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AP/Press Association Images

Obama orders 3,000 US troops to West Africa to 'turn the tide' on Ebola

The current outbreak has killed 2,400 people so far.

US PRESIDENT BARACK Obama will today seek to “turn the tide” in the Ebola epidemic by ordering 3,000 US military personnel to West Africa.

Additionally, he is launching a major health care training and hygiene program.

The White House said Obama will travel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta to meet US health chiefs and make the announcement, meant to spur a global effort to fight an outbreak that has already killed 2,400 people.

The announcement comes amid increasing alarm about the worst-ever outbreak of the disease which has spread through Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Most of the new US effort will be concentrated in Liberia – the nation worst affected.

Obama will announce that US Africa Command will set up a headquarters in the Liberian capital Monrovia to act as a regional command and control centre to coordinate US military and international relief programmes.

The project will involve an estimated 3,000 American military personnel, senior officials said.

Many of the forces will be positioned at a staging base to help the transit of equipment and personnel.

Liberia Ebola Health workers carry the body of a woman in Monrovia, Liberia, last week. AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

Training, advice, and prevention kits

American advisors will also train up to 500 health care providers per week in Liberia, in a bid to improve the direct medical care and the crippled health infrastructure in the country.

In addition, Washington will send 65 public health service corps to Liberia to manage and staff a previously announced US military hospital to care for health workers who become sick with Ebola.

The United States will also, working in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund, immediately send Ebola prevention kits, including disinfectant and advice to 400,000 of the most vulnerable families in Liberia.

“What is clear is in order to combat and contain the outbreak at its source, we need to partner and lead an international response,” said one senior US official, on condition of anonymity.

The official said the Obama administration believes its latest emergency action could help “turn the tide” and slow the spread of the epidemic.

Read: Killer virus Ebola threatening Liberia’s existence>

Four day ‘lockdown’ planned to halt spread of Ebola in Sierra Leone>

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    Mute Mick Tobin
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    Oct 18th 2021, 6:59 PM

    The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was Sean Connery’s final film role, and it’s worth watching by mere virtue of having him in it in his last outing. The other reason is that it’s an Alan Moore story, and even though Moore disowned it as he disowned all Hollywood productions of his work after having signed away his rights as a young writer, a mistake countless others in other arts made too, his stories even if flawed reproductions of the original graphic novels are usually still worth it (other examples being V for Vendetta and Watchmen).

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    Mute Bert Carolan
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    Oct 18th 2021, 7:25 PM

    @Mick Tobin: I watched this a few years back, wouldn’t want to see it again. Long before the end I had lost interest. I seem to remember reading that Connery stopped making movies as a result of this film.

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    Mute Mick Tobin
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    Oct 18th 2021, 7:35 PM

    @Bert Carolan: Yes, here it is: https://screenrant.com/sean-connery-league-extraordinary-gentlemen-hated-why/ – but much of that had to do with delays concerning the weather, and over-sensitivity on the director’s part about how realistic some of the props were.

    If that’s what caused Connery to withdraw from acting, so be it, but it seems to me it had more to do with the circumstances of the production than with the eventual result, but allegedly Sir Sean did go into the editing room to help edit the final cut as he wasn’t satisfied.

    He said the director should’ve been arrested for insanity, but still, that doesn’t make it a film not worth watching. I enjoyed it sufficiently to watch it till the end, but if you couldn’t, well fair enough.

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    Mute Matthew Doyle
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    Oct 18th 2021, 7:45 PM

    There should be a pour bleach in me eye’s section because film and TV at the moment is terrible

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    Mute Gordon Larney
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    Oct 18th 2021, 7:59 PM

    @Matthew Doyle: in your opinion…

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    Mute Philip Mckenna
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    Oct 18th 2021, 10:42 PM

    @Matthew Doyle: I agree, full of ghastly horrendous remakes and superhero movies, shocking time for films

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    Mute Brian Dunne
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    Oct 18th 2021, 8:04 PM

    What a transformation Matthew McConaughey made to his career. Was a run of the mill rom com guy and became an acting giant! Similar to Tom Hanks after his more goofy roles in the 80s.

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    Mute bob hope
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    Oct 18th 2021, 10:18 PM

    Deadpool!

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