News about Liberia from different sources - Liberia In Progress: Liberian Female Lonestar Team qualifies for the 2nd phase of the qualifying rounds of 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s Championship; UNAIDS sponsored HIV media Guide for Liberian Journalists launched; Liberia’s Ministry of Defense calls on the European Union for non-lethal support to Liberia’s security sector, as UNMIL effects its drawdown plan; Vice President Joseph Boakai calls for greater cooperation between Indonesia and Liberia with particular emphasis on youth empowerment and job creation; Consolidated Group Sues Liberia’s Auditing Commission; Police and Motorcyclists Clash in Lofa.

• U-20 Female Lone Star Qualifies to 2nd Phase– The Liberian national female team has qualified for the second phase of the qualifying rounds of 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s Championship. Liberia’s qualification is due to the withdrawal of Sierra Leone. The team will meet the Indomitable Lioness of Cameroon also in a two-tie game of the 2016 Summer Olympics qualifiers in Yaoundé, Cameroon on Saturday and Friday, May 2 and 8 respectively.(LiberianObserver)

• UNAIDS Sponsored HIV Media Guide for Liberian Journalists Launched- The Anti-AIDS Media Network (AAMIN), in collaboration with the Press Union of Liberia (PUL), the National AIDS Commission (NAC), National AIDS/STIs Control Program (NACP) and the Liberia Coordinating Mechanism (LCM), has launched Liberia’s first HIV Media Guide for Liberian Journalists and media practitioners with support from the Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS.[..] PUL Secretary General, Mr. Danicius Kaihenneh-Sengbeh says ‘The Guide is a great effort towards eliminating HIV in Liberia. Make maximum use of this media guide to help reduce stigma and discrimination’. [..] The Guide aims to serve as a quick reference document for media practitioners to strengthen their capacity for accurate, balanced and credible HIV and AIDS reporting. The Media Guide […] consists of three chapters with focus on: HIV Epidemic, response in Liberia and the Role of the Media in the National HIV Response respectively and Strategies for Effective Media Engagement. (TLCAfrica)

•  Samukai Calls For Non-Lethal Support for Liberia’s Security- Liberia’s Defense Minister Brownie J. Samukai, Jr, has called on the European Union (EU) for non-lethal support to Liberia’s security sector as UNMIL effects its draw down plan. The Minister says it is indispensible for the EU to lend logistical support as Liberia’s security sector prepares to play its constitutional role in protecting the strategic depth of the country. According to Minister Samukai, excellent interactions among Defense Ministers of the Mano River Basin coupled with the democratic space, including freedom of speech, political tolerance among others, being provided by the current Liberian government serve as an incentive for the Liberian military to engage in community road rehabilitation rather than focusing on internal security matters which are in the purview of the law enforcement agencies. (FrontPageAfrica)

• Police, Motorcyclists clash in Lofa- A major check point in Kolahun District, Lofa County is said to have been completely vandalized by some motorcyclists in defense of one of their colleagues who was said to have been flogged allegedly by an officer of the Liberia National Police (LNP) in Lofa County(HeritageLiberia) 

• The Vice President of Liberia, the Honorable Joseph N. Boakai, is calling for greater cooperation between Indonesia and Liberia with particular emphasis on youth empowerment and job creation.  He said there is a need to create new skill sets for Liberian youth, many of whom, the Vice President observed, were unemployed. Vice President Boakai was speaking in Jakarta, when he was received by the Indonesian Vice President, Mr. Mohammad Jusuf Kalla.  He(Boakai) called for the opening of vocational schools that will target high school dropouts, teaching them to be good craftsmen, and give them other professional skills to make the young people more marketable.(FrontPageAfrica)
  
  
• Consolidated Group Sues Liberia’s Auditing Commission- Liberia’s constitutional ant-graft agency, the General Auditing Commission of Liberia is facing a lawsuit for action of damages for libel in an amount of over two million United States dollars. […] The Consolidated Group, Inc represented by its Chief Executive Officer, Simeon Freeman filed the act lawsuit before the Civil Law Court, Sixth Judicial Circuit sitting in its June term of court.(FrontPageAfrica)