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With mounting frustration due to an ailing economy, rising unemployment and looming deadly protests, Sierra Leoneans are heading to the polls on Saturday, June 24, to select their next president. Thirteen people are vying for the top job in the west African country. But experts say it's likely to be a two-horse race between incumbent President Julius Maada Bio — elected in 2018 and fighting for his second term — and Samura Kamara, the head of the All People's Congress Party, Sierra Leon's main opposition camp. The winner needs 55% of the vote to clinch victory in the first round or it goes into a runoff within two weeks. More than three million people are registered to vote in the coming week. This would mark the country's fifth presidential election since the end of a brutal 11-year civil war — more than two decades ago — which left tens of thousands dead and destroyed the country's economy. Sierra Leone had witnessed two peaceful transfers of power since, from the ruling party to the opposition party. Bio has been facing increasing criticism because of debilitating economic conditions. Nearly 60% of Sierra Leone’s population of more than seven million are facing poverty, with youth unemployment being one of the highest in West Africa. Multiple deadly anti-government protests rocked the country, with calls for Bio to step down. Fueled by a rise in cost of living, the latest one in August, left dozens dead, including security forces. As of April, Sierra Leone, which has one of the world's weakest currencies, saw inflation rise to more than 43% — from a high of more than 41% in March — and the exchange rate against the U.S. Dollar is under pressure, according to economic analysts. The election also comes during a surge of regional political upheaval, with deadly clashes between supporters of the opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, and police in Senegal as well as military coups in Burkina Faso and Mali. Thus, Sierra Leone having a peaceful vote is of greater importance, say analysts. “We’ve seen this democratic backsliding in the region. So if Sierra Leone's (presidential) election is free, fair and credible, it could be a bellwether for regional democracy,” said Jamie Hitchen, a political analyst focused on Sierra Leone and an honorary research fellow at the University of Birmingham. This week's vote is expected to be a tight race. It will be a reverse of the 2018 presidential elections when Bio — at the time representing the opposition party — faced Kamara from the then-ruling party, whom the former president had handpicked as his successor. Bio, at the time, narrowly beat Kamara in a runoff by a margin of less than 5%, mainly because of support in the southern and eastern districts. Kamara garnered support from the north and west regions. A former military head of state, Bio came to power promising to end rampant corruption. Analysts say that he had invested in improving education in the country and took steps to fight rampant corruption. The country ranked 110 on Transparency International's index in 2022, moving up from 129 when he took office. But the weak economy has drawn criticism, with Sierra Leoneans taking to the streets protesting widespread poverty. Bio coined his current presidential campaign, “The People's Manifesto 2023,” promising to “solidify gains” made during his tenure. “Despite the turbulent times globally, we have done the work in the past five years,” he said at his campaign launch in May, assuring his supporters of a “victory in the polls, with God on our side.” Bio's opponent, Kamara, a seasoned politician who served in various government positions including as foreign minister, is running while facing corruption charges, since 2021, of allegedly embezzling public funds from a renovation project in New York during his time as minister. His case is set to be heard in court by mid-July. He's hoping to catapult support by promising to fix the country’s economic woes. Regardless of who wins the election, economic growth is expected to remain slow, bogged down by sluggish global expansion and a rise in domestic inflation, said Rukmini Sanyal, an analyst for the Economist Intelligence Unit, a research and analysis division of the Economist Group. The new government will face the same macroeconomic challenges and so “the risk of social unrest” will continue over the near-term, Sanyal said. Public frustration over soaring inflation, widespread poverty and high unemployment rate "will play a key role in eroding away the incumbent (party's) popularity,” she said. Still, locals say prices have spiked so much, that another term of the current president isn't comforting. “We need someone who can manage the economy because clearly (the president) is unable to, and we are suffering,” said Alpha Kamara, a taxi driver in the capital, Freetown. Some people, however, say the ruling party has a proven track record and they are willing to give it more time. “I want to see more development, which is why I am going to vote for Bio," said Mohamed Lamin, a local, “he