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Liberian History and Current Events | Debt and Labor | Civil Wars | West Africa | Sources

Liberian History and Current Events

PBS.org: Online NewsHour: Liberia’s Uneasy Peace
This site includes biographies of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Charles Taylor; a timeline of conflict; a detailed map and articles on Liberian-U.S. relations, rebel groups and ECOWAS.

PBS.org: Global Connections: Liberia
Get an overview of the PBS film Liberia: America’s Stepchild, as well as related essays and lessons and a timeline covering Liberia’s historical milestones.

BBC NEWS: World: Africa: Country Profile: Liberia
This country profile includes video and audio news, a chronology of events, pictures and more.

Liberia's History: Time Line
A brief timeline of Liberian history, from 1816 to 1980.

BBC NEWS: Profile: Liberia’s “Iron Lady”
A 2005 profile on Ellen Johnson Sirleaf following her presidential win.

Liberia Launches Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Learn about Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, from the International Center for Transitional Justice.

Debt and Labor

IPS News: U.S. Cancels Liberia’s Debt, but Billions Pending
This February 2007 article details the U.S. cancellation of Liberia’s debt.

IMF Cancels Liberia’s Debt
A November 2007 announcement regarding the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cancellation of Liberia’s debt.

Workers Talk of Hardship at Liberia’s Firestone
A 2005 Reuters article detailing slave-like labor conditions at the Firestone rubber plantation.

CorpWatch: Liberia: Firestone Sued Over “Slave” Plantation
Read more details on Firestone’s alleged use of child labor and human rights violations.

Civil Wars

GuardianUnlimited: Special Reports: West African conflicts
Learn more about the history of West African conflicts and civil wars in Liberia, the Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone in this interactive presentation.

Liberia: An Uncivil War
This 2005 film is an in-depth case study of the Liberian civil wars.

BBC NEWS: Charles Taylor
A 2007 profile on former Liberian leader and war crimes suspect Charles Taylor, plus links to articles on his trial and charges.

PBS.org: OnlineNewsHour: Sierra Leone
Read about Sierra Leone’s years of civil war, peacekeeping struggles and slow recovery.

West Africa

Columbia University Libraries: African Studies: West Africa by Region and Country
Links to sites, news and related resources on West Africa and its countries.

AllAfrica.com
Read top headlines on current events in Africa from this multimedia content service provider, which posts more than one thousand articles per day.

BBC NEWS: Africa
The Africa news feed for BBC NEWS online.

IRIN Africa: West Africa
Regional news and features from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Africa Confidential
“The world’s leading fortnightly bulletin on Africa.”

The Perspective
Articles, analysis and news on Liberia and West Africa.

WashingtonPost.com: Liberia
Get the latest news on Liberia from the WashingtonPost.com.