma is where main character Carmy (played by Jeremy Allen White) cut his teeth in fine dining, and the city's restaurants and kitchens make several appearances throughout the series. Broens Street Food: A food market curated by fine-dining specialists My first stop is Broens Street Food. Unlike your classic grab-and-go stalls, this food market is curated by Noma – and its selection is, as you'd expect, mouthwatering. There's Crêpes à la Cart's French pastries topped with fresh strawberries and milk chocolate; Fuego's perfectly grilled pepito steak sandwiches; and Pasta La Pasta, specialising in… pasta. After doing several exorcist head rotations, I land on Kejser Sausage, an authentic Danish sausage infused with wild garlic, served with a side of creamy potato salad. It was delicious, but I found myself keen to discover what Copenhagen's food scene had to offer beyond its fine-dining and local offerings. So I ventured further afield to Nørrebro – aka the coolest neighbourhood in Copenhagen – known for its cultural diversity, vintage fashion scene and street performers. Sasaa: Denmark's first pan-African restaurant The word 'authentic' is thrown around loosely, but Sasaa, Denmark's first pan-African restaurant, is the real deal; from the beautiful shades of melanin captured in the paintings of Nigerian artist Gbonjubola Obatuyi to affable chef Amadou and the waiting staff bellowing out of the kitchen. 'We're the only pan-African restaurant in Copenhagen. Sasaa is more than a restaurant; it's a cultural institution,' said restaurant owner Mahmed Abdi. 'We see ourselves as an introduction to Africa for those who have never had the joy of going there.' On my Somali waiter's recommendation, I tried Bariis lyo Hilib, a savoury rice dish with tender lamb, zesty chilli, and a banana on the side (don't knock it till you try it!). Hart Bakery: Home of Copenhagen's legendary pastries Instead of putting the words 'tasty Copenhagen' into Google and hoping for the best, I was excited to spend my second day in Copenhagen following in the footsteps of Marcus Brooks, The Bear 's ambitious young pastry chef. In the show, Marcus is sent to Copenhagen to master three desserts, and after stepping into Hart Bakery, it's easy to see why this would be the perfect finishing school. The actor who plays Marcus, Lionel Boyce, spent two weeks at Hart in 2022, immersing himself in its doughy trenches. The same quiet intensity and obsession with the craft that we see in Marcus on-screen is palpable at Hart. From the focus of the bakers folding the croissant dough to the rhythm of the fresh loaves being taken out of the oven, the whole place ran on a quiet precision. I didn't get to try the ice cream that Marcus made on the episode, which is probably for the best as it was 9am, but there was no shortage of other Danish confectionery to sink my teeth into. 'Strawberry tarts are like religion in Denmark,' joked Talia Richard-Carvajal, creative director and baker of Hart Bakery during a pastry demo. I had the chance to sample (and by sample, I mean stuffed my face) classic Danish strawberry tarts with fresh whipped cream, flaky cardamom croissants and moreish black sesame cookies. By the end of the demo, my blood sugar had turned into sugar blood. Noma Projects: Experimental concoctions from the laboratory of world-renowned Noma Nothing could have prepared my taste buds for Noma Projects. Forget starting with savoury and ending with sweet; I went from sweet to every flavour under the sun here. Opened in 2022, this offshoot of Noma blends the experimentation of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory with the conservationist values of a David Attenborough documentary. Everything is either foraged from surrounding gardens or fermented on site in their laboratories. Amongst the wonderful concoctions I tried were mushroom garum, corn yuzu hot sauce and elderflower paeso. They were all so good that I left with a bottle of each. Noma may have been the pinnacle of fine dining, topping global rankings and defining an era of Nordic cuisine, but it was also known for the intense, often punishing kitchen culture that contributed to its closure. That pressure is mirrored in The Bear, where Carmy, a former Noma chef, brings the same perfectionism, burnout and emotional toll into his own chaotic Chicago kitchen. But that culture has evolved for the better. In a bold move, Noma announced its transition into a full-time food innovation lab and test kitchen, a shift they call Noma 3.0. The restaurant, once synonymous with avant-garde tasting menus, is now focused on research and development. 'The idea was to take Noma flavours and make them accessible for home kitchens,' said Annika de las Heras, managing director. 'We wanted to share experiences, not gatekeep.' As someone who couldn't afford to eat at fine dining establishments growing up, this was music to my ears. I got to step inside that very lab and make elderflower piso that can be used in sauces and dressings. We used split yellow peas instead of soy beans, since they are native to Scandavia, and mixed in elderflower oil to give it some floral notes. Sadly, I didn't get to take it home that day because it takes three months to ferment in a room kept at 29 degrees Celsius, but the good people at Noma promised to post it to me. I was, however, given a thin sheet of SCOBY marinated in blueberry juice, washed down with kombucha made using honey from the onsite beehive. After a long morning of warm pastries, the sharp, tangy hit of the ferment felt like a jolt to the senses. I instantly felt more alert, like I had just splashed my face with cold water. Poulette: A tiny takeaway with massive flavour If you freeze up at too many options, Poulette is perfect for you. They serve only two items: a chicken sandwich and a mapo tofu sandwich. Founded in 2020 by chefs Martin Ho and Jesper Norrie, Poulette has become a Copenhagen hotspot, drawing hundreds of visitors daily, including international pop star Dua Lipa and – of course – a feature in The Bear. Director Ramy Youssef, who helmed The Bear 's Copenhagen-set 'Honeydew' episode, reportedly discovered Poulette while filming in the city and loved it so much that he wrote it into the show. Marcus is seen devouring their signature chicken sandwich and leaving no crumbs. Their chicken sandwich is so good that the staff have gone to great lengths to keep the recipe a secret after diners tried to uncover it. True to their motto, 'Spicy By Default,' you will want a cold drink on hand. But if you ask Martin, it isn't even their best sandwich. Of Taiwanese descent, he grew up eating tofu and believes it is unfairly overlooked in the West. 