There is a distinct moment when the tranquillity of the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary envelops our car as we drive higher up the mountain.
The buzz of Freetown gives way to the hushed calm of this pocket of pristine rainforest reserved for critically endangered western chimpanzees rescued from across Sierra Leone.
The quiet is necessary. These bright primates – closest related to humans in the animal kingdom – are easily disturbed and the ones living in Tacugama are particularly sensitive.
The more than 120 chimpanzees brought here are traumatised survivors of mistreatment, hunting and violent separation from their families in the wild.
They are now facing another existential threat. Illegal encroachment is eating away at the edges of the conservation area. Despite wildlife laws, forest has been cleared to make way for houses being constructed closer and closer to chimp enclosures.
Image: Forest has been cleared to make way for houses being constructed closer and closer to chimp enclosures
“We’ve been issuing several warnings over the last year,” says Tacugama founder Bala Amarasekaran. “Four months ago – again – we gave a warning. Then we had presidential intervention say that some of this encroachment will be stopped. It started very well for the first month then everything stopped again and we are back at square one. So, we are very tired and very stressed.”
Thirty years ago, Mr Amarasekaran appealed to the government to donate land and partner with him to create a sanctuary for the protection of the abused orphaned chimps he was finding across Freetown. Today, land in the Western Area Forest Reserve is being grabbed right under the government’s nose.
“The government has been very good in terms of helping us in every way – however we expect the leadership to be more firm,” says Mr Amarasekaran.
“When we talk to them, they are all with us. They all want to help. But when it comes to action it looks like some of the departments that have the mandate to institute certain laws and take the necessary law enforcement action are not acting.”
Image: Tacugama founder Bala Amarasekaran
Sanctuary closes its doors to focus on conservation, rehabilitation and research
Tacugama has grown to become Sierra Leone’s most popular tourist attraction over the last three decades. But in a stand against the fast-approaching illegal encroachment, the sanctuary has closed its doors to visitors to focus on conservation, rehabilitation and research.
“It is not a tourist attraction – we made it become a tourist attraction. It is supposed to be an orphanage for rescued chimpanzees,” Mr Amarasekaran says.
“They are used to us and some visitors but they will start to see strangers come and that is where the problems start. They are not comfortable with strangers – don’t forget it is the stranger who killed their mother. It is the stranger that wiped out their group.”
‘A complex problem’
We asked Sierra Leone’s government spokesperson and minister of information and civic education, Chernor Bah, about the illegal encroachment.
“It is a complex problem. You have a city that is growing. People need places to stay and we have not done the best job in terms of enforcing all these limitations,” he replied. “Some of our agents seem to have been complicit in allocating and giving people land in places they are not supposed to stay. So, I don’t think I can sit here and say we have done enough – there is much more we can do.
“[Tacugama] is probably our most cherished and significant wildlife asset in the country.”
A national symbol for tourism
In 2019, the government designated the western chimpanzee as the national animal and national symbol for tourism. The image of a chimp is now etched in Sierra Leonean passports, a result of Tacugama’s advocacy Mr Amarasekaran and his team hope will entrench a love and respect for chimps that will curb the need for intervention.
“We wanted something more – that is how the national animal bill came through,” says Mr Amarasekaran.
“We thought if the agencies that are mandated to do all the law enforcement are not active and effective, then maybe we need to create a synergy between the people and the animals.”
Chimpanzees hunted for bushmeat
But chimpanzees are still being hunted as bushmeat for food across Sierra Leone and baby chimps are being torn from their families to be kept as illegal pets. Tacugama’s latest rescue is only eight months old.
Baby Asana is frail with thinning hair and is being nursed back to health by his chimp mum, Mama P, when we meet him. He was rescued after an informant sent a video of Asana wearing human clothes and being mistreated as an illegal pet in Bo, Sierra Leone’s second largest city.
“For me as the founder of the sanctuary, I feel defeated,” says Mr Amarasekaran with Asana being cared for behind him.
“These chimps shouldn’t be arriving here if we have done enough work outside – there shouldn’t be any killings, there shouldn’t be any rescues. That is the time when I can say that I achieved something.”
Research from the Jane Goodall Institute identified that between five and 10 chimpanzees die for every surviving rescued chimpanzee. And with the sanctuary closed, much-needed public advocacy work will take a hard hit.
‘Until I came to the sanctuary, I didn’t see a chimpanzee’
“I’m really concerned because I only even started to experience chimpanzees when I started working here. I knew that we had chimps here. But until I came to the sanctuary, I didn’t see a chimpanzee,” says 25-year-old Tacugama communications officer, Sidikie Bayoh.