provided us with free education, built roads, a new airport and many other (projects).” Rights groups warn that economic troubles are compounding distrust in a population already skeptical of government institutions and that neither party has so far presented “a meaningful path forward.” “One of the biggest fears of (the population) is the fear of crisis. We live in a society where we have a huge level of distrust among ourselves,” said Abdul Fatoma, chief executive for Campaign For Human Rights Development International, a local advocacy group. “The opposition and the ruling party are not giving us a clear roadmap as to how we are going to revamp the economy," he said, "How are we going to build trust in investors (and) businesspeople?” But for many Sierra Leonians, once the votes are cast on June 24, what they'll be watching for is a president who can bring people together. “Within their first 100 days, (the winner) should try not to vilify their opponents, nor create a hostile environment where people start feeling left out,” said Thomas Moore Conteh, the executive director for the Citizens Advocacy Network, a local rights group. “What we expect is (a president who) unifies the country, and works on building a powerful economy." ———- Mednick reported from Dakar, Senegal Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide EU member Slovenia overwhelmingly defeats Moscow ally Belarus for a seat on the UN Security Council Blinken arrives in Beijing for first China visit by US’s top diplomat in five years Trump floats special counsel conspiracy as he claims Fox abandoned ‘King’ of Maga

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Donald Trump Jr called his father a “mortician” in an apparent slip of tongue while attempting to ridicule Ron DeSantis’s glitch-ridden 2024 presidential campaign on Twitter. Former president Donald Trump’s eldest son was mocking Mr DeSantis for his troubled campaign launch on Twitter Spaces, which was marred by technical glitches. He played an audio clip of what he claimed was “8 minutes of silence” during Mr DeSantis’s campaign launch and echoed his father’s description of it as a “DeSaster”. “It was a hashtag disaster. It took a long time for Elon Musk to barely figure out how and what was going on. It took two charismatic billionaires like Elon Musk and David Sacks to carry DeSantis through this where he basically read an op-ed about what he is gonna do,” he said. However, while trying to boost his father’s candidacy, he unintentionally referred to Mr Trump as a mortician – an undertaker whose job is to prepare dead bodies and organize funerals. “Trump has the charisma of a mortician... And the energy that makes Jeb Bush look an Olympian,” he said, referring to the doomed 2016 Republican campaign of Jeb Bush, son of former president George HW Bush. Donald Trump Jr continued his rant without realizing his error. He went on to mock the Florida governor, saying the “failed” launch was indicative of future failures. He said Mr DeSantis would regret running against his father. The clip of his gaffe went viral, receiving over a million views and prompting a trolling spree. “Someone needs to tell him he got it all wrong if he’s trying to hype his father,” a Twitter user said. Another user Allene Lewis quipped: “This is rich! For the first time in Donny He’s life he spoke truth about daddy. “It was that extra bump that Jr did right before recording this,” one said. “There’s no F******g way you make a mistake like this unless your subconscious WANTS you to make a mistake like this,” another said. Ron DeSantis’s hotly-anticipated 2024 campaign launch fell flat on Wednesday night when it was marred by technical glitches. The Florida governor, 44, chose to announce his presidential run in an unconventional way – in a Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk and David Sacks. But, the event got off to a rocky start when it crashed several times and the sound repeatedly dropped out. Read More Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement Trump news – latest: New allegations in Mar-a-Lago boxes case as Trump attorneys ask for Garland meeting Florida mom who tried to ban Amanda Gorman’s book has ties to far-right groups Ron DeSantis news – live: DeSantis floats pardoning Trump and Jan 6 rioters after ‘train wreck’ Twitter launch

