The vast majority of pirate vessels illegally fishing off Sierra Leone are accredited to export their catches to Europe, an environmentalist group says. A report by the Environmental Justice Foundation says West Africa has the highest levels of illegal fishing in the world. Its says pirate fishermen fish inside exclusion zones, attack local fisherman and refuse to pay fines.

The Independent Media Commission (IMC), the statutory media regulatory body on September 26, 2012 suspended for a month, three privately-owned newspapers for allegedly producing offensive publications. The newspapers namely Independent Observer, the Senator and Awareness Times will thus, not appear on newsstands from September 26 – October 26, 2012.

Sierra Leone's Ministry of Health on Friday declared a cholera outbreak in the country following the death of five people from the disease. Deputy minister of Health and Sanitation Mahmoud Tarawalie, made the confirmation on Friday while stressing that the authorities were putting measures in place to stem the disease. This follows reports of two deaths because of cases of severe diarrhoea in the provinces. But one of death cases was recorded in one of the slums of the capital, Freetown.