Britain is to set up a medical centre to treat victims of the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone, the international development secretary said on Monday. The 62-bed centre near the capital Freetown is planned to be open in eight weeks' time and will be built and operated by military engineers and medical staff. The worst-ever outbreak of the disease has killed 491 people in Sierra Leone, which is one of three countries at the centre of an epidemic that has claimed over 2,000 lives so far.

The seminar, to be held on Monday, is organised by the Spanish Permanent Mission to the United Nations together with Casa África, Spain’s main public diplomacy institution dedicated to the African continent, and Real Instituto Elcano, one of the most prestigious think-tanks. It will be attended ambassadors accredited to the UN and business executives from the United States and Spain.

As a shy, nervous 22-year-old NBA rookie, Yao Ming confronted the concentrated power of Shaquille O’Neal for the first time — and came out a winner.  The metaphors are perhaps too easy: basketball’s gentle giant aiming to save Africa’s gentle giants; the man who built a bridge between China and the United States now trying to bridge another vast cultural divide, between his nation’s nouveau riche and the people and animals of Africa.

References to development (even to the word “development”) do not appear in most of the reports on the recently concluded U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. In this regard, I want to distinguish between “assistance” and “development,” between discrete projects on the one hand, and, on the other, the larger, more complex process of transforming economies, polities, administrations, and societies. 

The United Nations and the medical aid group Doctors Without Borders each issued urgent appeals on Tuesday for international aid to contain the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Senior United Nations officials urged diplomats to cable their capitals to send money, doctors and protective gear to the affected region. The doctors’ group called for countries to send civilian and military biohazard experts.

In an exclusive interview with Al Arabiya News, Moroccan singer Ahmed Soultan discusses his own musical genre which he had dubbed “Afrobian,” a merger of African and Arabian musical traditions.  Soultan believes that the merging of African musical instruments and Arabian melodies allow him to carve out his own musical identity and that “Afrobian,” like other forms of music, can transcend physical and cultural boundaries. 

A high level Eritrean delegation led by Mr. Osman Saleh, Foreign Minister, conducted working visit to Finland from 25 to 30 August 2014. In the course of its visit the delegation has met with Foreign Minister MR. Erkki Tumoioja and Mr. Pekka Haavisto, Minister of International Development Cooperation and discussed bilateral and regional issues especially with regards educational cooperation and in the development of higher learning and vocational education.

A couple of weeks ago you may remember I brought to you the story of 20 international delegates from countries in Asia, Africa and South America who were visiting Central Queensland to see how we manage the social and environmental impact of mining.