'The mapo tofu sandwich is where it's at,' he says proudly. 'Tofu has a bland and boring stigma, but that's just bad cooking. Sanchez: Contemporary Mexican flavours in the heart of Vesterbro Mexican cuisine has never had to fight the label of being bland, and celebrity chef Rosio Sanchez, who makes a guest appearance in season three of The Bear, is largely responsible for bringing it to Denmark with her eponymous Sanchez restaurant in the colourful Vesterbro district. One of my favourites on the menu was the spicy tuna tostada sprinkled with grasshoppers, a Mexican delicacy. It may sound like a Man vs Food trial to Westerners, but once you try it, you'll get it. The crispness of the grasshoppers perfectly complements the soft tuna and crunch of the tortilla chip. The restaurant's inspired menu also features habanero, avocado, and black beans. It's a must-try – but if you can't get a table, there are smaller Hija De Sanchez stalls dotted around the city, offering quick Mexican bites like tacos and churros. Rosio, who spent five years as a pastry chef at Noma, still embodies their school of thought. 'I loved everything Noma stood for, preserving and continuing Danish cooking heritage and I wanted to do the same for Mexican food,' she says. 'There were people who doubted if Mexican food could be successful in this part of the world, but I was willing to fight for it.' The pride and purpose of using food as a vehicle to preserve culture is why The Bear has such a strong cult following. It's also what made my trip so special. From hearing my parents' mother tongue in the airport to tasting dishes from all four corners of the world, the city's diversity may not always be visible, but you can always taste it.
Daily Mirror
07-07-2025
- Daily Mirror
Gangster bludgeoned with golf clubs outside bar where UK mobsters gunned down
WARNING - GRAPHIC CONTENT: Sam Walker, who has a huge online following due to his criminal lifestyle, was left with a mass of staples in his skull after the attack in Spain A gangster was savagely assaulted days after filming a video at a bar where two Scottish mob bosses were shot to death. Sam Walker, a self-proclaimed social media influencer with a hefty online following for his criminal exploits, sustained severe injuries in the attack in Spain. He ended up needing a number of staples in his skull. The bloody assault followed his posting of a clip from Monaghan's bar in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol. In May, Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr were gunned down in the same bar in front of terrified customers who had been watching the Champions League final. Walker, from Liverpool, visited the murder scene shortly after the shocking incident and broadcasted it on his Instagram and TikTok accounts. At the end of the video he says: "This is a message to any one of yous out here. "Stay on point, because if you get caught slipping. That's what happens. Three people have been whacked, two people are dead. Have a nice day, bam bam." His actions were seen as disrespectful to the recently deceased victims, however. It was then later revealed that Walker had been brutally attacked in Puerto Banus nearby, where he suffered serious head wounds that bloggers speculated involved golf clubs. Following surgery in a Spanish hospital, he released several videos seemingly flaunting the staples in his skull. A source told the Daily Record: "Sam Walker is very well known and has a big social media following but he is not in the same criminal league as some of the big players who have settled here. "Walker is known to create noise around his movements and to chase followers and hits, so there was scepticism at the seriousness of the attack at the start. But it does seem that he was very badly injured. It has been reported on several social media channels that the side of his head was 'caved in' and fragments of bone were lodged in his brain." The insider continued: "We don't know for sure but the video he made shortly after the Glasgow people were murdered did not go down well in some quarters and there remains the question that he was attacked as revenge. "Spanish police are well aware of this suggestion. There are various theories as to the motive for the attack. It is almost certainly related to gangland grudges." Walker's recent years have seen him globetrotting to Sierra Leone, Turkey, Cyprus, Ireland, Thailand among other places, rubbing shoulders with drug dealers and assorted criminals. Despite his large Instagram and TikTok fanbase, he often faces ridicule for allegedly concocting tales. Yet he has also engaged in acts of kindness and charity work in Africa. In the summer of 2018, Walker shared footage of himself amidst jubilant children in an impoverished Sierra Leonean slum. Notorious Walker has recently been seen delivering a container full of supplies and setting up a water tank and pipes in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. Amidst applause and cheers, a local man expressed gratitude: "We are happy that our brother Sam has come to help us with water and sanitation. We thank God for him." Walker confidently declared to the camera: "Now, no child is going to have to drink dirty water again." The infamous crook embarked on an elaborate journey to reach his destination, travelling by private jet to Belgium, flying to Spain, hopping on a cargo ship to Morocco, and then driving across the Sahara desert. Throughout his travels, he brazenly taunted the police on social media, boasting at the end of his grand voyage: "Better luck trying to catch me when I go out of the country next time, Merseyside Police." In March of the previous year, Walker had openly ridiculed the police after he skipped bail in the UK and escaped to Sierra Leone via private jet. His capture came as he was broadcasting live on TikTok, apprehended by local armed officers. Walker, who has admitted to a long life of crime, including drug, weapon and driving charges, once threatened to tend the career of footballer Ross Barkley's career. At one point, he also found himself in an unexpected quarrel with actor Stephen Fry. The Scouser reportedly has more than 130 offences to his name and last September was found guilty of contempt of court for live streaming from an Irish courtroom on TikTok while there entering a guilty plea for driving-related charges.