“Now, we are at a situation where we are closed indefinitely but what if this becomes something wherein we can never open the sanctuary again for people to visit? Then you will have all these young Sierra Leoneans never fully understanding what their national animal is.”
Donald Trump has said Hamas has “three or four days” to respond to his Gaza peace plan – with Qatar, Egypt and Turkey reportedly urging the group to accept.
The US president and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled the 20-point proposal at the White House on Monday.
Hamas has said it needs time to look at the details and consult with other Palestinian factions.
Israel has agreed to the terms, which include an immediate ceasefire; the release of all hostages; Hamas disarming; a guarantee no one will be forced to leave Gaza; and a governing “peace panel” including Sir Tony Blair.
Key mediators such as Qatar and Egypt have urged Hamas – who murdered more than 1,200 Israelis two years ago – to accept the deal, reported Axios.
Other influential Muslim nations such as Jordan, the UAE, Indonesia, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have also publicly backed it.
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1:28
Why the Middle East backs Trump’s peace plan
Speaking outside the White House on Tuesday, Mr Trump said they were “just waiting for Hamas” and it would be a “very sad end” if the deal was rejected.
One Hamas leader, Mahmoud Mardawi, was quoted in Middle Eastern outlets as saying the group will not agree a deal that does not include “self-determination for the Palestinian people”.
Mr Netanyahu has warned he will “finish the job” if Hamas refuses, while Mr Trump said he would “let Israel go and do what they have to do”.
However, the plan is seen as heavily favouring Israel and makes no commitment towards a two-state solution – something the Israeli leader has vowed will never happen.
Other details, such as the inclusion of former UK prime minister Sir Tony, have also been criticised due to his pivotal role in the invasion of Iraq.
Human rights activist Ashish Prashar – who said he worked with Sir Tony when he was a Middle East envoy – told Sky News’ The World programme it was “like putting the arsonist in charge of rebuilding the house he put on fire” and “there is no way Palestinians trust him”.
However, President Trump called Sir Tony a “good man” – and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky’s Sophy Ridge that Sir Tony had a “record on a lot of international things”.
Other members of the planned governing board are set to be announced in the coming days.
More than 66,000 people in Gaza have now been killed in the war, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
The total does not differentiate between the number of fighters and civilians but the ministry has said about half are women and children.
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30:00
Trump 100: Blair for Gaza PM?
At least another 31 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes on Tuesday, local hospitals said.
Seventeen of them died in Netzarim, an Israeli-controlled corridor, while trying to get humanitarian aid. Another 33 were reportedly wounded in the incident, said al Awda hospital.
Israeli strikes which hit tents in the region of Muwasi, previously deemed a safe zone, are said to have killed 10 people.
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2:39
Gaza resident: ‘It was all for nothing’
Al Aqsa hospital said seven of the victims died near Deir al Balah after earlier this month fleeing Gaza City, where Israel has launched a renewed offensive.
The three others killed were from the same family; a man, his pregnant wife and their child. They were killed when an airstrike hit their tent west of Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital.
Image: Smoke rises as displaced Palestinians fled northern Gaza on Tuesday. Pic: Reuters
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the reports, but said it had struck more than 160 targets of Hamas infrastructure in the past 24 hours.
It has repeatedly stressed it goes to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties but that Hamas deliberately embeds itself among the civilian population.
Hamas is still believed to be holding 48 of the 251 hostages kidnapped during the 7 October attack, 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
Princess Anne has placed a toy bear as a poignant tribute at a children’s memorial in Ukraine, during an unexpected visit to the war-ravaged country where she also met Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The King’s sister travelled to the capital Kyiv on Tuesday, at the request of the Foreign Office, in a show of solidarity with children and families facing the horrors of the Russian invasion.
The Princess Royal met Mr Zelenskyy to discuss the UK’s support for Ukraine and its ongoing resistance.
Image: The Princess Royal and First Lady Olena Zelenska laid soft toys during a visit to a memorial for children killed in the war. Pic: PA
Anne’s secret visit, which was not publicised beforehand for security reasons, came just two days after a Russian aerial bombardment killed at least four people in Kyiv, including a 12-year-old girl, and injured at least 70 others.
The attack, which lasted more than 12 hours, was one of the heaviest in recent months.
The purpose of her trip was to highlight the traumatic experiences of children living on the frontline, Buckingham Palace said.
