VOA English Newscast: 1400 UTC January 15, 2016

A health worker takes a man's temperature, center, before his is allowed to enter into a government building, with a message, right, reading "Kindly wash your hands before entering" the building in Monrovia, Liberia, Jan. 14, 2016.

From Washington, this is VOA News.

I’m Steve Karesh reporting.

An official in Sierra Leone confirms that a corpse has tested positive for the Ebola virus, this just a day after the World Health Organization declared an end to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

WHO spokesman Tarek Jasarevic says that the teams are taking appropriate action on the ground to prevent further spread of the disease.

“There are teams on the ground from the Ministry of Health, supported by international partners. And right now there is work being done to see, to trace contacts obviously, to see who could have been exposed and to make sure that all necessary measures are being done to stop this flare-up as soon as possible.”

On Thursday, the World Health Organization announced an end to the Ebola virus outbreak in Liberia, meaning all three countries at the epicenter of the West African outbreak were considered Ebola-free.

Witnesses in Somalia's Gedo region say al-Shabab militants attacked an African Union military base Friday near the town of El-Adde, some 60 kilometers south of regional capital, Garbaharey.

Witnesses tell VOA the attackers rammed at least four cars filled with explosives into the main gates of the southern Somali base. The blasts were followed by heavy gunfire between the attackers and Kenyan soldiers.

Casualty numbers can not be independently verified. Al-Shabab says it has killed more than 60 Kenyan troops.

Deputy Gedo Governor Mohamed Hussein Isaak tells VOA that at least 40 Kenyan soldiers were killed.

The African Union mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM, confirmed the attack but refused to give details.

Residents say al-Shabab has taken control of the town and surrounding areas.

This is VOA News.


Words in This Newscast

corpsen. a dead body; human remains

positiveadj. completely sure that something is true or correct

outbreakn. a sudden start or increase of fighting or disease

spokesmann. a man who speaks for or represents something or someone else

appropriateadj. right for some purpose or situation

tracen. a sign of evidence of some past thing

exposedadj. not protected or covered

flare-upn. a sudden development or outburst of something

epicentern. center; the part of the earth’s surface that is directly above the place where an earthquake starts

regionaladj. of or related to a local area

rammedv. hit; struck

gaten. an opening in a wall or fence

casualtyn. a person who is hurt or killed during a war or in an accident

verifiedv. confirmed

deputyadj. an assistant who helps the leader of an organization

missionn. a job that someone is given to do

residentn. someone who lives in a given area

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