Daily Mirror
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'I visited jet-lag free destination more beautiful than I could've imagined'
Time to see jetlag-free Sierra Leone - Sarah Marshalldiscovers fab new West African beaches in the paradise country and meets a wonderful eco hero along the way Weaving through mangroves along a path leading to the Atlantic Ocean, I tiptoe carefully through the sand. After dark, there is little light pollution on Sierra Leone's remote, southerly Turtle Islands, allowing stars to dazzle clearly overhead. Using the moon as my torchlight, I shuffle along the coastline, scanning for any movements along the shore. Between November and April, five species of sea turtle come to nest here as they have done for hundreds of years. Travelling thousands of miles, their journey is far from easy but the difficulties don't end once they arrive. 'Sea turtles have been nesting for thousands of years,' explains marine conservationist Eddie Aruna, my local Sierra Leonean guide. But coastal erosion and sea level rises are having an impact on their nesting sites. 'Turtles always return to their native beaches, but if these no longer exist they will discharge their eggs into the sea,' he tells me. Other issues include poaching for meat and eggs. Since 2012, Eddie has been working hard to protect the five species of turtles that nest here, focusing on community engagements and recruiting local monitors through his NGO Reptile and Amphibian Program Sierra Leone (RAP-SL). His work has earned him a Tusk Conservation in Africa Award, presented by the charity's royal patron Prince William at a glittering ceremony in London last November. Along with a trophy, Eddie has been awarded a grant of £75,000 to continue his work and reach more communities along Sierra Leone's coastline. He already has several other project sites, including neighbouring Sherbro Island where Hollywood actor Idris Elba – whose father hailed from Sierra Leone – is developing an eco-resort. Stretching for 250 miles along the Atlantic Ocean, the West African country's coastline has huge potential as a jetlag-free destination – especially with the new Air Sierra Leone direct 7hr flights from Gatwick to the capital Freetown due to start on June 16. Here are some of the best beaches to visit... Easily reached from capital city Freetown, the jewel in Sierra Leone's beach crown earned its reputation by gaining the ultimate seal of paradisiacal approval – being used as a backdrop for a Bounty advert. Mountains and thick tropical vegetation cradle soft white sand beaches lapped by gentle waves, making this an easy place to relax and swim. Essentially, this is a lagoon where the river meets the ocean, allowing for some laidback kayak paddles and fishing trips. A collection of comfortable bungalows and suites within yards of the waterfront, this is the closest you'll find to a smart beachside resort along this coastline (for now). Step straight onto a wide-open bay, especially beautiful at sunrise and sunset when fishermen sail past in brightly painted wooden pirogue boats. Watch them carry their hauls onto the beach, where women sift through the best catch to sell at local markets. This is one of the best places to sit and watch local life unfold, with stretches of sand large enough to provide a stage for volleyball and football games. Get here via an easy 40-minute road transfer from Freetown. This wild, laidback archipelago with castaway Robinson Crusoe appeal lies off the coast of Freetown but feels much further away. Getting there is an adventure, requiring a 40-minute ride in a wooden pirogue from Kent, an hour outside Freetown. Once ashore, the place slows down at Bafa Resort, a stylish glamping hideaway in the forest. Along with snorkelling, diving and hiking trails in the forest, you can learn about the country's complex cultural heritage. Ruins of churches and colonial-era buildings are remnants of the slave trade which cast a shadow over the islands until they later became a settlement for liberated Africans. Fringing Sierra Leone's busy port-side capital, these urban sands are the country's answer to South Beach or Copacabana. Come here to drink at late night bars, dance to Afrobeat in clubs or go for after-dinner walks along the surf. Loved by local residents, it's rarely empty – but this is a place for socialising rather than solitude. Some of the best upscale bars, restaurants and hotels cluster around the Aberdeen area, although the beach extends for three miles south. Find basketball courts, a running promenade and even a golf course. Book the holiday