Joining First Lady Olena Zelenska at the children’s memorial, Anne left the teddy in tribute to youngsters killed in the conflict, saying her daughter Zara Tindall had the same bear.
As the 75-year-old princess stepped back after placing the traditional-looking teddy at the base of the memorial alongside scores of other cuddly toys, she told Mrs Zelenska: “That was one that my daughter had.”
Mrs Zelenska also left a bear in tribute.
Image: Anne is the latest British royal to make a trip to Kyiv. Pic: PA
The site commemorates more than 650 children who have died since the start of the conflict in 2022.
In Kyiv, she also met female police and armed forces representatives and heard about their key role protecting women and children.
Visiting the Child Rights Protection Centre, she spoke to families and children who have been returned and reintegrated, and met some of those working to return more Ukrainian children.
Image: Princess Anne spoke to young people who lived under occupation. Pic: PA
Image: The Princess Royal met Ukrainian war veterans relaxing in a salt therapy room at a rehabilitation centre. Pic: PA
More than 19,500 Ukrainian children have been forcibly transferred or deported by the Russian authorities to Russia and the occupied territories of Ukraine.
Princess Anne is the second working royal to visit Ukraine.
In April last year, the Duchess of Edinburgh was the first to go and bring a letter of support from the King.
Anne also visited a rehabilitation centre, where she met Ukrainian veterans returning from the frontline.
The King has met Mr Zelenskyy a number of times and marked the country’s independence day in August by sending a message of solidarity.
During Donald Trump’s recent state visit to the UK, Charles also took the opportunity to stress the importance of supporting Ukraine.
He told the US president in his banquet speech: “Today, as tyranny once again threatens Europe, we and our allies stand together in support of Ukraine, to deter aggression and secure peace.”
When Benjamin Netanyahu lands back in Israel, he will be hit by a wall of opinions. Some people are full of praise for the deal he has helped to construct, others hate it. Nobody is indifferent.
Among those who are spitting fury are members of his own cabinet.
Both come from the uncompromising political far right; both think that compromise is a sign of weakness; both were utterly outraged at the idea of the prime minister apologising to Qatar for the attack on Doha.
Image: Israeli forces have been carrying out an offensive in Gaza City. Pic: Reuters
Ben-Gvir said that, far from being a source of shame, it had been “an important, just and supremely moral attack… Qatar is a state that supports terrorism, funds terrorism and incites terrorism”.
Smotrich, as if ever worried at being outdone, compared Netanyahu with Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement of the Nazis, saying his “grovelling apology” was a “disgrace”.
Can either of these men really keep serving in a cabinet with Netanyahu? And if not, how long before the government collapses?
That wouldn’t imperil the peace plan – if it survives – because it will have the support of enough opposition parties to be passed into law.
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2:40
Trump announces ‘Board of Peace’
But it would hasten a new general election, where Netanyahu would try to portray himself as the statesman who brought back the hostages (if he does) while his rivals would paint him as the man who let October 7 happen on his watch.
But in the short term, Netanyahu’s plan has plenty of fans in Israel. President Isaac Herzog applauded it and so did the forum representing the families of the hostages.
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2:58
Witkoff ‘hopeful’ on Gaza plan
Leaders from Arab countries have all said they welcome it, albeit they have, unanimously, given the credit to Donald Trump, rather than the Israeli prime minister.
But then the applause dwindles. From Hamas, the initial reaction was telling – the plan hadn’t even been sent to them before it was announced to the world. And without their buy-in, what does a deal look like? Can it even work?
They say they can’t sign up to anything that does not include Palestinian self-determination. Which this, pointedly, doesn’t.
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And remember – Hamas have the hostages. For all the implicit threats made by Trump about what would happen if Hamas don’t sign up to this deal, the return of the hostages is the point that most loudly resonates with the Israeli public.
If Hamas don’t like the deal, they won’t return the hostages.
Image: Tony Blair will be an unwelcome inclusion for many on the Palestinian side
As for the governance of Gaza – there is precious little support among Palestinians for a Trump/Blair leadership team.
“Tony Blair is a war criminal who should be in The Hague, not Gaza,” said Mustafa Barghouti, the veteran politician who has been on the Palestinian Legislative Council for nearly two decades.
And that’s an opinion I’ve heard echoed more than once.
There are more negotiations to come. “I’ll believe it when it happens,” one military figure said to me, wearily. “I’m more confident than before,” said another source, “but before I wasn’t confident at all.”
Nobody is getting too excited, too early, and there are hurdles to overcome and concessions to be made. But there is a chance that things might happen, and if they do, they might happen fast.