The possible link between repetitive heading and cognitive impairment in later life has again been highlighted in new data published on Monday. The University of Nottingham’s FOCUS study, co-funded by the Football Association and the Professional Footballers’ Association, gathered information on heading frequency from 459 retired players aged 45 and over. Players who recalled heading a ball 15 times or more per match or training session were found to be 3.53 times more likely to score below the test threshold in the cognitive status assessment than players who said they headed the ball up to five times, the FOCUS study found. Players who recalled heading a ball six to 15 times were also 2.71 times more likely to score below the test threshold than the lowest-frequency heading group. The study said its findings suggested “repetitive heading during a professional soccer career is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment in later life”. It concluded further study was required to establish the upper threshold for heading frequency to mitigate this risk. The FA has already taken steps to reduce the possible risk posed by repetitive exposure to heading by issuing guidance for players in children’s and adults’ game. Adults at grassroots and professional level are now advised to perform a maximum of 10 ‘higher force’ headers per week in training. As well as restrictions on heading in training for under-18s football, the FA is entering the second season of trialling the complete removal of heading in under-12s football. FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said on the FOCUS Study: “This study is another step in understanding any potential link between neurogenerative disorders and former professional footballers. “Since funding the FIELD study, we have continued to invest in research to gain a greater understanding of the area and potential risk factors. “More research is required to fully understand the issues and we welcome a global approach to do that. “Whilst there is no doubt of the overall benefit to health of playing football, by addressing potential risk factors whilst we continue to invest in medical research, we will ensure that millions can continue to enjoy our national sport.” The FIELD study found in 2019 that footballers were three and a half times more likely to die of neurodegenerative disease compared to age-matched members of the general population. The first part of the FOCUS study, published in June, found 2.8 per cent of retired professional footballers in its study reported medically diagnosed dementia and other neurodegenerative disease compared to 0.9 per cent of controls. This meant former professionals were found to be 3.46 times more likely to have neurodegenerative diseases compared to the control group. The study also showed retired footballers in the study were twice as likely to fall below established thresholds in some dementia testing than the general population. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Leon Taylor hails ‘coming of age’ moment for Team GB’s female divers Cameron Smith has no point to prove defending Open title he won before LIV move An in-depth look at the rapid rise of Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz

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Flat Earth conspiracy theorist David Weiss has now claimed aliens live in hidden parts of the Earth. Weiss initially wanted to disprove flat earth but then became part of the conspiracy. On a podcast with James English he explained: "I was doing really well and I'm looking into this flat earth thing and I said 'oh it's so stupid, of course we know the Earth is not flat. I mean how could it be flat? This is crazy what about all the other planets?" "But then I uh tried to disprove flat earth. I'm gonna prove all you flat earthers to be dum-dums and I'm just gonna be done with it, and that's how you become a flat earther." He explained that his biggest turning point was discovering a map - said to have been made in Tibet tens of thousands of years ago - that shows our familiar continents surrounded by a ring of ice. Beyond the ring are new contents and lands, with names such as Hapis and Thoth The Moving Island. Weiss asked, "all those extra continents, what's going on out there?" Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Instead of extraterrestrials from outer space visiting our planet, Weiss believes that any unknown creatures that have been spotted have instead come from the lands beyond the ring of ice. Adding that UFOs are clearly from a base in these secret lands. "If there are people that live out there and they came to visit us, you might consider them an extraterrestrial from outer space." "Space travel is nonsense because space doesn't exist - but if they're coming from the outer lands they're right here." Weiss also stated that the discovery of the secret land helps explain the question many flat earthers are frequently asked, which is - why would anyone try to hide the shape of the planet? "It's to control the human race," he explained. "Your thoughts create the world that you're in - and if they can limit your thoughts they can put you in the Matrix. The heliocentric system, the globe, is a matrix. It's a matrix for your mind and it limits your thoughts." The Earth is Flat and Aliens Live Among Us - David Weiss Tells His Story www.youtube.com He also added that the sun, moon, and are planets are "sentient", and does not believe the sun to be a huge ball of gas in space, but in fact a living entity. The idea of the moon being sentient explains, for Weiss, why the moon landing is fake, saying "there's so many issues" and that cameras "wouldn't even work on the moon." And in fact, the moon landing was a ploy "to keep you believing the lie" that the Earth is flat." Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.