Summary: KARNGAR TOWN, Johnsonville — In interview after interview, the story begins the same way: a promise of opportunity arrives quietly, wrapped in hope for a way out of poverty, with no hint of danger. Here in this community on the outskirts of Monrovia, Nor G. Boo had just finished arranging goods in her small…
By Anthony Stephens, senior reporter with New Narratives Summary: Liberia’s exclusion from the Trump administration’s latest travel ban has drawn a mix of praise and caution from foreign policy experts, who say it reflects warming relations with Washington as the Trump administration shift its focus from aid to U.S. national interests. The revised policy, announced…
Education experts warn that the end of a major USAID-funded teacher training program in Liberia could have a grave impact on students, as thousands of aspiring teachers now face uncertainty in completing their training and the broader effort to address the country’s chronic teacher shortage hangs in the balance. Garmai Tarnue reports in this social…
A new greenhouse farming venture in Liberia is offering a climate-smart lifeline to farmers facing devastating weather and crop losses, showing how controlled environments and modern techniques can protect harvests even as unpredictable rains batter fields, but the withdrawal of international aid now threatens the future growth of this promising solution for food security and…
By Aria Deemie, climate change reporter with New Narratives Summary erratic rainfall, drought, and rising pest infestations that are devastating harvests. WUNGKO FARM, Salala – The afternoon sun comes out after a sudden downpour on this farm, 50 miles from Monrovia, heating the nursery as workers gently lower seeds into tiny pots lined in long,…
By Anthony Stephens, senior correspondent with New Narratives The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has included Liberia on a list of 36 countries whose citizens could be banned from traveling to the US according to a draft memo obtained by The Washington Post, a U.S. media outlet. The memo “signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio…
By Anthony Stephens, senior correspondent with New Narratives Liberia has overwhelmingly won a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council—64 years after it first held the role. One hundred and eighty-one of the 188 member states of the UN voted for Liberia. The vote marked a historic milestone for the country, coming nearly 22…
Telecom giant Lonestar Cell MTN is taking Liberia’s Environmental Protection Agency to court after challenging a $15,000 fine for noise pollution at its Congo Town generator site, a penalty the agency says followed scientific tests showing noise above national and WHO limits and years of complaints from neighbors, setting up a legal showdown that many…
COP30 is the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Belém, Brazil, where nearly every nation on Earth gathered to negotiate how the world responds to the climate crisis, from strengthening climate action plans and securing finance for vulnerable communities to assessing progress since the Paris Agreement and pushing for solutions that matter for…
Summary: By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Christine N. Umutoni, the United Nations resident coordinator in Liberia, reaffirmed the U.N.’s support for the Office of the War and Economic Crimes Court of Liberia at an event in Monrovia marking International Human Rights Day, as a dispute between the Office and a bloc of…
Summary: By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives The Office of the War and Economic Crimes Court of Liberia, the body tasked with establishing a war and economic crimes court and a National Anti-Corruption Court, has dismissed a newly submitted civil society bill to establish a war and economics crimes court as “mischief”…
By Anthony Stephens, senior correspondent with New Narratives Summary: Sweden, long Liberia’s most reliable and generous development partner, announced on Friday that it will end bilateral aid to Liberia and close its embassy in Monrovia by August bringing an abrupt end to decades of deep cooperation. In a statement on Facebook, the embassy described the decision it…
Summary: By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives In a surprise move, a coalition of advocates led by the Independent National Commission on Human Rights on Tuesday submitted a new war crimes court bill to the Legislature. It came as campaigners intensified efforts to block an earlier version that would exclude so-called “international” crimes including war crimes and crimes against humanity from…
By Aria Deemie, climate change reporter with New Narratives Summary: Liberia’s civil society and community leaders on Tuesday urged the government to accelerate action on climate justice, warning that vulnerable communities remain exposed to worsening climate impacts despite years of policy commitments. The call came at the close of the National People’s Climate Justice Summit, a two-day meeting…
By Aria Deemie, climate change reporter with New Narratives Climate change is no distant threat lurking beyond our shores—it is here, reshaping the lives and livelihoods of ordinary people across Liberia and West Africa with every rising tide and failing harvest. Rainy seasons arrive late, flooding becomes more frequent, sea levels continue to rise, and homes…
By Aria Deemie climate change reporter with New Narratives Summary: The 30th annual summit of world nations committed to slowing climate change, known as the Conference of the Parties, concluded last week with countries pledging a range of actions to slow global warming and help vulnerable countries adapt. Leaders at the summit, held in Belém,…
By Aria Deemie, climate change reporter with New Narratives Summary: · Monrovia experienced its hottest dry season on record in 2024. Climate models predict the city could face up to 118 additional hot days annually by mid-century. · Experts warn prolonged exposure to extreme heat increases the risk of heat exhaustion, dehydration, and pregnancy complications,…
Experts warn that extreme heat is not just uncomfortable but deadly, with the world’s hottest recorded year driving up heat-related deaths as people in Liberia and beyond face soaring temperatures, increased exhaustion, dehydration, and serious health risks that hit the most vulnerable hardest and underscore a growing climate crisis with real human costs. Aria Deemie…
Doctors in Liberia are sounding the alarm that rampant misuse of antimicrobial drugs is fueling the rise of drug-resistant “superbugs” that are killing thousands and leaving sick people defenseless against common infections, as families give antibiotics without medical guidance and the threat of antimicrobial resistance grows into a major public health crisis. Gloria Wleh reports…
After surviving addiction and completing treatment at Liberia’s only government-approved rehab center, many graduates say the hardest challenge isn’t detox but going home to communities where stigma, isolation, unemployment and shattered family ties make staying clean a daily battle, highlighting that recovery truly begins long after rehab ends. Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon reports in this social…
After years of struggling with addiction, Liberians who have completed treatment at the country’s only government approved rehabilitation center say the hardest challenge begins when they return home, where stigma, weak family support, and limited job opportunities make staying sober a daily struggle and show that recovery does not end with treatment but continues in…
