Origin Of The Name Sierra

Naomi Campbell knew diamonds were from warlord, says charity boss

In a statement read to a court in Alexandra, Johannesburg, yesterday, Mr Ractliffe said Miss Campbell recounted to him and his wife Gayle how she was given the “dirty-looking stones” the evening after the dinner.

“Naomi Campbell told us that late on the night of September 25, two people whose names she did not know came to her room and handed her three diamonds as a present from the African leader who had sat next to her at the dinner party,” he said.

“She appeared to be at a loss as to what to do with them.” said Mr Ractliffe.

“She suggested that they could possibly be given to the fund,” he said. “I told her that I did not want to involve the fund in anything that could possibly be of dubious origin, or even illegal.

“Relunctantly, I offered to keep the stones for her and to see what could be done with them. I thought there would be no harm in simply leaving them where they were (in a safe in his home) until Naomi either asked for them back, which seemed unlikely, or life presented an opportunity where I could have used them for the good of the fund.”

After Miss Campbell revealed at The Hague that Mr Ractliffe still had the diamonds, he handed them over to police.

He was facing charges of illegally possessing uncut diamonds. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment or a £22,000 fine.

Magistrate Renier Boshoff ruled that the state had not used a qualified expert to determine the stones were diamonds, despite an official from the Diamond Regulator declaring they made up 5.9 Carats and were worth 25,000 Rand (£2,200).

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Ractliffe said he did not blame Miss Campbell for his predicament.

“It was part of my job to protect the name of the fund and I did what I did for what I felt were totally valid reasons,” he said. “There might have been other ways I could have dealt with it but I did what I thought was best. It was my decision and I don’t regret it.”

The judge in the ICC case against Mr Taylor is currently deliberating. His verdict is expected before the end of the year.

The Thompson Treehouse: Her name...

My daughter's name was chosen years before I was even married! It's Irish, 2 syllables, and is originally a boys name. Thankfully, my husband who also has Irish heritage - approved of it. Muffin's middle name is Sierra - completely from nowhere, but meaning "Mountain". We lived in and love the mountains, so we thought it was fitting and pretty. I know it is still very early - but it's only natural that I have a name chosen already. I will share it with you now... even though I know I may have to delete it later on. When we are blessed with our adopted daughter - her name will be Zahra. Zahra is African in origin... Swahili meaning "Flower". And that is what she will be, our little flower. Swahili is the national language of Kenya (in addition to English!)- so it will be perfect for a baby Kenyan girl! Zahra from what I understand is pronounced - ZEE- ER-AH. Obviously, this will cause some difficulties in the English pronunciation, and she will be forced to spend the rest of her life correcting others - so we will pronounce it ZAR-AH. But we will likely call her Zee... for short. We will keep her first born name as her middle name. January 21, 2010 - made the decision to adopt. Signed on to the Ethiopian waitlist.January 1, 2011 - decided to explore other programs in Africa (Congo) and begin the home study. January 11, 2011 - Choosing an agency and our application forms received. January 17, 2011 - wrote the first check home study and sent off our application forms! January 24.2011 - Agency received and accepted our request and we sent the registration forms Home study. January 26, 2011 - Medical Examination completed and signed. registration form by mail to the agency. $ 100 for a criminal record. 15th February 2011 - All documentation is received and we'll go to home visits! February 19, 2011 - First visit of a family environment! February 24, 2011- Second home study visit! March 1, 2011 - Third home study visit! March 13th, 2011 - Social worker submitted her report. March 19, 2011 - Social Worker visit to make clarifications to the report. April 16, 2011 - Social Worker comes to go over first half of AEP. April 27, 2011 - AEP start. First conference call. June 1st, 2011 - MOT has said they will not honour Imagine's Ethiopian waitlist. 16.5 month waiting for nothing. June 8th, 2011 - The fourth and final AFABC self study plus conference call. June 12th, 2011 - Home study finalized!

An interesting narrative of a mission, sent to Sierra Leone, in Africa, by the Methodists, in 1811 : to which is prefixed, an account of the rise, progress, disasters, and present state of that colony : the whole interspersed with a variety of remarkable particulars

A historical geography of the British colonies

An interesting narrative of a mission sent to Sierra Leone, in Africa, by the Methodists, in 1811, to which is prefixed an account of the rise, progress, disasters, and present state of that colony

History of the Sierra Nevada

West Africa